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Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title Philosophy & Psychotherapy
Module Code NS618 (ITS) / PST1030 (Banner)
Faculty Science & Health School Nursing, PsyT & Comm Health
Module Co-ordinatorStephanie swales
Module Teachers-
NFQ level 9 Credit Rating 15
Pre-requisite Not Available
Co-requisite Not Available
Compatibles Not Available
Incompatibles Not Available
None
Description

This module is designed to engage the candidate in critical inquiry about the philosophical underpinnings of popular models of psychotherapy. Candidates will be encouraged to critically discuss the influence, interconnections and disconnections between philosophy and psychotherapy. It will explore the influences of philosophical paradigms on key aspects of psychotherapy such as conceptualisations of being & humanity, pathology & problematisation, growth and change, responsibility, therapeutic relationship and therapists’ roles. Furthermore, the module aims to assist candidates to articulate and critically examine their own professional and personal philosophies regarding psychotherapy practice and to widen their horizon of understanding about the implicit and explicit influence of philosophy in the world of psychotherapy. Through independent study, candidates will engage in a depth of reading, reflection and critical appraisal of philosophical positions with respect to dominant approaches to psychotherapy.

Learning Outcomes

1. Articulate the influence, interconnections and disconnections between philosophy and psychotherapy.
2. Critically discuss philosophical positions, for example, phenomenology, post-modernism, post-structuralism, constructivism, social constructivism and moral philosophy.
3. Explore different approaches in psychotherapy and debate how each is informed from a philosophical perspective.
4. Investigate and critically discuss what conceptualisations of being & humanity, pathology & problematisation, growth & change, responsibility, therapeutic relationship and therapists’ roles are held by major schools of psychotherapy.
5. Critically appraise the psychotherapy model(s) that influence their practice and describe the philosophical underpinnings of these model(s).
6. Explore the ethical implications of embracing specific psychotherapeutic positions and various ways of viewing and enacting the therapeutic relationship.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture15No Description
Tutorial10No Description
Seminars10No Description
Independent Study90No Description
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Philosophy, Psychotherapy, ethics, phenomenology, post-modernism, post-structuralism, constructivism
Philosophical positions, e.g. phenomenology, post-modernism, post-structuralism, constructivism, social constructivism and moral philosophy. Philosophical underpinnings of major schools of psychotherapy, for example, Person-centred, Psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Systemic psychotherapy and CBT. Conceptualisations of being & humanity, pathology & problematisation, growth & change, responsibility, therapeutic relationship and therapists’ roles. Ethics, philosophy and psychotherapy

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
EssayFollowing group discussion and feedback to the candidate on their presentation, the candidate will produce a Doctoral level essay which critically discusses the influence, interconnections and disconnections between their chosen philosophy and contemporary psychotherapy practice. Candidates are encouraged to write the essay with a view to gaining a publication in a peer reviewed philosophical or psychotherapy60%Sem 2 End
PresentationCandidates will make a 20 minute presentation and lead a discussion with the learning group which demonstrates an in-depth appreciation of the central postulations of their chosen philosophy. The presentation will critically examine the influence of the chosen philosophy on contemporary psychotherapy practice.40%Sem 2 End
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories:
Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module.
Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module.
Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 1
Indicative Reading List

  • Miller Mair: 1989, Between Psychology and Psychotherapy”:, Routledge,
  • Bermudez, J.L.: 2005, Philosophy of Psychology, Routledge, New York and London,
  • Zizek, S: 2009, In Defense of Lost Causes, Verso, London,
  • Foucault, M.: 2006, The History of Madness, Routledge, London,
  • Pope, K.S., & Vasques, J.T.,: 2007, Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide., Jossey-Bass, CA,
Other Resources

None

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