Students
PSYP8901 – Counselling and Professional Practice
2021 – Session 1, Intensive attendance, North Ryde
Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
General Information
Download as PDF
| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Julie Boulis
Joanne Earl
|
|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
10
|
| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MProfPsych
|
| Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
| Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides training in key counselling techniques such as reflective listening and empathic responding. Teaching is conducted in an experiential fashion to foster skill development and student counselling skills are assessed directly. Students are trained to intervene in complex situations such as those involving the abuse or neglect of children, and/or substance abuse. Issues in career counselling and counselling with youth are also considered. Students are exposed to relevant codes of ethics and professional practice as well as legal issues related to mandatory reporting. Students are taught about clinical issues which require medical intervention and the need for liaison with general practitioners and psychiatrists in addressing mental health problems more generally. An introduction to DSM and Psychopharmacology is also provided. |
Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- ULO1: Critique theoretical constructs, models and evidence based counselling practice to improve effectiveness as a psychologist.
- ULO2: Apply decision-making strategies to resolve ethical questions to problems using the APS Code of Ethics, Guidelines and Mandatory reporting legislation, across a variety of contexts.
- ULO3: Recognise historical approaches to the conceptualisation of diagnosis, case formulation, psychopathology and DSM.
- ULO4: Develop and implement professional interviewing and counselling skills with a variety of clients and presenting issues.
General Assessment Information
Ethics Report
Due: TBA Weighting: 40%
Ethics Report 2000 words
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Critique theoretical constructs, models and evidence based counselling practice to improve their effectiveness as psychologists.
- Apply decision-making strategies to resolve ethical questions to problems using the APS Code of Ethics, Guidelines and Mandatory reporting legislation, across a variety of contexts.
- Explain vocational assessment contexts with its application to intelligence assessment, personality assessment and assessment in organisations.
- Recognise historical approaches to the conceptualisation of diagnosis, case formulation, psychopathology and DSM.
- Design and implement evidence-based psychological and pharmacological interventions particularly with Indigenous Australians.
- Develop and implement professional interviewing and counselling skills with a variety of clients and presenting issues.
Live counselling skills
Due: TBA Weighting: 60% This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
Hurdle assessment. This assessment enables students to demonstrate minimum competency in psychology skills integral to working with clients during an initial interview and throughout therapy. This live skills assessment will enable students to demonstrate ‘fitness to practice’ as a psychologist in terms of conducting core skills necessary to complete an initial interview with a client and be able show how to develop an initial case formulation. This is an essential skill that all students need to demonstrate prior to their first placement. Consistent with the Assessment Policy, students who make a serious attempt, but fail to meet minimum standards will be given a second opportunity to complete the task to the minimum standard. The minimum standards will be defined as at least Functional level in a rubric that will be made available to students and that will be based on standards required by APAC. Students who fail to meet minimum standards on the second attempt will fail the unit. For those who pass the second attempt, a maximum mark of 50% (PASS) will be given for the PSY8901 Counselling and Professional Practice, Counselling live skills.
Counselling Live Skills
A small group of students are allocated to each assessment session. The assessment session is 2 hours in duration, allowing 40 minutes per person. Person A interviews B. Person B interviews C. Person C interviews A. You decide between yourselves who is A and B and C. You will have 25 minutes to conduct the interview and then there will be 15 minutes of discussion and feedback.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Critique theoretical constructs, models and evidence based counselling practice to improve their effectiveness as psychologists.
- Apply decision-making strategies to resolve ethical questions to problems using the APS Code of Ethics, Guidelines and Mandatory reporting legislation, across a variety of contexts.
- Explain vocational assessment contexts with its application to intelligence assessment, personality assessment and assessment in organisations.
- Recognise historical approaches to the conceptualisation of diagnosis, case formulation, psychopathology and DSM.
- Design and implement evidence-based psychological and pharmacological interventions particularly with Indigenous Australians.
- Develop and implement professional interviewing and counselling skills with a variety of clients and presenting issues
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics report on a case study – 2000 words | 40% | No | TBA |
| Live Counselling Skill demonstration – 2 hours per student | 60% | Yes | TBA |
Ethics report on a case study – 2000 words
Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 46 hours
Due: TBA
Weighting: 40%
Review a case, identify legal and ethical issues, who needs to receive communication and about what.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Apply decision-making strategies to resolve ethical questions to problems using the APS Code of Ethics, Guidelines and Mandatory reporting legislation, across a variety of contexts.
- Recognise historical approaches to the conceptualisation of diagnosis, case formulation, psychopathology and DSM.
Live Counselling Skill demonstration – 2 hours per student
Assessment Type 1: Clinical performance evaluation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: TBA
Weighting: 60%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
This assessment enables students to demonstrate minimum competency in psychology skills integral to working with clients during an initial interview and throughout therapy.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Critique theoretical constructs, models and evidence based counselling practice to improve effectiveness as a psychologist.
- Develop and implement professional interviewing and counselling skills with a variety of clients and presenting issues.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
- the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
- the Writing Centre for academic skills support.
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Delivery and Resources
The unit is comprised of lectures and workshops.
If more than one workshop per unit is missed, then the student is at risk of being excluded and university rules may apply.
Learning and Teaching Activities
Workshops – 1 and 4. Counselling and Interviewing Skills
Counselling and Interviewing Skills /Small group supervision (6 hrs)
Workshop – 2. Career Counselling/Clinical Syndromes
Career Counselling/Clinical Syndromes/Psychopharmacology/Classification schemes
Workshop – 3. Ethics/Mandatory Reporting
Ethics/Mandatory Reporting, via role-play and expert feedback in small groups
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
- Academic Appeals Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progression Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Fitness to Practice Procedure
- Grade Appeal Policy
- Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
- Special Consideration Policy
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook