96844 Advanced Psychological Assessment and Intervention
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
Psychological practice involves conducting valid and reliable assessments and determining appropriate evidence-based intervention strategies to promote behavioural change and symptom reduction. In this subject, students step into the shoes of both psychologist and patient to gain advanced insights into psychological assessment and interventions through experiential learning. Students learn about the scientist-practitioner model, and core concepts in mental health and applied psychology. They develop important professional skills relevant to a future career in psychological science or clinical practice via interactive learning experiences and group collaboration.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| 030. | Offer constructive feedback on a communication project |
|---|---|
| 032. | Incorporate self-awareness and self-care practices to support and/or promote high quality performance |
| 034. | Collaborate effectively on team-based projects |
| 036. | Develop competence in adapting to changing technologies |
| 044. | Critique high intensity and low intensity psychological intervention strategies for individuals and the implications for research and professional practice |
| 047. | Debate the importance of using valid and reliable assessment tools in psychology |
| 048. | Demonstrate ability to assess a measure's evidence of validity, reliability and suitability to measure the target construct |
| 049. | Select appropriate assessment measures and methods for a given case |
| 053. | Communicate results of assessment in an appropriate format |
| 058. | Argue the importance of the scientist-practitioner approach to psychological research and intervention |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
The learning outcomes for this subject are as follows:
- Psychological Literacy: Justify the application of psychological science to meet personal, professional, and societal goals. (2.1)
- Interpersonal and Teamwork: Develop interpersonal, teamwork, and interview skills appropriate to psychological practice and research. (2.3)
- Domain-specific: Apply knowledge of psychometric theory to the implementation and interpretation of psychological assessment. (2.4)
- Domain-specific: Evaluate the application of psychological intervention strategies across contexts. (2.5)
- Lifelong Learning: Assemble advanced knowledge, skills, and attributes required for self-directed pursuit of scholarly inquiry in psychology and for ongoing personal and professional learning. (3.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
This subject contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes:
2. Psychologically and technologically literate - Graduates of the Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced) understand psychology and behaviour from an evidence-based perspective, can apply psychological science to real-world problems, and are competent in the design, analysis, critique, and communication of research.
3. Lifelong learner - Graduates of the Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced) appreciate the importance of lifelong learning and are equipped to undertake ongoing learning for personal development and professional practice as they move along the novice to expert continuum.
Teaching and learning strategies
Orientation activities
Preparation for the session - You are expected to undertake activities during orientation week. These activities are designed to introduce you to the subject and your peers and will assist you to prepare for the subject's assessment tasks.
Independent learning activities
Relevant readings, videos and activities will be made available online relevant to the topic of the week. This will support your ability to progress successfully throughout the subject and complete assessment items effectively. The online material aims to enhance your understanding of the topic or delve deeper into a more specific area, compare experiences and ideas with others and gain feedback. Information and links to all these learning activities can be accessed via Canvas as well as the subject outline.
Zoom meetings
You are strongly encouraged to attend all scheduled Zoom meetings as they will prepare you for the subject’s assessment tasks. Additionally, they provide opportunities for group activities, discussion, self-assessment, peer review and formative feedback from the subject coordinator and your teaching team. The schedule for this subject’s zoom meetings is provided on Canvas.
Feedback
Feedback in this subject takes several forms including self-assessment, peer review, automatic feedback from interactive activities and from the teaching team. Formative feedback throughout the subject aims to increase your performance in summative assessments.
Feedback and changes from previous subject offering
We will be collecting feedback from you in several forms to evaluate the design, relevance and depth of the content and its delivery. We appreciate you taking part in this process to ensure we are delivering subjects that are contemporary and meet your needs.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Experience eCBT in action
| Intent: | In this assessment, students personally experience a psychological intervention and reflect on their experience. Students demonstrate their advanced knowledge of psychological interventions as well as their critical evaluation abilities and written communication skills. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 032, 036, 044 and 058 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 2.1, 2.5 and 3.1 |
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 50% |
| Length: | 300 words (Part A); 1250 words (Part B) |
| Criteria: | Marking criteria is available on Canvas |
Assessment task 2: Questionnaires in action
| Intent: | This assessment provides students an opportunity to practice and demonstrate their advanced psychological assessment skills by selecting appropriate psychological measures, building a survey, collecting real data, and then scoring and interpreting self-report questionnaires. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 049 and 053 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 2.4 |
| Type: | Exercises |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 25% |
| Length: | Part A: Test battery consisting of information sheet, background questions, and questionnaires, as well as associated data file including the responses of at least three (N = 3) participants. Part B: Six multiple choice questions (one of these questions has 3 parts) |
| Criteria: | Marking criteria is available on Canvas. |
Assessment task 3: Virtual group presentation
| Intent: | This assessment provides a platform for students to demonstrate their advanced knowledge of psychological assessment, as well as their effective teamwork, collaboration, and advanced communication skills. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 030, 034, 047 and 048 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 2.3 and 2.4 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Group, individually assessed |
| Weight: | 25% |
| Length: | Six-minute group presentation |
| Criteria: | Marking criteria is available on Canvas |
Recommended texts
Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2017). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Cengage Learning.
Wedding, D., & Corsini, R. J. (2019). Current psychotherapies. Cengage Learning.
American Psychological Association (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.
O’Shea, R. & McKenzie, W. (2021). Writing for Psychology. Cengage Learning.
References
University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). (2020). Assessment of coursework subjects policy and procedures, UTS.
A comprehensive list of references and other resources are available in this subject in Canvas.
Other resources
UTS Student Centre
Building 10
Monday to Friday: 9am - 5pm
Tel: 1300 ASK UTS (1300 275 887)
For other resources/information refer to the Faculty of Health website and Canvas.
UTS Library
The Library has a wide range of resources, facilities and services to support you including textbooks, subject readings, health literature databases, workshops and bookable study rooms. There is also a team of librarians to help you with your questions available via online chat, phone and in person. W: lib.uts.edu.au, Facebook: utslibrary, Twitter: @utslibrary Tel: +61 2 9514 3666.
Improve your academic and English language skills
Marks for all assessment tasks such as assignments and examinations are given not only for what you write but also for how you write. If you would like the opportunity to improve your academic and English language skills, make an appointment with the HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support) Service in Student Services.