Study Psychology and Counselling
- Learn about abnormal psychology, counselling and stress.
- Learn about stress, abnormal behaviour, individual behaviour, group behaviour, conflict resolution and much more.
- Develop knowledge to accommodate and determine paths to resolve behaviours and conflicts.
- Studying psychology and counselling offers numerous benefits and opportunities:
- Understanding Human Behaviour: Psychology provides insights into why people think, feel, and behave the way they do. Understanding human behaviour is valuable in various contexts, including relationships, work settings, education, and healthcare.
- Personal Growth: Studying psychology and counselling often involves self-reflection and understanding one’s own thoughts, feelings, and motivations. This process can lead to personal growth, improved self-awareness, and enhanced emotional intelligence.
- Helping Others: Psychology and counselling equip individuals with the knowledge and skills to support others facing challenges such as mental health issues, relationship problems, trauma, addiction, and life transitions. Helping others navigate these difficulties can be immensely rewarding.
- Mental Health Awareness: With the prevalence of mental health issues increasing globally, there is a growing need for mental health awareness and support. Studying psychology and counselling allows individuals to contribute to efforts aimed at reducing stigma, promoting mental health literacy, and providing access to effective treatment and support services.
- Career Opportunities: Psychology and counselling offer diverse career paths in areas such as clinical psychology, counselling psychology, school psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, forensic psychology, and health psychology. Additionally, there are opportunities in research, teaching, consulting, and advocacy.
- Promoting Well-being: Psychology and counselling interventions can help individuals enhance their well-being, cope with stress, improve relationships, and achieve personal and professional goals. By promoting psychological health and resilience, psychologists and counsellors contribute to overall societal well-being.
- Advocacy and Social Justice: Psychology and counselling intersect with social justice issues such as inequality, discrimination, and access to mental health care. Psychologists and counsellors can advocate for marginalized communities, promote social change, and contribute to efforts aimed at creating more inclusive and equitable societies.
- Evidence-Based Practice: Psychology emphasizes the importance of evidence-based practice, which involves integrating research findings with clinical expertise and client values to inform treatment decisions. This approach ensures that interventions are effective, ethical, and tailored to the individual’s needs.
Overall, studying psychology and counselling provides individuals with valuable knowledge, skills, and opportunities to make a positive difference in the lives of others, contribute to mental health awareness and advocacy, and pursue fulfilling careers that align with their interests and values.
WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE
Here are some examples of what you may do:
- Find someone you know who you suspect has a type A personality. Talk to them to try to confirm if your suspicion is correct. Note (write down) the ways in which they appear to be a type A personality.
- Talk with someone who is suffering, or has suffered stress. This might be a friend, relative, work mate, or anyone else you are able to find. Discuss their stress with them (current or past). Don’t push them, but try to discern from what they are happy to tell you, whether their stress was (or is) chronic or acute.
- Consider conflict which occurs in either a workplace or recreation situation you are familiar with. This might be a place where you work, or a workplace you visit frequently (e.g. A shop or office);or perhaps a sporting club, gymnasium or social group which you regularly attend. Make up a list of disputes or conflicts which you remember to have occurred in the past.
- Consider an individual in your life, or else a character in a film or book, who you regard as abnormal. Consider why they are abnormal. Write down a list of reasons you are able to identify. Which method or defining abnormality was influencing your judgement of this character.
- Find a teenager who you can interview. This might be a person you know (a relative, work colleague, member of an organisation you belong to etc.), or perhaps you might contact and visit a youth club or organisation that deals with teenagers and arrange to interview someone. The person needs to be someone who exhibits some type of deviant behaviour, even if not extreme. Most teenagers will at some stage exhibit behaviour that is a deviance from social norms (even if the behaviour is not a deviance from age or peer group norms).
Interview this teenager for at least 15 minutes. Make notes of your conversation, their responses (verbal and non-verbal).
Course Structure & Content:
There are 7 lessons in the Psychology Counselling course.
Stress
- Introduction.
- The mind to body connection.
- How to recognise stress.
- What happens to the body when you experience stress.
- The physiological response.
- Chronic and acute stress.
- Erikson’s psychosocial stages.
- Oral sensory stage.
- Anal muscular stage.
- Genital locomotor stage.
- Latency stage.
- Adolescence.
- Young adulthood.
- Middle adulthood.
- Late adulthood.
- Social adjustment.
- Relationship between stress and heart disease.
- What are the basic sources of stress.
- Why some people suffer more.
- How to deal with stress.
- Defence mechanisms.
Abnormal Behaviour
- Definition of abnormality.
- Deviation from statistical norms.
- Deviation from social norm.
- Maladaptive Ness in behaviour.
- Personal distress.
- Disability.
- Wakefield’s harmful dysfunction concept.
- Psychologically healthy individuals.
- Deviation in character.
- Classification of mental disorders.
- Anxiety disorders.
- Mood disorders.
- Prevalence of depression.
- Treatment of depression.
- Schizophrenia.
- Substance related disorder.
- Disorders diagnosed in childhood.
- Delirium, Dementia, Amnestic and Cognitive disorders.
- Problems with classification.
Individual Behaviour
- Pro social or Altruistic behaviour.
- When do children first exhibit pro social behaviour.
- Socialisation.
- Conformity.
- Family influence.
- Disciplinary measures.
- Sibling influence.
- Influence of family structure.
- Influence of school.
- Praise.
- Influence of peers.
- Heider’s Balance theory.
- Dissonance theory.
- Cognitive dissonance.
Group Behaviour
- Social considerations.
- Temporary group.
- Organised group.
- Organisational groups.
- The influence of groups.
- Industrial groups.
Methods of Dealing with Abnormalities
- Professionals in counselling and psychology.
- Therapist techniques.
- Transference.
- Directiveness and non-directiveness.
- Systematic Desensitisation.
- Behaviour therapies.
- Psychoanalytical approach.
- Psychoanalytic techniques.
- Humanistic therapy.
- Eclectic approach.
Conflict Resolution
- Introduction.
- Conflict handling techniques.
- Anger.
- Negotiation.
- Joint problem solving.
- Problems with negotiation.
- Mediation.
- Procedure.
- Running a mediation process in a conflict situation.
- Agreements or contracts.
- Suggested timetable for a mediation session.
Interpersonal Communication Skills
- Introduction.
- Communication channels.
- Effective communication.
- Awareness.
- Communication skills.
- Hearing verbal messages.
- Perceiving nonverbal messages.
- Responding.
- Verbal and nonverbal communication.
- Body language.
- Communication barriers.
- Self-awareness.
- Self-esteem.
- Specific skills: listening, paraphrasing, reflective responses, etc.
- Conversation development.
- Professional relationship building.
WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE
Here are some examples of what you may do:
- Find someone you know who you suspect has a type A personality. Talk to them to try to confirm if your suspicion is correct. Note (write down) the ways in which they appear to be a type A personality.
- Talk with someone who is suffering, or has suffered stress. This might be a friend, relative, work mate, or anyone else you are able to find. Discuss their stress with them (current or past). Don’t push them, but try to discern from what they are happy to tell you, whether their stress was (or is) chronic or acute.
- Consider conflict which occurs in either a workplace or recreation situation you are familiar with. This might be a place where you work, or a workplace you visit frequently (e.g. A shop or office);or perhaps a sporting club, gymnasium or social group which you regularly attend. Make up a list of disputes or conflicts which you remember to have occurred in the past.
- Consider an individual in your life, or else a character in a film or book, who you regard as abnormal. Consider why they are abnormal. Write down a list of reasons you are able to identify. Which method or defining abnormality was influencing your judgement of this character.
- Find a teenager who you can interview. This might be a person you know (a relative, work colleague, member of an organisation you belong to etc.), or perhaps you might contact and visit a youth club or organisation that deals with teenagers and arrange to interview someone. The person needs to be someone who exhibits some type of deviant behaviour, even if not extreme. Most teenagers will at some stage exhibit behaviour that is a deviance from social norms (even if the behaviour is not a deviance from age or peer group norms).
Interview this teenager for at least 15 minutes. Make notes of your conversation, their responses (verbal and non-verbal).
LEARN TO UNDERSTAND AND HELP PEOPLE
When you understand psychology better; you become more able to see the early signs of problems in people. You will more likely to notice changes in the behaviour of people you live and work with. You will also be more likely to understand such changes.
Most mental health issues develop over time. The best way to avoid problems later on, is to identify a developing problem early; and stop it from developing.
Most people worry about problems periodically. That is natural. Sometimes though, worries can grow and develop into something more significant. You may suggest, but often people will resist seeking medical or counselling advice. There are still ways that we can all alleviate symptoms, such as:
- Talk to others about how you feel
- Keep in touch with friends and family
- Eat well
- Drink sensibly
- Keep active
- Take regular breaks from work
- Ask for help if you feel you need it
- Do something you enjoy for a change
- Try to accept who you are
- Care for others.
In later stages of a mental health condition, or for a physical health condition, we may require medical intervention. We may not want to take medication or drugs, but sometimes that is what we need to improve.
WHO IS THIS COURSE SUITABLE FOR?
The course is suitable for anyone interesting in helping people. This can include
- counsellors
- helpline workers
- advice workers
- teachers
- foster parents
- parents
- care workers
- support workers
- social workers
- and many more.
