Issues in Contemporary Clinical Psychology is designed to complement other psychology courses by integrating biological, developmental, cognitive, social and ethical aspects of psychology into a broader understanding of individual functioning and psychopathology within a contemporary evidenced based treatment framework.

Course topics include Ethics in Psychology, the Practice of Psychology within a Scientist-Practitioner Framework, the Biopsychosocial Model of Psychopathology, Mental Health Stigma, the Development of Psychotherapy and Contemporary approaches to Treatment, the impact of Identity on functioning, and an Introduction to Resilience and Positive Psychology.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Gain an understanding of what is clinical psychology, and the basic tenets of evidence-based practice.
2. Apply the basic ethical principles pertaining to psychological practice to ethical dilemmas, gain an awareness of the APS Code of Ethics and Ethical Guidelines
3. Apply the scientist-practitioner model to the practice of psychology, gain an understanding of the requirement for evidence-based research.
4. Gain a basic understanding of the interaction of biological, developmental, psychological, social and contextual influences on psychopathology and apply this to a clinical case study.
5. Gain a basic understanding of the clinical presentation of the most common psychological disorders within a bio-psycho-social theoretical framework
6. Gain a basic understanding of the development and evolution of psychotherapy across the 20th Century and the most prominent psychological models influencing contemporary approaches to psychopathology.
7. Gain a basic understanding of the processes involved in identity formation and development within a clinical context
8. Gain a basic understanding of the basic tenets of positive psychology and the development of resilience and personal growth

Research-Led Teaching

The lecturer is an endorsed clinical psychologist and all tutors in this course hold registration as provisional or general psychologists and are completing their post-graduate training in clinical psychology. They will share with you their own research and clinical experience in the field, as well as other psychological research that has made a contribution to the area.

Field Trips

Not Applicable

Additional Course Costs

None

Examination Material or equipment

All students will be required to attend the examination in person (i.e., there are no take-home examinations for this course). 

Required Resources

Due to the diversity of the topics covered, there is no set text-book for this course. Instead, the course handouts and required readings listed below will be provided on Wattle at the start of each teaching period. You are expected to read these to supplement lectures and prepare for tutorials. Additional readings are listed in the course outline on Wattle

Students should note that material in the readings is examinable during Tutorial quizzes, and in the exams. 

Topic 1 – Ethics and Evidence Based Practice in Clinical Psychology

Martin, P.R. & Birnbrauer J.S. (1996) Introduction to Clinical Psychology, in Clinical Psychology: Profession and Practice in Australia, Martin, P.R. & Birnbrauer J.S (eds), MacMillan Education , South Melbourne, pp3-20.

Levant, et.al. (2006). Evidence-Based Practice in Psychology, American Psychologist, 61(4), 271-285.

Handout – Ethical Decision Making

APS Code of Ethics

Interesting resource - http://psychmuseum.uwgb.org/

Topic 2 – BioPsychoSocial Model

Fava, G.A, & Sonino, N, (2008), The Biopsychosocial Model Thirty Years Later, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 77:1–2

Topic 3 – Psychological Formulation

Beck (1995) Cognitive Therapy - Basics and Beyond, Guilford Press, pp13-24

British Psychological Society (2011), Good Practice Guidelines on the use of Psychological Formulation, Sections 6-9, pp 6-18

Topic 4 – Psychopathology – Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Garcia-Toro, M. & Aguirre, I. (2007) Biopsychosocial model of depression revisited, Medical Hypotheses, 68, 683–691

Wells, A (1997), Cognitive Therapy of Anxiety Disorders, Wiley pp1-20.

Topic 5 – Mental Health Stigma

A Life Without Stigma, SANE Australia

Corrigan, P (2004), How Stigma Interferes with Mental Health Care, American Psychologist, 59 (7) pp. 614-625

Thornicroft, G. (2008), Stigma and discrimination limit access to MH care,  Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 17 (1) pp. 14-19

Topic 6 - Psychopathology – PTSD, Psychosis and Personality Disorders

Schizophrenia Kit – Mental Health Association NSW

Personality Disorders Fact Sheet - – Mental Health Association NSW

Understanding PTSD and PTSD Treatment – National Centre for PTSD

Topic 7 – Development and evolution of psychotherapy

Rogers, C.R. (1957) The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions of Therapeutic Personality Change, Journal of Counselling Psychology, 21 (2), 95-103

Thomas, M. L. (2006), The Contributing Factors of Change in a Therapeutic Process, Contemporary Family Therapy, 28, 201-210

Cormier, S., Nurius, P.S. & Osborn, C.J. (2009). Interviewing and change strategies for helpers: Fundamental skills and cognitive behavioural interventions (6^th ed.). Sydney: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. (Ch 4 and 5 – see Tutorial resources)

Topic 8 - Contemporary psychotherapy

CBT Handout - CBT

CBT Handout – Unhelpful Thinking

Harris, R. (2006) Embracing Your Demons: an Overview of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Psychotherapy in Australia, 12 (4).

Simmons & Griffiths (2009) CBT for Beginners, Sage Publications, pp20-29

Topic 9 – Advanced Psychotherapy

Client Guide to Schema Therapy – Extract from Young,J. (1994) Cognitive Therapy for Personality disorders, Revised edition.

Topic 10 – Resilience and Positive Psychology

Building Resilience Fact Sheet - Mental Health Association NSW

Positive Psychology Fact Sheet – Black Dog Institute

Topic 11 – Identity development and formation

Gender Identity Terms and Definitions – Handout 2015

Riley, E.A., Sitharthan, G., Clemson, L. & Diamond, L. (2013): Recognising the needs of gender-variant children and their parents, Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning,

Yanos, P.T., Roe, D. & Lysakaer, P.H. (2010), The Impact of Illness Identity on Recovery from Severe Mental Illness, American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitaion, 13(2).

Topic 12 – Working with children and adolescents

CYC Online - Understanding Child Sexualised Behaviour, Iss 30, July 2001

FPQ, Sexual Behaviours in Children and Young People, ‘Traffic Light’ Poster

Keeping Children and Young People Safe – ACT Government

Recommended Resources

Course Specific Recommended Resources

APS Ethical Guidelines (copy provided on Wattle)

APA., (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (Fifth Edition). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Barlow, D.H. & Durand, V.M. (2011). Abnormal Psychology. (6^th ed.). Wadsworth. (Required text for third year Abnormal Psychology)

General Recommended Resources

Below are some resources that may be useful in writing your papers. All are available in the Hancock Library. Your essay should be formatted in APA style. This is covered in most psychology essay writing guides; however, note that older guides are based on an older version of APA style. There were some substantial changes between APA 5^th (2001) and APA 6^th (2010) – these include the addition of DOIs how to reference web resources, as well as heading and subheading format.

If you are planning on pursuing honours/postgraduate study in psychology you may wish to purchase your own copy of the APA manual. We do not recommend buying it if you are not planning further study, or if you intend to pursue further study in another field.

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [Hancock #BF131.A4 2010]

Burton, L. J. (2007). An interactive approach to writing essays and research reports in psychology. Milton, QLD, Australia: John Wiley. [Hancock #BF76.7.B87 2007]

Findlay, B. M. (2006). How to write psychology research reports and essays (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson. [Hancock #BF76.8.F56 2006]

O'Shea, R. P. (2002). Writing for psychology (4th ed.). Southbank, VIC, Australia: Thomson. [Hancock #BF76.8 .O75 2002]

There are also several good online resources to help with APA style:

·        APA Style Blog: http://blog.apastyle.org/

·        Purdue OWL website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

·        Written responses to the tutorial quizzes

·        Written comments on the research essay

·        Feedback will be given to the class as a whole regarding general comments on the research essay.

·        Written comments on the Case Study

·        Feedback will be given to the class as a whole regarding general comments on the Case Study. 

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Assignment Word Limit

Within the Research School of Psychology a ‘hard’ word limit applies. This means that any material that exceeds the limit set for the assignment is subject to penalty. In PSYC2595 this will be applied as a penalty of 2% of the possible marks for each 100 words over the word limit. This means that an assignment that is 287 words over the word count will have a 4% penalty applied.

In-text references, and the reference list are not included in the word count.

?Assessment Rubrics: your marker will use a rubric to mark your essay. A copy of the rubric is provided for each of the major assignments, so you can see what is expected to achieve each grade (N, P, C, D, HD).

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Lecture 1: Clinical Psychology within an Evidence Based framework Ethical Issues pertaining to psychological practice
2	Lecture 2: Role of biological, developmental, personality, and interpersonal influences on the development of psychopathology and individual functioning Tutorial 1: Resolving ethical dilemmas
3	Lecture 3: Introduction to psychological formulation
4	Lecture 4: Role of cognition, emotion and behaviour pertaining to mood and anxiety disorders Tutorial 2: Developing a psychological formulation	Tutorial Quiz
5	Lecture 5. Mental Health Stigma
6	Lecture 6: Understanding PTSD, psychosis and personality disorders Tutorial 3: Stigma and Mental Illness	Tutorial Quiz
7	Lecture 7: Development and evolution of psychotherapy throughout the 20th Century (Psychodynamic, Behavioural, Humanistic)
8	Lecture 8: Contemporary approaches to psychotherapy (Cognitive Behavioural and Mindfulness based therapies) Tutorial 4: Introduction to Counselling Skills	Tutorial Quiz
9	Lecture 9: Advanced approaches to psychotherapy (Schema Therapy, Trauma focused therapy and Imagery)
10	Lecture 10: Positive psychology and the development of resilience and adaptive functioning Tutorial 5: Working with complex pathology	Tutorial Quiz
11	Lecture 11: Identity within a functional context Identity formation and development, gender identity
12	Lecture 12: Issues around working with children and adolescents Tutorial 6: Positive psychology and the development of resilience	Tutorial Quiz

Tutorial Registration

Via Wattle

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Tutorial Quizzes (5 quizzes valued at 2% each)	10 %	*	*	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Research essay - Response to Ethical Dilemma	20 %	24/03/2020	17/04/2020	1,2
Case study Initial Assessment Report	25 %	28/04/2020	27/05/2020	3,4,5
End of Semester Exam	45 %	04/06/2020	02/07/2020	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Lecture attendance

Students are expected to attend all lectures. Lecture attendance is very important as the lectures provide you with the central ideas and concepts, along with seminal research in the areas of psychology under examination.

If you miss the occasional lecture due to unforeseen circumstances, you will be able to access both the printed lecture material (e.g., PowerPoint slides) and an audio recording of the lecture on Wattle. You will however, not be able to access material presented on the white-board or in other forms during the lecture.

Please note:

(1) there are times when technical problems prohibit the audio recordings from being made; if this happens, there will be no supplementary recordings, and

(2) because PSYC2595 is not a web-based course, students who choose not to attend lectures and rely only on Wattle information on a regular basis will most likely be exposed to an impoverished version of the course materials and this may negatively impact upon their learning experiences.

 

Tutorial attendance policy

Note that tutorial attendance includes participating in the activities, interacting with other students (both interpersonally and to the class as a whole) and completing hand-written assessment tasks.

There are only six tutorials in this course. The Research School of Psychology considers the tutorial component of all courses to be an integral part of each course – tutorial classes may supplement and consolidate material covered in lectures or they may introduce entirely new material pertinent to the objectives of the course. As such, attendance at tutorial classes is compulsory. It is therefore the policy of the Research School of Psychology that students will attend all tutorial classes scheduled for any course.

Absences must be notified (in advance, if possible) to the course convenor or assistant coordinator, and accompanied by adequate and appropriate documentation justifying the absence. Only reasons entirely beyond the student’s control and unable to be anticipated and adjusted for at the beginning of the course will be accepted – reasons will be restricted to illness or significant personal crisis, and the accompanying documentation must be a medical certificate or other professional evidence of incapacity to attend.

Clashes with other courses or with work commitments will not be accepted as reasons for absence since these can be anticipated and adjusted for at the beginning of the course. If in doubt as to whether your reasons for missing a lab are acceptable, please check with either your tutor, or the assistant coordinator.

You will still need permission from the course convenor or assistant coordinator, and/or documentation as to why you missed your normal lab class – please refer to the lab attendance rule. If you attend the Friday make-up lab, you must record your details (name, student number, details of your regular lab) with the tutor of the make-up lab, so that your attendance can be recorded and your tutorial quiz returned to you in the following week.

Examination(s)

There will be one exam which will be held during the end of semester university examination periods. This will consist of a combination of short answer and multiple choice questions. The exact format will be discussed in class closer to the exam date. Students are required to pass an invigilated component worth at least 40% of the course. In this course this will consist of the requirement to achieve a pass on the combined grade of the weekly quizzes and the exam. 

Exam policy

It is the policy of the Research School of Psychology that the assessment package for all courses will include an invigilated component or components (that is, taken under supervised examination conditions) accounting for at least forty percent (40%) of the overall grade. In this course this will consist of the requirement to achieve a pass on the combined grade of the weekly quizzes and exams.

Students failing to achieve this, but who otherwise have an overall grade of 45% of better, will be offered the opportunity to sit, and pass, a further (supplementary) invigilated examination. Students achieving a passing grade (50% or better) in that supplementary invigilated examination will be eligible to pass the course overall but their final recorded course mark will be 50%. 

Supplementary or special exam

At the end of PSYC2595 if you have a deferred exam (DA grade) or have been offered a supplementary exam (PX grade), you will be able to sit a supplementary or special exam. The dates of the exams will be put up on wattle. No other dates will be made available.

Assessment Task 1

Tutorial Quizzes (5 quizzes valued at 2% each)

Prior to tutorials 2-6, you will be provided with a number of short answer questions based on the lecture material for the previous two lectures. During the tutorial class, several of these questions will be selected for the quiz, questions will be of equal difficulty and randomly allocated within the tutorial groups. Quizzes are Closed Book.

These quizzes will help you to keep up to date with the course work and enable you to track your progress throughout the semester.

Quiz 1 due: Week 4

Quiz 2 due: Week 6

Quiz 3 due: Week 8

Quiz 4 due: Week 10

Quiz 5 due: Week 12

There are 5 quizzes due over the semester. It is intended that the marked quizzes will be returned at the start of the subsequent tutorial after submission. Further details can be found on the Course Wattle site.

Assessment Task 2

Research essay - Response to Ethical Dilemma

You will be provided with three ethical dilemmas pertaining to psychological practice. You will be required to outline the professional response to resolving one of these dilemmas. You will be required to reference the appropriate sections of the APS Code of Conduct and Ethical guidelines, as well as identifying appropriate journal articles relating to the ethical issue you are addressing. A marking rubrik is available with the Assignment instructions on Wattle.

Assessment Task 3

Case study Initial Assessment Report

You will be provided with a case study and a video featuring a client’s presenting issues and pertinent background factors. You will be required to submit an initial assessment report identifying key predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors in terms of the client’s history, cognitions, emotional responses and coping behaviours, to develop an MSE and to identify key risk and protective factors which may impact on a client’s recovery. You will be provided with an outline format for an initial assessment report on wattle and will discuss how to develop a formulation during your labs. A marking rubrik is available with the Assignment instructions on Wattle.

Assessment Task 4

End of Semester Exam

The date range in the Assessment Summary indicates the start of the end of semester exam period and the date official end of semester results are released on ISIS. Please check the ANU final Examination Timetable http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/examination-timetable to confirm the date, time and location exam.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Assignments will be returned via Turnitin in accordance with the estimated Assignment return date. Late assignments will not be marked within this timeframe. Priority will be to mark assignments that were handed in on time.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Once marked assignments are available via Wattle, students have two weeks in which to request a formal re-mark if you so choose. However, we ask that students do not request a remark until at least 48 hours after receiving your marked paper (this is so you have time to reflect upon your marker’s comments).

There is a standard procedure for requesting a re-mark within the Research School of Psychology. When you get your assignment back, read through the comments and look at the mark. If you think your assignment deserves a higher mark, you need to meet with your marker and tell him or her in writing why you feel you deserve a higher mark (the marker’s contact details can be obtained from the Teaching Assistant). Based on your reasoning, your marker will then decide to alter your mark or not.

If you are still unhappy with the marker’s decision, you can formally request a re-mark by contacting the Teaching Assistant. She will organise for another person to mark the assignment independently. The mark awarded by the second marker for your assessment becomes your final mark, regardless of whether it is higher, lower or the same as the original mark.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students