Prospectus

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Interpersonal Professional Skills

Course
2024-2025

Students of the Dutch bachelor’s programme, see Interpersoonlijke Beroepsvaardigheden

Entry requirements

None

Description

This course centres on the psychologist in training as a professional. In order to function adequately as a professional in the field, it is important to have good communication skills. Furthermore, it is important to get to know yourself well because as a psychologist, you are your own instrument. You must be able to reflect on your own behavior and on what this behavior then elicits in others. Another component of the learning process is learning to reflect on group dynamics, i.e. the context in which a given behaviour occurs.

Course objectives

At the end of the course, the student can:

  • adequately observe and perceive persons, situations and relationships;

  • adequately use basic interview techniques and conversation skills

  • use these skills with flexibility in various contexts

  • reflect on their own behaviour and that of others

  • describe theoretical models on interpersonal communication, and link this theoretical knowledge to learning experiences for professional development.

Exemption

Exemptions from the Interpersonal Professional Skills course are only granted to students who already teach social skills and/or communication skills at a professional education/university level, and who have relevant work experience of at least 2 years, representing at least 0.5 FTE. No exemption from the course will be granted on the basis of other work experience and prior education. If you are of the opinion that you qualify for an exemption from the Professional Interpersonal Skills course, submit your application to the Student Services Centre (SSC) no later than 1 November.

Timetable

For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
Check the Brightspace page for this course for an orderly timetable.

This course is offered twice a year. Students follow the course in one block (Block 3 or 4)

Registration

Education

Students must register themselves for all course components (lectures, tutorials and practicals) they wish to follow. You can register up to 14 days prior to the start of the course.

Mode of instruction

Professional skills are taught using a combination of teaching methods:

  • Lectures, that focus on the theoretical background of the weekly themes and information on how to use these in real professional situations. The final assignments will also be extensively discussed here.

  • Work group sessions, that offer the opportunity to actively practise the various skills in a group.

  • Reflection.

  • Study of the literature with the goal of actively linking knowledge and learning experiences.

  • The inclusion of 2 interviews to allow the student to monitor and reflect on his or her own progress in acquiring interview skills.

  • Role plays aimed at practising interview skills

  • Interactive assignments focused on decision-making.

Attendance at the workgroup sessions is mandatory. See Brightspace for more information.

The time frame of the course is as follows: The entire course covers 7 weeks. Weeks 1 to 5 consist of a weekly lecture and two active workgroup sessions. Every week, students are assigned compulsory reading materials and required to complete assignments.

Assessment method

Contrary to other second-year courses, the final grade for this course is determined on the basis of the assessment of the following 3 skills: interview skills, reflective skills and professional development. Students are required to have a satisfactory score for all 3. There are no resits available in the event of an unsatisfactory final assessment, because the learning process requires a group context and the group in question no longer exists at this time. This means that students are required to repeat the course in its entirety. They have to re-enrol for the course in the following academic year. Satisfactory partial grades are no longer valid in the following academic year.

The Institute of Psychology uses fixed rules for grade calculation. It also follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. All students are required to take and pass the Scientific Integrity Test with a score of 100% in order to learn about the practice of integrity in scientific writing. Students are given access to the quiz via a module on Brightspace. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of these two policies.

Brightspace

The following can be found on Brightspace: extensive information about the course and assessment, as well as some reading materials, lecture slides, exercises covered in the workgroup sessions, weekly integration assignments, video links, online tests, etc. The education service centre is responsible for enrolling students for Brightspace (students cannot register themselves).

Reading list

  • Remmerswaal, J. Group Dynamics, an introduction (2015), ISBN: 9789024403707

  • Molen, H. T., Lang, G., Trower, P., & Look, R. (2020). Psychological communication (2nd edition). Boom Uitgevers Amsterdam. ISBN : 9789024429318

Contact information

Linda de Voogd (general coordinator, logistics and group assignment, student affairs such as exemptions and attendance) l.d.de.voogd@fsw.leidenuniv.nl