| CODE | PSY5612 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Psychological Assessment of Children - Clinical Focus | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Psychology | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The overall focus of this unit is on the acquisition of the core knowledge, skills and competencies relevant to the psychological assessment of children, with reference also to their significant systems and particular contexts. This study-unit is intended to be part of an ongoing educational process designed to aid the student in gaining increasing levels of knowledge and competence in the assessment of children and families. Students will be exposed to the basic theory, research, methodological and practical issues in the psychological assessment of children including: theoretical underpinnings, developmental considerations, combining sources of information; using assessment tools and decision-making in child assessment and writing a psychological assessment report. Practical issues involved in assessing various types of child populations and difficulties,children of different ages and developmental stages, children from varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds will be considered. Ethical, professional, and legal aspects of the assessment process will also be discussed. The placement component consists of the assessment of children through experiential learning by means of the allocation of one case for clinical assessment, under supervision, the ongoing presentation of case work being done by students in the peer group setting and the writing of a psychological report based on the work done. It also includes the reflexive reflection, processing and evaluation of the work done with the client during the assessment, as well as reflections on the processing done during the group sessions. Students will be expected to prepare themselves by reading the articles provided to them at the start of the course. Students will provide a log book, a final reflective report on their observations and reflections during the placement and the child’s psychological report at the end of the unit. Study-unit Aims: The Psychological assessment component seeks to facilitate the understanding of the basic theory, research, and methodological issues in the psychological assessment of children as well as of the tools and techniques used in such assessment. The practice placement provides students with the opportunity to acquire confidence and proficiency in using various clinical tools and techniques in the assessment of children, to reflect on one's way of being in a relationship with a child for assessment purposes and to learn to systematically evaluate one's own clinical work and that of others. The students will become aware of their own biases and attitudes which may hinder the testing process. A non-discriminatory and non-judgmental attitude will be adopted during administration of the tests, as well as an objective clinical stance. In the writing up of results of assessment, students will adopt a language which does not foster stigma, rather one which captures a working formulation of the case at hand, with a specific focus on the individual rather than the diagnostic label or condition. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. Evaluate current theory, research, and methodological issues in the psychological assessment of children; 2. Evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of different procedures in the psychological assessment of children and their families; 3. Describe and critically evaluate the ethical, cultural and contextual issues around the psychological assessment of children; 4. Describe and critically evaluate the implications of practical issues involved in assessing various types of populations and difficulties, children of different ages and developmental stages, children from varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds; 5. Describe and critically evaluate the various issues relevant to the assessment of children and families including ethical, professional, and legal aspects of the assessment process; 8. Evaluate the relevance and implications of use of the various clinical tools and techniques in the planning for, implementation and evaluation of the psychological assessment of children. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. Demonstrate competence in evaluating referral information and utilising a decision making framework in order to identify the best tools for assessment in relation to presenting difficulties; 2. Demonstrate appropriate skills in administering several commonly used assessment instruments and techniques for the assessment of children; 3. Demonstrate competence in obtaining and integrating different sources of information in the formulation of children's difficulties; 4. Interpret appropriately and effectively the scores and outcomes obtained in several commonly used assessment instruments and techniques for the assessment of children; 5. Evaluate the different ways of assessing and interpreting findings about children's development within an evidence-based framework; 6. Demonstrate the ability to present and communicate assessment findings and recommendations in written and oral form in a professional and effective manner; 7. Evaluate the effectiveness of different ways of consulting with other professionals in the assessment of children and adolescents. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: MAIN TEXT: Sattler, J.M. (2014) Assessment of children: Behavioural, Social and Clinical Foundations. Sixth edition. San Diego, CA: Jerome M.Sattler, Inc. Sattler, J.M. (2014) Resource Guide To Accompany Foundatins of Behavioural, Social and Clinical Assessment, Sixth Edition. San Diego, CA: Jerome M.Sattler, Inc. BIBLIOGRAPHY: American Psychological Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – 5. APA: USA. Carr, A. (2000) The handbook of child and adolescent psychology: a contextual approach. Brunner-Routhledge: London. Groth-Marnat, G. (2003). Handbook of Psychological Assessment (4th Edition). John Wiley and Sons. Friedrich, W.N. (2002) Psychological assessment of sexually abused children and their families. Sage: London. Malchiodi, C.A.(1998) Understanding Children’s Drawings. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London. Rustin, M. & Quagliata, E. (Ed.) (2000) Assessment in Child Psychotherapy. Duckworth: London. Various papers and articles to be provided during course. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite qualifications: BPsy Hons | ||||||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Placement | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Michaela Scerri Paul A. Bartolo Juan Camilleri Danae Gingell Marta Sant Kristina Vella |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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