Pre-requisites

CN6500 AND CN6600.

Co-requisites

None.

Learning Outcomes

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

• Relate understanding of own worldview, values and knowledge and how these affect the selection and use of theories and approaches in counselling

• Evaluate key philosophical assumptions of important counselling theories in light of Christian thought

• Select counselling theories to construct an emerging personal philosophy of practice

• Apply theories of counselling practice to client assessment and care in an individualised way

Unit Description

As a capstone unit, Personal Philosophy of Counselling Practice provides students with an opportunity to consolidate their learning with a birds-eye view of both the historical and contemporary landscape of therapeutic theory and practice, and supports the development of an integrated and personalised approach to counselling. Students will compare, contrast and evaluate key schools of thought in the therapeutic profession, including psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, humanistic, systemic, constructionist and neurological. This will be considered in light of Christian theologies of healing, pathology and wellness. Students will also be invited to explore and evaluate their own values, and the “folk healing” practices that have been passed down to them in their own context, in order to effectively integrate these with a chosen theory or theories.

The unit builds on learnings from earlier units like Counselling for Common Issues, Person-centred Therapies: Theory and Practice and Directive Therapies: Theory and Practice by further exploring how different theories of psychotherapy and counselling approach important matters like human development, psychopathology and diagnosis, neurodiversity, working across cultures and assessment more broadly.

By the unit’s end students will be well on their way towards developing their own integrated philosophy of counselling practice. A theory comparison essay, creative auto-biography project and a counselling theories portfolio all help to scaffold this process.

Topics

1. A brief history of psychotherapy and counselling
2. The medical model in therapy - Psychodynamic, Behavioural and neurological therapies
3. The humanist perspective in therapy - Rogerian, Existential and Gestalt therapies and the impact of Positive Psychology
4. Systems theory in therapy - Family Systems therapy, Structural therapy, Internal Family Systems and group process theory
5. Structuralism in therapy - Narrative and collaborative therapy
6. The Pragmatists - Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Strategic Therapy and Motivational Interviewing
7. The use of personal resources, folk healing practices and traditional wisdom in therapy
8. Biblical models of pathology and healing
9. Human development - comparing approaches
10. Psychopathology and diagnosis - comparing approaches
11. Sexual and neuro-diversity - comparing approaches
12. Working across cultures - comparing approaches
13. Assessment and evaluation - comparing approaches
14. What are therapeutic models for?
15. Staying oriented - principles for selecting approaches and interventions

Assessment and Indicative Load

Assessment types include Creative Piece, Major Essay, Portfolio, and Attendance. Indicative study load is 150 hours.

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Unit offerings

Face to face: (Demand based)

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.