Module: PP-Advanced Psychotherapy Practice

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	PP-Advanced Psychotherapy Practice
Module Code	PST1029
Faculty	Nursing, PsyT & Comm Health	School	Science & Health
NFQ level	9	Credit Rating	20

Description

This module incorporates three key components of the taught Doctorate Programme, 1) psychotherapy practice 2) psychotherapy supervision / consultation and 3) personal / professional development, which together form a core stream over the first year of the programme. The purpose of this module is to enhance candidates’ knowledge, skills and reflexive capacity in order to facilitate advanced integration of theory, practice and research and of their personal and professional selves. Candidates are expected to engage in advanced psychotherapy practice, psychotherapy consultation / supervision, personal awareness work, in-class presentations, class based discussion and experiential work, and self-directed learning activities. This work will be recorded in their personal journals and presented in their Professional Portfolio, which provides evidence and a record of their personal and professional development over the duration of the module.

Learning Outcomes

1. Practice and Supervision related competencies: • Demonstrate advanced competency in clinical practice with complex cases. • Critically appraise a range of therapy models / approaches to clinical practice. • Engage in multi-dimensional case conceptualisation and case management and advanced integration of theory, practice and research. • Integrate knowledge of best practice in psychotherapy and engage in critical debate about practice issues. • Demonstrate understanding of how the self of the therapist influences the therapeutic relationship and therapy process. • Demonstrate competence in therapeutic decision-making (e.g. incorporating legal and professional regulations and obligations
2. Personal and Professional development related competencies: • Demonstrate a capacity to give critical, enabling feedback to peers. • Demonstrate capacity to integrate feedback from peers and facilitator. • Demonstrate emotional and psychological availability to engage in critical self and relational reflection. • Demonstrate increased capacity in personal / professional integration. • Demonstrate ability to appraise personal and professional strengths and limitations.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Class Presentation	16	Presentation and discussion/critique of practice models and therapeutic strategies
Group work	12	Clinical Supervision Group
Group work	12	Personal Awareness Group
Independent Study	460	Including clinical practice work, self directed learning and reflection, assessment preparation (portfolio preparation)
Total Workload: 500

Section Breakdown
CRN	11455	Part of Term	Semester 1 & 2
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	PASS/FAIL	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Gemma Kiernan	Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Portfolio	Practice: 1. In-class presentation of practice model 2. Self-directed learning report Supervision: 1. In-class presentations of case related material 2. Clinical competencies self-evaluation 3. Supervision group report 4. Self-directed learning report Personal / Professional Development: 1. Reflective essay on key learnings from year 1 2. Personal awareness group report 3. Self-directed learning report	100%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

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

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Bolton, G.: 2014, Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development, 4th Ed, Sage, London,
Florio, C.: 2010, Burnout and Compassion Fatigue, Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 0, 9781452885902
Hawkins, P. and McMahon, A.: 2020, Supervision in the Helping Professions, 5th Ed., McGraw- Hill/ Open University Press, London,
Kaur, Rupi: 2022, Healing Through Words, Simon and Schuster, UK,
Lane, D.A., Corrie, S.: 2012, Making Successful Decisions in Counselling and Psychotherapy, McGraw Hill, England,
Mahon, D.: 2023, Evidence Based Counselling and Psychotherapy for the 21st Century Practitioner, Emerald Publishing, UK,
Page, S. & Wosket, V.: 2015, Supervising the Counsellor and Psychotherapist,, 3rd Ed., Routledge, London,
Norcross, J. C., & Lambert, M. J: 2019, Psychotherapy relationships that work. Volume 1: Evidence-based therapist contributions, 3rd ed, Oxford University Press., New York,
Reeves, A. & Bond, T.: 0, Standards and Ethics for Counselling in Action, 5th ed, Sage, London,
Wing Sue, D., Sue, D., Neville, H., Smith, L.: 2019, Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice, 8th ed,
Wosket, V.: 2016, The Therapeutic use of Self: Counselling Practice, Research and Supervision, Routledge, London,

Articles:

Grover, Naveen Lakhani, Sheetal Emran, Ashti: 2021, Reflective practice in action: an account of psychotherapists' experiences in group work training., Reflective Practice, 22(6), 782–795., 66383
2017: Guidelines for reflective practice in Psychotherapy: A reflection on the benefits of combining moment-by-moment and phase-by-phase mapping in clinical decision making., Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 27(1), 35-46, 66384, 2
Personal development groups during psychotherapy training: Irish students’ expectations and experiences of vulnerability, safety and growth: Counselling Psychology Quarterly,, 33:2, 163-186,

Other Resources

0: European Association of Psychotherapy’s (EAP: 2013) framework of core competencies in practising psychotherapy. (http://www.europsyche.org/download/cms/100510/Final-Core-Competencies-v-3-3_July2013.pdf),