Overview
In health and social care practice, the skills of counselling are in use every day and are generally viewed as essential activities for forming and sustaining effect client practitioner relationships. Repeatedly, it has been shown that there is a discrepancy between professionals’ perception of their interpersonal skills and the evidence which exists to support quality of practice.
The use of talking therapies as a strategy for helping and supporting individuals to manage lifestyle modifications and adapt to changes in health status has rapidly moved up the health agenda.
As new roles and service delivery challenges emerge counselling skills will have a very influential part to play in the development of good working relationships as well as enhanced therapeutic partnerships.
The skills needed for effective practitioner client relationships are not necessarily naturally occurring in all those who work in health and social care. Reynolds and Scott(2003) have identified that empathy is at the core of all care delivered, yet there is evidence that this key aspect of communication is present at low levels in occupational therapy students, medical staff, nurses, nurse educators and counsellors.
Empathy as well as other core counselling skills used effectively has the potential to make a difference. They can support service users and practitioners to manage and adapt to the stressors of daily living, health changes and challenges in the work environment.
A necessary element of health and social care delivery is to engage with users in the most effective and therapeutic manner. This suggests a need to develop mastery of the skills for communication that display sensitivity to issues of power imbalance, trust, empathy and personhood.
New Horizons (2009) states that mental health and wellbeing is everybody’s business indicating that all practitioners need to be skilled in using enhanced communication skills with genuine intention to make a difference.
Content and Modules
Level 5 (Undergraduate)
Pre-requisites: None
Excluded Combitions: This module cannot be studied again at a different level.
Within this module practitioners will have the opportunity to be explicit about the quality of their core counseling skills and support to enhance and develop new ways of relating to clients and patients. This anticipated transition will be rooted in counselling psychology.
Aims
This module aims to:
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Support the student to demonstrate developing self-awareness.
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Analyse a range of counseling theories.
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Facilitate understanding and acceptance of the need for moral and ethical principles in a therapeutic relationship.
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Support the development of core counseling skills.
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Demonstrate the use of core counseling skills in practice.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module the student will be able to:
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Review and develop knowledge skills and attitudes which will enhance self-awareness and the use of self in the counseling process.
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Analyse perceptions of the counselling process.
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Review a range of counselling theories and explain how each informs the therapeutic relationship.
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Develop knowledge of a range of strategies to support enhanced practitioner patient interactions.
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Demonstrate knowledge and application of moral and ethical consideration as required in therapeutic relationships.
Summative Assessment
Assignment (100% weighting)
A reflective account of your developing self awareness with particular reference to attentive listening skills, empathy and defence mechanisms. Word limit: 3000 words.
Level 6 (Undergraduate)
Pre-requisites: None
Excluded Combinations: This module cannot be studied again at a different academic level
This module offers the opportunity for students to develop a range of helping skills and strategies rooted in counselling psychology.
This module will place equal value on the needs of helpers and those receiving help. For helpers the process of developing self- awareness is seen as key to reflecting on and identifying ways to maintain own health to meet the challenges of an increasingly demanding health care environment.
Aims
This module aims to:
This module aims to:
This module aims to:
-
Support the student to demonstrate developing self-awareness.
-
Critically review a range of counselling theories.
-
Facilitate understanding and acceptance of the need for moral and ethical principles in a therapeutic relationship.
-
Support the development of core counselling skills.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module the student will be able to:
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Show developing self awareness through understanding and critical analysis of the use of self in the counselling relationship.
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Critically compare and contrast a range of counselling theories and explain how each informs the e-therapeutic relationship.
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Selection and application of core counselling skills in practice.
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Critically analyse specific approaches to support clients in the practice setting.
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Critically review contemporary evidence about helping skills.
Summative Assessment
Assignment (100% weighting)
Critically explore your process recordings to identify theoretical underpinning, application of skills in practice developing self-awareness as well as the effect of the working environment on the whole process. Word count: 4000 words.
Level 7 (Postgraduate)
Pre-requisites: None
Excluded Combinsations: This module cannot be studied again at a different academic level.
This module aims to facilitate students to examine own attitudes knowledge strategies and techniques used to enhance communication within a relationship.
The achievement of high level skills also requires practitioners to develop deeper understanding of self and how onlookers may perceive them.
This module will place equal value on the needs of helpers and those receiving help. For helpers the process of developing self- awareness is seen as key to reflecting on and identifying ways to maintain own health to meet the challenges of an increasingly demanding health care environment.
Aims
At the end of this module the student will be able to:
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Support students to develop deeper understanding of self.
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Consider the application of ethical and moral principles.
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Develop knowledge of a range of theoretical perspectives.
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Apply developing skills in practice.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module the students will be able to:
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Critically examine the current research evidence about forms of communication.
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Critically review a range of approaches to therapeutic communication.
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Justify the selection of selected theoretical perspectives.
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Reflect critically on use of counselling skills in practice.
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Review the use of self in the therapeutic relationship.
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Transfer knowledge of ethical and moral principles to the use of counselling skills.
Summative Assessment
Assignment (100% weighting)
Identify two service users who are presenting with health/wellbeing issues. Select approaches to supporting each person and justify the choices made from the perspectives of the service user, the helper and resource implications for the organisation.