Social Skills Training, 2010-2011 - Prospectus

Admission requirements

Master’s students with specialisation Child and Adolescent Psychology

Description

In the field of youth care, we use a variety of methods to support children, adolescents and parents. Within the Master in Psychology, specialisation Child and Adolescent Psychology, students have the opportunity to learn about and apply some of these methods.

In this course, we will use Ben Furman’s programme Kids’ Skills. This is a solution-based programme which is grounded in family therapy. Inviting all parties involved (parents, children, care-givers, teachers) to have input and participate is a characteristic aspect of family therapy.

Ben Furman, a Finnish psychotherapist/psychiatrist, has designed a playful and practical approach to solving difficulties of all kinds. By means of a 15-step-programme, children and adolescents overcome difficulties in a positive and constructive way by learning new skills. Little or no time is spent on finding potential causes of the difficulties. The focus is on what children or adolescents have to learn. To learn new skills, you need all the support you can get from your environment. Instead of blaming parents or teachers, we invite them to give input about the skill that needs to be learned. Because of this and because of the way the programme is structured, parents/care-givers become actively involved and responsible. They take on a supportive role in relation to the child and therefore contribute significantly to the learning process. It is not the expert who provides a solution to the problem, but rather all the participants, including the child, who will find a solution under the guidance of the expert.

Kids’Skills may seem a simple method; however, the implementation requires a new attitude, especially on the part of the expert! Students will work together with children at school or at home during this course.

Course objectives

Students will acquire knowledge of the theoretical background of solution-based interventions
Students will learn basic skills in applying the main therapeutic interventions
Students will learn to look at problems and their solutions in a different way as a result of working with the programme.
Students will be taught to reflect on their therapeutic attitude and interventions and to report on the progress and outcome of this training.

Timetable

Social Skills Training (2010-2011):

Mode of instruction

Two plenary lectures, peer consultation and supervision sessions.

Assessment method

Active participation in the supervision and peer consultation sessions
Theory-based reflection reports describing the actual interventions
Meta-reflection report
Final presentation

From January 1, 2006 the Faculty of Social Sciences has instituted the Ephorus system to be used by instructors for the systematic detection of plagiarism in students’ written work. Please see the information concerning fraud .

Blackboard

Information on blackboard.leidenuniv.nl

Reading list

Compulsory reading:

For international students:
Furman, B., (2007). Kids’ Skills. playful and practical solution-finding with children. St Luke’s innovative Resources, Australia ISBN0 9580188 9 8

For Dutch students:
Furman, B (2007). Kids’ Skills. op speelse wijze vaardigheden ontwikkelen bij kinderen. ( 2e druk) Nelissen Soest. (voor de nederlandse studenten)

Registration

Introduction and enrolment for courses of the first semester will take place on 2 September 2010. Introduction and enrolment for courses of the second semester will take place on 27 January 2011. More information will be available at the website of the Institute of Psychology.

Contact information

Drs. Erica Bohnen
Room 3B49
Tel: +31 (0)71 527 3381
E-mail: bohnen@fsw.leidenuniv.nl