| Academy of Trauma Therapists

Master of Psychotherapy

The Masters Degree Program provides advanced training in specific areas of psychotherapeutic practice and is designed for people wishing to pursue additional, practical, in-depth training in psychotherapy. The course is strongly oriented toward supervised practical work involving personal development, clinical demonstrations and systematic reference to relevant theory.

It involves students in this ongoing process of applied practice. It is normally undertaken over two years. It requires successful completion of four units of coursework, a counselling placement and a research project.

The Program

Research Project – MPc1 MPc2
Semester 1 and 2
Cost – $1,650 per semester

An integral part of the program is the completion of a practice-based research project, presented in the form of a minor thesis of around 15000 words. A research topic is mutually agreed upon by the candidate and the supervisor of the research project. Often, this will be a topic directly related to the student’s practical work, as it is normally based on a suite of case studies. In this way the student will be given the opportunity to further their clinical practice by deepening their understanding of a selected area of interest.

Counselling Placement – MPc3 MPc4
Semester 3 and 4
Cost – $1,650 per semester

Students undertaking the counselling placement will gain valuable practical experience in the Cairnmillar Community Counselling Service. Others gain specialty involvement in schools and community organisations, involving work with anxiety, trauma, children, relationship and marriage problems. The counseling placement enables the student to undertake supervised clinical casework in accordance with the ethical, legal and professional issues associated with practice.

Examples of Research Topics

• An investigation of the effectiveness of school-based counselling on children affected by divorce.
• An exploration of therapeutic possibilities for youths with disruptive behavior disorders based on individual case studies.
• An examination of the effects of family therapy on families with an adolescent suffering from an eating disorder.

Credit Points

16 credit points including 8 credit points from
Graduate Diploma plus

Core Subjects

• Research Project (2 credit points)
• Counselling Placement (2 credit points)

Electives

• Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
• Existential Psychotherapy
• Key Competencies in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy
• Health Psychology

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Entry Requirements

Normal Entry

Completion of the Graduate Diploma with a credit level achievement in at least four of the eight units, or a degree with honours with studies in welfare, social work, psychology, social sciences, nursing, medicine, education or similar.

If this pathway is used then it is expected that most students will need to complete a number of prerequisite subjects in the Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate to meet the full requirements of the qualification.

Special Entry

Applicants who do not meet these requirements may present a case for admission based on previous academic study and relevant work experience.

Scholarships

A number of Scholarships are currently available.

For more information please contact our School Registrar on (03) 9813 3400.

FEE–HELP

Need help to pay your tuition fees? FEE-HELP can cover all or part of your tuition fees. To find out more go to www.goingtouni.gov.au or call 1800 020 108.

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Elective 1 – MPe5
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Semester 1 (March 6 to June 19)
Thursdays 9.00am to 12.00pm
Cost – $1,650

Psychoanalytic thinking and practice has undergone an enormous expansion and transformation over the past sixty years. Similarly, psychoanalytic contributions to modern thinking and culture have had an impact on contemporary practice.

This unit expands on the central ideas of the major contributors to contemporary psychoanalytic thought with particular emphasis on treatment implications for different kinds of presenting issues.

References from current psychoanalytic theory will be used to understand the many forms of human psychopathology and its treatment. Central to the unit will be the use of case material and clinical commentary on therapeutic processes and interventions. The aim is to focus on practical clinical concerns as they apply in contemporary psychotherapeutic practice.

Topics Covered

• Sexual identity
• The interpretation of dreams
• Psychosomatic illusions
• Oedipal and pre-oedipal pathology
• Issues of separation
• The basics of the contract, the transference, resistance, interpretation, neutrality, termination, the defence mechanisms

Elective 2 – MPe6
Existential Psychotherapy

Semester 1 (March 6 to June 19)
Thursdays 1.00pm to 4.00pm
Cost – $1,650

All therapy is about human existence – life and death, anxiety and despair, catastrophe and reconstruction, hope and courage, loneliness and relationship, disconnectedness and engagement. This unit will examine these various experiences of ‘everyone’; how existentialism brings a different understanding of them; how existential therapy provides an entirely fresh perspective to their treatment.

In this unit students will explore the development and various expressions of existentialism – in literature, art, music and play. It will explore the major contributions to existential therapy – Heidegger, Tillich and Buber, Fromm, May, Yalom as well as the more recent contributions from existential therapies in Europe and The Americas.

Topics Covered

• Major streams of thought and their influence on contemporary practice
• Translation of concepts and ideas to psychotherapeutic practice
• The influence of Buber, Tillich and Heidegger
• Narrative and its role in existential psychotherapy
• The narcissistic neuroses and existential thought
• The meaning of mortality, anxiety and hope in psychotherapy
• How the client discovers freedom and strength in the context of various friendships

Elective 3 – MPe7
Key Competencies in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy

Semester 2 (August 7 to November 20)
Thursdays 9.00am to 12.00pm
Cost – $1,650

Brief dynamic psychotherapy is now widely accepted as an effective treatment method for a wide spectrum of problems and difficulties, by exploring repetitive patterns of conflict and revealing the deeper meaning beneath current problems. This unit offers an in-depth examination of the core competencies and theoretical components of the approach. It will enable students to build on their theoretical and clinical knowledge, to facilitate progress towards treatment goals while extending their therapeutic skills.

This unit will provide a close study of brief dynamic psychotherapy – including the key competencies of Cairnmillar’s own Contextual Modular Therapy.

In the Masters program, this will be taken to an advanced level of practice.

Topics Covered

• Diagnostic categories and their implications for treatment
• The collaborative involvement of the client
• The plan of therapy
• The role of concealed and unconscious factors in brief therapy
• What is the integrative focus on therapy
• Continuation and termination process
• Specific value of supportive psychotherapy

Elective 4 – MPe8
Health Psychology

Semester 2 (August 7 to November 20)
Thursdays 1.00pm to 4.00pm
Cost – $1,650

This unit will cover some of the most important aspects of theory and practice in applied psychology. Emotion theory will provide a basis for an examination of psychosomatic processes in general. Somatoform, sleep and eating disorders will be considered in terms of their underlying mechanisms and treatment options.

A bio-psychosocial model of pain will be presented, and the application of psychological theory when working with people with chronic pain and illness will be illustrated. Life-span and developmental considerations in treatment planning will be discussed, as will the emotional health and well being issues associated with ageing such as depression.

Topics Covered

• Emotion theory
• Psychosomatic processes and health behavior
• Stress and the immune reaction
• Somatoform disorders
• Eating disorders
• A bio-psychosocial model of pain
• Psychological pain therapy
• Psychotherapy with chronically ill clients
• Gender and age related issues