Pre-requisites

CN611.306 Counselling Skills
CN522.306 Counselling Theory and Practice 1

Co-requisites

CN622.306 Counselling Theory and Practice 2

Learning Outcomes

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

Unit Description

This unit will examine what constitutes ethical practice in counselling, giving attention to ethical issues such as confidentiality, duty of care, dual relationships, counselling minors, dependency, spiritual abuse, and business ethics as they relate to counselling practice. These issues will be examined with reference to general ethical principles and their application to actual clinical situations, and in the context of professional ethical codes of conduct and the legal requirements of the state of Victoria. The counsellor’s obligations to the wider community will also be considered. The legal context as it pertains to counselling in Australia will be examined, and professional conduct within legal situations such as court appearances will be discussed. Students will examine what constitutes risky practice with reference to negligence, confidentiality, advertising, informed consent, record keeping, and privacy with reference to relevant Victorian legislation such as the Health Records Act 2001, as well as latest developments in the area of public liability under common law. Students will analyse guidelines on how to handle court appearances should they be summoned as a witness in their professional capacity. Other areas pertaining to clinical and professional functioning as a counsellor will also be covered and as part of their orientation to doing counselling work, students will undertake field visits to a variety of counselling agencies and mental health and community centres. Other areas of professional practice covered in the unit include: the significance and utilisation of supervision and professional development, membership of professional organizations, practice administration and management and financial administration, working with mental health practitioners, and general research and evaluation and assessment techniques and interventions in mental health.


Unit offerings

Online: (Every Year, Semester 2)

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.