Theories of Counselling
Overview
This unit provides a theoretical introduction to counselling psychology. In the profession of counselling, theory, process and research are intertwined. The unit content, readings and online activities will give students the opportunity to develop their knowledge of the application of counselling theory to the therapeutic process. Major therapeutic approaches will be covered including psychoanalytic, existential, person-centred, behavioural, cognitive, family and solution focused therapy, as well as coverage of the research and ethical issues involved in counselling.
Requisites
STA10003 Foundations of Statistics
PSY10003 Psychology 100
PSY10007 Brain and Behaviour
PSY10004 Psychology 101
PSY10008 Fundamentals of Psychology
Rules
- One of:
- PSY10005 Introduction to Research Methods, or
- STA10003 Foundations of Statistics
AND
- One of:
- PSY10003 Psychology 100, or
- PSY10007 Brain and Behaviour
AND
- One of:
- PSY10004 Psychology 101, or
- PSY10008 Fundamentals of Psychology
PSS270(C) - Introduction to theories of Counselling
08-February-2026
31-May-2026
04-October-2026
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Appraise a range of different theoretical counselling approaches
- Compare and contrast the different approaches and their application to counselling
- Explain how research and ethical issues inform both theory and practice in counselling
- Reflect on and write critically about how research, process and theory are intertwined
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Activity Type | Activity | Total Hours | Number of Weeks | Hours Per Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online | Lecture | 12 | 12 weeks | 1 |
| On-campus | Class | 24 | 12 weeks | 2 |
| Specified Activities | Various | 60 | 12 weeks | 5 |
| Unspecified Activities | Various | 54 | 12 weeks | 4.5 |
| Total Hours: | 150 | Total Hours (per week): | 12.5 | |
All Applicable Locations
| Activity Type | Activity | Total Hours | Number of Weeks | Hours Per Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online | Class | 13 | 13 week | 1 |
| Online | Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning | 137 | 12 weeks | 11.42 |
| Total Hours: | 150 | Total Hours (per week): | 12.42 | |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Individual | 20% | 2,3 |
| Essay | Individual | 40% | 1,3,4 |
| Reflective Journal | Individual | 40% | 1,2,4 |
Content
- Major therapeutic approaches to counselling
- Psychoanalytic
- Existential
- Person-centred
- Behavioural
- Cognitive behaviour
- Family
- Solution-focused
- Ethical and research issues
- Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Communicating using different media
- Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Information literacy
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.