Course Coordinator:Katrina Andrews (kandrews1@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
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.
You will learn the complexities of working with family groups, exploring family processes and structures, and examine potential issues arising in families including Domestic Violence. You will discover the applicability of a variety of family counselling models through the various stages of the counselling process. Special populations such as children and adolescents will be addressed.
| 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 | 12 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 | Once Only |
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Introduction to Family & Relationship Counselling |
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Understanding Family Systems |
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Domestic & Family Violence: Definitions and Dynamics |
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Trauma-Informed Practice in Family Counselling |
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Ethical Practice and Self-Awareness |
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Cultural and Structural Considerations |
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Working with Children and Adolescents in DV Contexts |
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Applying Models in DV Contexts |
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Counselling Skills for DV and Family Conflict |
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Case Simulation and Debrief |
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Integration and Reflection |
300 Level (Graduate)
12 units
| 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 | Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the history, models, and principles of family and relationship counselling, including frameworks for responding to domestic and family violence. | Knowledgeable |
| 2 | Critically reflect on your own family of origin, relational dynamics, and experiences, and apply this self-awareness to ethically support clients affected by complex family issues, including domestic violence. |
Empowered Ethical |
| 3 | Apply theoretical models such as Bowen, structural, and strategic family therapy to simulated case scenarios, integrating trauma-informed and safety-focused approaches relevant to domestic violence contexts |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
| 4 | Demonstrate awareness of personal values and belief systems regarding families, relationships, and violence, and evaluate their impact on ethical and culturally responsive counselling practice. |
Empowered Ethical |
| 5 | Critically examine the diversity of family structures and experiences—including multicultural, gendered, and intergenerational perspectives—and assess the implications for supporting wellbeing in families affected by violence and relational distress. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker Empowered |
| 6 | Demonstrate scholarly capacity in written submissions through clear expression, integration of current academic literature on family and DV counselling, and adherence to APA style. |
Knowledgeable Engaged |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
(COU180 or SCS180 or SCS280), (COU265 or SCS265) and COU200
Not applicable
SCS281 and COU281
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
| 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) | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 2 | Essay | Individual | 30% | 2000 words |
Week 5 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Journal | Individual | 25% | 3–5 entries (500–800 words each), submitted as a compiled document |
Week 8 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 4 | Practical / Laboratory Skills, and Written Piece | Individual | 35% | 20-minute simulation + 1,000-word analysis based on simulated counselling scenario |
Week 12 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Participation | |||||||
| Goal: | Students will actively 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 partipation in the LMS each week |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Collaboration |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Critical Essay | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | Students write a critical essay exploring how traditional family therapy models (e.g., Bowen, structural, strategic) are adapted for domestic violence contexts. They must integrate trauma-informed principles, cultural considerations, and current literature. |
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| Product: | Essay | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Students work independently on this written assignment, preparing it within cadmus, and submit online via plagiarism checkers. Students are to comply strictly with accepted APA 7th ed formatting and referencing conventions. A minimum of 20 current journal articles are to be referred to, and integrated thoughtfully, to support central argument/theme. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Self and Values Journal | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | Students reflect on their family of origin, personal values, and belief systems regarding relationships and violence. They explore how these influence their ethical stance and counselling practice, especially in DV contexts |
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| Product: | Journal | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Students work independently on this written assignment, preparing it within cadmus, and submit online via plagiarism checkers. Students are to comply strictly with accepted APA 7th ed formatting and referencing conventions. A minimum of 6-8 current journal articles are to be referred to, and integrated thoughtfully, to support central argument/theme. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication |
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| All - Assessment Task 4:DV-Informed Case Simulation and Analysis | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | Students engage with a simulated counselling scenario involving family conflict and DV. They apply relevant models, demonstrate safety planning, and reflect on cultural and ethical considerations. Includes a brief written analysis in critical reflection formatting (e.g., Kolb) |
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| Product: | Practical / Laboratory Skills, and Written Piece | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | The 20 minute simulation recording is submitted online in LMS as a media file. The 1000 word simulation critical analysis is also submitted online via plagiarism checkers. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Collaboration, Information literacy |
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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.
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.
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 | Irene Goldenberg,Mark Stanton,Herbert Goldenberg | 2016 | Family Therapy: An Overview | 9th | Cengage Learning |
Nil
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.
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
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
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
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For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
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