SOWK13012 - Professional Practice and Mental Health

General Information

Unit Synopsis

You will critically evaluate the dominant and alternative models of mental health through a lens of diversity and inclusion, placing a strong emphasis on lived experience perspectives. You will be encouraged to engage with a range of theoretical frameworks and consider the ways in which different models can impact service users. The unit will also cover a range of assessment and intervention strategies in mental health, exploring the role of social work in this context. You will consider the values and ethics that underpin professional practice, as well as human rights and social justice principles. This unit offers a comprehensive and critical exploration of mental health within a social work context. Through engagement with theory and practice, you will develop the knowledge and skills required to work effectively in this complex and evolving field.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Successful completion of 48 credit points in any course.

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 2 - 2025 Profile
Online

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

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 40%
2. Group Work 60%

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

To view Past Exams,
please login
Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2020 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 70.37% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 50.94% 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: Email feedback Have Your Say Feedback
Feedback
Students report to enjoy the video assessment because of the insight into the lived experience of mental distress.
Recommendation
Continue to use video assessment
Action Taken
The video was used again in relation to a new assessment.
Source: Have Your Say feedback face to face feedback
Feedback
Students enjoy the inclusion of the lived experience in the unit
Recommendation
Continue to strengthen and enhance the inclusion of the lived experience
Action Taken
Lived experience resources were included in the unit.
Source: Have Your Say feedback email feedback
Feedback
Students reported to enjoy the assessments because of their relevance to practice
Recommendation
Continue to use similar assessment items that are relevant to practice
Action Taken
Assessments were authentic and relevant to mental health practice.
Source: Have Your Say Email feedback
Feedback
Students reported to value the detailed feedback on assessments
Recommendation
Continue to provide comprehensive feedback on assessmetns
Action Taken
Provided relevant and meaningful feedback.
Source: Have Your Say
Feedback
Students reported that the unit was engaging
Recommendation
Continue to provide a range of resources and UC to engage in online group discussions
Action Taken
I provided formative mental health assessments for students to complete in the weekly discussions, in preparation for submission of their assessable assessment.
Source: Have your say survey Personal feedback
Feedback
Students reported to like the video assessment because of its authenticity and relevance to social work practice.
Recommendation
Review how the video is used in the unit.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Have your say Personal feedback
Feedback
Students reported to appreciate the opportunity to write a range of mental health assessments in group discussion forums in preparation for the assessment.
Recommendation
Continue to provide formative learning opportunities in group discussions in preparation for assessment.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Examine the socio-political and historical context of mental health and how this has shaped mental health service delivery.
  2. Apply social work strategies effectively in interdisciplinary contexts while incorporating professional values and ethics.
  3. Analyse the dominant discourses and alternative discourses and constructions of mental health, including alternative mental health constructions which include the Lived Experience perspective, cultural and Indigenous perspectives, and a human rights and social justice perspective.

Learning outcomes are linked to the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS, 2020).

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Group Work • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication • • •
3 - Critical Thinking •
4 - Information Literacy •
5 - Team Work • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • •
8 - Ethical practice •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10