Applying Research to Practice

 
Thus far you have learned how to efficiently explore the counseling literature utilizing Boolean search strategies and becoming oriented to current trends in research. You have also gained insight into the ethical and cultural responsibility of applying empirical evidence into your counseling work. It is now time for you to identify the technique or intervention you would like to investigate for you Final Project.
For this week, you will review the Final Project case studies, Case #3 for your Final Project. As you consider case study #3, you will identify one mental health concern and choose a counseling intervention or interventions to investigate for possible use with your client or student.
Also, you will establish a research question related to your case study and selected proposed intervention and then you will conduct a preliminary search of the literature. For your Final Project, you will identify current professional counseling literature related to the selected intervention, analyze the literature, and then apply the findings to the case study.

 
As you learned in Week 1, for the Final Project, you will research one counseling intervention in relation to an identified mental health issue and apply your findings to a case study. This week, there are a number of decisions for you to make to solidify your project. You will complete Part I of the Final Project Worksheet.  The first step is to choose the case study (case study #3) that you plan to utilize in your project. Your case study may include more than one potential client. After you identify the case and choose the client, identify one presenting problem or mental health issue for counseling focus. 

Now, put your counselor hat on. You have an identified client and a presenting problem. Where do you go from here? As a counselor, you have an ethical responsibility to provide competent practice. There is an expectation that you will utilize interventions that are supported with empirical research.  So, your next step is to identify an intervention that you would like to use with your client.  For your project, you will investigate current counseling research related to the intervention in order to make an informed decision about evidence based practice. To launch your research, you will formulate a research question to guide your investigation.
To Prepare

Review the Final Project Worksheet Part 1 media program found in the Learning Resources for this week
Review the Final Project Case Studies found in the Learning Resources for this week and choose one of the four case studies to use for your Final Project. School counselors should choose Case 1 or 2.
Consider the case study and identify your client and the mental health issue you will focus on
Choose one intervention that you would like to further investigate for possible use with the client
Review the Final Project Worksheet Template found in the Learning Resources and use this template for this Part 1 Assignment.