One semester/teaching period

36

External Venue, Hawthorn

Nil

Credit Points: 12.5 Credit Points

Related Course/s:

A unit of study in the Master of Social Science (Family Therapy) program.

Aims & Objectives:

Students will have an advanced level of understanding of the complexities of families’ responses to grief and loss and of effective ways to provide therapeutic support from a systemic perspective. Students will also be competent in working with families where there has been abuse or trauma at a level that has significantly distressed and disrupted family life and functioning.

Teaching Methods:

Lectures and seminars

Assessment:

Research Essay incorporating a case study (60 %)
Annotated Bibliography focusing on contemporary therapy on a topic not chosen for the research essay (40%)

Generic Skills Outcomes:

* Research skills
* Written and analytic skills
* Problem solving skills
* Critical thinking skills
* Ability to work Independently
* Ability to address novel tasks

Content:

* Theories explaining responses to grief and loss including disenfranchised grief; applications of these theories to therapeutic practice
* Abuse and its impact on individuals and families; working with survivors of abuse and treatment options
* Trauma and its effects on individuals and families; diagnosis and identification of symptoms; effective ways of working with survivors and their families
* Developing an understanding of the implications of systemic therapies for work with those affected by loss, trauma or abuse

Reading Materials:

Berghuis, D.J. (2004). The family therapy progress notes planner. John Wiley, Hoboken, USA
Healey, J. (2006). Grief and loss. Spinney Press, NSW
Johnson, S.M. (2002). Emotionally focused couple therapy with trauma survivors: strengthening attachment bonds. Guilford press, New York
Parkes, C.M. (2006), Love and loss: the roots of grief and its complications. Routledge, New York
Saxe, G.N. (2006). Collaborative treatment of traumatized children and teens: the trauma systems therapy approach. Guilford Publications Inc, New York