Page 237 - HKSYU Prospectus 2023-24

Counselling & Psychology

DESCRIPTION OF COURSES (MSScPT PROGRAMME)

MPT 501 Introduction to Play Therapy
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course is taught through – experiential, hybrid, lecture, etc. methods to provide
knowledge and skill competencies to facilitate play therapy as a therapeutic intervention for
children and families. This course provides students with the philosophical basis for play
therapy, including a review of the history of play therapy, how to develop a relationship with a
child through a child-centred theoretical framework, and an introduction to various theoretical
applications and play therapy best practices. Students will become familiar with specific toys
for therapeutic uses, portable toys selection and set up, play therapy micro-skills, the purpose
and application goals of play therapy, therapeutic stages and themes, ethical issues, cross
cultural/ diversity implications, basic developmental and implications, treatment planning in play
therapy including development of treatment goals and assessment of treatment progress and
applications to a variety of populations and therapeutic contexts.

MPT 502 Micro-Skills in Counselling
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course aims to enable students to practise applying their learning of counselling and
psychotherapy in simulated settings. The central focus of the course is developing micro-
counselling skills that apply to a wide variety of clients (not necessarily just children) as a critical
part of the general skills required by play therapists in their work. The running of the course
adheres to the laboratory style. Skills that students learn include building rapport and
relationship, conveying empathy, reflecting feelings, paraphrasing, clarifying, listening actively,
reflecting meanings, summarizing, questioning, focusing, directing, confronting, and
influencing, as well as communicating nonverbally. Students will familiarize themselves with
these skills at different stages of the counselling process.

MPT 503 Professional and Ethical Issues in Play Therapy
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course aims at facilitating students to develop sensitivity with cultural humility,
intention to reason and act ethically when working with minors and their caregivers. Students
will be the active participants to explore and cultivate personal qualities, values and beliefs that
integrate their professional identity, be familiar with the ethical guidelines of play therapy, learn
and adopt ethical decision-making models through critically examining a variety of case studies
and interactive group discussion in working through different ethical dilemmas to have better
understanding of the professional code of ethics and being an ethical play therapy practitioner
in their workplace.

p. 233