course material

1. Literature Review and Reflective
Integrative ProjectLiterature Review and Reflective EssayReflect on your intended practice
as a counsellor and what you have learned throughout this course. Identify one aspect of
your counselling learning that you have found challenging and would like to develop
further.Write a reflective essay analysing this aspect of your practice in the light of relevant
literature.Your essay is to include:• a clear articulation of the counselling aspect of you wish
to explore and develop• a literature review on the identified aspect• a description of the
ways you found this aspect of practice challenging• an analysis of your experience of this
aspect of practice in light of the literature• deeper reflection of how this aspect may affect
you as a counsellor and your potential clients• a discussion of the literature relating to your
chosen issue/aspect of counselling• a discussion of the challenges in integrating this theory
with your intended practice• suggested strategies for managing the next stage of your
professional development in relation to this aspect of your practice• reference to current
literature and integration of relevant theory into your discussion• evidence of self-
awareness and the ability to self-reflect• identification of ongoing professional
development needs and goals identifiedContent1. Aspect of counselling practice clearly
articulated2. Literature review on the aspect of practice provided3. Ways in which the
student found this aspect of practice to be challenging described4. Reasons the student
found this aspect of practice challenging articulated5. Challenges in the integration of
theory and practice discussed6. Strategies for managing the next stage of professional
development in relation to this aspect of your practice suggested7. Evidence of in-depth
knowledge of current literature and relevant theory8. Evidence of integration of theory and
practice9. Evidence of self-awareness and the ability to self-reflect10. Evidence of ongoing
professional development needs and goals identifiedStructure11. Appropriate introduction
provided that clearly articulates the topic12. Main ideas clearly and logically presented13.
Appropriate conclusion provided that summarises the key findings/ideas14. Relevant
literature used properlyWritten Expression15. First person writing style used16. Fluent
writing style used with correct spelling, grammar and punctuationPresentation17.
Presentation guidelines followed as specified in the Academic Skills Guide18. Word count
within 10% of requirementReferencing19. In-text referencing guidelines followed as
specified in the Academic Skills Guide, and if not covered in the ASG then by the APA
convention (6th edition)20. List of references provided as outlined in the Academic Skills
Guide, and if not covered by the ASG then by the APA convention (6th edition).ABOUT THE
LITERATURE REVIEWS:Part of this assignment is a literature review. You will need to read

2. extensively on your chosen topic and provide a summary of your findings, including an
analysis of your experience in light of the literature. This should not be a list of the work of
others or a summary of each author’ s work in the area. It should be an integrative piece of
work that critically surveys the existing knowledge in the given area by showing similarities
and differences between authors, and it should point to what has already been achieved and
what gaps exist in this knowledge. In this discussion of the literature you should aim
to:• ?Demonstrate your familiarity with the existing knowledge. Your discussion should
tell the reader that you know your project area and the relevant issues.• ?Demonstrate
your understanding of the research on this issue and how your project links to it. In other
words with reference to the existing body of knowledge you should outline the direction of
research on your question and how this relates to your reflection on your own
practice.• Integrate and summarise what is already known in your topic area by pulling
together and synthesising different results. A good discussion will point out where studies
agree, where they disagree and where major questions remain. It collects what is known up
to a point in time and indicates the direction for future research.• Identify potential areas
of research relating to your area of interest and replication of previous research in a new
context.Where to start?Firstly you need to search for material relevant to your chosen topic.
This search will include academic journals and other material found in libraries, but it is not
restricted to these. In fact your search may include a range of information sources
including:• academic journals and review articles of research usually found through
accessing a university database• ?research conducted in the workplace• academic
books on the topic• government documents such as annual reports, policy papers and
statistics• university theses, including honours, masters and PhD
dissertations• conference papers• publications of international organisations, for
example the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World
Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), etc• publications of specialist
research organisations such as the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the Australia Institute,
etc• publications of relevant professional associations such as the Australian
Psychological Society (APS) and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia
(PACFA)• international research organizations• newspaper articles• documentaries
and other visual media (in particular from the ABC and SBS)• radio programs and their
transcripts, for example from Radio NationalCommon mistakes in citing the
literature• Don’ t cite one text repeatedly. You will need to make clear you are not relying
on one article or author for the majority of your argument.• Do not take up more than a
sentence or a footnote to define a term.• Don’ t quote too much (no more than 10% of
your work can be quotations).• Your job is to summarize and evaluate the related
literature. If you use words such as “ research shows that…” you must include a
citation.Skimming the literatureRead the abstract or introduction to the article to check its
relevance before reading the entire thing. Look for:• the topic of the article• the
approach that was used• the central argument of the articleThis will inform you whether
you want to read any sections in more detailWhat to read• Do not read anything that was
published over 10 years ago (unless it is a seminal document).• It is best to read well-

3. known authors who are established experts in their field.• Don’ t read articles that put
your topic in an irrelevant context or time period.• Only articles with your keyword in the
title or abstract.Defining and refining a topicA literature search requires a reasonably well-
defined topic. The topic should be somewhat broader in view than the question(s) you
formulated in the previous section. Your literature search will help you refine your
question(s) or make them more specific. Try and ensure your topic does not become too
broad. For example, a topic such as ‘ mental health’ or ‘ suicide’ is too broad. More
appropriate topics could be ‘ managingpostnatal depression’ or ‘ ethical obligations of
counsellors working with suicidal clients’ .Defining terminologyIt is important to be clear
about the terms you are using and what you mean by them. Definition of terms will become
clearer as you begin searching the literature, and you should aim to revise and refine these
definitions throughout the search. For example, the terms ‘ marital conflict’ , ‘ good
parenting’ and ‘ dysfunctional relationship’ all require initial definitions, which will be
refined through your search of the literature.References recommendedSources:
http://web.ebscohost.comUsername: ns016335Password: goletThis website contents lots
of journals n books relevant to the topic. I think that will be helpful for you.My chosen topic
is:“ How to work with client with suicidal Ideation (prevention and immediate
responses)” My own practice:“ I am an AOD counsellor (Alcohol and other
Drugs)” Structure: appox 4000 words (+/- 10%)1. Abstract (Approx 250)2. Introduction
(Approx 250 words)3. Literature Reviews (Approx. 1000 words)4. Reflective Practice
and what is challenging and you would like to develop further on practice in the future
(such as get more training, do more volunteer on this particular area, adapt into practical
and practice and supervision etc) (Approx 2,300 words).5. Conclusion (Approx 200
words)!!!!Please make sure that you read them carefully!!!? I also attached my
presentation that I used before I got approved from my educator. She had suggested me that
this info and structure of my project is good and it is on the right track. So please used it as a
guideline together with this presentation because I don’ t want to be suspicious about why
the contents of my presentation is different from my thesis writing. Also preventing from
revision which it is wasted of time in both me and you.? So if you are not sure about any
parts while you start working on my project, please feel free to ask me anytime as it is a big
project, I understand that if some parts gone wrong, it might take ages to fix it.? On the
reflective part, I did presentation, I was mention about my case study which the client 16
years old boy (start to smoke and drink alcohol then his mom had noticed this plus that the
boy was so isolated, restless, don’ t eat, depress which his mom kind of not know what was
going on with him only son in the family, no sibling) attend the session and he had said
something indicating that he has had thought of suicidal. I work with my co- counsellor who
took the lead on the session. I did confess that on the session I was scared to ask such as
direct questions like “ have you been thinking to kill yourself or any part that explore about
her plan of killing herself. I mentioned that on the session I did nothing but my co counsellor
she was very confident to ask those questions and be direct to the client. So you can aID up
and expand working on this story of mine (this is real case)? The educator suggested me
about the info on my statistic about suicidal ideation should be more up to date.? I had
criticized about the suicidal contract while I was presenting my project that it would be just

4. the paper and it was nothing if the client don’ t follow. They could kill themselves anytime
after they leave. It would be just the paper evidence for making counselor feeling good or
better that they done their best. You may expand more on that too.? Please don’ t take info
from website like me as I did it because it was rush to do a presentation then I just grasped
everything from the internet (mainly on the website of University of Michigan US) which it
just cant appear on my essay. Lucky that she didn’ t go through my references and
literature relevant. Hence, you may need to find a similar info or content to support my
work on this presentation. Thank you? I would send every messed up I did to you
(Reference, Presentation etc) then you would know what I did.? Don’ t go into any specific
intervention or any medication. Just the immediate response that the counsellor should do
it immediate on the session with clients after knowing that clients might suicide (then
prevent them)? You could touch a bit on the ethical issue on client’ s age (under 18),
dilemma that I as a counsellor might face on the reflective part too.