Course Outline
COU708 Counselling and Addictions
Course Coordinator:Trudi Flynn (tflynn@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
2026Trimester 2
UniSC Sunshine Coast |
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
This course utilises a biopsychosocial framework to explore contributing factors and impacts of addiction. The course will examine processes of change when engaging therapeutically with alcohol, drug and other behavioural addictions, and investigate current intervention and treatment strategies when working with individuals, groups and within the community. Skills training will centre around assessment and care planning, therapeutic intervention approaches, relapse prevention and therapist self-care.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus workshop - 3 hours | 3hrs | Week 1 | 11 times |
Course Topics
The Biopsychosocial model in addiction;
Substance dependence and addiction;
Process and Behavioural dependencies and addictions;
Dual diagnosis in addiction
Harm minimization approaches;
Therapeutic approaches and engagement;
The Stages of Change;
Motivational Interviewing; I, II, III
Shame and other emotions in addiction;
Family impacts of addiction;
Spirituality in Addiction, The 12-step model; The ‘Hole’ in Addiction;
Relapse prevention and the Recovery model;
Assessment in Addictions Counselling and Therapeutic formulation
Therapeutic planning in addiction counselling: What? When?;
Navigating challenges in addictions counselling;
Counsellor safety, growth and self-care
Mature Content
What level is this course?
700 Level (Specialised)
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 | Demonstrate mastery of the theoretical concepts underpinning addictions including biomedical, psychological and social frameworks, and the classification of treatments for a variety of addictions. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker Empowered |
| 2 | Analyse and evaluate the role of counselling, pharmacotherapy and other treatment supports used with individual, couples and family impacted by addiction issues. |
Creative and critical thinker Empowered |
| 3 | Apply knowledge and skills learned in a counselling session. |
Knowledgeable Empowered Ethical |
| 4 | Critically reflect on their own facilitation of Motivational Interviewing within a counselling session. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker Empowered Ethical |
| 5 | Apply a client-directed and outcome informed approach in developing a comprehensive treatment plan for a client presenting with addictions in an ethical and responsible manner. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker Empowered Engaged |
| 6 | Demonstrate a developing scholarly capacity in written submissions, incorporating clarity of written expression, integration of academic literature, and adherence to APA style. |
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
COU750 and COU701 and enrolled in AR708
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 be requested to complete online tests at the end of Weeks 4 and 9, that will assess acquisition and comprehension of material presented during the four weeks prior to each test. Students will receive informal feedback on demonstrated counselling skills within workshops from Week 5.
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 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 20% | 60 minutes |
Refer to Format | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All | 2 | Oral and Written Piece | Individual | 45% | 30 Minutes video-recorded role play; 1000 word written critical reflection |
Week 10 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Case Study | Individual | 35% | 2500 words |
Week 12 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Addictions and Counselling Theory online tests | |||||||
| Goal: | Demonstrate mastery of core theoretical concepts. |
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| Product: | Quiz/zes | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | Submit: Weeks 4 and 9 This task involves completion a set of two on-line, theory-based tests. Each test will consist of four short answer items . Each item will be valued at 2.5 marks. The total available score for each test is 10 marks. Items will cover core concepts covered in Weeks 1-4 (Test 1); and Weeks 5-9(Test 2) of the course. You will have 60 minutes to complete each test. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||
| All - Assessment Task 2:Demonstration of a Counselling Session (Recorded) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | To apply knowledge and skills in a counselling roleplay; To demonstrate capacity to critically reflect on skills and performance |
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| Product: | Oral and Written Piece | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You are invited to conduct and record a role play of a counselling session with yourself in the counsellor role. The session will be based on a client scenario that will be provided to you. You will need to record at least 30 minutes of your role play session in a digital recording format.Your counselling session will address combinations of the following: a) Exploration of a substance abuse or gambling (or other agreed addiction) issue that is affecting a client's well-being; b) A client's decision to modify their behaviour; c) A third visit client review session; d) relapse planning or e) post relapse intervention. In this role play demonstration, you will utilise a client centred practice, further informed by your preferred counselling model.You will then be requested to complete a brief 1000 word critical reflection relating to your counselling session. Focal points for the reflection will include:i) strategies and skills you felt that you used effectively, explaining the effect of those skills on the client-counsellor relationship; ii) strategies and skills that you would like to strengthen; iii) any alternative strategies and skills that may have been potentially appropriate; and iv) consideration on feedback provided by your client. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Applying technologies |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Case Study Care Plan and Rationale | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | To develop a comprehensive therapeutic plan for a client who is seeking to work with their addiction(s). |
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| Product: | Case Study | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | For this task, you will develop the kind of care plan you would prepare in a professional setting.You will be provided with a choice of case studies around which to develop your plan. In developing the care plan, you will research and apply your understanding of an addiction to a client's situation through an assessment process. This will involve:Selecting and applying a method of assessment relevant to that addiction;Developing a care plan based on the proforma provided on Canvas and outlining your rationale and what you understand are the important bio-psycho-social issues for you to monitor and address from a counselling approach. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||||||||||||||
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
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: