PSYCHOLOGY & COUNSELLING BPS102

Psychology And Counselling Course - a combined course

Psychology is a science; it is the study of human and animal behaviour. Some say the study of mind or the brain, whilst others consider it to be the study of personality. Psychology considers what motivates people to do what they do.

What our students say

[My tutor] provides great feedback and encouragement. [The course] allows you and asks you to apply your life experiences first hand to the assignments, and is designed to give you room to creatively think and explain the readings, while also digging deeper into the research that's available via internet, books, online library etc.

Erin Miller, Psychology and Counselling

Start at any time!

You can enrol today and also get three psychology and counselling eBooks recommended by our Psychology Tutors:

Counselling Handbook

Coping Better With Negative Emotions

Helping People Cope With Grief Or Crisis

Study Psychology And Counselling by distance learning with the support of our excellent tutors

Understanding People is A Core Skill of Most Jobs

The study of psychology is fascinating

This course is a useful foundation course if you are planning to work with or alongside people. It is a valuable early step toward a career in so many things - from psychology and counselling, to business and management. It will develop your ability to analyse psychological conditions, and apply that knowledge in counselling, or advisory situations. Or you might just want to take the course because you are interested in psychology and counselling.

So what else is covered in the course? We also cover stress. Stress is a major factor affecting our mental and physical health today.

How to recognise stress

It is important to recognize whether you or someone you know or a client is under stress. Often, even if we are under the influence of a stressful condition and our body reacts to it internally as well as externally, we fail to realize the symptoms of our stress. This also happens when the causes of stress are there long enough for us to get used to them. The body may try to tell us that it is stressed or that something is wrong, through symptoms such as:

heart palpitations,
dizzy spells,
tight and sore muscles, or
various body pains and conditions,
blurry vision,
inability to eat or over-eating,
loss of interest in usual activities,
unexpected emotional reactions and more.

It is important to remain attentive to such symptoms and to have a stress management system in place to counter the adverse affect of stress."

Course Structure and Lesson Contents

There are 7 lessons in the Psychology Counselling course.

Lesson 1. 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 psycho social 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.

Lesson 2. Abnormal Behaviour

Definition of abnormality.
Deviation from statistical norms.
Deviation from social norm.
Maladaptiveness 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, Amnesic and Cognitive disorders.
Problems with classification.

Lesson 3. 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.

Lesson 4. Group Behaviour

Social considerations.
Temporary group.
Organised group.
Organisational groups.
The influence of groups.
Industrial groups.

Lesson 5. 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.

Lesson 6. 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.

Lesson 7. Interpersonal Communication Skills

Introduction.
Communication channels.
Effective communication.
Awareness.
Communication skills.
Hearing verbal messages.
Perceiving non verbal messages.
Responding.
Verbal and non verbal communication.
Body language.
Communication barriers.
Self awareness.
Self esteem.
Specific skills: listening, paraphrasing, reflective responses, etc.
Conversation development.
Professional relationship building.

Course Duration: 100 hours

Course Aims

Identify and examine behaviours that are characterised as abnormal and compare and contrast these with behaviours characterised as healthy.
Explain social influence on individual behaviour.
Explain social influence on group behaviour.
Describe alternative methods of dealing with psychological problems
Develop skills for resolving conflict.
Develop communication skills for counselling individuals.

What you may 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 (eg. 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.

Find a teenager who you can interview.

What is Abnormal Behaviour?

There are some main types of abnormal behaviour. These include -

Dissociative Disorders

An example is the Dissociative Identity Disorder – also known as Multiple Personality Disorder – the person possesses two or more distinct personalities, each complex and dominant one at a time. As shown in books and films such as All About Eve and Sibyl.

Sexual And Gender Identity Disorders

Paraphilias – A person will have unconventional sources of sexual gratification e.g. voyeurism, exhibitionism, sadism and masochism.
Sexual Dysfunctions – A person may be unable to complete the usual sexual response e.g. Inability to maintain erection, premature ejaculation, inhibition of orgasms.
Gender Identity Disorder – The person may feel extreme discomfort at their anatomical sex and identify themselves with the opposite sex.

Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa – The person avoids eating, becomes emaciated and will usually have a severe fear of becoming fat.
Bulimia Nervosa – The person will have binge-purge cycles, overeating to excess (binging) followed by purging e.g. Vomiting, excessive laxative use as a means to compensate for the overeating.

Personality Disorders

A well known personality disorder is the Antisocial personality disorder (otherwise known as psychopathy) – is a conduct disorder, usually manifested in truancy, delinquency, belligerence, running away from home etc. In adulthood, the person will find it difficult to hold down a job, be a responsible person or partner or staying on the right side of the law. They will feel no guilt or shame for not adhering to social norms, such as committing violent acts, other criminal behaviour.

Impulse Control Disorders

These Include kleptomania, pyromania, pathological gambling and others.

Study Psychology And Counselling with ACS

Recognise and analyse psychological conditions that are evident in real world situations.
Understand conflict, stress and the contributing factors to psychological conditions.
Learn approaches to managing conflict and stress.
Learn different facets of a person's behaviour both as an individual and when placed in a social situation.
Determine what are the social influences of an individual's behaviour.

Why enrol on this course?

When you study Psychology And Counselling with ACS you will receive high quality course materials and detailed feedback from our experienced and highly qualified Psychology And Counselling Tutors.

They will provide you with support and guidance throughout the course.

You will gain an in-depth knowledge in the theories of psychology and counselling, which is useful for training and professional development.

PLUS get three free eBooks as recommended by our Psychology And Counselling Tutors.