PUB HLTH 3012 - Counselling Skills in Practice

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2019

This course introduces students to the fundamental elements of counselling. Drawing upon theoretical concepts introduced in the 2nd year elective course PUB HLTH 2009 Introduction to Counselling Theory and Practice, students will explore the application of basic theoretical perspectives and models in contemporary core counselling practice. Through the practice and observation of counselling skills students will be given maximum opportunity to acquire and develop counselling responses in a structured and supportive environment. Students will develop a range of discrete skills including: attending, observing, listening, responding accurately and empathically to others, and identifying inappropriate and unhelpful responses. In tandem with skills-based learning, students will engage in personal reflection of key attributes and values necessary for counselling practice, and related personal strengths and areas for growth.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code PUB HLTH 3012
    Course Counselling Skills in Practice
    Coordinating Unit Public Health
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N
    Prerequisites PUB HLTH 2009
    Assessment Tutorial participation, essay, skills application, reflection, and evaluation
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Ms Ann Ibrahim

    Lecture, School of Public Health
    Level 9, AHMS Building
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

    Full information is located in MyUni.
  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes

    Demonstrate an understanding of core counselling skills and concepts consistent with a Person-Centred approach

    Acquire knowledge of, and competence in, the pre-helping skills;

    Produce a series of accurate empathetic responses to client statements;

    Discriminate and rate the different levels of effective and ineffective responses accurately;

    Manage a genuine client issue and provide a series of effective responses (in accordance with the criteria to be detailed in class);

    Demonstrate the ability to critique and evaluate one’s own counselling responses and set goals for improvement.

    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1 - 6
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    1 - 6
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    2, 5, 6
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    1 - 6
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    1 - 6
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    1 - 6
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Ivey, A.E., Ivey, M.B., & Zalaquett, C.P. (2018). Intentional interviewing and counseling: Facilitating client development in a multicultural society (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
    Recommended Resources
    Selected online resources, including journal articles and reading lists will be disseminated via MyUni. Students may also be listed as a cohort within the Whole of Counselling Program MyUni site (PUB HLTH 003) which provides resources targeting and designed for academic writing in a counselling context.
    Online Learning

    MyUni is used for announcements, discussion board, recordings of seminar/workshops and practicals, external web-links, readings, details of assignments, as well as online quizzes and essay submission.

    Material will be sequentially released in line with the teaching and learning activities in each week.

  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes

    The aim of this course is to enable students to develop an understanding of the core counselling process, and to acquire the fundamental counselling skills that are essential for any counselling or psychotherapy practice. In addition, students will be encouraged to reflect on their own personal values and attributes that might enhance or hinder the counselling process.

    During lectures, didactic material and experiential learning are integrated to introduce theoretical and practical concepts and illustrate their use. Tutorials will provide an interactive environment to encourage student engagement as they apply these concepts and clarify understanding. Each essay provides an opportunity for further exploration of key concepts, for wider reading and synthesis of concepts.

    Students will be encouraged to see tutorial sessions as an ‘experimental laboratory’ where they can try out new behaviours, be relieved of the ‘pressure to be perfect’, be supported by staff and peers, and offer support to fellow students in learning. In the tutorial sessions, students are asked to work in practice groups to apply the materials covered in lectures.


    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Structured Learning
    Seminars: 12 x 1 hour sessions
    Tutorials: 12 x 2 hour sessions

    Assessment Tasks (Expected hours)
    Class Participation: 10 hours
    Written Assignment: 20 hours
    Skills Application & Evaluation: 45 hours
    Skills Checklist: 5 hours


    Non Contact Study
    Weekly Reading/Other study: 12 hours
    Tutorial Presentation: 24 hours
    Learning Activities Summary
    Tutorial activities
    There are two kinds of possible tutorial activities in this course. These are: counselling interviews with three other students, where within each triad, each member takes on a specific role (for detail see below); and, pencil and paper activities usually conducted in small groups. 

    Counselling interviews
    The skills students will be taught will be practised in the sequence outlined in the counselling process: attending, observing, listening, and responding. Students will undertake three different roles as they learn these skills. These are the roles of ‘student-counsellor’, ‘student-client’, and ‘observer’, detailed information will be provided to students at the commencement of the course.
    Specific Course Requirements
    N/A
    Small Group Discovery Experience
    N/A
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary

     

    Assessment Task

    Assessment Type

    (Formative and/or Summative)

    Percentage of total assessment weighting for grading purposes

    (Summative Tasks must add up to 100%)

    Hurdle Requirement

     

    Learning Outcomes being assessed / achieved

    Tutorial Participation

    Summative

    10%

    No

    1 - 6

    Written Assignment

    Summative

    30%

    No

    1 - 4

    Skills Checklist

    Formative

    0%

    No

    1, 3, 4, 5, 6

    Skills Application, Reflection, and Evaluation

    Summative

    60%

    No

    1, 3, 4, 5, 6

     

    Assessment Related Requirements
    The 12 tutorials within this course are the primary practical learning forum, providing opportunity for students to demonstrate familiarity with and competence in the introduced counselling skills. Student learning relies on the skills they and others bring to the class as demonstrated through triadic work, and is presented sequentially, with skills in tutorials building upon those in previous tutorials.

    Participation during tutorials is assessed through successful completion of skills-based tasks scheduled weekly, at 10% of total marks. Note: the skills assessment checklist will occur during one tutorial, so this will not be included in the participation assessments; one further session will also not be included as contributing to participation assessment (students will be advised which session this is).
    Assessment Detail

    Tutorial Participation: Students will attend and engage in tutorial activities, demonstrating respectful engagement and cooperation with their lecturers and fellow students, and completion of practice-based learning tasks; further opportunities to demonstrate participation will be available through contribution to online discussion via the Discussion Board on MyUni.

    Written Assignment: During weeks 1 - 4, students will be required to engage with a series of reflective exercises both in and outside of class sessions. Weekly posts on the discussion board will be required, and a final written assignment is to be submitted in week 5.

     Skills Checklist: In week 7, working with a pseudo-client (an actor), students will have opportunity to demonstrate their developing competence in counselling practice. Skills will be assessed against a checklist with feedback provided to indicate areas of strength and areas for development. This will enable students to focus on skills required for the final Skills Application Assignment.

    Skills Application, Reflection, and Evaluation:
    A video/digital recording of a counselling session of 25-30 minutes in length is to be completed with a student-client presenting a genuine counselling issue. The session is to demonstrate each of the basic listening skills, the use of the 5-part model and 1 advanced skill (focusing, reflection of meaning, or confrontation). Students are to complete a transcript of the session, reflective critique of their practice, and skills rating evaluation form which are to be submitted with their video recording of the session.

    Submission
    Assignments will be submitted via MyUni.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
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