| Semester 1, 2023 External | |
| Units : | 1 |
| School or Department : | School of Psychology and Wellbeing |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
| Course fee schedule : | /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules |
Staffing
Course Coordinator:
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 or MNSG or GDNG or GCNG
Overview
The knowledge and skills acquired in this course are designed to address areas of competence required for registration as a counsellor, and will be relevant to similar standards in most allied health disciplines. Effective practice in the helping professions relies on a strong foundation in the core skills of counselling methods and processes as well as on both personal and professional self-exploration, reflective practice, and ongoing professional development. The course is one of the core courses in the counselling stream and informs and links with others in the counselling stream. It also underpins the learning outcomes for the various specialisations and advanced degrees in this stream.
This course provides students with a thorough understanding of counselling processes and practices. It includes a specific focus on practical skills, based on counselling theory. Students will also develop their ability to plan, structure, and manage a counselling session, including attention to ethical and contextual issues affecting the client and therapeutic process. Because there is a concomitant focus on the nexus between the therapist as a person and a professional, the course also emphasises introspection, reflective practice, and professional learning and growth.
This course contains a mandatory four-day residential school (30 hours) and 10 hours of mandatory online synchronous workshops, as per the program accreditation agreement between UniSQ and Counselling accreditation bodies. Non-compliance with this attendance requirement will result in the student not being able to pass the course.
Course learning outcomes
On successful completion of this course students should be able to:
- competently apply core counselling microskills;
- effectively use influencing skills to effect behaviour change;
- plan, structure, manage, and evaluate a counselling session, paying attention to ethical and contextual issues affecting the client and therapeutic process;
- incorporate a feedback-informed approach and critically reflect on their practice to facilitate ongoing professional learning and development.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ethical, contextual, and relational issues affecting the client and therapeutic process | 10.00 |
| 2. | Core counselling microskills | 30.00 |
| 3. | Influencing skills to effect behaviour change | 20.00 |
| 4. | Structuring, managing, and evaluating a counselling session | 20.00 |
| 5. | Feedback-informed practice | 10.00 |
| 6. | Reflective practice and ongoing professional learning and development | 10.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
Student workload expectations
To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.
Assessment details
| Description | Group Assessment |
Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demonstration 1 | No | 20 | 1 |
| Quiz 1 | No | 20 | 1,2,3 |
| Demonstration 2 | No | 10 | 1,2,3,4 |
| Reflection (personal/clinical) | No | 30 | 1,2,3,4 |
| Practical | No | ||
| Quiz 2 | No | 20 | 1,2,3 |