ASSOCIATE DIPLOMA IN PSYCHOLOGY VPS010

Duration: 1500 hours

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course is divided into 15 modules. Seven compulsory modules must be undertaken by all students, and eight electives can be selected from a range of options listed below.

Compulsory Modules

Introduction to Psychology                 

Psychology and Counselling             

Counselling Techniques   

Industrial Psychology               

Child Psychology

Reasearch Project I

Industry Meetings (eg. Seminars, conferences) or Work Experience (eg. volunteer counselling)

Elective Modules

Choose 8 from the following options:                        

Biopsychology I 

Neuropsychology

Educational Psychology                  

Developmental Psychology

Conflict Management                        

Stress Management                          

Sports Psychology

Life Coaching                      

Marketing Psychology                       

Relationships and Communication Counselling

Counselling Skills I

Careers Counselling

Social Psychology

Abnormal Psychology

Psychological Assessment

Research Project II

Statistics 

(The choice of subjects may be even greater as new courses are developed)

Compulsory Module Details

Introduction to Psychology

There are seven lessons in this course, as follows:

1. The nature & scope of Psychology
2. Neurological basis of behaviour
3. Environmental effects on behaviour
4. Consciousness and perception
5. Personality
6. Psychological development
7. Needs, drives and motivation

Psychology and Counselling

There are seven lessons in this module, as follows:

1. Stress
2. Abnormal Behaviour
3. Individual Behaviour
4. Group Behaviour
5. Methods of Dealing with Abnormalities
6. Conflict Resolution
7. Interpersonal Communication Skills

Counselling Techniques

The course is divided into eight lessons as follows:

1. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy l: Freud (& Erikson); Jung
2. Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy ll: Adler
3. Humanistic/Existential Approaches I: Gestalt Therapy; Fritz Perls
4. Humanistic/Existential Approaches II: Person-Centred Counselling; Carl Rogers
5. Rational Behavioural Therapy: Albert Ellis
6. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Aaron Beck
7. Behavioural Therapy:
8. Solution-Focused Counselling

Industrial Psychology

There are ten lessons in this course, as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Understanding the Employees Thinking
3. Personality & Temperament
4. Psychological Testing
5. Management & Managers
6. The Work Environment
7. Motivation and Incentives
8. Recruitment
9. Social Considerations
10. Abnormalities and Disorders

Child Psychology

There are 12 lessons as follows:

1. Introduction to Child Psychology
2. The Newborn Infant
3. States & Senses of the Infant
4. Learning
5. Emotions and Socialisation
6. Cognitive Development
7. Language Development
8. Intelligence
9. Socialisation – Part A -Social Cognation
10. Morality
11. Sexuality
12. Socialisation – Part B

Reasearch Project I

There are 7 lessons as follows:

1. Determining Research Needs
2. Searching For Information
3. Research Methods
4. Using Statistics
5. Conducting Statistical Research
6. Research Reports
7. Reporting On A Research Project.

Industry Meetings

This may be in the form of relevant work experience, industry meetings, seminars or workshops. You might choose to undertake voluntary work for an appropriate organisation. To satisfy this requirement you need to submit an acceptable reference from an industry professional who can verify to your work

Our Teaching Staff for this Course

Tracey Jones - Academic Officer & Tutor (U.K.)
B.Sc. (Hons) (Psychology), M.Soc.Sc (social work), DipSW (social work), PGCE (Education), PGD (Learning Disability Studies). Tracey has around 15 years experience within the psychology and social work field, particularly working with people with learning disabilities. She is also qualified as a teacher and now teaches psychology and social work related subjects. She is a book reviewer for the British Journal of Social Work. Tracey has also written a text book on Psychology and has had several short stories published

Gavin Cole B.Sc., Psych.Cert., Cert.Garden Design, MACA
Gavin has over 18 years of industry experience in Psychology, Landscaping, Publishing /and Education. He was operations manager for a highly reputable British Landscape firm (The Chelsea Gardener) before starting up his own firm. He spent the best part of three years working in our Gold Coast office, partly as a writer for Your Backyard (gardening magazine), and partly as a tutor in both psychology and horticulture. Gavin is now based in the UK, working with ACS and pursuing studies toward a Masters Degree in Psychology.

Lyn Quirk M.Prof.Ed.; Adv.Dip.Compl.Med (Naturopathy); Adv.Dip.Sports Therapy
Lyn has 25 years of experience in the Fitness, Health and Leisure Industries. She has a string of qualifications that are far too long to list here; being qualified and registered to teach, coach or instruct a wide range of different sports and other skills.
Lyn established and managed Health clubs at three major five star resorts on Queensland's Gold Coast, including the Marriot. She was a department head for a large government vocational college (TAFE), and has conducted her own aquafitness business for many years. Lyn has amongst her other commitments worked as a tutor for ACS for almost 10 years, and over that time, participated in the development or upgrading of most courses in her fields of expertise.

Tosca Zraikat B.A. (Writing); B.Teaching
Over 35 years of industry experience in writing, education, management and welfare. Tosca is completing the final stages of a Masters Degree in writing she also works as a tutor and writer for ACS, and runs a small editing business.

Dr. Mark L. Berman Ph.D.
Dr.Berman is a psychological consultant who operates out of Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Prior to that he was on the faculty of The Pennsylvania State University and the University of Washington for a number of years.
He has been a member of the American Psychological Association for thirty-two years, and the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology for nearly twenty-six years. Dr. Berman has served as a Contributing Editor to Educational Technology, as a Field Reader for the U.S. Office of Education, and as a Manuscript Reviewer for Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, as well as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. His professional interests and experiences are widespreead, and include comprehensive psychotherapy, evaluations of persons from ages four through ninety, and personal energy management. His fifth book is due for publication this coming Spring, and he has more than sixty articles, invited chapters, etc.