Counselling Practice and Process Course 1 (P02379)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : HEA-P-CPPC1

This course provides an intensive practice-focused preparation to enable students to begin their counselling placements. The core work of the course is a series of practice development workshops in which students’ listening practice is audio- and video-recorded and they receive feedback from peers and tutors, as well as undertaking self-assessment. As students begin to negotiate their placements, the course focuses on students’ preparation for beginning counselling practice, addressing the issues which arise when embarking on a new venture and joining a new agency/team. The small group context creates a safe learning environment in which personalised guidance from both peers and tutors may be offered to the individual student and students establish a clear sense of their readiness to begin practice with clients. Tutors deliver inputs on practice issues as required, based on the group’s needs. This practice-focused course is integrated into the accompanying theory course for this semester: The Counselling Relationship: Theory, Practice and Process.

Course Rationale
This course is integral to counselling students beginning counselling practice.

Course Aim
The aim of this course is to prepare students for beginning their counselling placements.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Pre-requisites : Successful completion of the foundation year plus evidence of personal and professional suitability for Counselling through a specific application, individual interview and clearance by Disclosure Scotland.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Counselling Studies, (School of Health in Social Science, Schedule D)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) 15 minutes per week for 10 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 6 hour(s) per week for 2 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Wednesday	16:10	18:00	Central

? Additional Class Information : In addition, a 2 day intensive (6 hours per day) attendance is required. Details to follow.

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students should have
• a thorough understanding of personal and professional issues in beginning their counselling practice with clients
• a clear assessment of their strengths, learning and support needs in relation to beginning counselling practice and forming therapeutic relationships
• an ability to accept and integrate feedback, assessment and guidance regarding their counselling practice from tutors and peers
• the capacity to analyse their motivation to choose a particular counselling placement
• a heightened awareness of the processes involved in new beginnings: for themselves, for their clients and for the teams/agencies they are joining, with reference to issues of power, diversity and difference

Assessment Information

Professional portfolio 1: logs and reports equivalent to 4,000 words. A key component of this first portfolio is the student’s assessment of their readiness to practise and of their capacity to form therapeutic relationships with clients, incorporating tutors’ and peers’ contributions to this assessment. The portfolio also contains an analysis of the transcript of one of the student’s recorded listening practice sessions. A further report required is an outline of the placement context the student has chosen to pursue, including an analysis of their motivation to enter this particular placement.