COU 651 Crisis Counseling (3 credits).
June 29th - August 7th, 2026

This course is intended as an introduction to theories of crisis intervention, as well as practical crisis intervention skills and techniques. Students should gain an understanding of the basic theories of crisis intervention, understand how to conduct appropriate assessments in crisis situations, develop effective intervention skills, and learn strategies for assessing the effectiveness of interventions. Emphasis should be placed on risk assessment and intervention as well as cultural competency within the context of crisis counseling/intervention. A central element of effective crisis intervention is sitting with, holding, and tolerating intense emotional experiences. A key objective of this course is to enhance students’ ability to experience, and assist others in experiencing, the full range of human emotions so that counselor trainees can be better prepared to respond to crisis situations.