Psychology Practice with Children and Adolescents
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
No requisites
30-May-2027
Unit learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Identify aspects of typical child development, and its relevance for assessing children and adolescents in a clinical psychology context.
- Analyse the role of early experiences and other systemic factors in shaping children’s development, behaviour, and clinical presentations.
- Identify and explain different diagnoses and differential diagnoses relevant to children and adolescents presenting for assessment and treatment in a clinical context.
- Develop a comprehensive case formulation and evidence-based treatment plan for children and adolescents. Treatment planning needs to give specific attention to the role of inter-professional learning and practice.
- Examine the importance of working as part of a multidisciplinary team when working clinically with children and adolescents, and consider the role that other professionals, organisations and systems can play planning treatment.
- Discuss case-relevant issues and critically evaluate how culture, environmental, biological, systemic, and individual factors, may shape the development, behaviour, and clinical presentation of children and adolescents presenting for assessment and treatment.
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| On Campus Class |
3.00 | 12 weeks | 36 |
| On Campus Workshop |
6.00 | 1 weeks | 6 |
| Unspecified Activities Independent Learning |
9.00 | 12 weeks | 108 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reflective Journal | Individual | 25% | 1,2,3,6 |
| Report | Individual | 35% | 1,2,6 |
| Case Report | Individual | 40% | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |
Content
Topics cover the broad areas of:
- 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 5 (Digital Literacies 1 - Information literacy)
- 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.