Psychodynamic Counselling in a Psychosocial Framework

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 4
• Convenor: Laurence Spurling
• Assessment: two 2000-word essays (50% each)

In this module we provide the concepts and frameworks for understanding the ethical, organisational and psychosocial context in which counselling work takes place. Building on the psychodynamic listening skills developed in previous modules, we will focus on how the client’s resistance and defences can be 'heard' and understood, and how this understanding can be conveyed to the client.

Indicative syllabus

• Basic psychosocial concepts for understanding race, culture, gender, power, class and other dimensions of social identity
• Basic elements of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy Ethical Framework
• Psychodynamic and systemic concepts and models for understanding organisational dynamics

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

• describe the basic elements of an ethical framework for professional practice and a psychodynamic understanding of organisational dynamics, and begin to apply them to psychodynamic counselling practice  
• describe the basic elements of a psychosocial understanding of the context in which psychodynamic counselling takes place
• describe the key elements of a psychodynamic and psychosocially informed understanding of working with difference
• use counselling skills developed in Modules 1 and 2 to establish, conduct and conclude a supportive, helping conversation, and counselling skills developed in Module 3 on creating a therapeutic alliance to enable the exploration of the client’s resistance, and find ways of speaking to the client in a therapeutic way about their resistance and defences
• use, at a basic level, ways of speaking to the client that bring together the different elements of their experience (make very basic interpretations or constructions in order to convey understanding).