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PSY-30178 - Module Specification
School of Psychology
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2025/26 Last Updated: 04 December 2025

PSY-30178 - Personal Development & Practical Applications in Person-Centred Counselling
Coordinator: Kerese Collins
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733736

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2025/26

This module will provide the opportunity to learn and practice, person-centred counselling skills, in a safe and facilitative environment with support from tutors and your peers. At the same time, you will be encouraged to reflect upon your own personal and professional development. This means that the module can help you to develop important employability skills that will be useful if you later choose to pursue a counselling or therapeutic career, or if you choose any other pathway that involves working with others. Teaching sessions on the module will incorporate experiential learning and personal tutorials, alongside lectures and discussion activities, and you will engage in independent study to ensure that you develop a good understanding of the literature around person-centred counselling practice.

Aims
This module aims to facilitate your development of person-centred attitudes and skills in a structured environment that is characterised by a commitment to the ethical principles outlined in the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.

Talis Aspire Reading List
Any reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.
http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/psy-30178/lists

Intended Learning Outcomes

critically evaluate personal attitudes and values in relation to the BACP Ethical Framework: 2
engage in reflective practice to enhance self-awareness and professional growth: 1,2
apply person-centred counselling skills in practice with peers, demonstrating sensitivity to ethical principles and professional boundaries as outlined in the BACP Ethical Framework.: 1
critically evaluate the impact of personal biases and assumptions in therapeutic relationships: 2

Study hours

44 hours structured contact time:
Structured contact time comprising weekly lectures, and engagement in personal development and skills development activities. These will include participation in group process in which students will be invited to explore how it might be to encounter each other in a personal development group. Skills work will entail practicing with each other in triads during scheduled skills sessions, in which students will take turns being client, counsellor and observer. These sessions will be recorded and students will submit one of these recordings for Assessment 1, with informed consent from the peer client. The cohort will work together to create a Group contract which will be upheld throughout the course, to ensure safety of all students involved in the group. As much of the learning on this course is experiential, students will be expected to attend all scheduled sessions.

106 hours independent study:
Self-directed learning including reading, completion of asynchronous activities assigned, reflective journaling and preparing for and completing the assessments.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Reflective Diary weighted 0%
Reflective Counselling Log
Students will complete a Counselling Log to evidence completion of at least 4 practice sessions with peers. In the log, in no more than 150 words per session, students will briefly reflect on their personal and professional development and what they have learnt about themselves and others, through their practice with peers. Logs must demonstrate adherence to ethical practice. Students must pass this assessment in order to pass the Module.

2: Essay weighted 100%
Personal Development Essay
Students will write a 2,500-word reflective essay, exploring their personal experiences during the person-centred skills practice sessions and the Process Group component of the course. The essay should demonstrate thoughtful integration of: - Person-centred counselling theory - Insights from the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions - Critical reflections on how to personal biases and assumptions might impact therapeutic relationships - Reflections from their personal learning journal Students are expected to critically reflect on their development, challenges, and learning, making clear links between their experiences, person-centred theoretical concepts, and ethical considerations.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 04 December 2025