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Core Skills in Psychological Practice (PSYC90125)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable (login required)(opens in new window)
Contact information
Year Long
Principal Coordinator: Dr Chaille Breuer
breuer.c@unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability | Year Long |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
This subject considers a range of fundamental skills and issues pertinent to practising psychologists. Topics include counselling and interviewing techniques, history taking and diagnosis, conducting a mental state examination, developing a client formulation, as well as the importance of self-care. The subject will include opportunities for students to practise newly acquired skills through role-plays and simulated client interactions during the teaching sessions which are primarily full-day workshops.
Students will also complete the Ways of Knowing program. This interprofessional curriculum activity brings together students from a range of disciplines to engage with multiple knowledges and ways of knowing. This will be achieved through completion of four nested activities where students will have the opportunity to learn from, with and about students from other disciplines exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing, cultural safety and collaborative practice. The learning activities will require students to critically reflect upon their own knowledges of health, biases and assumptions and aims to develop essential behaviours, values and attitudes required for collaborative and cultural safety practice.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
Knowledge
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate basic counselling and interviewing techniques and understand their application in professional psychological practice;
- Demonstrate an understanding of the philosophical basis of, and techniques used in the diagnosis of psychopathology and personality disorder;
- Describe the processes and skills required to conduct a mental state examination;
- Demonstrate an appreciation of the importance of self care as a psychologist;
- Develop an understanding of 'collaborative practice' in interprofessional contexts
- Demonstrate an appreciation of the significance of cultural safety to patient outcomes;
- Identify relevant cultural and social determinants of Indigenous health
- Describe the importance of reflective practice and cultural and professional humility for quality and safe healthcare delivery
Skills
On completion of this subject, students should demonstrate competency in:
- Basic interviewing and counselling skills, particularly with respect to history taking and diagnosis of mental health difficulties;
- Conducting a mental state examination;
- Identifying their own self-care needs and strategies to address these.
Application of skills and knowledge
On completion of this subject, students should demonstrate competency in:
- Integrating patient history and mental state examination with information derived from multiple sources (including informants and standardised assessment) to determine a diagnosis of mental disorder.
- Ontological and epistemological ''knowing'' in healthcare and apply that in a clinical interprofessional context.
Generic skills
- Critical thinking and analysis
- Interpersonal communication skills
- Problem solving
- Finding, evaluating and using relevant information
- Teamwork and working with others
Last updated: 7 February 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Prerequisites
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
PSYC90031 | Adult Psychopathology | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
PSYC90011 | Introduction to Assessment and Diagnosis | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
OR
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
PSYC90031 | Adult Psychopathology | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 7 February 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Written reflection on cultural walk component of Ways of Knowing program
| Mid-teaching period | 5% |
Written reflection on interprofessional learning and culturally safe practices following the interdisciplinary panel discussion component of Ways of Knowing program
| Mid-teaching period | 25% |
Written report - self-reflection on self-care needs
| Mid teaching period | 10% |
Oral presentation - demonstration of basic interview techniques, including Mental State Examination
| During the assessment period | 30% |
Written report - diagnostic work up of case study
| During the assessment period | 30% |
Last updated: 7 February 2024
Dates & times
- Year Long
Principal coordinator Chaille Breuer Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 26 February 2024 to 20 October 2024 Last self-enrol date 8 March 2024 Census date 31 May 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 20 September 2024 Assessment period ends 10 November 2024 Year Long contact information
Principal Coordinator: Dr Chaille Breuer
breuer.c@unimelb.edu.au
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 7 February 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
There are no specifically prescribed or recommended texts for this subject.
Last updated: 7 February 2024