Course Outline
COU301 Positive Psychology for Counselling
Course Coordinator:Trudi Flynn (tflynn@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
2026Trimester 1
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
Traditionally, the foundation for clinical and counselling psychology has been the psychopathological personality, which focused on pre-classical psychoanalysis and modern practices to find what goes wrong in the human mind. This course will help you to examine factors that should be included when considering what goes right in the human mind - a study of strengths, virtues, optimism, hope, resiliency and happiness. The course is largely experiential and presents practical ways of using character strengths to promote and maintain wellbeing.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – One hour-long engagement including formative quizzes, podcasts/webinars, screen casts, interviews, simulations, videos and recorded discussions. | 1hr | Week 1 | 10 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus tutorial- 2 hours to encourage the application of skills and knowledge introduced in the online learning materials for the week, via class activities. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
| Information session – Online learning activity facilitated by the tutor | 1hr | Refer to Format | 3 times |
Course Topics
What is Positive Psychology?
The evidence base for Positive Psychology
Emotion – dealing with the positive and negative (adult themes)
Finding flow states, mindfulness practice and wellbeing
Positive health
The psychological benefits of creativity
Mature Content
What level is this course?
300 Level (Graduate)
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Review and apply the research that supports the principles, skills and strategies of positive psychology, and critically assess the claims of positive psychology to promote health and wellbeing. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker |
| 2 | Identify the changes in lifestyle you want to make and demonstrate through self-reflective writings that you are moving towards living in a positive psychological state with increased stable happiness. |
Creative and critical thinker Empowered |
| 3 | Understand and identify theoretical and practical concepts of Positive Psychology for counselling. |
Knowledgeable Ethical |
| 4 | Create and plan Positive Psychology interventions, apply and reflect on effectiveness and outcomes. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker Ethical |
| 5 | Demonstrate effective communication through written reports and oral presentations, complying with accepted APA 7th ed. guidelines |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
COU180 or SCS180 and enrolled in Program AR302, AR303, AR375 or SA306
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
Not applicable
Microcredential Information
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
Students will submit a literature review in Week 3, and will receive feedback in week 5 regarding any issues with written work. The literature review will prepare them for future assignments.
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Activity Participation | Individual | 10% | Course duration |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | In Class |
| All | 2 | Literature Review (or component) | Individual | 30% | 1500 words |
Week 3 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check and in class |
| All | 3 | Journal | Individual | 25% | 1500 Words |
Week 6 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check and in class |
| All | 4 | Case Study | Individual | 35% | 1750 |
Week 12 | Online Submission |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Participation | |||||||
| Goal: | Students will participate for a minimum of 80% of their on-campus tutorials. Failure to meet the minimum participation requirements will result in a failed grade for this task. |
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| Product: | Activity Participation | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | Tutor to assess and record participation each week, in the LMS |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||
| All - Assessment Task 2:Self care intervention literature review | ||||||||||
| Goal: | To create a literature review about a self care practice or intervention relevant to assessment 3. |
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| Product: | Literature Review (or component) | |||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||
| Format: | Identify a self care practice/intervention such as mindfulness and gratitude activities that could be practiced during the trimester, and review literature that describes and reports on the effectiveness of this practice/intervention. Literature Review is completed within Cadmus and submitted online via plagiarism checkers. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Reflective journal | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | Begin to implement the mindfulness and gratitude self-care changes you want to make in order to live in a more positive psychological state, and reflect each week in your journal on changes you are noticing. |
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| Product: | Journal | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Write one-two paragraphs per week reflecting on any changes you notice as a result of engaging in your self care practice/intervention. Each paragraph must connect to relevant literature in your literature review. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 4:Fostering Community Wellbeing: Design and Development of a Positive Psychology Group Program | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | Design and develop a six-week therapeutic group program, situated within a community setting, that implements positive psychology principles to enhance the wellbeing of an identified community population (e.g. Older adults; young people; first time mothers; carers). Your program should reflect a thorough understanding of the focal population's specific needs and demonstrate how positive psychology approaches can be effectively customised to address these needs through group intervention. |
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| Product: | Case Study | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | A 1750 word program plan is to developed and submitted utilising a provided template. Your plan will include: a description of the population group; a needs assessment of this group from a positive psychology perspective; a brief rationale for the adoption of the positive psychology approach with the identified group; description of the program goals; a session plan for each week of the program; and a resource list. Any pertinent handouts are to be presented in Appendices. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | William C. Compton,Edward Hoffman | 2019 | Positive Psychology | 3rd ed | SAGE Publications, Incorporated |
| Recommended | Martin Seligman | 2012 | Flourish | n/a | Random House Australia |
Specific requirements
Nil
How are risks managed in this course?
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Assessment: Submission penalties
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: