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Course Outline

PSY402 Professional Practice of Psychology

Course Coordinator:Daniel Fassnacht (dfassnacht@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Psychology

2026Trimester 2

UniSC Sunshine Coast

UniSC 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

This course provides practical training that leads to the acquisition of knowledge about, and skills and experience in, conducting psychological assessment. This includes knowledge concerning the administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological tests, theoretical and practical elements of clinical history taking, and professional report writing. The course is designed to build knowledge of, and skill in, formalised assessment, interviewing and listening, the conduct of a clinical interview and technical report writing.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Blended learning
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus tutorial/workshop - 3 hours 3hrs Week 1 12 times

Course Topics

Building professional relationships; consent; history taking; behavioural observations; mental state exams; neuropsychology; formulation; treatment planning; burnout; risk assessment

What level is this course?

400 Level (Graduate)

Demonstrating coherence and breadth or depth of knowledge and skills. Independent application of knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Meeting professional requirements and AQF descriptors for the degree. May require pre-requisites where discipline specific introductory or developing knowledge or skills is necessary. Normally undertaken in the third or fourth full-time study year of an undergraduate program.

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 Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... Professional Standard Mapping * Australian Psychology Accreditation Council
1 Demonstrate professional and ethical practice regarding the rights of clients who participate in a psychological assessment or intervention Knowledgeable
Ethical
Engaged 
2.1, 2.3, 2.4
2 Comprehend, explain, and select from a range of psychological assessment techniques Knowledgeable
Empowered 
2.1, 2.3
3 Demonstrate appropriate listening and verbal interaction skills when interacting with a client including awareness of diverse cultural backgrounds Empowered
Engaged 
2.1, 2.2
4 Understand and appreciate the social and cultural factors that might influence the outcome of a psychological assessment Knowledgeable
Ethical
Engaged 
2.1, 2.3
5 Create a case formulation from client interview data and communicate your findings Knowledgeable
Creative and critical thinker
Empowered
Engaged 
2.1, 2.3, 2.4

* Competencies by Professional Body

CODE COMPETENCY
Australian Psychology Accreditation Council
2.1 Taking into account broad diversity, and consistent with current relevant legal frameworks and codes of ethical practice, graduates apply psychological knowledge to competently and ethically demonstrate successful (prior or concurrent) achievement of foundational competencies.
2.2 Taking into account broad diversity, and consistent with current relevant legal frameworks and codes of ethical practice, graduates apply psychological knowledge to competently and ethically demonstrate appropriate interpersonal communication and interview skills in situations appropriate to psychological practice and research. This includes active listening, clarifying and reflecting, effective questioning, developing rapport, appropriate cultural responsiveness and empathic responding.
2.3 Taking into account broad diversity, and consistent with current relevant legal frameworks and codes of ethical practice, graduates apply psychological knowledge to competently and ethically demonstrate basic assessment strategies in situations appropriate to psychological practice and knowledge of psychometric theory and principles of the construction, cultural considerations, implementation and interpretation of some of the more widely used standardised psychological test instruments.
2.4 Taking into account broad diversity, and consistent with current relevant legal frameworks and codes of ethical practice, graduates apply psychological knowledge to competently and ethically explain how basic psychological intervention strategies can be applied across a range of contexts.

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

SC407 or AR403 or (AR405 and PSY300, PSY301, PSY302, PSY303, PSY304, PSY305, PSY306 AND PSY307)

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

Regular case discussions and opportunities to practice skills will be provided in class. Please use these opportunities to track your learning, and raise any questions or concerns with your course coordinator.

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 Practical / Laboratory Skills Individual 30% 
10 minutes
 Refer to Format Online Submission
All 2 Report Individual 30% 
1,000 words
 Refer to Format Online Submission
All 3 Examination - Centrally Scheduled Individual 40% 
120 minutes
 Exam Period Online Submission
All - Assessment Task 1:Clinical intake interview
Goal: 
This task is designed for you to demonstrate clinical microskills for intake interviewing.
Product: Practical / Laboratory Skills
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
The role play is 10 minutes and will be submitted as a video. See Canvas for further details.

This assessment task will be due between weeks 4 - 6 of the teaching trimester. The final date of submission for this task will be determined once public holidays and the course timetable have been published prior to the commencement of trimester. Please refer to your course Canvas site at the commencement of the teaching trimester to confirm the due date for this assessment task.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Professional presence and rapport
 1 3 4
2 
Counselling microskills
 1 3 4
3 
Reflection of emotion and content
 1 3 4
4 
Asking relevant open and closed (where relevant) questions related to the assessment area.
 1 2 3 4
5 
Time management
 3
6 
Summarising the session
 1 3
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving
All - Assessment Task 2:MSE and formulation
Goal: 
You will be provided with a client history of an anonymous client. Having watched the video, you will complete two of the critical elements of a psychological report – the mental state examination (MSE) and the formulation.
Product: Report
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
Standard clinical report format.

This assessment task will be due between weeks 8 - 11 of the teaching trimester. The final date of submission for this task will be determined once public holidays and the course timetable have been published prior to the commencement of trimester. Please refer to your course Canvas site at the commencement of the teaching trimester to confirm the due date for this assessment task.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Correct summary of the client’s mental state, using appropriate and accurate terminology that properly reflect the observed phenomena
 1 4 5
2 
Theoretically coherent and well explained formulation
 4 5
3 
Quality of written expression and presentation
 5
4 
Correct diagnosis and differentials using an established taxonomy
 5
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving
All - Assessment Task 3:Final examination
Goal: 
This exam allows you to integrate the theory and practice taught over the program with regard to psychological assessment knowledge, process of information gathering, selection of appropriate tests, formulation and evaluation of treatment including awareness of diverse cultural backgrounds.
Product: Examination - Centrally Scheduled
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
Written examination in the formal examination period.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
​Accurate description of a range of psychological assessment techniques
 1 2
2 
understand DSM 5 diagnostic criteria and apply this to treatment planning
 4
3 
understand the importance of interviewing and formulation skills in psychological assessment
 2
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving

Assessment to competency mapping

Programme Delivery Mode Assessment Type Title Competency Teaching Methods
APAC Australian Psychology Accreditation Council Accreditation Standards: Graduate Competencies
All delivery modes Examination - Centrally Scheduled Final examination 2.1 Taught, Practiced, Assessed
2.3 Taught, Practiced, Assessed
2.4 Taught, Practiced, Assessed
Practical / Laboratory Skills Clinical intake interview 2.1 Taught, Practiced, Assessed
2.2 Taught, Practiced, Assessed
2.3 Taught, Practiced, Assessed
Report MSE and formulation 2.1 Taught, Practiced, Assessed
2.3 Taught, Practiced, Assessed
2.4 Taught, Practiced, Assessed

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

There are no required/recommended resources for this course.

Specific requirements

Information regarding prescribed texts or other associated resources will be made available on the Canvas site prior to commencement of study.

How are risks managed in this course?

Health and safety risks for this course have been assessed as low. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

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: 

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