| Semester 1, 2020 On-campus Ipswich | |
| Short Description: | Adv Topic In Prof Practice |
| 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 : | 090701 - Psychology |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: MCPS or MCPA or be undertaking the course as professional development
Rationale
The contexts in which Psychologists work are broad and continually changing. It is critical that all Psychologists maintain awareness of key professional and legal principles required for effective, culturally responsive psychological practice across the public sector and in private practice. In order to practice safely and most effectively, Psychologists must engage in deliberate, reflective practice to effectively target factors that will improve outcomes for their clients, whilst ensuring a simultaneous focus on maintaining their own health and growth as a practitioner.
Synopsis
Students must be enrolled in the following Program: MCPS, MCPA, or be undertaking the course as professional development. This course focuses on advanced topics in professional practice, where students will develop their culturally responsive knowledge and skills related to key factors shown to improve therapeutic outcomes across contexts. Students will develop their professional knowledge and competency across key areas including: self-reflection and deliberate practice, advanced skill development in relation to building, monitoring and repairing the therapeutic alliance, complex case conceptualisation and formulation, incorporating feedback to inform the therapeutic process, and, knowledge of how key medico-legal principles apply to safe practice as a Psychologist. Attendance at the five on-campus workshops is mandatory. Dates of the five workshops will be according to the 'Workshop Schedule' that will be emailed to students at the outset of the program.
Objectives
On completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Apply advanced knowledge and skills to establish, monitor, and maintain a therapeutic alliance;
- Conduct high quality case formulations and case conceptualisation with complex client presentations;
- Select, administer and evaluate client feedback tools to assess the therapeutic alliance, therapy processes, and outcomes;
- Utilise cultural competence, responsiveness, and sensitivity in working with diverse populations, including integration of cultural factors into case formulation;
- Engage in self-reflective and self-evaluative professional practice, taking account of the impact of their own values and beliefs, and via deliberate practice, develop effective learning and practice skills for continuous improvement;
- Integrate critical knowledge of legal principles and self-care strategies to the safe practice of Psychology.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Deliberate and Reflective Practice; Maximising Professional Development for continual improvement of therapeutic skills and knowledge | 20.00 |
| 2. | Case Formulation and Conceptualisation | 20.00 |
| 3. | Maximising the Therapeutic Alliance | 15.00 |
| 4. | Feedback-Informed Practice | 15.00 |
| 5. | Applying legal principles in Psychological Practice | 10.00 |
| 6. | Self-Care and Professional Growth | 10.00 |
| 7. | Cultural responsiveness in Clinical Psychology | 10.00 |
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=PSY8210)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Private ¾«¶«´«Ã½app | 125.00 |
| Workshops | 40.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Plan | 20 | 20 | 12 Mar 2020 | |
| Video-Based Reflection | 40 | 40 | 19 Mar 2020 | |
| Case Formulation | 40 | 40 | 02 Apr 2020 |
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in the compulsory workshops held on-campus, where the skills components of this course will be taught. During these workshops, students will engage in the development and practice of skills. Further, it is the students' responsibility to study all assigned material. If circumstances prevent a student from attending any portion of a workshop, the student MUST contact the examiner IN ADVANCE, if at all possible. The student must also contact the examiner in order to arrange an alternative activity, although it is important to note that it will be at the examiner’s discretion as to whether an alternative activity will be made available. Attendance at, and participation in, the five workshops and/or completion of one or more alternative activities at a standard judged to be appropriate by the examiner is required to pass the course. Attendance at the five on-campus workshops is mandatory. Dates of the five workshops will be according to the 'Workshop Schedule' which will be emailed to students at the outset of the program. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks available for each assessment item. See also point 4 below. -
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 submit each assessment item, and achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for each assessment item. All courses in the MPCS and MCPA are approved by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC), which requires that students pass all assessment items in all courses. Where a student fails any assignment, the student will be allowed one opportunity to re-submit their work following feedback from the course examiner. If a student fails any assignment a second time, he or she will be deemed to have failed the course and will be required to undertake the course again at its next offering. This rule applies regardless of whether or not the aggregated marks for remaining assessment in a course are higher than 50% overall. Where illness, bereavement, or circumstances of similar gravity affect a student’s ability to meet the high standards expected in the course, the student should meet with the course examiner and Director of Postgraduate Psychology to negotiate suitable management of the person’s individual needs in accordance to ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and procedures. -
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 assessment items in the course, with a passing grade only awarded where all workshops were attended and all assessment items were passed. -
Examination information:
There is no examination in this course. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations. -
¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 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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The due date for an assignment is the date by which a student must dispatch an assignment to the USQ. The onus is on the student to provide proof of the dispatch date, if requested by the examiner; STUDENTS MUST RETAIN A DATED RECEIPT FROM THE POST OFFICE WHEN POSTING ASSIGNMENTS.
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Students must retain a copy of each item submitted for assessment. This must be dispatched to the USQ within 24 hours of receipt of a request to do so.
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In accordance with the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Policy, the examiner may grant an extension of the due date of an assignment in extenuating circumstances. STUDENTS MUST CONTACT THE EXAMINER DIRECTLY, IN ADVANCE, IN ORDER TO OBTAIN AN EXTENSION.
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The Faculty of Health, Engineering & Sciences will NOT accept submission of assignments by facsimile.
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Referencing in assignments must comply with the APA referencing system. This system should be used by students 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. This guide can be found at .
Evaluation and benchmarking
In meeting the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app’s 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 Master of Clinical Psychology and Master of Clinical Psychology – Advanced Entry programs, and is benchmarked against the [choose one or all of the following]
• 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.
• professional accreditation standards of the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council. [insert professional accrediting bodies here e.g. Australian Computer Society, Australian Human Resources Institute, etc.]
Other requirements
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Students will require regular access to e-mail and internet access to UConnect for this course.
Reliable access to the internet is a requirement of this course as the course contains elements that are managed electronically via USQ ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk. In order to avoid internet issues, on-campus students should access the student computer laboratories to complete assignment work. External 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. External 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.