Counselling and Interviewing Skills (SCWK90053)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

Availability
February
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This subject provides students with an introduction to the microskills of interpersonal communication for professional practice. It is an experiential subject designed to prepare students for entry into supervised agency-based practice. The subject focuses on the development of communication, basic interviewing and counselling, and critical self-reflection skills, for application in a variety of social work contexts. Cultural diversity is explored throughout. In addition to large group discussions and exercises, students engage weekly in role plays and class demonstrations to develop specific micro-skills - in particular, the skills of engaging, attending, listening, questioning, and responding.

Intended learning outcomes

Knowledge 
At the end of this subject, students should be able to: 

  • Articulate the central importance of the therapeutic relationship in terms contributing to positive client outcomes;
  • Describe how their self-knowledge and self-awareness can inform client interactions, including an identification of the factors that contribute to their positive use of self;
  • Identify and describe the role of microskills in interpersonal communication; specifically the skills of engaging, attending, listening, questioning and responding; and
  • Identify and explain the complexities of communication in a multicultural context.

Skills 
At the end of this subject, students should be able to: 

  • Demonstrate basic competency in the core communication skills for interviewing and counselling that underpin social work practice;
  • Demonstrate skills in negotiating the impact of different worldviews and values on establishing an effective therapeutic relationship; and
  • Critically self-reflect on themselves in interactions with others.

Application 
At the end of this subject, students should be able to: 

  • Critically apply reflexive use of self in the professional therapeutic relationship, based on self-awareness and constructive appraisal of their practice by self and others; and
  • Demonstrate respect for cultural difference in the critical application of their practice skills in working with individuals in diverse settings and practice environments.

Generic skills

Students who complete this subject should be able to:

  • critically analyse texts and practices
  • link theory to practice
  • competently communicate in ways relevant to both academic and practice contexts
  • undertake independent research

Last updated: 4 March 2025