Overview

The unit is designed to introduce students to a range of disorders seen in infancy, childhood and adolescence and the key principles relevant to conducting psychological assessments and treatments with children/adolescents and their families. Special attention is given to the assessment and intervention methods for young offenders. Students will be introduced to the Children's Court and Family Court of Australia. Students will become familiar with areas such as the determination of guardianship, custody and access, psychological consequences of divorce, family violence, custody evaluations and access determination, and should have an understanding of the role and skills of mediation in family disputes. With respect to Children's Court matters, they will become familiar with protective issues and criminal matters.

Requisites

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a substantial body of knowledge of theoretical models of forensic psychology as applied to children and families
  • Comprehend and synthesise expert theoretical knowledge concerning the role of the psychologist in forensic settings where children and families are present
  • Critically evaluate and apply methods of assessing and treating children and families in forensic contexts
  • Explain and critique theoretical positions to other professionals and services within the forensic context

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On Campus
Lecture		 3.00  12 weeks  36
Unspecified Activities 
Independent Learning		 9.00 12 weeks  108
On Campus
Workshop		 6.00  1 weeks  6
TOTAL     150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Case Report Individual/Group 40%  1,2,6 
Case Report Individual  60%  1,2,3,4,5,6 

Content

  • Clinical presentations seen in children and adolescents.
  • Assessment framework, clinical case formulation, diagnostic decision making, and treatment planning.
  • Principles of inter-professional practice and their application
  • Working with children and adolescents from a cultural lens
  • Typical child development; the importance of taking a developmental perspective when working with children, adolescents, and their families.
  • Theoretical frameworks, including a psychodynamic framework for understanding child development and behaviour.
  • Graduate Attribute 1 (Communication 1 - Verbal Communication)
  • Graduate Attribute 2 (Communication 2 - Communicating using different media)
  • Graduate Attribute 3 (Teamwork 1 - Collaboration and negotiation)
  • Graduate Attribute 4 (Teamwork 2 - Teamwork roles and processes)
  • Graduate Attribute 6 (Digital Literacies 2 - Technical literacy)

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.