Course coordinator
Dr Kate Witteveen
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2025 (28/07/2025 - 22/11/2025)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Nursing, Midwifery & Social Wk
This course examines the theory underlying counselling children and young people and a range of therapeutic strategies and approaches for counsellors working with children and young people in various settings and confronting various issues. It considers the issue of evidence-based practice, and provides experience in the application of interventions and treatment based on formal diagnosis.
The purpose of this course is to develop student understanding of the issues andﾠcounselling approaches associated with working with the special populations of children and young people. As such, it considers areas including child development, issues that differentiate counselling children and young people from that of adults, childhoodﾠdisorders, child trauma and theories underlying working with children and adolescents and practical approaches to counselling this group. The course aims to enhance the ability of students to work with children and adolescents within individual, familial, community and systemic settings.
Course requirements
Assumed background
It is assumed that students who enter the course have a previous degree within social sciences,ﾠpsychology and/or other cognate areasﾠand/or have significant experience in the human services area. As such it is assumed that students have anﾠunderstanding of literature concerning human behaviour and anﾠability to communicate effectively with a variety of people. It is preferred if students have developed, or are developing,ﾠbasic counselling skills and knowledge such as those gained by having undertaken, or be undertaking, the basic counselling courses such as COUN7001ﾠInterpersonal Skills in Counselling 1 and COUN7002 Theories of Counselling or courses in other programs of a similar nature.
Restrictions
Restricted to students enrolled in MPsych or with permission of Director of Psychology program.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Kate Witteveen
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
The course aims to build the knowledge base and skills of students to work within a counselling relationship with children and young people. In doing so, it seeks to encourage students to think critically and creatively about the needs of children and young people.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Identify issues that are particularly relevant to understanding and counselling children and young people
LO2.
Identify the factors that affect the ability of children and young people to understand and deal with difficult issues in their lives
LO3.
Explore the various theories and models of the role of the counsellor and the variety of approaches to assessing and working with children and young people
LO4.
Engage in multidisciplinary and intersectoral co-operation within the care of children and young people
LO5.
Identify and use different approaches to counselling children and young people in various settings using a holistic approach to care
LO6.
Analyse, develop and utilize creative and innovative means of working with children and young people
LO7.
Discuss and consider critically the various theories of child development
LO8.
Critically review approaches to care of children to ensure evidence-based practice with children
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation, Product/ Design | Group Presentation | 40% |
25/08/2025 - 13/10/2025 |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Critical Review of an Intervention Used with Child | 40% |
24/10/2025 1:00 pm |
| Reflection | Personal Reflections | 20% |
25/08/2025 - 10/11/2025 |
Assessment details
Group Presentation
- Mode
- Oral, Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Presentation, Product/ Design
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
25/08/2025 - 13/10/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08
Task description
In groups of 4-6 students, develop and present a psychoeducational workshop for caregivers, educators, counsellors or psychologists working with children and/or adolescents.
Within that workshop, you will describe or demonstrate the use of a creative psychoeducational or therapeutic resource that is suitable for the relevant target population.
Submission guidelines
All groups:
· One student from each group should submit the presentation slides via the submission link in Blackboard.
If your creative resource is an electronic resource:
· The student submitting the slides should also submit the electronic resource via the submission link in Blackboard.
If your creative resource is a physical resource:
· This can be handed to the Course Coordinator on the day of your presentation.
All students:
Each student will be required to submit a completed “Individual Reflection and Declaration on the Preparation of this Task” to verify the contributions of each group member and acknowledge individual use of AI in the preparation of this task. This will be submitted via the submission link in Blackboard.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Applying for an extension
Extension requests are submitted via my.UQ. Extension requests received in any other way will not be approved.
Extension guidelines
- Extension requests should be submitted prior to the assessment deadline.
- Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date may not be approved. Late requests must include evidence of the reasons for the late request as per the guidelines in my.UQ.
- The extension granted should be in proportion to the period of illness or disruption caused by the exceptional circumstances and will typically be no more than the specified maximum extension length for each assessment.
- A maximum of three assessment requests can be submitted for each assessment, and the third request must include an Assessment Management Plan.
- Students who have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks in a semester are advised to carefully consider whether they are capable of successfully completing their courses and may need to consider applying for removal of course.
- Students who have a disability or a chronic medical condition (including a mental health condition) are encouraged to meet with a Disability Advisor within Student Services to request a Student Access Plan (SAP) with a clause on extension requests. Students who have an SAP can apply for a 7-day extension.
Outcome of application
Extension requests are generally processed within 2 working days. Students can see the outcome of their application by logging into my.UQ.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Critical Review of an Intervention Used with Child
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
24/10/2025 1:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L07, L08
Task description
Word count: 2500 words
Aim: The aim of this task is to demonstrate your ability to critically review and evaluate the appropriateness of a counselling intervention/approach for use with an identified target audience of children or young people, with reference to theoretical and empirical literature.
Task description:
For this task, you will:
1. choose a counselling intervention/approach that is used with a specific group of children and/or young people; and
2. undertake a critical review of the literature which evaluates its efficacy and effectiveness with the identified group of children and/or young people.
Please note – this task does not require you to conduct a meta-analysis or systematic review. You are not required to adhere to the PRISMA guidelines, and you do not need to provide a summary table which describes all of the studies you are discussing in your review.
Rather, you will engage with a body of literature which is known to provide some support for the effectiveness and/or efficacy of a counselling approach with a specified client population. You will critically review this body of literature for the purpose of evaluating the robustness of the evidence and any limitations and/or considerations practitioners should be aware of in order to utilise the approach effectively.
This task does not require you to have an advanced understanding of research methodology and design. When evaluating the robustness of the evidence base, you will consider basic methodology factors such as the number of studies that contribute to the evidence base, the number of participants included in those studies, the presence (or not) of control groups, the limitations of the studies (as identified by the studies’ authors), recommendations for appropriate implementation of the approach, as discussed by the studies’ authors.
Submission guidelines
The anti-plagiarism software, Turnitin, is being used at UQ. The electronic version of your assignment will be submitted via Blackboard, using the Turnitin software. Work submitted will be subjected to a plagiarism and AI detection process.
Please refer to ITS Help if you experience any difficulties in submitting your assessment in Blackboard or using Turnitin.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Applying for an extension
Applying for an extension
Extension requests are submitted via my.UQ. Extension requests received in any other way will not be approved.
Extension guidelines
- Extension requests should be submitted prior to the assessment deadline.
- Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date may not be approved. Late requests must include evidence of the reasons for the late request as per the guidelines in my.UQ.
- The extension granted should be in proportion to the period of illness or disruption caused by the exceptional circumstances and will typically be no more than the specified maximum extension length for each assessment.
- A maximum of three assessment requests can be submitted for each assessment, and the third request must include an Assessment Management Plan.
- Students who have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks in a semester are advised to carefully consider whether they are capable of successfully completing their courses and may need to consider applying for removal of course.
- Students who have a disability or a chronic medical condition (including a mental health condition) are encouraged to meet with a Disability Advisor within Student Services to request a Student Access Plan (SAP) with a clause on extension requests. Students who have an SAP can apply for a 7-day extension.
Outcome of application
Extension requests are generally processed within 2 working days. Students can see the outcome of their application by logging into my.UQ.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Personal Reflections
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Reflection
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
25/08/2025 - 10/11/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08
Task description
For this task, you will prepare four (4) individual reflections on topics/issues covered in this course. Each of these reflections should be between 250 and 300 words in length.
You may choose any topics that you wish. The only specification is that we must have covered the topics in some way in the course.
You may like to use real-world examples to illustrate your learning. If you choose to do this, please ensure the examples are de-identified to protect the privacy of those involved in the example.
As this task is intended to be reflective, there is no expectation that you will include empirical sources in this task. However, if you do make use of any sources, please ensure you cite them in accordance with APA formatting.
Submission guidelines
All courses require students to submit an electronic version of their assignment via Blackboard. Please check the companion website assessment area for specific instructions on this process. A link will be made available in the assessment area of your Blackboard course to allow you to submit your assignment electronically.
The anti-plagiarism software Turnitin is being used at UQ. The electronic version of your assignment will be submitted via Blackboard, using the Turnitin software.
Work submitted will be subjected to a plagiarism detection process.
Please refer to ITS help if you experience difficulties in submitting your assessment in Blackboard or using Turnitin.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Applying for an extension
Applying for an extension
Extension requests are submitted via my.UQ. Extension requests received in any other way will not be approved.
Extension guidelines
- Extension requests should be submitted prior to the assessment deadline.
- Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date may not be approved. Late requests must include evidence of the reasons for the late request as per the guidelines in my.UQ.
- The extension granted should be in proportion to the period of illness or disruption caused by the exceptional circumstances and will typically be no more than the specified maximum extension length for each assessment.
- A maximum of three assessment requests can be submitted for each assessment, and the third request must include an Assessment Management Plan.
- Students who have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks in a semester are advised to carefully consider whether they are capable of successfully completing their courses and may need to consider applying for removal of course.
- Students who have a disability or a chronic medical condition (including a mental health condition) are encouraged to meet with a Disability Advisor within Student Services to request a Student Access Plan (SAP) with a clause on extension requests. Students who have an SAP can apply for a 7-day extension.
Outcome of application
Extension requests are generally processed within 2 working days. Students can see the outcome of their application by logging into my.UQ.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 0%- 29.9% |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 30% - 46.9% |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: 47% - 49.9% |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 50% - 64.49% |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 64.5% - 74.49% |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 74.5% - 84.49% |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 84.5% and above |
Additional course grading information
Completion of all pieces of assessment set for this course is a mandatory requirement. Failure to submit all pieces of assessment will result in failure of the course overall.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Blackboard will be the primary communication portal for this course.
Blackboard Site.
All students enrolled in PSYC7806 ﾠhave access to a Blackboard site for this course. It can be accessed by going toﾠmain www.uq.edu.au website and locating MyUQ. and signing on. There you can locate Blackboard by clicking onto 'LearnUQ' .
On this Blackboard site you will be able to access learning resources for the courseﾠsuch as lecture notes, recommended readings, lecture recordings, andﾠthe Turnitin assignment submission portals.
Students will NOT be sent individual emails concerning this course, so please ensure you check this site regularly.ﾠ
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (28 Jul - 03 Aug) |
Workshop |
Workshop 1. Introduction to this course. Assessment overview. Phase 1. Theoretical foundations of working with children and young people including: developmental theories; attachment theory. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L07, L08 |
Week 2 (04 Aug - 10 Aug) |
Workshop |
Workshop 2. Phase 1. (contd): Theoretical foundations of working with children and young people including: developmental theories; attachment theory. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L07, L08 |
Week 3 (11 Aug - 17 Aug) |
Workshop |
Workshop 3. Phase 1. (contd): Theoretical foundations of working with children and young people including: developmental theories; attachment theory. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L07, L08 |
Week 4 (18 Aug - 24 Aug) |
Workshop |
Workshop 4. Phase 2. The process of working with children and young people, including informed consent, intake and case conceptualisation, working with caregivers. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Week 5 (25 Aug - 31 Aug) |
Workshop |
Workshop 5. Phase 2 (contd). The process of working with children and young people, including informed consent, intake and case conceptualisation, working with caregivers. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Week 6 (01 Sep - 07 Sep) |
Workshop |
Workshop 6. Phase 3. Understanding why children (or their caregivers) seek therapy, and considerations for special populations including neurodiversity, diagnoses given to children and young people, and common challenges for children and young people: social media use; bullying; peer pressure; school refusal; parental separation/divorce; grief and loss; friendship challenges; giftedness; and puberty. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L06, L08 |
Week 7 (08 Sep - 14 Sep) |
Workshop |
Workshop 7. Phase 3 (contd). Understanding why children (or their caregivers) seek therapy, and considerations for special populations including neurodiversity, diagnoses given to children and young people, and common challenges for children and young people: social media use; bullying; peer pressure; school refusal; parental separation/divorce; grief and loss; friendship challenges; giftedness; and puberty. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L06, L08 |
Week 8 (15 Sep - 21 Sep) |
Workshop |
Workshop 8. Phase 3 (contd). Understanding why children (or their caregivers) seek therapy, and considerations for special populations including neurodiversity, diagnoses given to children and young people, and common challenges for children and young people: social media use; bullying; peer pressure; school refusal; parental separation/divorce; grief and loss; friendship challenges; giftedness; and puberty. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L06, L08 |
Week 9 (22 Sep - 28 Sep) |
Workshop |
Workshop 9. Phase 3 (contd). Understanding why children (or their caregivers) seek therapy, and considerations for special populations including neurodiversity, diagnoses given to children and young people, and common challenges for children and young people: social media use; bullying; peer pressure; school refusal; parental separation/divorce; grief and loss; friendship challenges; giftedness; and puberty. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L06, L08 |
Week 10 (06 Oct - 12 Oct) |
Workshop |
Workshop 10. Phase 4. A selection of theories/approaches informing working with children and young people. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L06, L07, L08 |
Week 11 (13 Oct - 19 Oct) |
Workshop |
Workshop 11. Phase 4. (contd) A selection of theories/approaches informing working with children and young people. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L06, L07, L08 |
Week 12 (20 Oct - 26 Oct) |
Workshop |
Workshop 12. Phase 4. (contd) A selection of theories/approaches informing working with children and young people. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05, L06, L07, L08 |
Week 13 (27 Oct - 02 Nov) |
Workshop |
Workshop 13. Phase 4. (contd) A selection of theories/approaches informing working with children and young people and course review. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.