PSYC12049 - Psychotherapies and Counselling

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit you will be given a practical and research-based introduction to the major psychotherapies and counselling approaches used within the professional practice of psychology. The unit will develop your knowledge of the important theoretical and empirical basis of psychotherapy. You will develop awareness of common therapeutic and counselling strategies and the different reactions they may provoke from clients as part of the behaviour change process. The unit will also build practical and interpersonal skills that form the foundation of effective psychology practice, including micro-counselling skills, reflective practice and peer feedback and supervision. The unit will provide you with diverse opportunities to fully engage in content through role plays to practice these skills using case-based scenarios, and personal reflection on practice drawing on research evidence regarding effective counselling and therapeutic practice. Key elements of content covered in the unit include: psychotherapy theories, therapeutic intervention techniques, research in support of the various theories and techniques, and issues related to conducting ethical, culturally-sensitive and productive therapy.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

24 credit points including PSYC11010 or PSYC11008 or PSYC11009.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

This information will not be available until 8 weeks before term.
To see assessment details from an earlier availability, please search via a previous term.

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 91.67% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 23.08% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student feedback from SUTE and during lectures, and personal (UC) observations
Feedback
The textbook had stronger relevance to the UK context and was less comprehensive compared to the lecture content. It did not appear to provide significant additional information beyond what was already covered in most modules.
Recommendation
Review the relevance and usefulness of readings in the textbook. Explore the feasibility of developing an e-reading list.
Action Taken
After a review, the textbook continued to be used in 2024. However, additional supplementary readings were provided on some topics that were not covered well by the textbook.
Source: Student feedback from SUTE, emails and personal Zoom meeting with students
Feedback
Students expressed challenges in communication and group collaboration with Assessment 2. In particular, student/s noted that they did not show empathy and understanding of schedule conflicts. This occurred despite the option for students to form their own groups.
Recommendation
Establish and communicate clear expectations for professional communication and standards for the group assessment prior to assembling groups.
Action Taken
Expectations for professional communication and standards for the group assessment were discussed with students early in the term.
Source: Student feedback from SUTE, student performance on assessments, and personal (UC) observation
Feedback
Students demonstrated difficulty in critically evaluating intervention and evaluation research and in the practical application of psychological theory for the purposes of clinical case formulation.
Recommendation
Review the lecture sequence and add information regarding research evaluation and the application of case formulation.
Action Taken
The lecture sequence was reviewed and lecture content updated to include further information surrounding the critical evaluation of research studies and the practical application of case formulation.
Source: SUTE evaluation, verbal student feedback
Feedback
Students enjoyed the variety of lecturers presenting during the term.
Recommendation
Consider continuing to include a range of lecturers in the unit.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE evaluation
Feedback
Students enjoyed the practical application of material and workshop-style approach to lectures. However, some students indicated that having pre-recorded lectures and live tutorials would be less intensive than having live lectures and live tutorials.
Recommendation
Consider adjusting the delivery of lectures to include pre-recorded elements during weeks that are heavy in both content and practical application.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes
This information will not be available until 8 weeks before term.
To see Learning Outcomes from an earlier availability, please search via a previous term.