Course Title: Counselling and Virtual Care

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Counselling and Virtual Care

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

BESC1571

City Campus

Undergraduate

173H School of Health and Biomed

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2024

BESC1572

RMIT University Vietnam

Undergraduate

173H School of Health and Biomed

Face-to-Face

 Viet1 2024,
Viet3 2024

Course Coordinator: Daniel Zarate

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925

Course Coordinator Email: daniel.zarate@rmit.edu.au


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

In this course, you will focus on the practice of counselling. There are three main sections to this course: (a) developing basic counselling skills, (b) understanding the major concepts and practices of contemporary counselling, and (c) discussing ethical action in the counselling profession. The course will also reflect on evidence-based counselling practices, including in the online domain, and explore cross-cultural issues and the importance of intercultural diversity and indigenous contributions in approaches to counselling.  


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Program Learning Outcomes
This course contributes to the following Program Learning Outcomes for BP154 Bachelor of Psychology:  

PLO 2 Apply evidence-based knowledge to safe and effective practice in a variety of contexts, independently ad collaboratively, with emerging technological advancements. 

PLO 4. Communicate to diverse audiences utilising contemporary and traditional formats employing professional integrity, inclusivity, and culturally safe practices. 


Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  1. Explain the organisation and regulation of psychology as a discipline in Australia, specifically ethical practice and respect of Indigenous values.  
  2. Discuss the practice of psychology across a range of cultural contexts and settings including online.  
  3. Reflect on a range of therapeutic techniques to establish and maintain effective communication with clients and co-workers.  
  4. Apply culturally appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication approaches in communicating with clients and co-workers.  
  5. Reflect on the use of evidence-based counselling approaches. 
       


Overview of Learning Activities

This course uses structured learning activities to guide your learning process and prepare you for your assessments. The activities are a combination of individual, peer-supported and facilitator-guided activities, and where possible project-led, with opportunities for feedback throughout.    

Social learning is an important component and you are expected to participate in class and group activities, share drafts of work and resources and give and receive peer feedback. You will be expected to work efficiently and effectively with others to achieve outcomes greater than those that you might have achieved alone.    

Reflective practice is another important component, as it is essential for an appropriate professional development and effective client care. You will be expected to continuously analyse an evaluate your work to improve your skills and understanding. This will be positioned in the context of the practice of counselling skills and ethical considerations. 

The learning activities will enable you to understand the course learning resources and apply that learning to improve your own practice, for example by producing real-world artefacts and engaging in scenarios and case studies.  


Overview of Learning Resources

Each learning activity contains the core resources such as videos, podcasts, readings, templates, articles, industry tools and/or communities that you will need to complete that activity, or links to those resources.   

Additional learning resources designed into the course will be implemented during the course to support the learning process. These will be made available as required during the teaching period.   

  In your class environment, besides your learning activities you will also find   

  • All assessment information (assessment briefs) 
  • A course information page with a study schedule  
  • Various communication tools to facilitate collaboration with your peers and facilitators, and to share information   

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through myRMIT Studies Course.

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.


Overview of Assessment

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task 1: Counselling simulation of 1-1 practice  
Weighting 40% 
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2 & 4  

Assessment Task 2: Case review of ethical practice 
Weighting 40%  
This assessment task supports CLO 5  

Assessment Task 3: Online quiz on Counselling approaches  
Weighting 20% 
This assessment task supports CLOs 2 & 3 

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.