PA132-5-AU-CO:
Observation Skills for Counselling
2024/25
Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Thursday 03 October 2024
Friday 13 December 2024
15
12 June 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA L333 Criminology with Counselling Skills,
BA L334 Criminology with Counselling Skills (Including Year Abroad),
BA L335 Criminology with Counselling Skills (Including Placement Year),
BA L332 Sociology with Counselling Skills
This module aims to provide students with an understanding of psychodynamic observation and the skill and qualities involved. In addition, students will start to be develop professional skills involved in assessment and case presentation.
They will learn to apply their growing grasp of psychodynamic theory to everyday events and encounters and to develop their appreciation of the role of unconscious and emotional communication in ordinary life. This will enable them to become perceptive in terms of detail and more subtle in their understanding of the meaning of what they observe and what they themselves bring to the learning experience. It will enable them to reflect on their own process in observations and in groups and to become more self-aware. They will become more alert to first, the conscious and unconscious ways in which their capacity to observe and participate in learning is influenced by their experiences, and second, the way their own self-awareness affects their capacity to provide therapeutic attention to others.
Alongside their observation seminars, which have an experiential element, students are also developing a psychodynamic approach to Reflective Practice. There will be activities designed to encourage and support the conscious use of self (self awareness) in social and professional relationships, to provide the experience of 'learning from action' and a recognition of oneself as a 'participant observer' in different contexts. The reflective components bring the theoretical learning to life in order to enhance future capacity to practice.
The aims of this module are:
- To develop a keener eye for the detail of human behaviour and interaction
- To increase awareness of the role of emotional communication and the unconscious in everyday events and encounters
- To understand the application of psychodynamic concepts and insights to all aspects of human experience
- To lay the foundations for psychodynamic observation as a key skill in psychodynamic practice
- To develop employability skills related to psychodynamic assessment, case presentation and reflective practice
- To establish a reflective space for acknowledging and processing the emotional and psychological implications of the material studied on this module
- To develop the capacity for self-reflection and an awareness of the influence of one's own processes and personal experiences
By the end of the module, students wil be expected to be able to:
- Have familiarity with the application of key psychodynamic concepts to observed individuals and relationships
- Gain an introductory knowledge of key ideas and aims of reflective practice
- Have a greater ability to observe detail and to perceive subtle indications of emotional and unconscious dynamics
- Gain familiarity with the role of conscious and unconscious mechanisms in relationships
- Have awareness of the use of psychodynamic observation in work with clients
- Have the capacity to apply psychodynamic thinking to everyday situations
- Have the capacity to reflect on one's own process in the observing and in the learning contexts
- Be increasingly reflexive and recognise the relationship between of self-awareness and therapeutic practice.
No additional information available.
This module will be delivered via:
- Each week students will observe out in the community or in the workplace/placement and write detailed accounts of what they have observed
- Later in the module, they will take it in turns to bring observations to the seminar groups for discussion
- There is a reading list of texts on the subject of observation which will underpin the approach
- There will be a series of Reflective Groups
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Bondi, L. (2014) ‘Understanding feelings: Engaging with unconscious communication and embodied knowledge’,
Emotion, Space and Society, 10, pp. 44–54. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2013.03.009.
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Clarke, S. and Hoggett, P. (2009)
Researching beneath the surface: psycho-social research methods in practice. London: Karnac. Available at:
https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=366836.
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Skeggs, B. (1997)
Formations of class and gender: becoming respectable. London: Sage. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1024048.
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Haraway, D. (1988) ‘Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective’,
Feminist Studies, 14(3). Available at:
https://doi.org/10.2307/3178066.
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Collins, P.H. (1986) ‘Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought’,
Social Problems, 33(6), pp. S14–S32. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.1986.33.6.03a00020.
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DeWalt, K.M. and DeWalt, B.R. (2011)
Participant observation: a guide for fieldworkers. 2nd ed. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, Md. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1021969.
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Urwin, C. and Sternberg, J. (eds) (2012a)
Infant Observation and Research. Routledge. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203133941.
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Urwin, C. and Sternberg, J. (eds) (2012b)
Infant Observation and Research. Routledge. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203133941.
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Waddell, M. (2018)
Inside Lives. Routledge. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429475979.
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Hinshelwood, R.D. and Skogstad, W. (2000)
Observing organisations: anxiety, defence and culture in health care. Philadelphia, Pa: Routledge. Available at:
https://doi-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/10.4324/9780203135150.
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Doyle, S. (2013) ‘Reflexivity and the Capacity to Think’,
Qualitative Health Research, 23(2), pp. 248–255. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732312467854.
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Brown, J. (2006) ‘Reflexivity in the Research Process: Psychoanalytic Observations’,
International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9(3), pp. 181–197. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/13645570600652776.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Assessed observation |
13/12/2024 |
25% |
| Coursework |
Observation Commentary |
17/01/2025 |
75% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Marita Vyrgioti, email: m.vyrgioti@essex.ac.uk.
From Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies
Student administrator ppsug@essex.ac.uk 01206 874969 Room 5A.202
Yes
Yes
No
Mr Mike Keating
Wessex Counselling and Psychotherapy
Head of Training
Dr Nini Kerr
Available via Moodle
Of 14 hours, 14 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
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