This module provides an introduction to the basic principles, key concepts, and key theories that underpin the use of counselling skills. Students are introduced to the ‘core values’ and begin to understand how these create and sustain the helping process. With this understanding, students will work with their peers to practice their own counselling skills.

This module provides students with an understanding of various ethical issues within counselling, such as confidentiality, informed consent, boundaries, and working with risk. We explore all stages of the counselling process, from beginnings to endings, and incorporate reflective practice to support students in understanding their own beliefs and values in relation to ethics.

This module introduces aspects of individual differences and social psychology from the British Psychological Society to allow students to understand some of the possible reasons for differences in human behaviour across different situations. As such it compliments the research module that runs alongside it in explaining some of the results found, and what needs to be taken into consideration when designing research and trying to explain behaviour. There are also a range of core skills delivered in this module to enable their success across the course.

Understanding the process of acquiring new knowledge is fundamental to psychology, especially when we want to investigate human and non-human behaviour. This module will introduce you to the core skills that are essential for scientifically addressing questions relating to areas of psychology through various research methods and processes. You will learn about and study different areas of research such as study design, ethical issues, quantitative and qualitative analyses and interpretation of data.

This core module is an introduction to the BPS/QAA curriculum for biological psychology, developmental psychology, and cognitive psychology. For example, in biological psychology students will explore the biological bases of human and non-human behaviour, brain structure and function, comparative and evolutionary psychology. In cognitive psychology students will explore perception, attention, memory, learning, and language. Finally, in developmental psychology, students will explore prenatal, attachment, culture, language (acquisition), risk and resilience.