Certificate in Applied Developmental Psychology

Extensive training to understand developmental psychology. Professional training to work with children or youth. Fast tracked learning for career success.

Course Code: VPS003
Fee Code: CT
Duration (approx) Duration (approx) 600 hours
Qualification
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DISTANCE LEARNING - DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

What is Developmental Psychology?

The study of human development focuses on behavioural and psychological development from conception through later life. Emphasis is on the processes and mechanisms underlying developmental change and stability and the contexts in which development takes place. Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. For example, psychology studies the brain, sensation and perception, motivation, intelligence, emotions, memory, psychological disorders, and much more. Developmental Psychology is a subfield of psychology. It's focus is on studying the changes that take place across our life span. Development is defined as changes in our physical structure, thought, and behaviour due to genetics or the environment. Development is life long and also can be a very personal thing.

Development incorporates change over time. We all change as we mature. Some of those changes are due to experience and others to our physiology. Developmental psychology is concerned with the patterns and processes of change throughout our lifetimes. A significant question in developmental psychology is the relation between innateness and environmental influence in regard to any particular aspect of development – put in more easy terms nature vs. nurture.


 

Modules

Core ModulesThese modules provide foundation knowledge for the Certificate in Applied Developmental Psychology.
 Child Psychology BPS104
 Educational Psychology BPS105
 Introduction to Psychology BPS101
 Developmental Psychology BPS210
 
Elective ModulesIn addition to the core modules, students study any 2 of the following 8 modules.
 Play Leadership VRE101
 Adolescent Psychology BPS211
 Careers Counselling BPS202
 Child and Adolescent Mental Health BPS214
 Counselling Children BPS218
 Developmental, Learning and Behavioural Disorders in Children and Adolescents BPS215
 Family Counselling BPS213
 Relationships & Communication Counselling BPS208
 

Note that each module in the Certificate in Applied Developmental Psychology is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.


Course Structure

It consists of 6 modules (click on each module for detailed information)

Introduction Psychology

There are seven lessons in this course, as follows:

  1. The nature and scope of Psychology
  2. Neurological basis of behaviour
  3. Environmental effects on behaviour
  4. Consciousness and perception
  5. Personality
  6. Psychological development
  7. Needs, drives and motivation

Child Psychology

There are 12 lessons as follows:

  1. Introduction to Child Psychology
  2. The Newborn Infant
  3. States and Senses of the Infant
  4. Learning
  5. Emotions and Socialisation
  6. Cognitive Development
  7. Language Development
  8. Intelligence
  9. Socialisation – Part A
  10. Morality
  11. Sexuality
  12. Socialisation – Part B

Educational Psychology

Seven lessons as follows:

  1. Introduction –Development & Learning Theory
  2. Behavioural Learning
  3. Information Processing
  4. Memory Retention & Loss
  5. Individual Needs
  6. Constructivist Learning
  7. Motivation

Developmental Psychology

The course is divided into ten lessons as follows:

  1. Introduction - Theoretical approaches and key concepts
  2. Early childhood – cognitive & social development in the first 6 years
  3. Middle childhood – cognitive, moral & social development in the school years
  4. Challenges of middle childhood
  5. Adolescence – cognitive, moral and social development
  6. Challenges of adolescence
  7. Adulthood – cognitive and psychosocial development in early and middle adulthood
  8. Challenges of adulthood
  9. Late adulthood – cognitive and psychosocial changes in the elderly
  10. Challenges of late adulthood

Career Counselling

The course contains ten lessons, as follows:

  1. Introduction – Scope and Nature of Careers Counselling
  2. Nature of Careers – What is a career, what makes it successful
  3. Careers Advice Resources – Brochures, Publications, Web Sites
  4. Services – Where can people get help (Social Services, Work Experience, Education)
  5. Developing Counselling Skills
  6. Conducting a Counselling Session
  7. Counselling Students and School Leavers
  8. Counselling Adults (inexperienced or facing career change)
  9. Job Prospecting – How to find work…resumes, etc
  10. Nurturing and Growing a career once it has started
Relationships and Communications Counselling

The course is divided into seven lessons as follows:

1. Communication in emerging relationships
2. Communication behaviour and needs
3. Communication and the environment
4. Communication patterns in relationships
5. Maintaining relationships
6. Relationship breakdown
7. Evaluation of communication techniques within relationships

Enrol, Study, and Discover More about How People Think


Tips For Understanding Defence Mechanisms

  • Repression- This involves repressing the chaotic desires of the id into the unconscious realm. Often these repressed desires will still find expression in dreams, slips of the tongue or psychopathological symptoms.

  • Defence mechanisms all play the role of distorting reality to a greater or lesser degree, in order to get rid of anxiety producing feelings. Nevertheless, they are necessary to keep our psyches from being overloaded with the id's irrational feelings. They can however be over used by certain individuals so that reality becomes distorted to an unhealthy degree.

  • Displacement - This involves displacement of a disturbing emotion such as anger, from one person to another. Displacement reduces anxiety produced by the unacceptable wish, but at the same time it partially gratifies that wish. The basic emotion of irrational anger toward a parent (for example) cannot be removed. The individual will instead direct this anger toward another less important, less threatening person.

  • Rationalisation - This is when we pretend to have a socially acceptable reason for a form of behaviour that is actually rooted in irrational feelings. Example: A person is angry with their mother and wants to avoid her. They construct a false reason for not going to visit her (e.g. It is too far away).

  • Projection - This is a particular form of rationalisation. It involves projecting our own undesirable characteristics onto someone else. Example: You feel an irrational hatred toward someone else, and you go around telling people that the person concerned hates you.

  • Reaction-Formulation - This involves unconsciously covering up what you really feel by behaving in the opposite manner, without realising it. Example: A woman who could not obtain an abortion might harbour a lot of hatred towards her child, and unconsciously still want to get rid of it. Instead, she behaves lovingly and-over protective to the child to an excessive degree.

  • Intellectualisation - This involves detaching oneself from deep emotions about an issue by dealing with it in abstract and intellectual terms.

  • Denial - This involves simply denying that a situation or emotion is real (simple but extreme!). This is a defence most frequently employed by people who have lost loved ones: they go through a period of refusing to believe that it is true.

  • Sublimation - This involves establishing a secondary socially acceptable goal which can be satisfied instead of satisfying the primary (original) goal.  Example: An excessively aggressive person might satisfy his desire to kill by joining the army where it can be socially acceptable to kill.

     

How This Course Could Help You

An understanding of development from childhood through to adulthood is applicable to a range of different work roles, but especially those involving working with children and adolescents.  This course provides students with a solid foundation in the study of human development and its implications for children in education, family and peer relationships.  Learn how to make a difference to children and help them to make the most of their abilities.

This course will be of most value to people working in or likely to work in:

  • Youth work
  • Child counselling
  • Child care
  • School counselling
  • Teaching
  • Youth coaching
  • Child psychology
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Since 1999 ACS has been a recognised member of IARC (International Approval and Registration Centre). A non-profit quality management organisation servicing education.
Since 1999 ACS has been a recognised member of IARC (International Approval and Registration Centre). A non-profit quality management organisation servicing education.
ACS is a Member of the Complementary Medicine Association.
ACS is a Member of the Complementary Medicine Association.
Member of Study Gold Coast Education Network.
Member of Study Gold Coast Education Network.
ACS Global Partner - Affiliated with colleges in seven countries around the world.
ACS Global Partner - Affiliated with colleges in seven countries around the world.

How can I start this course?

You can enrol at anytime and start the course when you are ready. Enrolments are accepted all year - students can commence study at any time. All study is self paced and ACS does not set assignment deadlines.

Please note that if a student is being assisted by someone else (e.g. an employer or government subsidy), the body offering the assistance may set deadlines. Students in such situations are advised to check with their sponsor prior to enrolling. The nominal duration of a course is approximately how long a course takes to complete. A course with a nominal duration of 100 hours is expected to take roughly 100 hours of study time to complete. However, this will vary from student to student. Short courses (eg. 100 hrs duration) should be completed within 12 months of enrolment. Certificates, Advanced Certificates and Awards (eg. over 500 hours duration) would normally be completed within 3 -5 years of enrolment. Additional fees may apply if a student requires an extended period to complete.
If a student cannot submit their assignments for 6 months to ACS, they should advise the school to avoid cancellation of their student
registration. Recommencement fees may apply.

Simply click on the ENROL OPTIONS button at the top of this screen and follow the prompts.

You can see the course price at the top of this page. Click 'enrolment options' to see any payment options available.

You can pay by Credit Card, PayPal, Afterpay or bank transfer.

Yes! We have payment plans for most courses. Click 'enrolment options' to see the available payment plans.
We also have Afterpay that will allow you to pay for your course or payment plans in four instalments (if you are in Australia).


What do I need to know before I enrol?

There are no entry requirements that you need to meet to enrol in our courses, our courses are for everyone.
If you are under 18, we need written permission from your parent/ guardian for your enrolment to continue, we can arrange that after you have enrolled.

You don’t need to purchase any additional resources to complete our courses.

We aim to teach you the essentials without you having to purchase any specific computer program.
We recommend that you have access to a word processing program, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs, so that you can easily complete and submit your assignments.

You sure can. We are here to help you learn whatever your abilities.

Yes, if you are enrolling in a Certificate or Advanced Certificate, you might be eligible for credits if you have evidence of your previous studies or relevant experience. More information is here.

We recommend that you are able to browse websites, send emails and conduct online research. You will need to be able to type and submit your assignments.
If you have limited computer skills, we can make special arrangements for you.

This is possible, it depends on the institution. We recommend that if you would like to use our courses that you contact the institution first. Our Course Handbook is a good resource for this.

Our courses are written in English and we only have English speaking academic staff. If you can read and complete your assignments in English, our courses are ideal for you.

Our courses are designed to build knowledge, hands on skills and industry connections to help prepare you to work in the area, running your own business, professional development or as a base for further study.

This course is aimed at providing you with a solid understanding in your selected discipline. It has been designed to take 600 hours, which includes your course reading, assignment work, research, practical tasks, watching videos and more. When you complete the course, will have a good understanding of the area/ industry you want to work in.

It’s up to you. The study hours listed in the course are a rough guide, however if you were to study a short course (100 hours) at 10 hours per week, you could finish the course in 10 weeks (just an example). Our courses are self-paced, so you can work through the courses in your own time. We recommend that you wait for your tutor to mark and return your assignment before your start your next one, so you get the benefits of their feedback.

The course consists of course notes, videos, set tasks for your practical work, online quizzes, an assignment for each lesson (that you receive feedback from your tutor from) and ends in an exam (which is optional, if would like to receive the formal award at the end), using our custom built Learning Management System - Login.Training.

Our courses are designed for adults to gain professional development and skills to further their careers and start businesses.

Our custom online learning portal allows you to conduct your learning online. There may be practical tasks that you can do offline. You have the option of downloading your course notes or print them to read later.

There is also the option to pay an additional fee for printed course notes and or USB (availability limited to location and deliverability).

Yes, if you don’t have access to the internet, you can receive the course as paper notes or on a USB stick for an additional fee. We can also make alternative arrangements for you to send your assignments to us.

We offer printed notes for an additional fee. Also, you can request your course notes on a USB stick for an additional fee.

Yes, your tutor is here to help you. Simply post any questions you have in your login.training portal or contact the office and we can pass on a message to your tutor.

We are more learning focussed, rather than assessment focussed. You have online quizzes to test your learning, written assignments and can complete an exam at the end of the course (if you want to receive your certificate). You will not receive a pass/ fail on your course work. If you need to add more details on your assignment, we will ask you to resubmit and direct you where you need to focus. If you need help, you can ask your tutor for advice in the student room.

Each module (short course) is completed with one exam.

Exams are optional, however you must sit an exam if you would like to receive a formal award. You will need to find someone who can supervise that you are sitting the exams under exams conditions. There is an additional cost of $60 incl. GST for each exam.
More information is here

There are practical components built into the course that have been designed to be achieved by anyone, anywhere. If you are unable to complete a task for any reason, you can ask your tutor for an alternative.

When you complete the course work and the exams (6 exams) and you will be able receive your course certificate- a Certificate. Otherwise, you can receive a Letter of Completion.

You can bundle the short courses to create your own customised learning bundle, Certificates or Advanced Certificates. More information is on this page.

Yes, our courses are built to be applicable for people living anywhere in any situation. We provide the fundamentals, and each student can apply their own unique flair for their own interests, region and circumstances with the one-on-one guidance of a tutor. There is also a bit of student directed research involved.

Employers value candidates with industry skills, knowledge, practical skills and formal learning. Our courses arm you with all of these things to help prepare you for a job or start your own business. The longer you study the more you will learn.

ACS has an arrangement with OAMPS (formerly AMP) who can arrange Professional Indemnity from Australian and New Zealand graduates across all disciplines. Ph: 1800 222 012 or email acs@oamps.com.au.


Who are ACS Distance Education?

ACS Distance Education have been educating people for over 40 years.

We are established and safe- we have been in education for over 40 years.
We are focused on developing innovative courses that are relevant to you now and what you will need to know in the future.
We are focused on helping you learn and make the most of your experience.
You can enrol at any time, you can work on your course when it suits you and at your own pace.
We are connected to many industry bodies and our staff participate in continuous improvement and learning activities to ensure that we are ahead of what learning is needed for the future.

Our courses are not accredited by the Australian Government. However many of our courses are recognised and held in high regard by many industry bodies.

Our courses are written by our staff, who all have many years experience and have qualifications in their speciality area. We have lots of academic staff who write and update our courses regularly.


How do I enrol my staff/ sponsored students?

Yes, you can do a request for a bulk enrolment and request an invoice on our Invoice Request Form

We can prepare an invoice, quote or proforma invoice. Simply complete your details on our Invoice Request form

We can arrange bulk discounts for your course enrolment, please get in touch with us to discuss your needs.

Yes, we have many students who are in locked facilities, such as prisons or hospitals. We can cater by also offering paper notes at an additional cost.


What if I have any more questions or need more information?

We can assist you to find the right course for your needs. Get in touch with us via email (admin@acs.edu.au) call on +61 7 5562 1088 or complete our course advice form.


What if I change my mind?

Please get in touch with studentservices@acs.edu.au if you would like to be removed from our mail list.

If you would like ACS Distance Education to delete your information at any time (whether you are a customer or a prospective customer), please contact our privacy officer and we will process this ( admin@acs.edu.au ).

If students require a reproduction of their certificate, an electronic copy can be provided at a cost of AUD$35 incl GST. Printed copies are not available.




Course Contributors

The following academics were involved in the development and/or updating of this course.

Tracey Jones (Psychologist)

B.Sc. (Psych), M.Soc.Sc., Dip.Social Work, P.G.Dip Learning Disability, Cert Editing, Cert Creative Writing, PGCE.
Member British Psychological Society, Member Assoc. for Coaching, Member British Learning Assoc.
25 years industry experience in writing, editing, education, psychology, and business. Tracey has several books and hundreds of articles published; in both fiction and non fiction.

Jacinda Cole (Psychologist)

Psychologist, Educator, Author, Psychotherapist.
B.Sc., Psych.Cert., M. Psych. Cert.Garden Design, MACA
Jacinda has over 25 years of experience in psychology, in both Australia and England. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and a Masters in Psychology (Clinical) and also trained in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the London Centre for Psychotherapy. She has co-authored several psychology text books and many courses including diploma and degree level courses in psychology and counselling. Jacinda has worked for ACS for over 10 years.

Christine Todd

University lecturer, businesswoman, photographer, consultant and sustainability expert; with over 40 years industry experience
B.A., M.Plan.Prac., M.A.(Social).
An expert in planning, with years of practical experience in permaculture.





Tutors

Meet some of the tutors that guide the students through this course.

Gareth Pearce

Gareth has over 25 years of experience in teaching and research in agriculture, veterinary medicine, wildlife ecology and conservation in a variety of colleges and universities in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. He qualified as a veterinary surgeon at the Universities of Melbourne and Bristol, having previously graduated in Agricultural Science and gained a PhD in Livestock Behaviour and Production. He also has post-graduate qualifications in Education, Wildlife Conservation Medicine, Aquatic Veterinary Studies and Wildlife Biology & Conservation.

Sarah Pirecki

A passionate advocate for animal health and welfare. Sarah completed a Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience majoring in Animal Health and Disease and is currently completing a Diploma of Project Management. She has a wide range of experience working in agricultural settings, veterinary nursing, assistance dog raising, and animal education.

Jacinda Cole

Jacinda has expertise in psychology and horticulture. She holds a BSc (hons) in Psychology and a Masters in Psychology (Clinical) and also trained in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the London Centre for Psychotherapy. In horticulture she has a Certificate in Garden Design and ran her own landscaping and garden design business for a number of years. Jacinda also has many years experience in course development and educational writing.

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