Unit information: Parental and Family Counselling in 2010/11

Unit name	Parental and Family Counselling
Unit code	EDUCM5103
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Dr. Chromy
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Education
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will enable students to offer support to families and parents of children in the school environment by introducing them to the major theoretical approaches of family and systemic therapy. It will help students to think systemically about the children with whom they work, in terms of their psychological, emotional, social and behavioural functioning in the learning environment. Students will be encouraged to consider their own family of origin, as a process of self-understanding and will consider the impact of this experience on their work with families. They will have the opportunity to learn and practise counselling skills that are appropriate to working in a facilitative way with parents and families. Particular attention will be paid to brief counselling interventions, including solution-focused therapies.

Aims:

• To facilitate a theoretical understanding of family counselling practice and the major approaches to family therapy; understand how these emerged historically; detect major theoretical and practice differences; and be critically analytical as to the fit between knowledge and practice.

• To develop basic skills useful in the process of engaging in helpful counselling conversations with parents and families, including the use brief interventions appropriate to working with families and parents.

• To facilitate an understanding of students’ own family-of-origin life experiences.

• To facilitate an understanding and ability to apply the concepts of diversity including cultural, ethnic, minority, gender, racial and sexual preference, to family counselling.

• To become familiar with a variety of family assessment tools such as the family life chronology, the genogram, and informal and formal measures of parent-child and family relationships, problems and strengths.

• To facilitate an understanding of the professional ethics and value issues that are particularly germane to family counselling.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

Articulate their understanding of the major theories of family therapy, including key concepts, theorists, approaches, and techniques.

Develop an ability to view themselves and the children with whom they work, in terms of a broader systemic family context.

Become familiar with a number of methods of assessment used in family therapy.

Develop and demonstrate counselling skills that facilitate helpful counselling conversations with parents and families.

Discuss and appreciate the concepts of diversity including cultural, ethnic, minority, gender, racial and sexual preference, perspectives in family counselling.

Articulate their understanding of the ethics and values issues associated with working with parents and families.

Teaching Information

A variety of approaches to learning and teaching will be used including: tutor input, small group discussion, experiential work, case studies, student led seminars and presentations and the use of audiovisual materials

The needs of a wide range of students, including those with disabilities, international students and those from ethnic minority backgrounds have been considered. It is not anticipated that the teaching and assessment methods used will cause disadvantage to any person taking the unit. The Graduate School of Education is happy to address individual support requests as necessary.

Assessment Information

Summative assessment will be on the basis of the following assignments: a colour-coded genogram of students’ family of origin or a hypothetical family and a 2,500 word written case study to test students’ understanding of relevant theoretical concepts, assessment, ethics, diversity, and a rationale for their chosen approach to working with a family. Students will also produce a short video demonstrating brief intervention counselling skills appropriate to work with families. This evidence of their developing practitioner skills will be accompanied by a 1,000 word critical commentary that will demonstrate understanding of skills and the appropriateness of interventions and will be conceptualised within a brief interventions’ model.

Reading and References

Casado, M., Young, M. E., & Rasmus, S. D. (2002). Exercises in family therapy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Merrill Prentice Hall.

Dallos, R, & Draper, R. (2005) An introduction to family therapy: systemic theory & practice (5th Ed). Buckingham, Open University Press

Goldenberg, I. (6th ed.) (2003) Family therapy: An overview, Pacific Grove, Ca., Brooks/Cole

Nichols, M. P., & Schwartz, R. C. (6th ed.) (2003). Family therapy: Concepts and methods, Boston, Allyn and Bacon.

Street, E., & Downey, J. (1996) Brief therapeutic consultations: An approach to systemic counselling. Chichester, John Wiley.

Worden, M. (3rd ed.) (2003) Family therapy basics. Pacific Grove, Ca., Brooks/Cole.