Psychology and Counselling with Foundation BSc Honours

This module will focus on some major themes within the discipline of psychology, as demonstrated and illustrated through the experiences and events that people are exposed to in contemporary environments. Using materials including news stories, films, TV portrayals and traditional texts, the module will introduce some themes in psychology and consider the ways in which they are portrayed in popular culture. The module includes content that reflects the university's agenda on equality, diversity and inclusion and our sustainable development goals.

Critical thinking is fundamental to our ability to progress in an increasingly complex and changing world. It is an essential skill across a range of academic and practice-based disciplines.

This module helps you understand the importance and function of critical thinking both at university and beyond. By working in partnership with academic staff and peers, you will explore how critical thinking aligns with disciplinary practices, shapes scholarly knowledge, and addresses inequalities. Through problem-posing education and anti-racist practices, you will engage with real-world problems, fostering the ability to create a more just and sustainable world.

This module introduces you to the concepts of history and memory. Using topical case studies, the module invites you to consider how the past is related to the present and how history and memory are constituted, challenged and constantly evolving. Through the module, history is made relevant to you by asking to whom history and historical objects belong and what they mean to individuals and society.

This module introduces you to the key academic, professional, and personal skills essential for success at university. It encourages good practices in writing, presentation, and time management, while also fostering reflection to help you build confidence as you transition to higher education. Open to all students enrolled in courses delivered through Westminster Foundation Pathways, the module provides a creative and supportive environment where you can reflect on and develop their academic and professional journey. You'll work with specialist facilitators who play a crucial role in guiding your academic and professional development.

With a focus on managing academic choices in a higher education setting, the module emphasises the importance of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), using methodologies that prioritise equality, diversity, and inclusion. Through these lenses, you'll explore topics that prepare you to address real-world challenges as highlighted in the SDGs in a socially conscious, inclusive, and responsible manner.

This module will give a broad overview of the everyday applications of psychology, and the questions that are raised through the experiences and events that people are exposed to in their usual environments. Starting with simple questions such as 'Why do people help each other?' and 'would I be happier if I won the lottery?' the module introduces core areas of psychology, pioneers that have influenced the way we study psychology and the scientific principles that challenge our understanding of everyday life. The module includes content that reflects the University's agenda on equality, diversity and inclusion and our sustainable development goals.

This module introduces you to some current topics in the study of society, with a focus on key debates in sociology such as gender, race, class, the family and crime. The module prepares you to engage with the methods of teaching and learning at the university level. The multidisciplinary nature of the module enables you to form a more critical and analytical approach to issues which are relevant to your life experience.

The module considers human psychology and behaviour from a biological perspective. The module assumes no prior knowledge and provides a basic introduction into the breadth of psychobiology, neurology, psychophysiology and related areas. This includes introductory level neuroanatomy and physiology, progressing to higher organisation of the nervous system and functional anatomy. Also introduced are basic physiology, the biological bases of behaviour and learning, nociception, control systems and the fundamentals of evolution and genetics.

The study of 'thinking' and how people process the world around them and interact with it forms a core topic in psychology, namely cognition. This module provides you with a broad overview of the key themes in Cognitive Psychology, including memory, attention, sensation and perception (including object recognition, imagery), learning theory, language and problem solving. Teaching will include both formal lectures and hands-on activities to provide insight into how research into cognition is carried out.

This module provides a broad-based, contemporary view of developmental Psychology taking a lifespan approach. It explores key topics such as attachment, language development and aging. The module includes the interacting contributions of biology and the environment to the developing person, and their social context throughout the lifespan.

Considers topics in the field of psychological individual differences, eg personality, psychological testing, intelligence, cognitive style, emotion, motivation, mood, mental health, gender and ethnicity. There is a focus on topics, models and issues currently seen as well supported by empirical evidence, important in the field, and for applied practice. Teaching and learning methods include lectures, practical workshops, seminars and independent study.

Introduction to: psychological research using methodologies drawn from qualitative and quantitative research; the principles underlying quantitative and qualitative data analysis; the ethical issues relating to research; use of statistical software; reporting psychological investigations. Data collected from investigations within the module and in other level 4 modules will be used to teach data analysis. The inherent variability and diversity of psychological measures will be made explicit.

This module provides a broad introduction to social psychology and the study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context. Specific topics include an introduction to social perception (including the self-concept, elements of social perception, and stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination). You'll also learn about the impact of social influence (including conformity and obedience, attitudes and persuasion, and group influence) and social relationships (attraction and close relationships, helping behaviour, and aggression). As part of this module, you'll also develop your academic essay-writing skills.

This module introduces the development and practice of counselling skills and personal reflection, which are at the heart of therapeutic work. As such, there is an emphasis on experiential and practice-based activities. The module builds upon a number of areas covered at level 4, including qualitative research methods, social psychology, and individual differences. There is also a reflective-teaching component, whereby the conceptual issues around counselling skills and reflection are discussed, so that students can apply them in practice. Students are also encouraged to reflect on their personal and professional development and document their learning in a reflective diary.

This module will give you a valuable opportunity to engage in 35 hours of work-based learning activities. Gaining practical experience for example, in a relevant work-based setting or equivalent offers you the opportunity to cultivate transferable skills for career success. Applied settings may include supporting individuals dealing with mental health issues, brain injuries, or dementia, working in hospitals, social services, the criminal justice system, or befriending and assisting children in schools. In cases where securing a physical volunteer placement proves challenging, you can utilise your current paid employment, provided your role aligns with the Graduate Attributes. Alternatively, you can participate in a series of online distance learning virtual activities, ensuring flexibility and diverse avenues for experiential learning.

Taking this module will develop your competence in collecting and coding qualitative data by acquiring interviewing skills and by developing your skill in coding transcript data. You will also develop skills in designing, analysing, and interpreting the results of experiments with more than two conditions, and survey designs involving multiple predictors.

This module provides coverage of various approaches under the broad rubric of humanistic counselling and psychotherapy. The various humanistic approaches to therapy include person-centred therapy, existential therapy, Gestalt therapy, and transpersonal therapy. You'll also explore a range of concepts and principles that bind these approaches, such as self-development and self-actualisation, human givens of existence, and a holistic framework. The relationship between theory and practice will be illustrated through practical exercises, and observing videos of therapeutic sessions.

This module will introduce you to the theory and practice of two major psychotherapy approaches: psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). These approaches will be explored through applying them to personal experiences and case study material. Half of the module gives an overview of the history and development of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Some core clinical ideas and assumptions will be explored through literature and case studies. In addition, the module aims to enable you to use your own personal experiences to understand the literature and thereby to cultivate reflective practice and make sense of ideas presented. Half of the module provides coverage to CBT, including it’s theoretical development, therapeutic principles, and some of the techniques and skills used. You will also have the opportunity to observe CBT in action through videos, and will be able to practice some of the techniques.

This module explores the psychological, developmental, and contextual factors underlining therapeutic work with children and young people (CYP). You will study key theories, creative approaches, ethical and safeguarding considerations, and contemporary challenges affecting CYP mental health and wellbeing. The module encourages applied understanding through the assessment, which is to design a Therapeutic Toolkit – a set of creative resources and activities suitable for CYP. You'll engage in seminars and workshops to practice skills, discuss case studies, and collaboratively develop toolkit resources.

Emotions are not just a private matter. This module explores the centrality of emotions to interpersonal and social life such as love, shame and anger. It examines theories which challenge our assumptions that emotions are solely psychological cognitive states. It will offer alternative models which make the case that emotions emerge out of the social relations in which you are experienced, and are thus tied to social inequalities of gender, class and race. The module includes a reflective assessment, in the form of an individual interactive ‘interview’, which addresses how the sociology of emotions can be used to transform professional practice for psychology, counselling and sociology.

This module provides an in depth understanding of the cognitive and neuronal mechanisms that underlie a range of mind-body therapeutic interventions, e.g. mindfulness, focusing, yoga, cognitive behavioural therapy, neurofeedback. You'll use an evidence-based approach to explain and evaluate how the connection between mind and brain can be modulated to bring about positive outcomes in specific conditions, groups and populations.  While this will include a historical context and the traditional therapeutic application of these interventions, you'll also explore the breadth of ways in which they can be applied to other populations and settings, for example in schools, or for creative artists.

Climate change is both abstract and complex, and often feels like a problem our brains are hard-wired to ignore. Yet climate change is the result of human behaviours, and this places people and their actions at the center of the crisis. This module will provide an interdisciplinary exploration of how people are conceptualising and responding to climate change. You'll examine this from the level of the individual, drawing on the psychology of attitudes, perceptions and behavioural change approaches, as well as from the level of group and societal level decision making processes, including policy issues and forums for decision making such as climate assemblies and international agreements.

This module focusses on understanding psychological differences from multiple perspectives and the value of diversity in the global context. It examines the two-way relationship between biological and social factors in human development. It also explores how differences between individuals, and between groups of people, are largely socially constructed, resulting in prejudice and discrimination.

This module explores some of the clinical issues that clients may typically present in therapy. Examples include life transitions, trauma, adverse childhood experiences, working with shame, understanding and working with attachment styles, anger management, grief and bereavement, and endings in therapy. There is also consideration of counselling assessment and formulation to guide the therapeutic process.

This module is focused on the professional and ethical issues that psychotherapists and counsellors encounter in their clinical practice. These issues are considered within a critical framework that encompasses a multi-cultural perspective and link to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including an appreciation of issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity. The module will provide students with an appreciation and understanding of professional codes, frameworks and guidelines as set out by regulatory bodies such as the BPS, HCPC, BACP, UKCP and NICE. Of particular importance in this module is the consideration of a range of professional and ethical scenarios and dilemmas that may be encountered in day-to-day practice and to explore how to work professionally and ethically in such situations. The impact of research on professional practice and how theory is linked to professional practice is also included in this module.

The project module requires students to carry out their own piece of independent research under the guidance of a supervisor. The research topic chosen must be appropriate to psychology, involves empirical research, and is assessed in the form of a written report.

Focusing on the theory and practice of clinical psychology, a critical approach is taken towards the diagnosis and classification of mental illness, current aetiological theories and a range of clinical interventions used by clinical psychologist and other mental health professionals. Psychological disorders and conditions considered include: depression, suicidal behaviour, the psychoses, personality disorders, eating disorders, dissociative disorders and anxiety.

What happens when a part of the brain doesn't develop properly or becomes damaged by infection or injury? This module explores a range of conditions caused by brain lesions, asking how people's lives are transformed by them, how you assess them and how you treat them. Disorders examined will include those of memory, perception, thinking and language and the neuropsychological lesions underlying them.

This interdisciplinary module lies at the heart of what psychology is about, ie what it means to be a (conscious) human being. You will investigate the subject of consciousness from different angles, including evolution/development, neuroscience, embodied cognition, attention, language, Artificial Intelligence, clinical psychology, philosophy. Using your acquired knowledge from the first 2 years, you will be encouraged to make links between the main module topics, assess how you interact, debate what it means to be conscious, and critically evaluate the concept of self-consciousness and its relation to attention and the binding problem. You will do this both from a third and first person (phenomenological) perspective (partly through the use of thought experiments). This will include tackling some philosophical issues such as free will vs determinism, mind vs machine, as well as altered states of consciousness (eg dreams, hypnosis, vegetative state, mindfulness meditation, psychedelic drugs), and the perception of time.

This module investigates the nature and scope of Forensic Psychology in its broadest sense covering the entire UK criminal justice system processes and practices. Areas covered include psychological theories of crime; eyewitness memory and testimony; police interviewing techniques; psychological theories relating to sexual violence; the treatment of sex offenders and vulnerable offenders; and mental health in prison and probation contexts. Some content will vary from year to year, dependent on the availability of guest speakers.

This module considers the interdisciplinary and applied nature of health psychology, exploring biological, psychological and socio-cultural determinants of health and illness. Topics include approaches to health and illness behaviour, management of long-term conditions, health-care communication, stress and wellbeing. Emphasis is given to an evidence and practice-based approach.

This module aims to explore how psychological theory and research has been applied to teaching and learning in formal settings from pre-school to university. Key topics include: Theories of teaching and learning, assessment, schooling, literacy, inclusion, bullying, motivation, educational neuroscience and critical pedagogy. The module addresses how the work of educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and teachers is informed by empirical research.

This module is focused on how issues concerned with sex may impact on people's lives. There will be an emphasis on integrating the dimension of sexualities. You'll explore the meaning of sex as part of the human condition and the development of relationship with one’s personhood. You'll have the opportunity to explore theory and application of sex therapy through concepts such as the bio-psycho-social model, the therapeutic alliance, clinical case studies and various therapeutic modalities.