Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 102371

Coordinator Amanda Webb Opens in new window

Description This subject critically examines the nature of mental illness and mental wellbeing. Historical and contemporary approaches to mental health and recovery will be reviewed. Diverse explanations for the origins of profound symptoms will also be explored. Mental health assessment tools commonly encountered by counsellors and psychotherapists are presented and their practical applications examined. Through case studies and autobiographical accounts, the voices of those with lived experience of major mental health issues will inform student learning in this subject. This subject invites students to critically evaluate mental health services from a range of perspectives and consider the role of counselling and psychotherapy alongside multiple pathways to recovery. Students will critically evaluate this knowledge and apply it in their development of skills in various psychotherapeutic methods to assist recovery and mental wellness.

School Social Sciences

Discipline Counselling

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 4 10cp

Level Postgraduate Coursework Level 7 subject

Pre-requisite(s) WELF 7009 AND
WELF 7013

Co-requisite(s) WELF 7010

Restrictions

Students must be enrolled in 1817 Master of Psychotherapy and Counselling.

Assumed Knowledge

Concurrent or previous study of any foundational subject in counselling.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Evaluate the historical context of mental health and recovery, and how that informs current approaches to mental illness;
2. Show advanced working knowledge of the major categories of psychological and emotional affliction;
3. Compare multiple explanations for profound symptoms described as mental illness;
4. Demonstrate knowledge and critical appraisal of current diagnostic and assessment methods/tools;
5. Demonstrate a knowledge of available mental health treatment services as an adjunct to counselling and psychotherapy;
6. Effectively practice skills in various psychotherapeutic methods to assist recovery and mental wellness.

Subject Content

1.Consideration of approaches to mental health over time, including historical notions of 'madness', the birth of the asylum and the development of modern psychiatry, and the implications of these for current approaches to working with and recovery from mental illness
2.Identification of the major categories of psychological and emotional affliction and understanding of the lived experience of mental illness
3.Examine the diverse explanations of profound symptoms, including the notion that symptomatology may originate childhood or adolescence
4.Examination of mental health diagnostic and assessment tools and how these may be applied in practice
5.Development of a working knowledge of mental health services in the community and how these intersect or complement the role of counsellors and psychotherapists
6.Understanding of the application of various therapies in the context of a trauma model approach or diagnostic approach to mental health