1-Study Program:

Students enrolled in the Associate Degree in Psychological and Social Counseling Institute (PSCI) must successfully complete the following (77 credit hours) during four regular semesters.

2-Courses:

In the following table, the names of the courses, their credit hours, the type of prerequisites, the nature of those prerequisites, and their previous requirements are listed:

3-Courses Descriptions:

1. English Language 1 (Expression and Writing Skills): This course is designed to prepare students for writing in English, with a focus on reading and writing as integrated skills. Students will study and practice reading comprehension, the writing process, and critical thinking. They will develop the necessary skills to write clear and correct sentences while honing their abilities to write a variety of focused, advanced, and organized paragraphs and/or short essays. Students will be responsible for writing several practical paragraphs/essays. The course may include proficiency tests in sections or an achievement portfolio assessment.
2. Islamic Culture: The course aims to introduce students to the sources of Islamic legislation, the characteristics of Islamic legislation, Islamic systems, the family system, the judicial system, the governance system, the economic system, and the characteristics of Islamic economic legislation. It also covers the nature of Islamic education, its objectives, and characteristics, religious activities, general educational principles in Islamic education, principles of teaching Islamic education, rules of recitation, and steps for teaching branches of Islamic education.
3. Communication Skills: This course aims to familiarize students with concepts and theories in the field of human communication and equip them with essential skills in self-communication and communication with others. It seeks to enhance their practice of these skills in their daily and professional lives using serious training methods and diverse and effective evaluation techniques.
4. Humanities: The course aims to introduce students to the concept and significance of civilization. It covers ancient civilizations, Islamic civilization, and modern European civilization. Students will learn about the factors that contributed to the rise of these civilizations and the achievements they made in various fields, including politics, economics, social aspects, and scientific advancements. The course also examines the peoples of these civilizations and the patterns of human behavior associated with each civilization.
5. Arabic Language: This course aims to introduce students to the Arabic language, including its verbs and their types, subjects, predicates, interrogative particles, vocative particles, conditional particles (affirmative and negative), the oath, and its sisters. It also covers numbers and their writing, as well as common errors in Arabic grammar and usage.
6. Statistics in Education and Psychology: In this course, students study an introduction to statistics, research methods, and statistics, methods of organizing and presenting data, measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, correlation, and regression.
7. General Education: This course covers the concept of education and its multidimensional aspects, including intellectual education, emotional education, physical and sexual education, moral education, social education, formal and non-formal education, continuous education, non-systematic education, psychological foundations of education, social foundations of education, philosophy and philosophy of education (philosophical foundations), educational philosophies (idealism, pragmatism, naturalism), cultural foundations of education, educational quality, sufficiency of educational systems, and globalization and education.
8. Social Systems: This course aims to familiarize students with an important aspect of modern state organization within society, which is social legislation. It seeks to establish the concept of relationships between workers and employers in various economic and social development activities.
9. Computer Skills: This course aims to discuss the fundamental information related to computer usage in education and harnessing the educational computer capabilities in the educational field. It covers handling basic MS Office applications, as well as dealing with digital images and their modification using computer applications.
10. English Language 2 (Conversation Skills): The course content includes conversations, discussions, and presentations on a wide range of concrete, abstract, and specialized topics. It is designed to enhance speaking and listening skills for non-native English speakers, focusing on pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, and American English speech patterns. Emphasis is placed on oral communication, auditory comprehension, and vocabulary development. Students build their skills through intensive teaching and practice.
11. Philosophy of Education: In this course, students study the philosophy of education in terms of its social, economic, and philosophical foundations. It also focuses on the educational and psychological foundations of education and addresses some contemporary philosophical theories in education and major educational issues.
12. Mental Health: In this course, students learn about the concept of mental health, its foundations, methodologies, objectives, and related concepts such as adaptation, adjustment, mental prevention, psychological conflicts, anxiety, frustration, defense mechanisms, some models of psychological and mental disorders, characteristics of personality disorders, as well as healthy personality characteristics. The course also covers some prevention methods for these disorders.
13. Social Research Methods: In this course, students study the concept of social research, the rules of social research, and the steps of social research.
14. Individual and Community Service Arts: In this course, students explore the role of the individual in society and the mutual influence between the individual and society. It covers the foundations of measuring social behavior, methods, and theories of social interaction, and the dynamics of individuals and groups.
15. Research Methods in Education and Psychology: Students become acquainted with the nature of scientific methodology and the characteristics of scientific thinking. They clarify the basic concepts in educational research, its domains, and equip students with the skill to outline the steps of educational research, its methodologies, data collection tools, and instruct students on how to use data collection tools in preparing research plans.
16. Turkish Language for Non-Specialists: This course aims to introduce students to the Turkish language, starting from how to read and pronounce Turkish letters and the grammatical and spelling rules related to this language. It then progresses to listening to simplified Turkish texts, comprehending them, and developing reading, understanding, and comprehension skills for simple texts related to daily activities. Finally, it focuses on conversing in Turkish and engaging in dialogues among students to enable them to gain a comprehensive understanding of the language and set them on the right path to mastering it.
17. General Statistics: This course aims to equip students with a set of skills and knowledge, including recognizing the importance of statistics, the ability to choose appropriate statistical methods for data, and applying them using computer software. It also focuses on analyzing and interpreting outputs, comprehending statistical concepts, understanding the role of a statistical analyst, improving the student’s ability to participate in solving statistical problems, and learning data collection methods from interviews, surveys, and more.
18. Behavioral Problems in Children and Their Treatment: In this course, students study various behavioral issues in children and their treatment. Topics include excessive activity, attention deficit, aggressive behavior, lying, theft, fear, bedwetting, social anxiety and shyness, excessive dependency, giftedness, anger, thumb-sucking, nail-biting, disobedience, loss of appetite, and appetite disorders. Students also learn about modern therapeutic approaches in treating psychological disorders in children and the process of assessment and diagnosis of children’s psychological disorders.
19. First Aid: This course provides an opportunity to study emergency situations that individuals may encounter, whether at home, at work, or in other public places, and how to act during emergency situations to provide first aid based on sound scientific principles. It covers how to administer first aid in cases of bleeding, fractures, wounds, choking, fainting, burns, and emergency childbirth, among other topics.
20. Adult Guidance and Counseling: In this course, students study the concept of psychological counseling, its definition, and the foundations of psychological counseling. It covers topics related to counseling for the elderly, including the development of the study of the elderly, the goals of counseling for the elderly, physical and mental issues faced by the elderly, and the counseling needs of the elderly. The course also explores counseling work with the elderly, families, hospital staff, and care facilities for the elderly. It includes examples of projects and programs for elderly care.
21. Psychology of Individuals with Special Needs: This course covers the fundamentals of psychology for individuals with special needs, the importance of early intervention, its objectives, and justifications. It delves into the psychology of intellectually disabled children, autistic children, gifted children, hearing-impaired individuals, visually impaired individuals, and those with motor disabilities. It also addresses language disorders (pronunciation and speech) and the psychology of individuals with learning difficulties.
22. Principles of Guidance and Psychological Counseling: In this course, students learn about the nature of both psychological counseling and guidance, their types, psychological and social counseling theories, their stages, techniques, the characteristics of psychological and social counselors, and the ethical considerations of practicing the profession of psychological counseling. It also explores the essential applications of guidance and counseling in the fields of childhood, adolescence, adults, and the elderly.
23. Developmental Psychology 1 (Childhood and Adolescence): In this course, students study the concept of special education, its importance, objectives, and the hierarchical organization of special education programs. The course also covers issues and problems faced by children and adolescents, learning difficulties among children and teenagers, as well as the methods and procedures used in dealing with them. It includes the psychological assessment of children and adolescents and the factors that influence their psychological well-being.
24. Behavioral Modification Techniques: In this course, students learn about the definition of behavior, the mechanisms of behavior modification, and the methods used in modifying behavior. It also covers the organized application of behavioral laws, reinforcement of desirable behavior, and the methods and procedures for transforming undesirable behavior into desirable behavior.
25. Family and School Counseling: In this course, students study the definition and nature of family and school psychology, as well as the historical roots of the concept of patterns in psychology. They explore the family as a communicative pattern and the general pattern theory, along with its applications to families and schools. The course also covers family and school counseling methods.
26. Self-Management and Psychology: This course focuses on how learners can benefit from acquiring self-management skills in their personal and professional lives. It explores various characteristics that make individuals more adaptable and prepared for learning at different stages of life. Additionally, it aims to improve students’ psychological and social well-being and enhance their personal qualities, such as communication and collaboration with others.
27. General Psychology 1: This course delves into the theoretical and applied aspects of psychology, covering its definition, origins, psychological schools, theoretical and applied domains, scientific research in psychology, child development, learning, memory, intelligence, motivation, personality, and the physiological foundations of behavior.
28. General Psychology 2: In this course, students are introduced to topics such as evolution and heredity, behavior, motivation, emotions, intelligence and its measurement, conditioning, cognitive learning, memory and forgetting, perception, thinking, and problem-solving.
29. Developmental Psychology 2: This course includes an introduction to the concept of developmental psychology, its importance, goals, and an understanding of psychological developmental stages, their characteristics, and influencing factors. It covers the principles of development, research methods in developmental psychology, and some developmental theories like Piaget’s theory, Erikson’s theory, the adolescent stage, its characteristics, and exposure to some childhood and adolescent problems and how to overcome them.
30. Criminal and Forensic Psychology: This course covers the definition of criminal and forensic psychology, its subject matter, historical development, the definition of crime, research methods in the study of criminal behavior, the characteristics of criminal behavior, theories explaining it, various types of deviant behavior, the components of criminal acts, methods of criminal investigation, psychological study of judicial testimony, and the psychological foundations of criminal interrogation. It also covers criminal responsibility, mental illness, and the role of the psychological specialist in correctional institutions.
31. Abnormal Psychology: The aim of this course is to introduce students to concepts related to mental health and some psychological and mental disorders. It enables students to understand the difference between psychotherapy and psychological counseling, as well as various types of psychotherapeutic treatments.
32. Dealing with Children and Adolescents: This course includes an understanding of special education for both children and adolescents, as well as the methods and procedures used in dealing with them. It also involves studying their psychological conditions and the factors that influence their mental well-being.
33. Public Health: This course provides a fundamental introduction to the concepts and practices of public health. It covers the philosophy, objectives, history, organization, functions, tools, activities, and outcomes of practicing public health at both the national and local levels.
34. Social Psychology: In this course, students will study the nature and definition of social psychology, its historical development both in the Arab and Western contexts, and its relationship with other sciences. They will explore the foundations of measuring social behavior, as well as the methods and research approaches used in social psychological studies, focusing on measuring aspects such as socialization, social norms, values, attitudes, public opinion, and the psychology of rumors.
35. Personality Theories: This course aims to emphasize the importance of personality, explore its nature, components, dimensions, measurement methods, and research approaches. It also delves into the historical background of personality theory development. The course explores the relationship between culture and personality, the role of personality in shaping behavior, and introduces major theories that aim to understand the nature of human personality, how it is formed, and the determinants of deviations within it, as well as methods for modification.
36. Psychological and Educational Assessment: This course is designed to introduce the concepts of individual and group testing of cognitive abilities. It also provides training in the application of psychological measures to diagnose cognitive abilities and readiness.
37. Educational Psychology: In this course, students will learn about educational psychology, its fields of study, branches, and its relationship with other psychological sciences. They will also understand the role of educational psychologists in the field of psychological services. The course covers concepts and terms related to educational psychology, such as cognitive development, motivation, perception, attitudes, memory, thinking, creativity, innovation, talent, inclinations, mental disabilities, academic achievement, learning disabilities, assessment, curriculum, psychological programs, behavior modification, and school dropout. Additionally, students will become familiar with research methods and approaches in educational psychology.
38. Teaching Methods in Psychology: This course covers the understanding of the teaching process, characteristics of successful teachers, and the identification of educational and behavioral objectives in the field of psychology. Students will learn about various teaching methods and how to select and apply them effectively.
39. Psychological Support Programs: This course focuses on the general principles of psychological and social support programs, particularly during crises and emergencies. It covers the dimensions of psychological and social support activities, approaches to monitoring and evaluation, and specific strategies for implementing these programs.
40. Health Psychology: This course covers the concept of psychological stress, its manifestations, sources of psychological stress, and methods for measuring and addressing it. It also addresses the use and misuse of psychoactive substances, addiction treatment and prevention, improving nutrition and managing weight, physical exercise and safety, eating disorders, the nature and symptoms of pain, pain assessment and diagnosis, and the causes of chronic and serious illnesses. Additionally, it explores psychological and social therapeutic interventions for affected individuals and examines fatal diseases.
41. Theories and Programs of Psychological Counseling: This course delves into the theories of psychological counseling, including psychoanalytic theory, behaviorism, gestalt theory, selective theory, and more. It also covers various approaches to counseling, such as cognitive counseling, group counseling, and the use of meaning and analysis in counseling. The course highlights the similarities and differences between these psychological counseling theories.
42. Psychological Counseling for Individuals with Special Needs: This course aims to acquaint students with the fundamental topics and necessary skills for special education teachers in counseling. It covers various counseling techniques and principles for individuals with special needs, as well as the ethical and professional responsibilities of special education teachers and counselors. The role and effectiveness of special education teachers in addressing the counseling needs of individuals with special needs are also discussed.
43. Family Psychology: In this course, students will learn about the concept of family psychology, its historical roots, and the general principles of family dynamics. Topics include family structure and communication patterns, roles within the family, feedback and information flow, family boundaries, regulation within the family, family preservation and change, and the dynamics of changing family patterns. The course also covers communication and independence within the family across different life stages (childhood, adolescence, and adulthood), defines problematic families, explores basic information about families, and examines parental patterns in problematic families. It includes illustrative case studies for better understanding.