SS1105:06
An Extended Introduction to Counselling
Townsville, Cairns
Distance mode. First or second semester.
Staff: Dr B Watson, Dr J Promnitz.
This subject is designed as an introduction to basic counselling concepts and skills. It is intended to provide students with basic communication skills and an awareness of some of the personal and professional issues facing the counsellor. A microskills approach to counselling has been chosen as it offers a foundation which will help students understand and work more effectively with many diverse approaches to facilitating client growth and development.
Learning Objectives:
- demonstrate knowledge of the nature of counselling, the counselling relationship, the effects of the counsellor’s values and beliefs on the counselling relationship and the counsellor’s own needs;
- demonstrate knowledge of the issues involved in confidentiality and ethics;
- recognise and put into practice the basic microskills of attending, questioning, client observation, encouraging, paraphrasing and summarising, reflection of feeling and confrontation;
- incorporate these microskills in the five stage interview;
- demonstrate knowledge of the issues involved in couselling children and adolescents;
- demonstrate knowledge of the gender and race issues involved in counselling.
Assessment by one personal position paper (1,000 words) (20%); one essay (1,000 words) (20%); six multiple choice tests (48%); completion of learning activities (12%).