SOWK6328 Theory and practice in mental health counselling [Section 1A, 2025]
This course provides an overview on professional ethics and a theoretical foundation for the practices in mental health counselling. It has two major objectives: First, it intends to discuss key ethical issues in counselling, and to critically examine counsellors as persons guided by their value orientation, intentionality, and reflexivity. Second, it attempts to present a range of current evidence-based bio-psycho-social intervention approaches for working with people in face of mental distress and for nourishing people’s positive mental health. As an overview, it covers some of the current and contemporary approaches stemming from various theoretical orientations such as body and mind, cognition and behaviour, constructivism and post-modernism, and family systems. Their application and evidence of effectiveness in mental health counselling will be discussed. Some lectures may also involve reflection exercises, experiential learning and skills training.
The assessment for this course comprises 100% coursework, with no final examination.