Graduate Diploma of Counselling

Students will examine how different types of relationships both personal and professional can be enhanced through more effective communication. This subject concludes with a discussion of power in interpersonal relationships, and how and when confidentially and the therapeutic responsibility to exercise ‘duty of care’ might conflict

Students will demonstrate micro-skills, attending and communication process skills, verbal and non-verbal communication, nuanced listening and reflecting skills, and the use and abuse of questions.

Students are introduced to a selection of counselling theories, including:

• Person‐centred Therapy

• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy and Solution Focused techniques

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Narrative Therapy and Mindfulness based practice

Students will participate in different experiential learning scenarios to develop their understanding of various counselling interventions This subject also establishes a firm foundation for the concepts and techniques developed in later subjects.

The subject provides an opportunity for students to explore how theories of attachment, cognitive and social development explain human development across the lifespan with particular reference to the effects of trauma. The influences of biology, gender, culture, ethnicity and socio‐political contexts in these development periods will also be investigated.

Students will be required to critically self-reflect applying theories and practice skills to personal lived experience and history and use this knowledge to develop a cohesive self-care plan suitable to future industry practice.

This subject examines the ways in which technology influences thinking and behaviour introducing phenomena such as disinhibition, net-worked relationships, multiple, contingent and mobile identities, dissociative imagination and behaviours, and the desire for liminal experience. Through a critical analysis of the impact of technology this subject assists students to utilise traditional face-to-face counselling theories and methods in digital environments, including apps, SMS, videoconferencing, and virtual reality as it applies to counselling.

This subject provides students with the tools to create, and manage, a digitally competent ethical and professionally appropriate interpersonal online presence and strategies for managing client privacy and security. Current and future trends in social media and information communication technology and their impact on practice will also be considered.

Students are introduced to a selection of counselling theories, including:

• Person‐centred Therapy

• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

• Solution Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy and Mindfulness based practice

Students will participate in different experiential learning scenarios to develop their understanding of various counselling interventions This subject also establishes a firm foundation for the concepts and techniques developed in later subjects.