Outline

Overview

This unit provides teaching and supervision for a second semester following The Long Conversation 1A (PSTY5207) to support the clinical experience of running an initial intensive psychodynamic psychotherapy of 2 sessions per week in the Conversational Model. Supervision will centre on listening to audiotaped sessions of the psychotherapy of a patient brought from the student's workplace or allocated from the Westmead Psychotherapy Program, discussing the ongoing developmental and relational formulation and maintenance of the frame, developing work on the middle and ending phases of therapy. Ongoing supervision will focus on the micro-processes of the interaction including attunement, affect, language, states of mind, transference, countertransference and co-transference and separation anxiety. The student will deepen their capacity to work with traumatic states of mind. The aim is to further develop student's skills in sensitive and responsive practice that will foster the conversational flow of the therapy, the development of the therapeutic relationship and the patient's self, facilitating higher levels of reflective capacity and coherence, allowing the integration of trauma. The way the difficult past repeats itself in the therapy is then addressed and work in the co-transference will be explored.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Brain and Mind Science
Credit points	3
Prerequisites ?	PSTY5201 and PSTY5202 and PSTY5203 and PSTY5204 and PSTY5205 and PSTY5206 and PSTY5207
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Anthony Korner, anthony.korner@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Kamal Touma, kamal.touma@sydney.edu.au
	Philip Graham, philip.graham@sydney.edu.au
	Deborah Chisholm, deborah.chisholm@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Presentation	Oral examination 30 minutes oral examination	50%	Formal exam period	30 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Participation in supervision Individual (participation in group)	20%	Multiple weeks	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Discussion boards Participation, post and reply required on discussion boards (Weeks 2,6&11)	20%	Multiple weeks	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Case reformulation Essay	10%	Week 08	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Discussion Boards: These will be open in weeks 2, 6 and 11 and will each remain open for a minimum of 2 weeks. Each student is expected to make a post of no less than 250 words including one or more references on the first week. Each student is also expected to make a response to one of the other student’s posts of no less than 100 words. Note some discussion boards will require at least one citation.
Case reformulation: The reformulation should be the reformulation of the case presented at the end of semester 1 in PSTY5207. It is expected that this will be a longer formulation which reflects an increased level of knowledge of the patient with whom the trainee is working. There should also be a discussion relating to an aspect of a formulation with appropriate referencing. (Word count 2000)
Oral Examination: The examination will be of 30 minutes duration. Trainees will be asked to prepare a recorded segment of a session to be played to the examiners. This should be of about 3 minutes duration. In the event that a trainee is unable to record sessions, he/she should present a detailed account including elements of the conversation from that session of an interaction that was felt to significant in the therapy. In either case candidates should prepare a transcript or account to be submitted via Canvas prior to the examination.

Assessment criteria

Result name	Mark range	Description
High Distinction	85-100
Distinction	75-84
Credit	65-74
Pass	50-64
Fail	0-49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good

standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

All assignments must be submitted by the due date. Students are expected to manage their time and to prioritise tasks to meet deadlines. Assessment items submitted after the due date without an approved extension using a special consideration or special arrangement form or request will incur the following penalties: • Late assignments that have not been granted extensions and are of a standard to receive a pass or higher mark will attract a penalty of 5% of the maximum mark per day (or part thereof) late including weekend days (e.g. if the assignment is worth 40 marks, the penalty is 2 marks per day late) until the mark reaches 50% of the maximum mark (e.g. 20 marks if the maximum is 40 marks). • Assignments that are not of a pass standard will not have marks deducted and will fail regardless. • Assignments submitted more than 10 days late without prior approval from the unit of study coordinator will not be accepted and will be given a zero (0) mark.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Multiple weeks	Weekly Grand Rounds (1hr/week)	Lecture (13 hr)
	Weekly Supervision (45-60 mins/week)	Tutorial (13 hr)
	Weekly online modules, readings and discussion boards	Independent study (30 hr)
Week 01	Differences between short and long forms of psychotherapy	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 02	Transitional phenomena	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 03	Joy & Interest, Care & Lust	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 04	Fear & Rage	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 05	Working in the transference	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 06	Working with countertransference	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 07	Depression	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 08	Anxiety	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 09	Addiction	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 10	Borderline Organization and Personality	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 11	Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 12	Separations and Endings	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 13	Reflections on “The Long Conversation 1B”	Seminar (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Grand rounds

Students are required to attend weekly one-hour presentations by faculty or invited speakers on topics of interest and relevance to Trauma-informed Psychotherapy.

Weekly seminars

Pre-seminar readings and recordings will be available for you to read along with relevant literature for each weekly, one-hour seminar.

The therapy

The frame of the therapy is twice a week sessions of 50 minutes each.

Supervision

Supervision is conducted on an individual basis.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 3 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 60-75 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Most readings for this unit can be accessed on the Library eReserve link available on Canvas.

Meares, R. (2005). Metaphor of Play, Third edition, London Routledge.
Meares, R., Bendit, N., Haliburn, J., Korner, A., Mears & Butt, D. (2012). Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician’s Manual. Sydney. Norton.
Siegel, D. (2012) The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact To Shape Who We Are. 2nd edition. New York: Guilford.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Understand and be able to develop a clinical formulation emphasizing psychodynamic / developmental principles within a biopsychosocial framework.
LO2. Identify patients likely to benefit from longer term psychotherapeutic interventions
LO3. Understand emotional development including biological and psychosocial factors, including complex trauma and dissociation, and apply this knowledge in understanding the presentation of individual patients.
LO4. Identify potential risks of psychotherapeutic intervention as part of the assessment for psychotherapy.
LO5. Describe the relational factors that shape the development of self with a particular focus on the interactions of the proto-conversation.
LO6. Describe the major forms of attachment and their therapeutic implications.
LO7. Recognize the importance of the therapeutic framework and the need to maintain clear boundaries in all forms of psychotherapy.
LO8. Identify ethical parameters for the conduct of psychodynamic psychotherapy.
LO9. Discuss the major principles of psychodynamic therapy including the role of feeling in mental life; trauma and dissociation and implications for development; the growth of self; transference and countertransference.
LO10. Develop a flexible technique adaptable to a range of specific clinical presentations
LO11. Recognize and repair disjunctions when they occur.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

We value your feedback about any aspect of the unit of study and your experience as a student of Sydney Medical School. To help ensure our courses meet your needs and maintain a high standard, we welcome your feedback at any time and we ask you to complete the Mid-Semester Evaluation Survey and the unit of study Evaluation Survey at the end of the semester. You can also rate any component of the unit using our star rating system found at the bottom of many pages as you progress through the unit. Your ratings and comments are anonymous and specifying what you liked and didn’t like about any of the learning materials, assessment items, discussion forums, feedback etc will help us to target our improvement efforts. Please note that your participation in this unit of study permits de-identified information about your learning experience and interaction with learning resources to be used for the purpose of improving the student learning experience.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

PSTY5208: The Long Conversation 1B

Semester 2, 2021 [Normal day] - Westmead, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect