Postgraduate - UnitEDF6504 - Developmental psychology and counselling skills

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

To find units available for enrolment in the current year, you must make sure you use the indexes and browse unit tool in the current edition of the Handbook.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Education
Offered	Clayton First semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Mrs Janene Swalwell

Synopsis

This unit aims to provide students with an advanced understanding of typical and atypical psychological development across the lifespan. Within the context of an introduction to the advanced therapeutic counselling process, students will learn to facilitate the cycle of effective intervention, behaviour analysis, and change. This unit comprises three sections: typical development, atypical development and behaviour change. Counselling areas (further advanced in EDF6512) include self-reflection, mentoring, establishing a professional relationship a professional relationship, appropriate communication, counselling, and specific intervention skills for children, adolescents, adults, elders and families. Students are introduced to an advanced theoretical understanding of developmental psychology, focusing on a dynamic perspective of developmental outcomes as the result of person-environment interactions. Discussion will also include the development of children with disabilities in the context of the family, and how to facilitate their education within the community.

Outcomes

Upon completion of the unit, students will have developed:

evidence-based understanding of human developmental stages and processes, throughout the lifespan
high level skills in psycho-educational assessment and treatment approaches for problematic and atypical development
the basics of high level skills in the requisite counselling processes and therapeutic skills including trust, role appreciation, self-reflection and collaboration for effective case management to facilitate positive adjustment in human development
advanced skills and critical orientation to undertaking behaviour analysis in relation to maladjustment and specific developmental problems.

Assessment

Three forms of assessment; one of which may comprise participation in class and a sequence of online quizzes.
Assessment 1: 2500 words equivalent; 30%
Assessment 2: 2800 words equivalent; 35%
Assessment 3: 2800 words equivalent; 35%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr John Roodenburg

Contact hours

24 hours per week including 3 hours contact per week

Prerequisites

Successful completion of an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited four year sequence in psychology and enrolment in MPsych (Educational and Developmental).