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Unit of Study CMM00003 - Therapies in Mental Health Care (2015)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Enrolment information

    A bachelors degree in a relevant discipline and eligibility for registration as a health professional with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency or equivalent. It is strongly recommended that you are presently practicing as a health practitioner with a focus on mental health and that you have completed prior study exploring models of mental health

Unit description

Involves a critical analysis of the use of psychotherapy in mental health practice. Students will explore in depth, the assumptions, practices and outcomes associated with at least one school of psychotherapy and consider its application to a practice area. They will explore the notion of the therapeutic alliance, how problems are formulated and how therapeutic activity might be incorporated into routine practice.

Unit content

Students will be supported to develop a plan of study around a psychotherapy of interest. Readings will be provided which address:

  • Topic 1. A brief historical overview of psychotherapy, from ancient times to the present.
  • Topic 2. The scientific and ideological foundations on which psychiatry, psychology and psychotherapy are based.
  • Topic 3. Selected therapeutic approaches, including psychoanalytic, Adlerian, existential, person-centred, Gestalt, reality, behaviour, cognitive-behaviour, family systems and feminist therapies. Comments regarding their usefulness and efficacy are provided for each
  • Topic 4. An evaluation of the therapies in general, as well as a description of the context in which therapeutic care is delivered.
  • Topic 5. The therapies in action, and such issues as the therapeutic alliance, therapist-client relationships, characteristics of both therapist and client, the type of therapy appropriate for specific clients and preferred styles of therapy.

Availabilities

Not currently available in 2015

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 determine the ways in which social constructionism influences therapies, therapists and clients
2 critically analyse the literature supporting and/or opposing various therapies
3 determine the effectiveness and validity of various mental health therapies
4 explore in detail the theoretical foundations, techniques and value of one or more therapies of interest
5 identify the social, cultural, organisational, political and global factors that determine the perceived efficacy and value of therapeutic approaches
6 demonstrate a strong understanding of ethical issues that arise in therapeutic practice
7 utilise reflective practice principles to critically evaluate personal mental health/psychotherapeutic practice.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. determine the ways in which social constructionism influences therapies, therapists and clients
    • GA1:
    • GA3:
    • GA7:
  2. critically analyse the literature supporting and/or opposing various therapies
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  3. determine the effectiveness and validity of various mental health therapies
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  4. explore in detail the theoretical foundations, techniques and value of one or more therapies of interest
    • GA1:
    • GA5:
    • GA6:
  5. identify the social, cultural, organisational, political and global factors that determine the perceived efficacy and value of therapeutic approaches
    • GA4:
    • GA7:
  6. demonstrate a strong understanding of ethical issues that arise in therapeutic practice
    • GA3:
  7. utilise reflective practice principles to critically evaluate personal mental health/psychotherapeutic practice.
    • GA5:
    • GA6: