Overview

PPC4003 Counselling Skills introduces you to the skills needed to work with clients as a therapeutic counsellor. This module aims to enhance your understanding of effective communication skills, especially active listening skills. You will be introduced to a range of key skills for working with others in your lectures and you will apply the knowledge gained from these lectures in your practical skills classes. Within these classes, you will work in small groups to run mock-counselling sessions: one speaker will share their thoughts in the role of client, one listener will demonstrate skills in the role of counsellor, and remaining observers will provide feedback on skills. This important activity gives you a valuable opportunity to practice your counselling skills before working with real clients, and the development of these skills is an essential part of your development as a counsellor. You will be assessed on this module through a reflective journal and an annotated transcript of a recorded counselling session.

PPC4003 Counselling Skills will provide you with an opportunity to develop your counselling skills for in-person therapy and remote therapy. At the most fundamental level, counselling is about using your therapeutic skills to help your client find their own path on their journey through life. This means being a real person who is present, genuine, and honest with your client. It means forming and developing a relationship with your client, which is warm, engaging, and inspiring while still being professional, work-focused, and boundaried. Most importantly, it means being able to give your client a safe yet challenging space in which they can explore their issues. This module will provide training on the key skills involved in counselling and give you an opportunity to try out these skills in a safe practice environment. You will learn about the keys to effective communication and begin to integrate these skills to work with the client in the room. You will then learn how to modify these skills to work with clients online or on the telephone. For both in-person and remote therapy, you will reflect on your own skill development against a list of counselling competencies and in a reflective journal. Alongside lectures to help you understand these key topics, you will also apply your knowledge in practice through practical skills sessions culminating in a final assessed session with an assigned client.

Topics covered in this module include:

•Group Roles (Managing Roles) •Conflict (Managing Conflict) •Performance Anxiety (Managing Anxiety) •Reflective Writing Skills (Counselling Skills Sessions) •In-Person Therapy: Communication Keys (Opening and Closing Therapy Sessions) •In-Person Therapy: Other Focus and Attendance Indicators (Evidencing Attention in Therapy) •In-Person Therapy: Confirming Understanding and Considered Questions (Questions in Therapy) •In-Person Therapy: Sensitive Challenges and Selective Self-Disclosure (Self as the Therapist) •In-Person Therapy: Non-Judgmental Approach and Maintaining Boundaries (Boundary Breaches in Therapy) •In-Person Therapy: Signposting and Informing and Modelling (Beginnings and Endings in Therapeutic Relationships) •Remote Therapy: Introduction, Risks, Contracts, Confidentiality, Culture, Boundaries, Communication Skills, Support, and Self-Care

Please note that these topics are subject to change dependent on staff availability and the assessed needs of the students

Assessment Strategy

The assessment criteria for this module are as follows:

Excellent (A*, A+, A, A-) •Honest and insightful reflection resulting in positive development of counselling skills (safe practice) •Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of counselling skills •Detailed understanding with no factual errors •Critical analysis showing evaluation and synthesis of ideas •Novel and innovative originality in approach, interpretation, and voice •Extensive and comprehensive independent research •Logically defended arguments with evidence for all claims •Highly focused and well structured •Excellent presentation with accurate and appropriate expression •Correct format in appropriate referencing style

Good (B+, B, B-) •Honest and considered reflection resulting in positive development of counselling skills (safe practice) •Strong knowledge of counselling skills •Clear understanding and mostly free of factual errors •Some analysis showing critical evaluation and links between ideas •Novel originality in approach, interpretation, and voice •Considerable independent research from appropriate sources •Coherent arguments with evidence for most claims •Focused and well structured •Clear presentation with accurate and appropriate expression •Mostly correct format in appropriate referencing style

Threshold (C+, C, C-) •Honest reflection resulting in some positive development of counselling skills (safe practice) •Some knowledge of counselling skills •Understanding of the main concepts with no major factual errors •Basic analysis showing obvious points of evaluation and links between ideas •Some originality in approach, interpretation, and/or voice for part of the work •Some independent research from appropriate sources •Arguments presented with evidence for the most important claims •Readable structure showing focus at times •Acceptable presentation with appropriate expression •Attempt at correct format in appropriate referencing style with no major errors

If you do not meet the threshold, then your work will be graded as a Fail. Fail grades vary from Poor (D+, D, D-, E+, E, E-) to Very Poor (F).

Learning Outcomes

• Analyse own counselling skills with honest critique and insight into the generation of reflective professional development action plans

• Metacognitively reflect on own role and manage interactions one-to-one and in a group

• Synthesise and apply interpersonal and communication skills in an in-person and remote counselling setting