PYN010 Collaborative Practice 1 - Solution Focused Therapy

Unit Outline: Flexible Period - 03A 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal (Start Date: 16 Feb 2026)

Overview

Collaborative Practice 1 - Solution focused therapy is intended to provide you with an initial overview of the discipline of counselling, before focusing on the social constructionist principles which promote a view of counselling as a collaborative conversational process that attempts to both validate the client's experience, while pursuing possibilities for desired change. Selected ideas and contemporary counselling practices, including Solution Focused Therapy, and the use of digital and telehealth platforms, will be integrated utilising a decolonising perspective for work with diverse populations and to enhance graduate employability. 

This is a designated unit which is essential to your course progression. Designated units include professional experience units, units requiring the development of particular skills, and units requiring demonstration of certain personal qualities. If you fail to achieve a satisfactory level of performance in a designated unit, you may be excluded from enrolment or will be put on academic probation. If you fail a designated unit twice within your course, you may be excluded. Supplementary assessment is not available on designated units.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Critically examine and articulate the major principles and practices of the contemporary 'Constructive' or 'Time-Effective' Therapies;
2. Employ key skills for Constructive and Time-effective therapies, such as constructive listening, negotiating complaints and requests, goal-setting sequences, exception sequences, etc. in your professional practice
3. Critically reflect on the ethical use of constructive and time effective therapies in specific work and training contexts, including the use of generative AI and digital technologies
4. Reflect upon and articulate an evolving practice framework and philosophy that demonstrate accountability and ethical practice.

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit uses an experiential learning framework to develop your understanding of the varying dimensions of the counselling process and the role of the counsellor in this context. 

PYN010 is offered as a learning intensive over a one-week period, in addition to a follow up one day demonstration practicum. During classes you will participate in exercises and activities designed to clarify and deepen you understanding of course content and to provide an opportunity for skill development. Additionally, students will also be provided self-guided opportunities to practice counselling skills using digital platforms outside of the learning intensive and in preparation for their assessment. 

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Formative feedback will be provided through supervisor and peer evaluation of the use of counselling skills and processes during the weeklong learning intensive and as part of the first assessment. Formative feedback will also be provided via the use of digital platforms as students prepare for assessment. 

Summative feedback will be provided via a Counselling skills demonstration critique and reflective written tasks. 

Assessment

Overview

The assessment items in this unit combine theory, practice and critical reflection. They require you to demonstrate practice skills and critically reflect on your performance, and also to critically apply your learning to the real-world context of your current practice or interest area.

Threshold assessment conditions

Due to the experiential nature of the unit, you must complete all pieces of assessment. Summative assessment items will be criterion-referenced on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Each of the summative assessment items must be satisfactorily completed to pass this unit and ALL criteria within each assessment must be deemed satisfactory.  Therefore, any students not reaching a satisfactory grade for any of the individual criteria will be asked to resubmit that particular criteria.  Only one resubmission will be afforded and If any criteria is not deemed satisfactory the student will receive an overall unsatisfactory grade.  In the context where assessed demonstrations are not deemed satisfactory, an alternative assessment will be provided, that includes the opportunity to re-demonstrate specific skills and engage with educators regarding a learning plan for further development of competencies. If the subsequent demonstration is also deemed unsatisfactory and/or the agreed program of skill development is not engaged with, the student will receive an overall unsatisfactory grade. 

The final result for this unit will not contribute to your overall course GPA.

Unit Grading Scheme

S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Counselling skills demonstration & reflection

Part 1 - Counselling skills demonstration 

During the one-day demonstration practicum you will facilitate a 35-minute role-play counselling session, drawing on the knowledge, skills and understandings you have developed throughout the PYN010 unit. 

The session will be conducted with volunteers connected to PY12 and will be supervised and assessed by professional counsellors.

At the conclusion of your counselling session, you will engage in a debrief and feedback process with your supervisor and peers to identify and reflect on your intentions and efforts to draw on the skills and knowledge gained from PYN010. 

The demonstration of student understandings, and capacity to reflect upon and apply counselling skills and theory taught in PYN010, is required to meet the assessment criteria.  

The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is prohibited during this assessment.

Part 2 - Reflection

Between the end of your one week intensive and the delivery of your counselling skills demonstration you will be required to complete a number of simulated counselling practice sessions utilising approved Generative AI platforms. 

A week following the demonstration element of the assessment, as evidence of preparation, you will be required to submit a sample feedback report generated by the platform, which may include elements such as session transcripts, skill ratings, or summary insights depending on the system used.

Additionally, you will also offer a 750-word reflection on the feedback provided by the platform and your experience using digital technologies as training tools, in addition to your impressions on the ethical use of telehealth platforms for the delivery of counselling. 

Work is graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. All criteria must be deemed SA and therefore any students not reaching a SA grade for any of the criteria will be asked to resubmit that particular criteria.  Only one resubmission will be afforded and if any criteria is not deemed satisfactory the student will receive an overall US grade.

The submission of the written reflection is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.

Threshold Assessment:

You are required to achieve a satisfactory result in all items of assessment to receive a S (satisfactory) result in the unit.

Assessment: Critical Reflection

Following your demonstration, you will complete a submit a 2500-word critical reflection that draws on your session experience in addition to client and supervisor feedback. You will be required to submit this written feedback along with this assessment

This reflection should:

- Summarise key principles of collaborative and solution-focused practice explored in the unit.

-Analyse how these principles were enacted during your session.

- Identify areas for development, drawing on supervisor feedback and including moments of challenge or difficulty. 

- Reflect on your personal learning, including insights about self, therapist positioning, and the counselling process.

- Evaluate the alignment of your work with the values and principles of solution-focused or collaborative approaches.

- Discuss the application of solution-focused or collaborative approaches in a specific work context, and how it might need to be modified to meet the needs of the organisation or client group.

- Offer forward-looking reflections on how you will use this learning to guide your continuing development as a practitioner.

- The reflection must demonstrate critical thinking, integration of theory and practice, and a commitment to ethical, relational, and reflective counselling.

Graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details page for specific guidelines.

Threshold Assessment:

You are required to achieve a satisfactory result in all items of assessment to receive a S (satisfactory) result in the unit. If you do not achieve a satisfactory result for an assessment task you may negotiate with the unit coordinator one resubmission of this work.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Connie, E., Froerer, A. (2023) The Solution Focused Brief Therapy Diamond. Hay house. 

Recommended text(s)

D’Arcy, J., & Holmes, A. (2020). Tools for hard conversations in the helping professions : practical tools from abstract theories . Glass House Books.

Ratner, H., George, E., & Iveson, C. (2012). Solution focused brief therapy : 100 key points and techniques . Routledge.

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.