PS312: Counselling Theory and

Practice

Introduction and Assessment

Semester 2, 2019

School of Social Sciences

Faculty of Arts, Law and Education
The University of the South Pacific

This material has been prepared by The University of the South Pacific for use by students enrolled in the
course for which it was developed.

It may contain material copied under the provisions of the Fiji Copyright Act 1999 or under license from
rightsholders or their agents. Copyright in material prepared by USP is owned by USP.

This material cannot be sold or copied for further distribution without the University’s permission. Where
provided in electronic format, it can only be printed by or for the use of the student enrolled in the course.

PS312 (IA) 22019

Content
Course introduction......................................................................................1

USP Graduate Outcomes and Levels............................................................2

Your learning materials.................................................................................4

Your learning support...................................................................................5

How to login to Moodle................................................................................7

Study schedule..............................................................................................8

Assessment overview....................................................................................9

Grading systems............................................................................................10

Submission of assignments...........................................................................11

Plagiarism.....................................................................................................13

How to achieve successfully in Psychology.................................................17

Assignment 1& 3: Reflective Journals.........................................................19

Assignment 2: Theory Research Paper.........................................................21

Assignment 4: Moodle Activities.................................................................26

Assignment 5: Test........................................................................................26
Course introduction
This Introduction and Assignments (I&A) guide to PS312 Counselling Theory
and Practice, will provide you with the information to be successful in this
course. Familiarise yourself with the resources and note assessment due dates.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of counselling psychology as a

branch of psychological science. You will be introduced to counselling theory
and skills necessary for counselling practice. The more that you can integrate
theoretical knowledge in real life situations as you progress through the course,
the more you will develop in self-awareness, communication skills, and ethical
decision-making.

Counselling is uniquely personal for an academic field. The course is intended to

enable the process of self-evaluation and discover your strengths and limitations.
You may find that your own belief and value systems are challenged in this
course (as is expected in any professional counselling work). Your task is to
begin to be critically reflective of the lens in which you see the world. A skilled
counsellor is open minded and culturally sensitive when working with people
from different backgrounds. Thus, you must develop self-awareness of the
feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that are activated within you.

Another thread running throughout the course is application of counselling

principles and interventions in a Pacific cultural context. You will be investigate
the strengths and weakness of various contemporary approaches with
appreciation for Pacific notions of interpersonal communication. You will also
develop an appreciation for and understanding of ethical practice in counselling.

Although this is an introductory course offered at 300-level, the purpose of it is to

provide you with a basic, but sound foundation of counselling prior to an
intensive, applied learning at the postgraduate level. It also a bridging course for
students interested in having a future career in counselling and intend to do the
Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (Psychology) programme, but have a Bachelor’s
degree from a discipline other than Psychology. Remember that this course is
primarily reflective in nature and does not prepare or qualify you as a
professional counsellor.
Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Develop self-awareness and in-depth understanding of personal and

cultural beliefs, values and attitudes which affect one’s interactions with
others in the counselling role.
2. Analyze contemporary counselling theories/concepts in relation to each
other and application in the Pacific context.
3. Integrate theory and empirical research findings using psychology
writing style and communication skills.
4. Application of basic listening skills, techniques, and cultural sensitivity
in everyday settings.
5. Advanced knowledge of ethical practice and conduct in the counselling
profession.

USP Graduate Outcomes and Levels

Literacy outcomes listed here should be linked to the USP graduate profile.

1. Professionalism (M)
Graduates will apply professional principles, values and ethics to their
work.
2. Critical thinking (C)
Graduates will evaluate ideas and opinions before formulating a
conclusion.
3. Communication (C)
Graduates will choose appropriate language and modes of
communication to share ideas and create understanding.
4. Pacific consciousness (C)
Graduates will recognise the cultural heritage and diversity of Pacific
societies.
5. Ethics (C)
Graduates will apply ethical reasoning to their actions and decision
making.
6. Teamwork (M)
Graduates will collaborate with people of diverse perspectives to achieve
goals.
7. Creativity (M)
Graduates will generate new ideas and approaches to solve problems.
Psyc h o l o g y P ro g ra m m e l e a r n i n g o u tc o m e s

1. Critical Psychological Analysis (C)

Critically analyse psychological and social behaviour, practices and issues

of relevance to Pacific Island societies and cultures by applying the basic
principles of psychological thinking, theories and concepts.

2. Psychological Research (C)

Design Psychological research, supported by relevant methods, theories,

and methodologies that are informed by ethics and critical thinking to
analyse social issues, psychological processes, and practices and policies
relevant to the Pacific Region and beyond.

Key: (C): Capstone level, (M): Milestone level, (B) Benchmark level

The following attributes are valued in PS312 and can be found in the
following areas of the course.

Attribute Indicator Location in the course

where it is assessed
Critical and logical Written assignments are rewarded Assignments.
thinking skills. for demonstration of these thinking Moodle activities.
skills.
Key concepts in Correct usage and familiarity of Assignments.
counselling. these key concepts in written
Moodle activities.
assignments and tutorial discussion.
Test.
Effectively reading Integration of a variety of readings Assignments.
research sources for in addition to the notes and course
counselling guide.
knowledge.
Application of Appropriate application of Assignments.
counselling counselling theories and concepts to Moodle activities.
theoretical counselling practice.
knowledge. Test.
Self-motivation. No external guidance for Assignments and
completion of work – entirely self- Moodle activities are
generated. submitted on time.
Creative thinking. Syntheses of diverse ideas into Assignments.
one’s own unique way of viewing Moodle activities.
situations.
You r l e a r n i n g m a t e r i a l s
The following resources are provided for you on Moodle
1. The Introduction and Assessment book, which you are reading now.
2. 8x PS312 Unit chapters. These form your CORE content for the course.
Included in these chapters are a series of activities which are to be
completed by students using listed readings and the prescribed textbook
as sources of information.
3. The course outline
4. A weekly schedule and course overview
5. Unit introductions and additional materials

Contact your USP Campus or Centre immediately if you are missing any of
the materials mentioned in 1 and 2 above.

You will need these separately in addition to those mentioned above:

1. The prescribed textbook for the course is:

Kottler, J. A., et at (2014). Introduction to Counselling: Voices from the
Field (8th ed.). Belmont, USA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.

2. An electronic REFLECTIVE JOURNAL (for ease of later submission on

Moodle). This should be a word document which you update daily or
weekly. See the assignment details below. It is strongly recommended that
you keep a regular backup of this document throughout the course.
You r l e a r n i n g s u p p o r t
Peers & Study Groups
Most people find it easier to study in a group or with a friend, at least for part of
the time. Working with others helps to motivate us. It provides a shared goal and
reduces feelings of isolation or boredom. Your local Campus or Centre will be
able to put you in touch with students doing this course and may help you get
organised.

We learn a lot when we work with our peers. The university is a space for you to
discuss with your classmates and other peers important questions and ideas. In
discussing ideas and raising questions, we learn not only specific concepts and
skills, but also we learn what we know and don’t know or what we are unsure
about. So, take the discussion and material in this course to your peers, not just
in the constraints of the tutorials and group work, but throughout the semester.

FACU LTY ST UD EN T L EA RN IN G S UP PORT (S LS )

SERVICES
Students needing assistance with their writing and language-related issues are
welcome to 'drop-in' to the FALE-SLS or to email falesls@usp.ac.fj. If this is not
at all possible, students can access all the FALE-SLS Study Guides on skills in
reading, speaking, writing and listening, and study guides on general study skills,
at the following link: http://www.usp.ac.fj/index.php?id=11949 for assistance. If,
for example, you have finished writing your essay and need to edit your work but
are unable to come to FALESLS where you can be assisted by a Tutor, then you
can be assisted by these Study guides on Proofreading and Editing which shows
you how to weed out all irrelevant words and mistakes from your writing.
SLS supports you through e-mentoring which is giving you learning tips and
advice through email.
You can email them on the following address:
Faculty of Arts, Law and Education: falesls@usp.ac.fj

Satellite tutorials
To help you work through the reading and unit chapter activities, and to support
you completing the assessments, a series of tutorials will be held throughout the
semester. These are optional but it is strongly recommended that you attend
(virtually or face to face at Laucala Campus).

Library services
Making good use of the library and its resources is vital for you to be a successful
student. Learn about library support and services and the importance of
information literacy at your Campus or Centre library.
You r R E A C T s e s s i o n
Apart from local tutorials, USP uses a system known as REACT which allows
you to hear and see your course coordinator or tutor as well as your fellow
students who are located in the various campuses in the USP region. You may get
presentations and notes in addition to your scheduled session. These are
commonly known as satellite tutorials. You are encouraged to attend the
scheduled sessions in the weeks shown in your study schedule.
Here are some suggestions for getting the most out of these REACT sessions:
1. Note that before your REACT tutorial session begins your tutorial group
will be advised as to who all the participants are (regional and on-
campus). Try to note down names of your colleagues and which
Campuses or Centres they are listening from.
2. Speak slowly and pronounce your words clearly so that your colleagues
can understand what you are saying.
3. Be courteous and try to maintain a polite tone of voice.
4. When you want to address your tutorial group, press the "speak button",
and aim to maintain a 6-inch distance between your mouth and the
microphone whilst speaking. Please note that you may be using two
different types of microphones as shown below.

5. If you have questions or comments to communicate during your tutorial

session you can do so by speaking to a microphone or through the chat
tool in REACT.

6. Try not to "steal the show". Remember that each of you will have
important points to add to discussions.

Contact your local USP Campus or Centre for further information on using the
REACT facilities.

Online learning
Moodle is USP’s learning management system and will be used to support
learning in some of your courses.
Powerpoint presentation and other learning resources can be found on
Moodle and is available via the Student Kiosk. Please ensure that you
familiarise yourselves with this.
How to login to Moodle
If your course has a Moodle component, the instructions below will help you
access the system. You will need a computer connected to the Internet. The
computer must have a Web browser such as Firefox or Google Chrome. Such a
computer should be available at your USP Campus (if you don’t already have one
at home or work). You will also be given a username and password by your local
USP Campus.

Step 1: Accessing Moodle

 Open your browser: Firefox or Google Chrome.
Type in the following at the address bar: http://elearn.usp.ac.fj/
 P
r
e
s
s

Enter.

 Alternatively, you can go to the USP website: http://www.usp.ac.fj/ and

use the Quick Links drop down menu to the left of the page and select
Moodle.

Step 2: Username and password

 You will come to a Login screen. Type
your student number in the Username
box.
 Type your student email (webmail)
password in the Password box.
 Click Login.

Step 3: Accessing your course

 You should now see a list of your courses. Click the Course Code and
Title of the course that you are enrolled in to enter. For example:
Lost or forgotten password
Contact your local ITS student Helpdesk or email: moodlehelp@usp.ac.fj

Study schedule
Planning your work
To help you keep up with the course, we suggest you allocate at least two hours a
day to study. Plan your time using this study schedule. See the weekly schedule
document on Moodle to indicate what work you should be completing each week
(as a minimum).

Satellite tutorials
The schedule for satellite tutorials will be indicated on Moodle and in the weekly
schedule document.

Assessment overview
Continuous assessment
Continuous assessment makes up 100% of the final score and includes two
assignments, test and Moodle activities. The percentage allocation is as follows:
Reflective Journals 40%
Theory Research Paper 20%
Moodle Activities 20%
Test 20%

Total value 100%

 You will be required to undertake a formal test during the exam period. This
will be 3 hours in length and completed online via moodle Details of the test and
how to access it will be posted on Moodle.
 Assessment plan
The following table shows a breakdown of assessments and their relationship to
learning outcomes (course and USP graduate outcomes).

Assessment item Relationship Relationship to USP Relationship to

to course graduate outcomes the Psychology
learning program learning
outcomes outcomes
1. Reflective 1, 2, 4 Pacific Consciousness 1
Journals Communication
Critical Thinking
2. Research 2, 3 Pacific Consciousness 1, 2
Paper Communication
Critical Thinking
3. Moodle 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Ethics 1, 2
Activities Communication
4. Test 2, 3, 5 Ethics
1, 2
Critical Thinking

EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS

Students are expected to:

• Read all information about the course and be familiar with, including:
This course outline
Assessment guidelines
Relevant university regulations
• Purchase, hire or borrow the prescribed textbook.
• Read all assigned materials on a weekly basis.
• Attend all lectures unless medically or university excused in which case you
must inform your course coordinator prior to class when possible.
• Facilitate the course coordinator with any proof that he/she was sick and unable
to attend classes or assessment at the earliest possible time to avoid getting a zero
mark for the missed assessment.
• Participate in classroom discussion in a manner that demonstrates sensitivity to
cultural and individual diversity towards fellow classmates.
• Keep back-up copies for all assessment drafts in more than one storage devices.
• Submit all assessments in a timely manner.
• Check student email and Moodle sites daily to see if course co-ordinator or your
peers have made any announcements
Grading systems

a) The following grading system will be used by all faculties in awarding final
grades for academic performance in a course:

Pass Grades

Grades Percentage (%) Description

A+ 85+ Pass with Distinction

A 78 – 84 Pass with Distinction

B+ 71 – 77 Pass with Credit

B 64 – 70 Pass with Credit

C+ 57 – 63 Pass

C 50 – 56 Pass

Other Pass Grades

R Restricted Pass

Aeg Aegrotat Pass

Comp Compassionate

Pas Pass or Competent

S Satisfactory

Note: Pas and S are used in circumstances where graded passes are
inappropriate such as in postgraduate thesis and Professional Diploma in Legal
Practice.

Fail Grades
Grade Percentage (%) Description
D 40 - 49 Work below the standard required
for a pass
E 40 (Less than) Very weak performance or failure
to complete to the satisfaction of
the examiner such practical, field
or other work as may be prescribed
NC Not completed
NV Null and Void: This is awarded for
plagiarism or dishonest practice
U Unsatisfactory
Fail Not Competent
450
Note: Fail and U correspond with Pass and S above respectively.

Provisional Results:
I Incomplete
IP In progress
SE Special Exam Granted

b) Students shall be awarded an Aegrotat or Compassionate Pass if they satisfy

the conditions prescribed in Clauses 6.3 or 6.4 of these Regulations
respectively.

c) Students may be awarded a Restricted Pass if they satisfy the conditions

prescribed in Clause 8.

d) Students who have been granted an extension of time past the last day of
lectures to complete work required for the final assessment of their course
shall be awarded the provisional grade of I (Incomplete) for an undergraduate
or postgraduate course assessed by coursework, or IP (In progress) for a
Supervised Research Project or thesis for a Master's degree or a thesis for a
PhD degree. At the end of the period of extension the Faculty Assessment
Board shall determine a final grade.

e) Students who have not submitted their master's or PhD thesis or Supervised
Research Project by the end of the maximum period of candidature prescribed
in the regulations shall be awarded the grade of NC (Not completed).

[Extracted from 2018 Handbook & Calendar, pp 455-457 (hard copy)]

Submission of assignments
Moodle
You are advised to submit all your assignments before the dates given in your
study schedule or on your course Moodle page to allow for a similarity report
from Turnitin, giving you ample time to make any necessary changes that may be
required before the final due date. Please upload them in the correct assignment
drop box. Your assignment file must be carefully labelled (see below).

For more information on acceptable file types for assignment submission, please
visit this link: http://elearn.usp.ac.fj/mod/book/view.php?id=95144

Correct labelling of assignments

Please be very careful to correctly label your assignments. On each assignment
cover or e-copy file that you send in or upload for marking, you should write or
type:
 the full name you used to enrol in this course;
 your student identification number;
 the correct course code and title; and
 the assignment number.

Correct labelling will help ensure that the marker receives your assignment on
time, and that you get the credit for the work that you do. If your marker receives
one of your assignments late because you did not label it correctly, you may lose
marks.

Late assignments
USP reserves the right to decide whether or not to mark late assignments. It is in
your interest to send in your assignments on time. The assignment schedule gives
your course coordinator time to provide you with regular feedback on your
progress before it is too late for you to use this information constructively in your
studies. There will be a one week grace period for submission of late
assignments.

Your course coordinator may mark a late assignment after this grace period if
there is a good reason for its delay, but you must have informed the course
coordinator BEFORE the grace period has ended and provide appropriate
documentation. You should suggest a revised schedule that will allow you to
complete the remaining assignments on time. Your course coordinator will give
greater consideration to students in remote areas with little or no access to their
USP Campus, Centre or tutorial help.

Assignments over two weeks late without having informing the course
coordinator will not be marked for any reason. Your course coordinator will not
mark any assignment received after the final examination.
Marking criteria
See assignment rubric information on moodle. Unless otherwise stated, we will
grade all assignments according to the following criteria where applicable:

 evidence of reading;

 evidence of good understanding of the topic;

 good coverage of the topic;

 relevance and correctness of information;

 validity and support of opinion;

 conciseness;

 precision;

 logical presentation of information (flow); and

 use of illustrations, examples and/or reasons to support statements or

arguments.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the copying of another person’s creative work and using it as one’s
own – without explicitly giving credit to the original creator. Work copied
without acknowledgement from a book, from another student’s work, from the
internet or from any other source is plagiarism.
Plagiarism includes the following:

a) Copying of the published or unpublished words of another writer without

acknowledging the source using acceptable reference citation methods.
Thus, to; ‘cut and paste’ from internet sources or ‘lift’ sentences, ideas
and sections from a textual source qualifies as plagiarism.

b) Lifting or cutting and pasting extracts without quotation marks or

appropriate acknowledgement of sources.

c) Paraphrasing of content and ideas without proper acknowledgement of the

source.

d) The use of images, diagrams, photographs and material from blogs and
social networks, without acknowledgement.

e) Copying part or all, of another student’s assignment. In this instance,

‘student assignment’ refers to a piece of academic work submitted for
assessment purposes for any course, in past or current years at any
educational institutional including USP or any other university.

i) Collusion
Collusion means working with someone else to deceive or mislead to gain
an unfair academic advantage. It includes;

a) Submission of a paper that has been written by an author other than the
author credited for that piece of writing. This includes the use of paid
services of a student, or any other person that has been solicited for that
purpose.

b) Facilitating or enabling another student to plagiarise in any way.

ii) Cheating
Cheating involves acting in any way that directly contradicts the explicit
rules and guiding principles of that form of assessment. It applies in any
form of examination including short tests, quizzes and final examinations.

Cheating includes (inter alia):

a) Doing anything to gain an unfair or illicit academic advantage in an

examination;

b) Possessing, referring to or having access to any material, or to access the

internet ‘crib’ notes or device containing information directly or indirectly
 related to the subject matter under examination other than what is
explicitly approved for examination purposes;

c) Using a cell phone to communicate with any other student or person

inside or outside the examination venue;

d) Copying from another student in a test or examination; enabling another

student to cheat in a test or examination;

e) Soliciting a person to sit a test or final examination in place of the student

enrolled; sitting a test or final examination in the place of another student;

f) Manipulation of scores in tests or examination or in any other form of

assessment; and

g) Enabling another student in any or a combination of any of the above.

(iii) Mandatory use of Turnitin – plagiarism detection software

(a) Students are required to submit all written work through Turnitin via
Moodle online to check their work for originality and to ensure that
appropriate referencing and citation is used. Turnitin currently accepts the
following file types for upload:
1. Microsoft Word™ (DOC and DOCX),
2. Corel WordPerfect®,
3. HTML,
4. Adobe PostScript®,
5. Plain text (TXT), Rich Text Format (RTF),
6. Portable Document Format (PDF), and
7. Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX, and PPS).
(b) Students are actively encouraged to use Turnitin to check drafts of their
written work to improve their writing and guard against unintentional
plagiarism. Submitting other students’ work is strictly not allowed.
(c) All Turnitin reports will be reviewed. A score of 20% or more on Turnitin
will trigger a discussion between the course coordinator and student with
consequences if plagiarism is proven. In some cases work with a score of
20% or less can still contain significantly plagiarised content e.g. 10-15%
from one source, to which penalties will apply if proven.

For more information please visit http://www.usp.ac.fj/index.php?

id=2838

[Extracted from 2018 Handbook & Calendar, pp 462-464 (hard copy)]

School Of Social Sciences Plagiarism Policy
The following is the policy set out by the School of Social Sciences (SSS) that
will be followed by SSS staff when dealing with plagiarism.

Variety Suggested Treatment

Abundant but scattered use of copied text with Grade D.
substantial parts composed personally by the Counsel student.
student. Approximately 10–30% copied.
Slabs of an essay taken largely verbatim from a Grade E.
single source or variety of sources, involving Warn student.
between 30 and 70% of the essay. For second occurrence treat
as below.
Essay copied in its entirety possibly with cosmetic Zero (not E).
modifications, such as original introduction and Report to Division
conclusion. Plagiarised proportion more than 70%. Coordinator and Head of
School for Discipline
Committee.
How to achieve successfully in Psychology

Have a study area

Some students prefer the library while others have their favourite
study areas e.g. lounge, bedroom. Have an area which is free of
distractions for studying. Avoid the kitchen because of the temptation
of food.

Use your study time well

Study for about 20–30 minutes at a time (about one part of a unit)
rather than 3 hours the night before a test or exam.

Be creative and active when studying

Test yourself with what you have learnt by going over questions
about the material. Do not be hesitant to make notes while studying
and ask questions during satellite tutorials or email your course
coordinator. Use large pieces of paper to draw concepts using
different coloured pens. Be active instead of passive.

Reward yourself once you’ve achieved some study

Treat yourself to something nice or fun (e.g. watch TV, play a game
of cards, listen to some music etc) after you have done some serious
studying.

Try to understand the meaning of concepts rather than memorising

 Summarise concepts in your own words.

 When attempting questions, treat it like an exam by not referring to the

answers until you have finished.

Use mnemonics (techniques to improve recall)

E.g. SMART goals – Specific, Measureable, Achievable or Attainable,

Realistic, Timely.
Use the SQ5R Method
Survey: look ahead at the content before you begin to read.
Question: ask yourself questions about the material you are reading before and as
you read.
Read: read through the material in the normal way.
Reflect: compare what you are reading with the past ideas and your own
experiences.
Recite: recite the new information that you are learning out loud or silently to
yourself.
Review: go over the material that you have learned several times.
Rewrite: break information down into manageable learning units.
A guide to planning Psychology assignments
Planning is crucial when you write an essay or report. Gather a reasonable
amount of relevant information as you possibly can for your assignment.
Extend your reading to sources in the library.

Definitions

The following are some definitions which may be useful to you and which
you may come across during your study at USP:

 Analyse:
Consider the various parts of the whole and describe the
interrelationship between them.

 Compare:
Examine the topics etc. in question with a view to demonstrating their
similarities.
 Contrast:

Examine the topic etc. in question for the purpose of demonstrating

differences between them.
 Discuss:

Present the different aspects of the question or problem, and show how you
arrive at a reasoned conclusion to your discussion.
 Evaluate:

Examine the various (probably more than two) arguments, aspects and/or
sides of the question and either show how you arrive at a judgement or
explain your reason(s) for not arriving at one.
 Summarise:

Outline the main points (or aspects, perspectives, points of view,

considerations etc) briefly.
Assignment 1& 3: Reflective Journals
Due date: Week 7 (Reflective Journal 1) & Week 14 (Reflective Journal 2)
Submission on Moodle: Friday @ midnight (Fiji time)
Value: 40% (20% for each of the submissions)
Length: No word limit
Requirements: Journals are typed and submitted through Moodle.

Aim:
Students will understand and appreciate the importance of reflection and self-
evaluation for future personal development. It should address your development
and learning. See marking rubric on Moodle.

Your reflective journal will consist of self-reflection of your experiences on a

daily or weekly basis. Your experiences will relate to what you have learnt in the
course: your reactions, feelings, opinions, concerns, insights, doubts, critical
questions and views on the learning process and the learnt material. It will assist
you to understand and synthesize counselling theories with practice.

Do not write your journal a few days or week before it is due. Set aside a day,
time and place to write, preferably at the end of each week. It might assist to keep
a record of books, newspapers or magazine articles that you have read during this
semester. These could be entered in your journal as long as you are clearly
referencing it where appropriate.

The journal should be kept in an electronic file/folder that is secure. The journal
is yours; personalise it/give it a name if you prefer. Your journal entries should
consist of the following:

 Date of entry (expected to be daily to weekly, not per unit)

 Summary of the readings/unit since last entry. This is a brief description
of the concepts learned. Daily entries may be a paragraph, but weekly
entries should be at least half a page (typed/single space). You can also
get creative and use mapping or other visual techniques to summarize the
content.
 By the end of each week, there should be at least one reflection per each
of these components. This is the minimum requirement, but highly
marked reflective journals will go above and beyond with multiple
reflections and insights throughout the week. You are encouraged to
create entries “as you go” and as close as possible to your study time,
when an insight or incident occurred, or a learning activity. The
components:
o Reflection on your reactions to the content covered. Express
emotions and feelings that come up (the full range of emotions,
“positive” and “negative,” is encouraged).
o Analysis of how past personal experience influence your response
and understanding of the content expressed. If there is anything
that you are unclear on or have questions about, express that too.
 o Examples from your day to day life how you are applying the
information from the course. You are not permitted to conduct any
counselling out of your participation of the course, but it is
important to note how you might apply basic listening skills in
conversations or “mock sessions” with friends or family. You
might also notice how a theory might explain behaviour you
observe.
o Identification of areas of personal growth and possible action
steps.
 Include relevant learning activities that impacted you and share their
impact. You are also required to include your responses to these specific
learning activities on pp. 2.13, 3.13, 4.19, 5.7, 5.18, 5.19, 6.10, 7.12 and
8.20:
 Activity 2.4; p. 2.13
 Activity 3.3; p. 3.13
 Activity 4.3; p. 4.19
 Activity 5.1; p. 5.7 (At the end of Activity 5:1 – Drawing a
genogram)
 Activity 5.4; pp. 5.18 & 5.19
 Activity 5.4 (Question 2)
 p.7.12 (After ‘Challenges’ – Reflection on a case scenario).
 p. 8.20 – Importance of self-care.
 Correct grammar, spelling, and references as appropriate

Example of a segment of a journal entry:

“What was most appealing to me about this unit during the past two weeks was
how much clients think that the first solution that comes to mind is often the best
one to solve their problems but we as future counsellors must help the clients
understand that life is not like that at all; that they need to think things through –
weighing their options and assisting clients identify or accept that there are
bound to be obstacles along the way. Of course distractions or changes will
happen along the way but what is important is that it does not matter how they
fall but rather, how they pick themselves up again”.
A s s i g n m e n t 2 : Th e o r y R e s e a r c h P a p e r
Due date: Friday 13th September 2019 (Week 9)
Submission on Moodle: Friday @ midnight (Fiji time)
Value: 20%
Length: 3000 words

Aim:
You will compare and contrast two different theories of counselling in a
psychology research paper. You are welcome to choose any of the theories
covered in the course book or text book. See marking rubric on Moodle.

You w i l l a d d r e s s :
1. How each theory/theorist differs in their approach to counselling.
2. The basis for each theorist in developing their counselling theories.
3. What are some of the similarities or overlap between the two theories or
theorists?
4. How effective the theories have been in addressing at least two
counselling areas (i.e., family stress, addictions, or depression). Cite
empirical studies to support your conclusions.
5. Critically analyze the aspects of the theories which have contributed to
their success in serving clients/help-seekers effectively.
6. Consider how effective each of these theories would be in the Pacific
context and identify some cultural considerations for using the two
theories in the Pacific.

Guidelines for Writing a Psychology Research Paper:

Unlike a reflective journal, psychology papers have a particular writing style.

 They are written in the third person, i.e. do not refer to yourself as “I”. Call
yourself the author, investigator, or researcher.

 It is important to maintain a scientific distinction between “fact” and

opinion/interpretation. Most statements are referenced with appropriate
citation from a peer-reviewed psychological study or academic text (book,
book chapter, or article).

 If statements are original, it should be clear that they are based on conclusions
gathered or being integrated from the referenced sources. Opinions or
interpretations are usually left for the discussion or conclusion and are logical
extensions of the body of literature covered earlier in the paper.

 Be sure to have a clear thesis/aim with proper transitions (first, second,

therefore, however, etc.) and organization in order for the reader to follow
your logic throughout.
Like an essay, this psychology paper will have five sections:

(1) Title and Abstract

(2) Introduction

(3) Body

(4) Conclusion

(5) References

(i) Title

a. The title should be brief and not exceed 15 words.

(ii) Abstract

 The Abstract should give a complete summary of your essay and bears
a centered heading ABSTRACT.

 It will be in your best interest to write your Abstract after you have
completed your essay.

 An Abstract has a word limit of 120 words.

 HINT: The abstract should be the last part of the paper that you write
so that you can be sure to include each part of the paper in a concise
way. Try to paraphrase the topic and concluding sentence of each
paragraph.

(1) Introduction

 The Introduction does not have a heading.

 Introduce your specific argument or comment on the subject or overall

theme of your essay.

 Introduce generally the points you are going to discuss. Define terms.

 End the Introduction with the aim/aims of the essay.

 HINT: You may wish to outline the introduction before you begin
writing and then move on to the body of the paper. Once the body is
more developed it will be clearer to see what content you need to
“introduce.”

(2) Body

 The body does not have a heading.

 Develop your line of argument by presenting your main ideas.

 Support each idea with examples drawn from books and articles you
have used.
  Keep checking that your essay is clear, accurate and relevant to the set
topic.

(3) Conclusion

 The Conclusion does not have a heading.

 This is where you summarise the main ideas and comment on future
trends and scope for further consideration.

 New material should not be added here.

 Take care not to make generalisations.

 Remember; you are in NO position to prove anything, you are only

aiming to discover whether certain theoretical and research evidence
is supports your position (or not).

 Integrate your insights!

(4) References

 Has a centered heading REFERENCES.

 You must acknowledge all your sources and these should be arranged
alphabetically by author.

 Acknowledging your sources consists of two parts; the citation

(within the text) and the reference (at the end of the essay or report).

The Citation
 This occurs within the text of the essay or report and requires that you
acknowledge the author(s), usually by surname only; the year of publication.
The following are examples:
Johnson (1972) has argued…in dealing with problems
(Zetzer & Beutler, 1995).

 Use quotation marks with a page number when using a direct quote.
According to Smith (1966) “even two year olds have
identifiable sex differences in areas such as attitudes towards
play equipment and interest in TV programs” (p.84).

“It is widely reported that self-report measures of

compliance are untrustworthy” (Kaplan et al., 1993, p.56).

(Note: et al. means ‘and others’ and is used when there are
two or more authors).

 When reference is made to a work (primary source) that you have read about
in another work (secondary source), the primary source should be cited with
the addition of cited in. The following are examples:
 Deci (1971) found that verbal reinforcement …(cited in Carlson,
1987)…

Brown (1992, cited in Steady, 1996) found that…

 Use citation from secondary sources sparingly (approx. 2 per

assignment).

 From the world wide web:

(Smith, 2000) found...

Research evidence suggests…(Smith, 2000)

Previous studies have found… (from

http://www.psychsociety.com.au)

The Reference

 A bibliography is not accepted. A bibliography is a list of all the books,

journals etc. which was read to compile the essay or report, but is not
included in the essay or report.

 A reference contains only the books, journals etc. which was used to compile
the essay or report and have been cited in-text.

 All references should be arranged alphabetically by author. The title of the

book or journal must be placed in italics or underlined.

 For a book with one author:

Rathus, S. A. (1997). Essentials of psychology. (5th ed.). Fort Worth:
Harcourt Brace.

 For a book with more than one author:

Carlson, N.R., & Buskist, W. (1997). Psychology: The science of
behaviour. (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

 For an article from a Journal:

Emery, R.E. (1989). Family violence. American Psychologist, 44

(2), pp.321–328.

Primary sources cited from secondary sources should be listed in the

reference under the primary authors(s), with acknowledgment of the
secondary text:
Jones, M.C. (1992). Elimination of children’s fears. In S. A Rathus.
(1994). Essentials of psychology. (4th ed.). Fort Worth: Harcourt
Brace.

(Note: Only the secondary source title is placed in italics or underlined).

 For an article from a newspaper or magazine:

 Smiles, S. (1999, December 15). The trouble with early birds.
The Fiji Times, pp. 15.

(1999, December 15). Assault earns man jail sentence. The Fiji
Times, pp.8.

(Note: only the title of the newspaper or magazine is italicised).

 Technical report:
UNICEF. (1996). A situational analysis of children and women in Fiji.
Suva: UNICEF.
 From the world wide web:
Journal article with DOI:
Murzynski, J., & Degelman, D. (1996). Body language of women and judgments of
vulnerability to sexual assault. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26, 1617–1626.
doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1996.tb00088.x

Journal article without DOI, retrieved online [Note: For articles retrieved
from databases, include the URL of the journal home page. Databse
information is not needed. Do not include the date of retrieval.]

Aldridge, D. (1991). Spirituality, healing and medicine. British Journal of

General Practice, 41, 425–427. Retrieved from
http://www.rcgp.org.uk/publications/bjgp.aspx

From online database:

Frone, M.R. (1999). Work stress and alcohol use. Alcohol Research and
Health, 23, 8–18. Retrieved May 31, 2002, from EBSCOhost database.

From web site:

Measurement of psychological impairment in matters of civil litigation.

(2001, April 6). Retrieved from The Australian Psychological
Society website: http://www.aps.psychsociety.com.au/about/civil_lit.htm

Informally published web document

Degelman, D. (2009). APA style essentials. Retrieved from
http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/detail.aspx?doc_id=796

Informally published web document (no date)

Nielsen, M. E. (n.d.). Notable people in psychology of religion. Retrieved from
http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/psyrelpr.htm

Informally published web document (no author, no date)

Gender and society. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/gender.html
A s s i g n m e n t 4 : M o o d l e Ac t i v i t i e s
Date: See Moodle
Value: 20%
You have 4 online activities to complete.
These are linked to Units 4,5,6,8. They are pass/fail and you must engage in all of
them to gain the grade credits.
These may involve viewing videos posted or participating in discussion forums.
The timeline for completing these activities will be more flexible than the
other assignments. Please refer to Moodle for further instructions.
A s s i g n m e n t 5 : Tes t
There will be a test that will cover topics from Weeks 1-14.
Date: During exam period/flexible
Value: 20%
Duration: 3 hours
Venue: Online via Moodle
Test Format will be announced on Moodle.
A typical format is:
 30 multiple-choice questions and/or short answer questions
 1 long essay OR 1 case study