| Semester 1, 2020 External | |
| Short Description: | Prof Couns Prac Ident & Ethics |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences |
| School or Department : | School of Psychology and Counselling |
| Student contribution band : | Band 1 |
| ASCED code : | 090513 - Counselling |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GCCO or GDCN or MCCO or PDEV or GCHH or GDHH or MOHH
Rationale
The knowledge and skills acquired in this course are designed to address areas of competence specified in the PACFA accreditation standards for postgraduate counselling training, and will be relevant to similar standards in most health disciplines. There are professional competencies that students must acquire that are fundamental to the practice of counselling and to the helping professions generally. At the ideological level, comprehensive knowledge of professional ethics is central to effective practice regardless of specialisation. At the procedural level, students require knowledge and skills regarding client or patient referral processes, risk assessment and management, cross-cultural practice, and management of consent and confidentiality. At the philosophical level, students also require the capacity for appropriate self-care and personal development by engaging in clinical supervision, as well as a clear understanding of their professional identity. This course complements the other courses in the counselling stream, COU5010, COU5007, and COU5009, as well as underpinning the learning outcomes for the various specialisations and advanced degrees in the counselling stream.
Synopsis
This course builds upon the knowledge and skills acquired in undergraduate programs in a range of allied health disciplines. As such, it is designed to further develop inter-professional skills that underpin counselling practice, and link to areas of specialisation that may be developed in related and advanced courses. Students will develop knowledge and competence regarding the legal and procedural aspects of client or patient management, including intake, record-keeping, managing informed consent, risk assessment and management, and ethical decision making. Students will learn how to incorporate knowledge of cultural and other forms of human diversity in service design, assessment, and intervention. The course will provide opportunities for students to examine legislation including anti-discrimination, privacy, child protection, disability/racial/sex discrimination, and mental health, all of which interact with counselling practice. Clinical supervision will be included, as well as reflective practice skills to ensure independent self-care and essential learning and development. All students will have the opportunity to develop discipline-focused areas of interest, as the assessment will be sufficiently flexible to allow for individual health specialisations.
This course contains a mandatory four day residential school and 10 hours of mandatory online synchronous tutorials.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course students should be able to:
- demonstrated advanced and integrated understanding of issues that affect counsellors in professional practice, including procedures and practices that support effective practice;
- skills for effective practice, such as procedures for intake, assessment, record-keeping, and report-writing;
- demonstrated advanced and integrated knowledge of specific ethical principles and legislation affecting the conduct and behaviour of professional counsellors;
- demonstrated advanced and integrated knowledge of cross-cultural practice, including the impact of legislation, policies, and procedures on cross-cultural clients or patients;
- skills to engage appropriately in clinical supervision and reflective practice to support effective self-care and ongoing development.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | The profession of counselling | 5.00 |
| 2. | Ethics and legislation | 20.00 |
| 3. | The pragmatics of practice | 15.00 |
| 4. | Client assessment ( including risk assessment), case conceptualisation and treatment planning | 25.00 |
| 5. | Treatment documentation and record keeping | 15.00 |
| 6. | Clinical Supervision, professional development and self-care | 20.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=COU5006)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Assessments | 50.00 |
| Directed 精东传媒app | 30.00 |
| Online Tutorials | 10.00 |
| Private 精东传媒app | 45.00 |
| Residential Schools | 30.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance Requirements | 1 | 25 Feb 2020 | (see note 1) | |
| Online Test | 30 | 30 | 26 Mar 2020 | |
| Assignment 1 | 100 | 35 | 30 Apr 2020 | |
| Assignment 2 | 100 | 35 | 28 May 2020 |
Notes
- Attendance is required at the scheduled residential school and online synchronous tutorials. The dates and location of the mandatory residential school are available from the Residential School Timetable (http://www.usq.edu.au/handbook/current/resschoolsched.html). The online synchronous workshops schedule is located on the Grad Dip and Master of Counselling 精东传媒appdesk site.
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
Students must attend the mandatory residential school and online synchronous tutorials. Students who are unable to complete the mandatory residential school because of Compassionate and Compelling Circumstances may be eligible to defer that Assessment Item in accordance with the Assessment Procedure (point 4.4). -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete the attendance requirements, students must attend the mandatory residential school and online synchronous tutorials to achieve a mark of 1 out of 1 for this assessment item. To complete the remaining assessment items satisfactorily students must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must attend and achieve a mark of 1 out of 1 for the mandatory residential school and the online synchronous tutorials and achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course. -
Examination information:
NO EXAM: There is no exam in this course. The on-line quiz is a separate and required assessment and should not be confused with an exam. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
NO EXAM: There is no examination in this course, so there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations. -
精东传媒app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene 精东传媒app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Assessment notes
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Students must familiarise themselves with the USQ Assessment Procedures (.
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APA style is the referencing system required in this course. Students must use 6th edition APA style in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide. .
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Reliable access to the internet is a requirement of this course as the course contains electronic assessment and submission elements. Students who knowingly do not have reliable access to the internet should actively seek alternative internet access (e.g., Internet cafes, local libraries, or work places) for assessment submission and electronic assessment attempts. All students are able to use the on-campus student computer laboratories once access has been enabled. To be granted access, external students need to contact ICT and ask to have a student account enabled so that they can work on-campus.
Evaluation and benchmarking
In meeting the 精东传媒app鈥檚 aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course:
1. conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement.
2. forms part of the Graduate Certificate of Counselling, the Graduate Diploma of Counselling, and the Masters of Counselling, and is benchmarked against the:
o internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review;
o professional accreditation standards of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia Training Standards, 2014.
Other requirements
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Computer, e-mail and Internet access:
Students are required to have access to a personal computer, webcam, headset, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at . -
Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in this course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect the same grades as those students who do possess them.
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Mandatory attendance at the residential school and online synchronous tutorialssupports requirements of professional counsellor training and membership standards and assists students to meet course learning objectives.