TPC Journal-Vol 9- Issue 4-FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 4 375 relationships today?” The discussion prompt provided the student counselor an avenue to discuss the neuroscience concepts identified in the chapter (i.e., relationships in the brain/interpersonal neurobiology, consciousness, and memory systems) with their mock client. Students were graded on their ability to use the neuro-concepts and attend to their fundamental counseling skills (e.g., unconditional positive regard and empathy). The dyad activities also highlight the positive benefits of right hemisphere to right hemisphere connections validated through neuroscience. According to Badenoch (2008), right hemisphere to right hemisphere connections are at the root of change, as interpersonal connections are rooted in the neural processes of the right hemisphere. Practicing mock counseling sessions provides students the opportunity to develop healthy relationships with their peers in class. This experience can later become a parallel process by which they use the positive experience in class with their future clients. In counseling, two approaches parallel the class experience. In the first, counselors can apply the same material described above with their clients, using process-based psychoeducation. For example, the counselor can present information on the neurobiology and role of early memories, relationships (past and present), and consciousness/unconsciousness in the client’s depression. They can then ask the questions described above directly to the client. The second approach involves a Gestalt technique wherein the client’s depression, their brain, and the client themselves all sit together in the room. The client is guided through a discussion with these constituent parts in order to better understand the role that each plays in the living of the client’s life. As students completed each dyad, a system was created for them to reflect on their experience as described below. The N-PAL (Neuroscience-Personal Analysis Log) . According to Faiver, Brennan, and Britton (2012), the purpose of a personal analysis log (PAL) “is to help students track their progress over the semester in terms of self-awareness and comfort level with the counseling process” (pp. 292–293). Students completed nine neuroscience personal analysis logs (N-PALS) throughout the course. Entries were made in class after each dyad. Students were given the opportunity to analyze and express their feelings in relation to the dyad activities and course material. The purpose of the N-PAL was to help students reflect on their counseling work while integrating neuroscience concepts into the mock counseling sessions with their classmates. N-PALs consisted of five questions: (a) On a scale from 1–10, how confident do you feel applying the assigned theoretical approach for this dyad? (b) On a scale from 1–10, how confident did you feel using neuroscience concepts in this dyad? (c) What were some new areas of growth and development during this dyad? (d) Assess your own performance during this dyad and provide specific examples, and (e) What is your reaction to the course material (i.e., assigned reading, class lecture, videos, discussion)? The N-PAL’s structure is consistent with the experiential education principle, which states that experiences are structured to require the learner to take initiative and make decisions and be accountable for results (AEE, 2019). The questions were developed to encourage students to reflect on their dyadic experiences and think critically about their neuroscience-informed interventions while being held accountable for areas of growth and development. Exploring neuroscience-informed technology . With the increased focus on neuroscience in popular culture and media, there has been an influx of new neuroscience-informed technology. Students were asked to find three technological tools that could inform their neuroscience-informed clinical work. The tools were to fall into three distinct categories: one app (e.g., mindfulness, anxiety, or brain information app), one video (e.g., YouTube, TedTalk), and one technological application (e.g., pulse oximeter,