PSYC 411 CHRISTIAN COUNSELING: Root Issue Paper

Root Issue Paper [20% of the final course grade]
(Meets Course Objectives #1, 2, 3, 4.)
Due Sunday, Week 4
Purpose:
To give you an opportunity to research a topic specific to counseling and to further develop critical thinking skills.
Explanation:
During your role play, look for a “root issue” that may be impacting your “client.” A root issue is something like: anger, depression, anxiety, fear of failure, perfectionism, etc. You will need to do some research on that issue (cause and effect) and how individuals and families are impacted by this issue. It is expected that you will use the information obtained from your research to help your client during your final role-play exercise.
Guidelines:

• This is not a paper about your “client;” it is a research paper about the root issue. Do NOT talk about the client or how you are treating them.
• Remember it’s not about them (the client), it’s about their problem.
• Since this is a research paper, it must be written in the 3rd person – no “I,” “we,” “you,” or “us” statements.
• You should cover biblical as well as secular approaches in understanding and dealing with the root issue.
• You should include a minimum of 5 sources. These may include your textbooks in addition to relevant scholarly journal articles or books.
  • The journal articles must be from scholarly, peer-reviewed sources. A good place to find these is in the LPC Library databases [ProQuest and ATLAS].
  • Books that you cite must be actual books and not book reviews.
• The paper should be written in proper MLA formatting, with in-text citations and a formal Works Cited page.
• There are helpful links for writing research papers and MLA formatting posted in the Week 4 Course Materials folder.

Specific format:

Your paper should have the following sections:

1. A title page
2. Outline [while MLA does not require an outline, I have found them to be helpful when writing a research paper, because they help to organize your thoughts.]
3. 5-6 pages of actual content
   1. 4-5 pages on the root issue
   2. 1-2 pages on how you would deal with this issue in a counseling setting

§ There are two sample papers included in the Course Materials folder

150 Psychology
152 Perception, movement, emotions & drives
153 Mental processes & intelligence
154 Subconscious & altered states
155 Differential & developmental psychology
156 Comparative psychology
158 Applied psychology
250 Christian orders & local church
253 Pastoral office & work
254 Parish administration
259 Pastoral care of families & kinds of persons