School: Arts and Humanities

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Counselling in a Digital World
  • Unit Code

    COU6505
  • Year

    2025
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    2
  • Credit Points

    20
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Ms Mallory MURINGAPI MUTUMA

Description

Counselling treatment as we know it is undergoing a fundamental change, driven by the widespread availability of digital technology and current global events. Now more than ever people are seeking psychological support via online platforms and advancements in communication technologies mean that counsellors can provide these services in unique and far-reaching ways. In response to trends in the industry, this unit explores how the fundamental theories and techniques of counselling can be translated and adapted for delivery across a range of digital and online modalities. The advantages and strengths of delivering online counselling will be examined, as well as the ethical and legal risks and challenges. This unit also provides students with opportunities to develop their practical counselling skills through online exercises.

Non Standard Timetable Requirements

For accelerated online, enrolment is classified as part-time, as students are studying one unit per study period with 6 accelerated study periods per year, each 7 weeks in length.

Prerequisite Rule

I90 students must have passed COU6501, COU6502 and COU6503 in order to enrol in this unit.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Critically analyse counselling theory and its application in a digital setting.
  2. Investigate the ethical and legal frameworks relevant to online therapeutic interventions.
  3. Apply professional and technical skills to design, implement and evaluate counselling interventions across a range of modalities.
  4. Collaborate and communicate with fellow students to practice a range of counselling skills via online platforms.
  5. Engage in reflective practice to monitor professional functioning and implement strategies for ongoing development.

Unit Content

  1. Theory and practice of counselling relevant to online and digital modalities.
  2. Skills and techniques for framing an online counselling session, including; attending; building rapport; framing the session; problem identification and goal setting; termination; and record keeping.
  3. Methods of online counselling and therapy, including; video sessions (e-therapy); telephone (teletherapy); chat rooms; emails and text; and self-directed online programs.
  4. Strengths and advantages of online counselling.
  5. Risks and weaknesses of online counselling.
  6. Ethics relevant to online counselling, including; confidentiality and consent; security and privacy online; record keeping and data management; managing boundaries; and child safe practices.
  7. Reflective practice and supervision for the digital counsellor.

Learning Experience

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
Participation ^Virtual classroom - practical skills development 15%
EssayEthical considerations in online counselling40%
ExerciseOnline roleplay and reflection45%

^ Mandatory to Pass


Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

COU6505|2|1