PYN013 Collaborative Practice 3 - Advanced skills

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

Overview

This unit enables you to develop your practice through the utilisation of advanced counselling skills preparing you for working with clients in your Counselling, family therapy and industry practicum. Building on your current learning you will be introduced to a variety of advanced approaches enabling you to work collaboratively with diverse populations; such and those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and client presentations, including those experiencing domestic and family violence, suicidality and self-harm. You will also learn concepts and processes that further draw on multiple perspectives from interdisciplinary and inter professional perspectives through the use of reflecting teams.

This unit will not only prepare you for the clinic experience but for your real-world practice and for employability upon graduation.   

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Examine and reflect on how constructionist and collaborative counselling approaches can be applied to specific populations, including LGBTQI+ and First Nations communities.
2. Critically examine advanced applications of Solution Focused and Narrative Therapy approaches, to trauma, risk assessment and safety planning
3. Critically apply statutory, organisational, professional and ethical frameworks to issues in contemporary counselling practice.
4. Synthesise counselling knowledge and advanced practitioner skills with your evolving counselling framework.

Content

Learning Approaches

PYN013 is an intensive unit consisting of a 5-day intensive & 1 day Demonstration day two weeks following the intensive. Classes will be a combination of presentation of theory, whole class discussion, role plays and skills practice.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will receive continual formative feedback via class discussion in small group activities and structured exercises. Summative feedback will occur through three formal assessment items. 1. 

Assessment

Overview

There are three assessment items in this unit. The first is an in person invigilated exam consisting of both short answer and multiple-choice questions. This occurs on the last day of your teaching intensive and includes content related to set pre-intensive readings and concepts covered in the intensive week.  The second is a recorded session of a counselling session using a reflecting team followed by a written critique of the processes and skills demonstrated throughout the session. You will be required to also participate in a 5-minute viva voce interview to verify learning.  The third is a reflective essay outlining the ways in which you will incorporate decolonising practices into your evolving counselling framework, Learning will be verified by tutor assessment of in class participation and understanding of relevant concepts. 

You will be required to submit your essay through content-matching software. This assignment will be marked online, and your feedback will be supplied via Canvas. 

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Exam

During your teaching intensive, you will complete an in person invigilated exam relating to advanced counselling practice and skills drawn from social constructionist and collaborative counselling practice.  The exam consists of both short answer and multiple-choice questions drawn from the material covered throughout the teaching intensive, in addition to set pre-intensive readings which can be brought into the exam environment. 

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

Assessment: Demonstration & Critique

Part 1

Two weeks following your teaching intensive, during the demonstration day, with a small group you will record and submit a 50-minute role play counselling session that includes a reflecting team response. This roleplay session will require a demonstration of advanced Collaborative, Narrative and/or Solution focused counselling and reflecting team skills that include a risk assessment and safety planning process. 

Part 2 

Following this each individual team member will submit a 2000-word critique on their group video examining and evaluating the advanced skills utilised by the counsellor and the reflecting team. More specifically drawing on relevant literature, you will critique and evaluate: 

1. At least 3 Collaborative, Solution focused and/or narrative skill sequences and their impact on the conversation.   

2. The process by which relevant risk was assessed, safety planning conducted and alternative options available to the counsellor. 

3 Key learnings regarding risk assessment and safety planning in counselling practice and how your own positioning, personal and professional experiences, biases may act as constraints or supports to this process. 

Part 3

Following the submission of your critique you will also be required to participate in a 5-minute viva voce interview with your marker for verification of learning and reflection on how Risk assessment and safety planning will be integrated into your personal practice framework. 

This is an assessment eligible for the 48hr late submission period and 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.

Assessment: Reflective Essay

You will write and submit a paper following the lecture/workshop on either Counselling discourses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations or Counselling discourses for disability or Counselling discourses for sexuality and Gender.

Your paper will reflect specific learnings elicited as a result of your participation in this lecture/workshop and articulate relevance to your emerging practice framework.

More specifically, you will demonstrate an understanding of how your own social location and identity descriptions influence your work with diverse and marginalized populations including how your counselling practice can act as a medium for social change.

Learning will be verified by tutor assessment of in class participation and in person demonstrated understanding of relevant concepts. 

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 in Canvas for specific guidelines.

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

Recommended text(s)

Duncan, B.L., Miller, S. D., Wampold B.E., & Hubble, M.A. (Eds.). (2010). The Heart and Soul of Change (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Risk Assessment Statement

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

Course Learning Outcomes

PY12 Master of Counselling

1. Critique and employ coherent therapeutic, practical and contextually relevant counselling knowledge, skills and values that embody a collaborative professional discourse that honours multiple perspectives across culturally diverse lifespans.
   Relates to: Exam, Demonstration & Critique
2. Critically evaluate and apply intentional practice processes, engaging advanced critical thinking and decision-making skills, underpinned by ethical and professional values and critical reflexivity to ensure culturally safe collaborative counselling.
   Relates to: Exam, Demonstration & Critique
3. Promote and practice effective written, oral and digital communication processes including advanced listening and dialogue skills, congruent with a collaborative counselling approach, in a range of contexts.
   Relates to: Exam, Demonstration & Critique