Course overview
Counselling with children and adolescents is a specialist area that requires a particular child-centred perspective and creative, flexible application of skills and knowledge. This course will introduce advanced skills and approaches for responding to young clients from a dynamic, emotion-focused, and person-centred perspective. Presented as a series of workshops, the course equips counsellors to apply appropriate micro-skills, to synthesise theoretical frameworks and evaluate techniques that may be suitable for an individual client. Reviews of recent research and the essentials of trauma-informed practice will be integrated into a highly experiential program.
Course learning outcomes
- Outline knowledge of the underlying theories and core concepts of key approaches to family and relationship counselling
- Critically appraise research studies related to the clinical application of various approaches to family and relationship counselling
- Demonstrate an understanding of family systems, structure, developmental stages and changes through class discussions and written assignments
- Analyse and apply a variety of techniques and approaches to family and relationship counselling; these may include systems, experiential, developmental, cognitive-behavioural, emotion-focussed, narrative and integrative models
- Demonstrate practical knowledge of common counselling issues that are presented by families and couples, through class discussions and written assignments
- Recognise issues of cultural and other diversity in the formation of families and relationships
- Appropriately apply intervention skills for working with families and couples to resolve relationship difficulties, through a written assignment
- Appraise resources to support continuous learning regarding family and relationship counselling.