PYB359 Working with Families and Groups

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

In today’s health settings, counsellors and psychologists increasingly work with families, couples, and groups. 

In PYB359, you will explore how systemic thinking shapes therapeutic work with more than one person. Through the lens of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Narrative approaches, you’ll learn how to adapt and apply key ideas and techniques to relational and group contexts.

Taught from a collaborative, practice-based perspective, the course invites multiple viewpoints and encourages critical reflection. This helps develop cultural safety, ethical sensitivity, and deeper self-awareness in your work.

Experiential tutorials support skill development in group facilitation, managing group dynamics, and building meaningful relationships with multiple people. These experiences will strengthen your confidence and contribute directly to your professional practice framework.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Analyse the principles of systemic thinking, and explore how this approach supports and enhances the application of Narrative Therapy and CBT when working with families, couples, and groups.
2. Articulate a critical application of your knowledge and understanding of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Narrative Therapy within simulated case scenarios.
3. Implement a range of facilitation skills required to work effectively with families, couples and groups.
4. Critically examine your understanding of contemporary issues facing families and consider the range of interventions offered by different theoretical approaches.

Content

Learning Approaches

As well as preparing you for a career in psychology and counselling, the unit offers an interdisciplinary approach that encourages development of relational skills translatable to any setting. Emphasis will be placed on embedded experiential learning, skill development and conceptual analysis.

Weekly lectures and a tutorial program will offer practical opportunities of the application and development of a range of skills and techniques.

Lectures will be supported by additional learning materials, including pre-recorded therapy sessions, set readings, questions for reflection, and practice exercises. Lectures will be recorded and made available via Canvas.

Please note: Due to the highly participatory and experiential nature of this unit, consistent attendance is strongly expected. Attendance is compulsory for specific tutorials where assessment-related activities take place, and failure to attend may impact your ability to complete key assessment components.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will receive feedback in this unit through formative and summative feedback. General formative feedback will be provided via in class discussions and role plays. Summative feedback will be provided through the assessment tasks detailed below.

Assessment

Overview

Your Counselling and Facilitation Skill Portfolio will be completed in tutorials across the semester. Your Reflective Essay will be submitted electronically via Turnitin.. You will also participate in an in-person Viva. Assessments will be marked online and your feedback will be provided on Canvas. 

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Counselling and Facilitation Skill Portfolio

You will develop and demonstrate facilitation and counselling skills through active, in-class participation. Working in small groups, you’ll explore and practise four distinct skills, techniques, or processes relevant to working with families and groups. For each, your competency will be assessed through in-class observation by your tutor during structured activities.

To consolidate your learning, you’ll complete a process map for each skill - a brief written reflection capturing key insights, intentions, and feedback gathered during the debrief. These process maps will form your Skill Portfolio, which represents a major component of your assessment and supports your development as a reflective practitioner.

Please note: Attendance at tutorials is essential, as the Skill Portfolio can only be completed through active participation in scheduled class activities. Without attendance, you will not be able to demonstrate the required skills or complete key assessment components.

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

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

Assessment: Reflective Essay

You are required to complete a reflective essay based on your personal experiences of group facilitation during specified tutorials in which you fully participated. To be eligible to complete this assignment, you must have been actively involved in the relevant tutorial activities.

Your reflection should critically examine how you engaged with group processes through a systemic lens  considering how relationships, power dynamics, culture, and context influenced both the group and your role within it.

This assignment is eligible for the standard 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.

Assessment: Viva Framework

For this assessment, you will design a structured, group-based support program that responds to a specific social or emotional need experienced by a group of people who share a common background, identity, life stage, or issue (e.g., parenting, cultural identity, grief, mental health).

Your presentation should demonstrate your ability to:

• Clearly identify the need or challenge the group faces

• Design a group program with a clear purpose and desired outcomes

• Apply relevant group work theories, models, and your practice framework

• Show how your facilitation approach supports ethical and culturally safe practice

You will have 10 minutes to present, supported by a PowerPoint slide (submitted for marking). Following your presentation, you will be asked questions by the examiner about your proposal.

This assessment gives you the opportunity to bring together theory and practice in designing meaningful group interventions.

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

This viva will be conducted in-person on QUT campuses.

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

Risk Assessment Statement

You should be aware that some content in this unit may be confronting to certain audiences. Please exercise your own discretion when participating in classroom activities or discussions and, if appropriate, advise teaching staff if you do not wish to participate. The QUT Student Counselling service is also available and free of charge to all QUT students.

Course Learning Outcomes

PY45 Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psychology)

1. Describe and evaluate the core scientific perspectives of psychology with reference to theories, methods and research, from diverse perspectives, including first-nations perspectives.
   Relates to: Reflective Essay
2. Critically examine the scientific discipline of psychological research and theories using oral, written and digital communication to address psychological issues in a respectful, ethical and professional manner.
   Relates to: Reflective Essay, Viva Framework
3. Employ strategies for self-reflection, with regards to your conduct, values and impact on others and the profession in a culturally sensitive, inclusive, ethical and sustainable way.
   Relates to: Reflective Essay, Viva Framework
4. Develop interpersonal process skills that contribute to effective outcomes in collaboration with others, including developing innovative opportunities.
   Relates to: Reflective Essay, Viva Framework
5. Implement a range of digital capabilities to access, examine and utilise evidence-based information in the context of effectively responding to, and communicating, real world problems.
   Relates to: Reflective Essay, Viva Framework