Working With Couples and Families (CO2005Z)

Content

While most people think of counselling as a conversation between a counsellor and their client it is common to have multiple clients in the room at any one time. Therefore this unit will engage the nuances of both couples and family counselling. Specific issues faced by many couples will be noted alongside the use of Emotion-Focused Therapy to assist. When counselling families various system-based perspectives will be explored. By the conclusion of this unit you will have understood how to work with multiple clients simultaneously and learnt a variety of evidence-based strategies to elicit positive change.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Offering: This unit is to be taught in year 2, semester 1 (term 2).
Prerequisites: CO1005Z Introduction To Counselling Prohibited combinations: CO2004Z Working In and With Culture

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. Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. (2021). Foundations of couples, marriage, and family counselling (2nd edition). Wiley.
2. Chapman, G. (2010). Things I wish I’d known before we got married. Moody Press.
3. Gottman, J. (2018). The seven principles for making marriage work: A practical guide from the international bestselling relationship expert. Orion Spring.
4. Gottman, J., & Schwartz-Gottman, J. (2018). The science of couples and family therapy: Behind the scenes at the “Love Lab”. W. W. Norton & Company.
5. Rivett, M. & Buchmüller, J. (2017). Family therapy skills and techniques in action. Routledge
6. Shackelford, T. (2021). The SAGE handbook of domestic violence. Sage Publications Ltd.
7. Spring, J. (2021). After the affair: Healing the pain and rebuilding trust when a partner has been unfaithful (3rd edition). Harper Collins.

Textbook is: Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. (2021). Foundations of couples, marriage, and family counselling (2nd edition). Wiley.

Assessment