KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
DIGITAL SCHOOL OF VIRTUAL AND OPEN LEARNING
KPS 307: PRINCIPLES OF COUNSELING
DR. JOHN SAMSON OTEYO
COURSE DESCRIPTION
You can agree with me thatlaw enforcement occupation has been identified as one of emotionally and psychologically draining job. As a law enforcer you continually face the effects of murder, violence, accidents, and disasters. Your long hours and exposure to life tragedies do exert a heavy toll on you and your families. Culture within law enforcement, media and public has fostered the myth that police can experience trauma and violence without suffering far reaching effects. However, research has shown that when stressors are prolonged and overwhelming an individual ability to cope become difficulty hence they resort unhealthy coping means like alcohol and drug abuse. For officers who are in customer care situations, their personal difficulties will impact on customers they serve. Some project their frustrations to members of public who have come to make reports and enquire. The image they portray may negate public image and good of the profession/ agency. Bosses with difficulties with affect the junior staff they supervise. We have heard where junior officers kill or make attempts to kill their seniors. Psychological and behavioural difficulties of law enforcers can be reduced or mitigated by embracing the principles of counselling. The officers can be assist to deal and cope with common stressors like marital challenges, schedules changes, family responsibilities, job trauma, lack of administrative support and engagement in health risk behaviours. With reduced risk both at home and work, officers are likely to be motivated to work diligently to combat crime for the overall benefit of the nation.
The purpose of this course is to introduce to you to knowledge, attitude and skills of counseling principles for you to recognize the need to embrace counseling help in dealing with your own issues and those of colleagues and clients. In this course principles to of counseling will be explained to you in order to define counseling as a process; as a relationship and as helping profession. The course will expose you to past, present and possible future trends of counseling. Also the rationale of counseling and steps of developing counseling program among law enforcement occupation will be covered. The course end with relevance of counseling in dealing and coping with stress and trauma among law enforcement employees which is ultimate goal of this course
TARGET AUDIENCE
This unit is one of psychology courses is intended for learners like you who are working law enforcement and security occupation enrolled in digital mode of study because you do not have time to study using regular face to face interaction. The learners are off campus location but they do come for two days face to face orientation on how to use the tablets and LMS and to meet their course facilitators. Most of them demonstrate good command of ICT literacy and few with challenges are assisted.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLOS):
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
i) Define counseling
ii) Distinguish counseling with other helping professions
iii) Discuss counseling as a process
iv) Explain characteristics of counseling relationship that make it unique from other relationship
v) Identify and explain the barriers of counseling
vi) Evaluate the criteria of counseling a profession
vii) Trace the professional and historical foundations of counseling
viii) Explain the goals of counseling
ix) Discuss the principles of counseling
x) Demonstrate of understanding the use of counseling in various contexts
xi) Identify and explain the characteristics of effective counseling program
xii) Explain the steps of development of counseling program
xiii) Distinguish the physiological and psychological reactions to stress
xiv) Explain factors that influence reactions to stressful situations
xv) Discuss ways of coping with stress
xvi) Explain steps of coping with trauma
DURATION OF COURSE
The unit course takes one semester which 45 hours.