Working With Children, Adolescents and Older Adults (CO2002Z)

Content

Counsellors typically work with a variety of clients, even if they specialise in a particular mental health problem. Therefore we have to know how to tailor our interventions accordingly. One important factor to consider when engaging a client is their age for there are particular ways of working with children, adolescents, and older adults. While CO2001Z Human Development, Personality, And Identity gave you a strong theoretical basis for working with clients across the lifespan this unit will give you the necessary counselling tools.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Offering: This unit is to be taught in year 2, semester 1 (term 1).
Prerequisites: CO1005Z Introduction To Counselling; CO1007Z Introduction to Psychology

Pedagogy

Scaffolded learning In practice: This is a collaborative way of learning that takes note of the learner’s zone of proximal development (ZPD). By repeatedly extending the learner’s ZPD they develop a comprehensive and integrated system of knowledge/skills. Scaffolded learning is achieved through the provision of online modules which clearly guide a student’s learning; through activities of increased complexity during intensives; by face-to-face seminars which are tailored to induce academic/professional growth in an ordered and coherent way; and by assessments which not only seek to identify that key knowledge/skills have been learnt, but that the student is developing an integrated understanding of counselling.

Indicative Bibliography

1. Bryant-Jefferies, R. (2006). Counselling for death and dying: Person-centred dialogues. Taylor & Francis Ltd.
2. Geldard, K., Geldard, D., & Foo, R. (2017). Counselling children: A practical introduction (5th edition). Sage Publications, Inc.
3. Geldard, K., Geldard, D., & Foo, R. (2019). Counselling adolescents: The proactive approach for young people (5th edition). Sage Publications, Inc.
4. Juntunen, C., & Atkinson, D. (Eds.; 2015). Counseling across the lifespan: Prevention and treatment (2nd edition). SAGE Publications, Inc.
5. Kampfe, C. (2014). Counseling older people: Opportunities and challenges. Wiley.
6. Midgley, N., Hayes, J., & Cooper, M., (Eds.; 2017). Essential research findings in child and adolescent counselling and psychotherapy. Sage Publications, Inc.
7. Samuelson, E. (2019). Soaring above the ashes: Thriving beyond childhood sexual abuse. Otter Bay Books.

Textbook is: Juntunen, C., & Atkinson, D. (Eds.; 2015). Counseling across the lifespan: Prevention and treatment (2nd edition). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Assessment