Module Directory

Overall this module aims to extend the student’s awareness of their place within the fields of childcare and professional therapeutic care practice, developing knowledge of alternative approaches and extending their awareness about employability and career development in this sector. The module comes in two parts.

Part one (weeks 2 to 6) will introduce students to ways of approaching their own employability. Students will initially reflect upon their current career position and explore their future career goals through the lens of psychoanalytic theory, motivational psychology and positive psychology. In addition to a reflective and theoretical approach to understanding employability, students will also adopt a pragmatic approach by directly engaging with a range of different professionals relevant to their degree subject. To complement a growing orientation to the world of work, students will learn about the wider context of the graduate labour market, in particular statistics, trends and routes into different relevant professions.

Part two of the module (weeks 7 to 11) broadens student’s awareness of alternative careers and approaches to working with children, young people and families. As such it covers a range of modern theories and applications to therapeutic, education, rights and care practice other than psychodynamic. It will provide basic underpinning ideas and orientation to enable students to be more professionally aware of the field in which they practice and it will support their capacity to understand, communicate and work effectively with other professionals. Students will be exposed to a range of therapeutic, community based, rights based and educational approaches.

The aims of the module are:

• To develop self-awareness within the context of career development with reflection on their skills, attributes and experiences.


• To examine the current and classic employability theory and research in relation to wider citizenship/human development.


• To develop students’ subject knowledge, interest and skills in working with children within different professions.


• To gain a deeper understanding of the graduate labour market and how to skilfully navigate a path(s) through it.


• To critically reflect upon how theory, practical knowledge and experience informs career/self-development.


• To bring to students the awareness of other orientations and facilitate constructive relationships with children’s services.


• To enable students to understand where psychodynamic thinking is situated in a wider range of approaches.


• To lay the foundations for students to be able to make informed judgements as to what is the most appropriate intervention in particular cases.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Discuss sections of the graduate labour market that are relevant to a career of interest.


2. Discuss how psychoanalytic/psychological/vocational theory relates to employability.


3. Reflect on theory, job market knowledge and self to inform career choice.


4. Understand and discuss non-psychodynamic therapeutic approaches to children.


5. Acknowledge the relationships between psychodynamic and other methodological approaches.


6. Demonstrate sufficient knowledge and respect of other orientations to support constructive professional networking and collaboration.


7. Listen carefully to professionals, critically assess, debate, persuade, and challenge ideas and approaches.

Key Skills

• Ability to appreciate the differences and similarities in responsibilities across professions working with families and children.


• Develop sensitivity towards the needs of particular clients/families you work with.


• To reflect, identify and articulate the key skills and attributes they are acquiring as an undergraduate PPS student.


• Active listening skills.

Employability Skills

• Ability to negotiate current labour market through an awareness labour market myths and trends and preparedness for the professional work environment.


• Reflective awareness of one’s own skill set through identification and analysis of strengths.


• Interviewing skills through practical interview application.


• Written communication skills through contacting professionals, preparing interview schedule, group work, presenting work and assignment.


• Oral communication and presentation skills through presenting group and individual feedback and interviewing a professional.


• Capacity to understand and work with others through group discussion.


• Networking. Through contact with professions.


• Ability to use LinkedIn to develop professional network.

This module will be delivered via:

• 10 x 2hr sessions (mixture of lectures, seminars, presentations, and panels)