University of Sydney Handbooks - 2020 Archive

Download full 2020 archivePage archived at: Tue, 27 Oct 2020

Psychiatry

 

Psychiatry

Master of Medicine (Psychiatry)

Students must complete 48 credit points, including:
(a) 12 credit points of compulsory units of study; and
(b) 24 credit points of stream specific units of study; and
(c) 12 credit points of stream specific or general elective units of study.

Master of Medicine (Advanced) (Psychiatry)

Students must complete 60 credit points, including:
(a) 48 credit points of study as required for the Master of Medicine
(b) 12 credit points of project units of study.

Graduate Diploma in Medicine (Psychiatry)

Students must complete 36 credit points, including:
(a) 6 credit points of compulsory units of study; and
(b) 24 credit points of stream specific units of study; and
(c) 6 credit points of stream specific or general elective units of study.

Graduate Certificate in Medicine (Psychiatry)

Students must complete 24 credit points, including:
(a) 24 credit points of stream specific units of study.

Compulsory units

BMRI5020 Research Inquiry

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Eryn Werry Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2-hr lecture/week Assessment: Journal club and adaptive modules(20%), extended response (35%), exam (45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
Note: This is a core unit of study for the Masters of Brain and Mind Sciences degree.
Doctors and researchers depend on the latest scientific literature published week by week in countless different journals, but not every study can be trusted. Scientific studies are fraught with complications that can threaten their reliability, or the extent to which their results can be applied very widely. This unit will help you develop the skills necessary to critically appraise the research literature and identify sources of bias and confounding. Students will learn how cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohort studies and clinical trials are more or less vulnerable to these problems. Similarly, students will look at the basic design of laboratory research, and what are the different types of questions that can be asked from studies on humans, rats or brain tissue. All classes will be based on published examples of research literature and students will learn how to navigate different methods and data types. This unit will give students the confidence to read widely across the mental health field, and judge for yourself which findings can be relied upon to inform future research or medical practice.
Textbooks
Prince, Martin (2003) Practical Psychiatric Epidemiology, Oxford University Press.
CEPI5100 Introduction to Clinical Epidemiology

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Fiona Stanaway Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Offered online (no fixed-time webinars) and face-to-face (daytime tutorials) Prohibitions: PUBH5010 Assessment: Completion of online quizzes (15%), tutorial participation (10%), assignment 1 (15%), assignment 2 (60%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: It is recommended that this is completed as soon as possible after enrolment into your first unit of study.
This unit introduces the concept of clinical epidemiology and provides students with core skills in clinical epidemiology at an introductory level. Topics covered include asking and answering clinical questions; basic and accessible literature searching techniques; study designs used in clinical epidemiological research; confounding and effect modification; sources of bias; interpretation of results including odds ratios, relative risks, confidence intervals and p values; applicability of results to individual patients; critical appraisal of clinical epidemiological research literature used to answer questions of therapy (RCTs and systematic reviews), harm, prognosis, diagnosis and screening; applicability of results to individual patients; and evidence-based use of health resources.
Textbooks
Online readings and resources to be provided on the eLearning website.

Capstone units - Master of Medicine, Master of Medicine (Advanced)

BMRI5001 Neuroethics

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Cynthia Forlini Session: Semester 2 Classes: 9am-5pm Wednesday weeks 1, 6 and 10 Assessment: Class discussions (5%), commentary (15%), position paper 1 (40%), position paper 2 (40%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This is a capstone unit of study for the Master in Brain and Mind Sciences and Master of Medicine (Psychiatry).
This unit of study synthesizes and critically scruitinizes our models and concepts of brain and mind through a neuroethics lens. Neuroethics is sub-field of bioethics that is concerned with the ethical, legal and social impact of the neurosciences. Beginning with a module on the historical development of modern neuroscience, students will learn about the beliefs, experiements and discoveries that have led us to recognise how the brain contributes to the human experience in unique ways. Throughout this unit, students will examine how advances in neuroscience have shaped how we conduct research, treat clinical conditions, make individual and collective decisions, and live together as a society. During the class discussions and assessments, students will grapple with the issues that arise when we intervene in the brain and how those interventions modify our concepts of health, illness, identity and morality. The scope of these issues is enormous and speaks to the importance of students developing a clear framework to contextualize developments in neuroscience within the scientific, ethical, cultural, social and legal environments in which they arise.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5017 Genetics of Brain and Mind Disorders

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Marina Kennerson Session: Semester 2 Classes: one day workshop week 1, 5, 9 and 11 Assessment: Lab report (60%), journal article (40%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This is a capstone unit of study.
This unit of study provides a comprehensive introduction to the research methods that can be used in the identification and characterisation of genetic variants underlying neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Understanding genetic variants in the context of genomic medicine is essential for patient management and predicting disease outcomes. Thisunit will provide students with and overview of bench to bedside genomic medicine. Students will be taught skills to identify causative and susceptibility gene variants from next generation sequencing data and shown bioinformatics tools to analyse variants. The variant information will then be considered in a doagnostic setting through the clinical application of genetic counselling for patient management and well-being. The first part of the unit will focus on the statistical methods to quantify the contribution of genetic factors to complex genetic disorders in the population. The principles of genetic association will be discussed, using examples of cognitive traits and neurodegenerative disorders. The course will then discuss concepts of pedigree analysis for Mendelian neurodegenerative diseases with practical excercises inidentifying candidate variants using filtering strategies of next generation sequencing data. The final part of the course will introduce a suite of bioinformatics tools and resources to generate a research report. This report will form an introduction to the genetic counselling practices required for clinical interpretation and use of information for patient-centred genomic healthcare delivery. This is a capstone unit of study that will require students to develop over the semester a scholarly piece of work using advanced bioinformatics skills and interpretting the information for a clinical setting. Over the assessments in this unit, students will identify genetic variants associated with a complex neurodegeneration disorder, map and identify possible causative genes for a Mendelian neurodegenerative disease, examine the suitability of DNA variants identified as disease candidates using bioinformatics tools, and interpret the clinical implications for the patient and their family.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5027 Leadership and Policy in Mental Health 1

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor John Mendoza Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 9am-5pm Friday and Saturday 9am-12.30pm weeks 2 and 7, 9am-5pm Friday week 12 Assessment: Leadership assessment and self development plan (30%), scenario analysis (20%), change initiative and implementation plan (50%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This is a capstone unit of study
This unit is designed to provide participants with an introduction to the key constructs of leadership, leadership development and change management with specific reference to mental health reform in Australia. The unit will provide an overview of concepts and models of leadership and change management and an opportunity to apply these to a personal leadership development plan to embark on a service-level reform initiative. In this unit participants will gain an understanding of, their own leadership attributes and developmental needs and an insight into the development of strategy, organisational level policy and governance for achieving change. These elements will provide the foundations for self-development as a leader and the development of service level change/reform initiatives.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5055 Research Project in Psychiatry

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Assumed knowledge: BMRI5003 and BMRI5050 Assessment: Oral presentation (10%) theis 4000 words (40%), final oral presentation (10%) supervisor evaluation (40%) Practical field work: 3.5-7 hr placement per week Mode of delivery: Supervision
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This practically- based elective unit of study aims to provide a capstone experience for those psychiatry trainees wishing to gain experience in empirical research (quantitative or qualitative) relevant to the field of Psychiatry. This unit is to be taken over 1 semester (7 hours of field placement per week) or may be extended over 2 semesters with 3.5 hours per week field placement. Students will learn a variety of skills for acquisition, analysis and presentation of data particular to their field of interest and will write up their project as a draft research publication. Potential projects can be reviewed by students in the semester prior to commencement so that they can familiarize themselves with research conducted at the Brain and Mind Centre, including placements in clinical research groups and basic neuroscience laboratories, depending on student skills and supervisor availability. Alternatively students may consult their local training networks and propose a supervised project well prior to the commencement of the unit. Projects may contribute to the Scholarly Project for the RANZCP CBFP. Acceptance to a given project will be selective, requiring departmental approval.
PSTY5201 Psychodynamic Principles and Frameworks

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Anthony Korner Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x 1hr lec and 1x2hr seminar/wk (nd takes place on thursday morning). Assumed knowledge: This unit assumes a working clinical knowledge of basic counselling and mental health, commensurate with a clinician having worked 2 or more years in a setting with general health counselling or mental health clients. Assessment: quizzes / short answer (10%); discussion boards (journal review incorporated) (30%); 1 x 3000wd essay (draft 10% and final 50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: A primary degree in the health sciences is required for entry into the Master's program of which PSTY 5201 is a Unit of Study. However, students may apply to do the Unit of Study while doing another degree ¿ in this case entry will be at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator.
This unit provides an introduction to psychodynamic psychotherapy principles, the psychodynamic model of care and how to apply these to setting up a therapeutic framework in a model of health delivery that is person-centred, recoveryfocussed and trauma-informed. This unit is suitable for graduate students studying psychology, mental health nursing, psychiatry and for interested clinicians from general medicine and allied health Students will be introduced to basic concepts in the development of self, reflective capacity, attachment theory, trauma theory and trauma-informed care and the basics of interpersonal neurobiology that underlie contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy. Students will gain a basic understanding of the psychodynamic approach to assessment and treatment and its evidence-based applications. Students will gain a basic understanding of the Conversational Model and its application to psychotherapy interventions across the continuum of care in mental health.
Textbooks
Barkham, M., Guthrie, E., Hardy, G. and Margison, F.Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy: A Conversational Model. London: Sage, 2017. Haliburn J, An Integrated Approach to Short-Term Dynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide, London: Karnac, 2017. Russell Meares, Nick Bendit, Joan Haliburn, Anthony Korner, Dawn Mears, David Butt. Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician's Manual. Sydney: Norton, 2012
PSTY5202 Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: ND, OL: 1 x sem/wk; 1x sup/wk (45 min) ( in group of 2); 2 hrs ce/wk; nd on thursday morning; oral examination may be done online. Assumed knowledge: This unit assumes a working clinical knowledge of basic counselling and mental health, commensurate with a clinician having worked 2 or more years in a setting with general health counselling or mental health clients. Assessment: All modes: supervision log-book (20%); 1 x 2000wd case study draft (10%) and 1 x 3000wd case study final (35%); 1 x oral examination (40min) (35%) ¿ can be done online Practical field work: Supervised Cases x 2 Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: A primary degree in the health sciences; professional indemnity insurance
This unit offers an introduction to ultra-brief psychodynamic psychotherapy using the evidence-based approach of Psychodynamic -Interpersonal Therapy (PIT) suitable for acute and general medical and mental health practice, including as an approach to Project Air clinics, emergency department presentations, self-harm and psychosomatics. This unit is suitable for interested clinicians from a variety of backgrounds, including counselling, nursing, social work, medicine, psychiatry and psychology. The techniques generalize well to developing the therapeutic relationship. Over the semester students will be able to communicate the strong theory and RCT evidence base of this model and how this model can offer a person-centred and recovery-based approach to trauma-informed care and stepped care. Students will attend some initial training and then group supervision to support their acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and clinical skills in the clinical experience of running 2 brief psychodynamic therapies of 4-8 sessions. Students will bring cases from their workplace or allocated from an affiliated clinical program. Students will apply the basics of assessment and engagement and feeling language, using statements and developing formulations. They will demonstrate the PIT structure including the writing of a good bye letter and collaborative future planning, whether for maintenance, onreferral or further treatment.
Textbooks
Barkham, M., Guthrie, E., Hardy, G. and Margison, F. Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy: A Conversational Model. London: Sage, 2017. Hobson R. Forms of Feeling: The Heart of Psychotherapy. Originally London: Tavistock, 1985. Reprint New York: Routledge
PSTY5204 Practising Psychodynamic Psychotherapy B

Credit points: 3 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Janine Stevenson; Dr Joan Haliburn Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x 20min lec/wk; 1x sup/wk (45 min) (in group of 2); 2 hrs ce/wk (nd on thursday morning) Corequisites: PSTY5201 and PSTY5203 Assumed knowledge: This unit assumes a working clinical knowledge of basic counselling and mental health, commensurate with a clinician having worked 2 or more years in a setting with general health counselling or mental health clients. Assessment: supervision log-book (20%) 1 x case presentation (20%) 1 x 3000wd case reflection (30%) 1 x oral examination (30min) (30%) Practical field work: 1 supervised case (for 5203 and 5204 combined 2 x supervised cases required) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
The unit provides a subsequent clinical experience supported by small group supervision, begun in the unit PSTY5203, structuring learning in psychodynamic practice. The focus is on the structured conduct of shorter psychodynamic interventions as comprising initial, middle and ending phases. Students will bring suitable cases with audio-taped sessional material from their work setting or an affiliated psychotherapy program and continue and finish 2 therapies, either short term psychotherapies of 10-15 sessions or one short term therapy and a longer term therapy, with cases continuing from PSTY5203. The second option is open only to those enrolled in the Grad Dip or Masters or requires Departmental permission. Supervision will focus on the micro-skills of engagement and attunement and use of language, assessment of states of mind and formulation and the construction and monitoring of the safety plan, frame and contract. Students will deepen skills in: developing the therapeutic relationship; identification of coping mechanisms, dissociation, transference and countertransference; the use of feeling/affective language and metaphor; managing the vicissitudes of therapy; construction of a goodbye letter. Students will deepen their reflective practice, incorporating ethical conduct and self-care. CE/wk (ND on Thursday morning)
Textbooks
Haliburn J, An Integrated Approach to Short-Term Dynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide, London:Karnac, 2017. Russell Meares, Nick Bendit, Joan Haliburn, Anthony Korner, Dawn Mears, David Butt. Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician's Manual. Sydney: Norton, 2012
PSTY5205 Growth, Trauma and Adaptation

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola Mclean; Dr Anthony Korner Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr seminars/wk and 2x lec/wk. nd mode available only on thursdays. Assessment: quizzes (10%); reflective essay based on reflective diary entries (1 x 2000 word essay) (25%); online discussion board contributions (20%); case formulation (3000 wd) (10% formulative; 35% summative) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
This unit explores the way human beings grow in sensitive and responsive relationships but are broken down by trauma - acute, chronic and complex. We begin by exploring the way early relational experiences develop personal organization and stress regulation in the infant and set up patterns of how a person rests, loves, plays and works, sometimes for a lifetime. Students will study research in human development to examine early development and healthy adaptation as the dyadic interaction known as the proto-conversation repeats thousands of times to establish of attachment states of mind and relational schemas. Patterns that foster a sense of self and those traumatic experiences that lead to dissociation and consequent disruption and constriction of the self will be described, including child sexual abuse. Students will reflect on personal and clinical experience to consider the way people adapt to stress and trauma and the ways the therapeutic relationship might mirror early relationships. We will describe the traumatic range of experience in acute and complex trauma and consider the hierarchical nature of consciousness, regulation and protection and the consequent need for a phase-based approach to trauma treatment. Students will apply the concepts to case studies within their area of practice.
Textbooks
1) Russell Meares. Metaphor of Play, 2005 2) Russell Meares, Nick Bendit, Joan Haliburn, Anthony Korner, Dawn Mears, David Butt. Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician's Manual. Sydney: Norton, 2012 3) Siegel, D. The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact To Shape Who We Are. 2nd edition. New York: Guilford: 2012

Stream Specific units

Graduate Certificate
BMRI5003 Clinical Psychiatry I

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Caryl Barnes Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x 3-hr lecture/week Assessment: Diagnostic Formulation(30%), Case History (40%),Oral Presentation (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study provides psychiatry trainees with an opportunity to develop effective clinical skills including the psychiatric interview, mental state examination and biopsychosocial formulation. The management of psychiatric emergencies, risk assessment and the use of mental health legislation, as well as the relevance of diagnostic neuroimaging, are explored. This unit of study is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of how genetic and environmental risk factors affect the developing individual to generate the clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders. Students will examine all aspects of psychotic and mood disorders including aetiology, phenomenology and epidemiology. Students learn to develop management plans for these disorders according to a biopsychosocial framework with an emphasis on psychosocial care and recovery principles. The principles of neuropsychopharmacology with a focus on antipsychotic medication, mood stabilisers, antidepressants and their potential adverse consequences are covered in depth, as well as practical aspects of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT).
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5012 Brain Ageing

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Surabhi Bhatia Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2-hr lecture/week Assessment: Extended response questions (40%), case study analysis (40%), oral presentation (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
This unit of study provides an introduction to two important aspects of brain and mind ageing science, neurodegenerative disorders and opportunities for neuroplasticity and human flourishing. Students will learn about the clinical presentation and pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia. Psychogeriatrics and late-life depression will also be covered, and counterbalanced with new insights about what determines successful ageing and how we can use lifestyle interventions to keep people's brains and minds fit and well throughout late life. This unit will use case studies to reinforce learning, focusing on common neuropsychological assessment methods and research methods. Students will also be introduced to the social and ethical aspects of brain and mind ageing.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5050 Clinical Psychiatry II

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Caryl Barnes Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 3hr seminar/week Assessment: Attachment Formulation (40%) Reflective journal Essay (25%) and oral presentation (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study provides an overview of normal development, the formation of relational attachments, and psychological sequelae of trauma and loss. Students will examine anxiety, trauma and personality disorders in-depth, including the epidemiology, aetiology, phenomenology and management of these disorders. In addition, there will be a focus on developing trainees' clinical skills towards a broader, well-rounded approach that involves psychosocial techniques, and working collaboratively with consumers and families in multidisciplinary and community settings. The unit will provide psychiatry trainees with foundational knowledge and skills in psychotherapeutic techniques including psychodynamic theory, supportive psychotherapy, building a therapeutic alliance and cognitive behavioural therapy. Principles of recovery-oriented practice and trauma-informed care, psychiatric ethics, history of psychiatry, rural and indigenous mental health will be studied.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning.
BMRI5052 Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Benjamin Hoadley Session: Semester 2 Classes: online lectures, podcasts, 2 x 2 hour face to face workshops (online option available) and one full day face to face workshop Prohibitions: BMRI5011 or BMRI5010 Assumed knowledge: Clinical experience in psychiatry or general practice or paediatrics of equivalent is essential. Assessment: Essay (50%) and Case Study (50%) Mode of delivery: Distance education/intensive on campus
This unit of study is designed for doctors working with children and adolescents with mental health presentations (e.g. psychiatry trainees, general practitioners and paediatricians) to develop their learning in the subspecialty of child and adolescent psychiatry. The key approach of the unit will be to provide students with the capacity to understand child and family psychopathology from the molecular level to the societal. This unit provides an understanding of child development from conception through adolescence, looking at key genetic and environmental factors that contribute to clinical disorder, particularly the role of the family environment. The different phases of brain development will be studied, from the formation of new connections in childhood to the pruning of connections in adolescence and changes to the frontal and temporal lobes. Major psychopathologies such as mood and anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) learning disorders and autism spectrum disorders will be examined. The effects of puberty and gene-environment interactions will be explored with respect to the development of emerging adolescent psychiatric disorders, such as mood disorder. Students will learn about psychological and pharmacological management of mental disorders in children and adolescents, as well as the importance of working with families, carers and wider systems including multidisciplinary teams, education and welfare sectors.
Textbooks
Rey, J.M. (Ed.). (2015). IACAPAP e-textbook of child and adolescent mental health. Geneva, Switzerland: International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions. Open accesspublication: http://iacapap.org/iacapap-textbook-of-child-and-adolescent-mental-health
BMRI5054 Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Care

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr seminar/week and on-line activities Assumed knowledge: BMRI5003 and BMRI5050 Knowledge and skills at the level of completion of Stage 1 Psychiatry training Assessment: Discussion board (10%); case assessment, formulation and plan (20%); presentation (30%), case study (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Relevant clinical experience and current clinical placement necessary.
This unit of study will foster the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to understand, evaluate and apply a wide range of evidence-based psychotherapeutic and psychosocial interventions, including integrated service delivery systems, for individuals with mental health disorders and their families. This unit will build on the psychosocial foundations and concepts of integrated formulation and care established in the first year courses to support trainees to understand the role of the major modalities of psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions which have been shown to significantly contribute to recovery and improved outcomes in mental health. The unit offers an overview of assessment and the historical context of the development of theories and evidence, moving to frameworks of human development across the life span, expanding applied knowledge of attachment and exploring theories of learning and personality. Participants will then examine a range of specific psychological interventions aimed at different aspects of individual and systemic functioning including psychodynamic approaches, DBT, structured brief therapies, more advanced applications of CBT and group, couples, family and systems of care interventions. Teaching methods will focus on research-enhanced and case-based learning with an integrative approach, supplemented by e-learning and audiovisual resources.
Textbooks
Readings and other resources will be available online
Graduate Diploma
BMRI5003 Clinical Psychiatry I

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Caryl Barnes Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x 3-hr lecture/week Assessment: Diagnostic Formulation(30%), Case History (40%),Oral Presentation (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study provides psychiatry trainees with an opportunity to develop effective clinical skills including the psychiatric interview, mental state examination and biopsychosocial formulation. The management of psychiatric emergencies, risk assessment and the use of mental health legislation, as well as the relevance of diagnostic neuroimaging, are explored. This unit of study is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of how genetic and environmental risk factors affect the developing individual to generate the clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders. Students will examine all aspects of psychotic and mood disorders including aetiology, phenomenology and epidemiology. Students learn to develop management plans for these disorders according to a biopsychosocial framework with an emphasis on psychosocial care and recovery principles. The principles of neuropsychopharmacology with a focus on antipsychotic medication, mood stabilisers, antidepressants and their potential adverse consequences are covered in depth, as well as practical aspects of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT).
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5050 Clinical Psychiatry II

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Caryl Barnes Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 3hr seminar/week Assessment: Attachment Formulation (40%) Reflective journal Essay (25%) and oral presentation (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study provides an overview of normal development, the formation of relational attachments, and psychological sequelae of trauma and loss. Students will examine anxiety, trauma and personality disorders in-depth, including the epidemiology, aetiology, phenomenology and management of these disorders. In addition, there will be a focus on developing trainees' clinical skills towards a broader, well-rounded approach that involves psychosocial techniques, and working collaboratively with consumers and families in multidisciplinary and community settings. The unit will provide psychiatry trainees with foundational knowledge and skills in psychotherapeutic techniques including psychodynamic theory, supportive psychotherapy, building a therapeutic alliance and cognitive behavioural therapy. Principles of recovery-oriented practice and trauma-informed care, psychiatric ethics, history of psychiatry, rural and indigenous mental health will be studied.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning.
BMRI5052 Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Benjamin Hoadley Session: Semester 2 Classes: online lectures, podcasts, 2 x 2 hour face to face workshops (online option available) and one full day face to face workshop Prohibitions: BMRI5011 or BMRI5010 Assumed knowledge: Clinical experience in psychiatry or general practice or paediatrics of equivalent is essential. Assessment: Essay (50%) and Case Study (50%) Mode of delivery: Distance education/intensive on campus
This unit of study is designed for doctors working with children and adolescents with mental health presentations (e.g. psychiatry trainees, general practitioners and paediatricians) to develop their learning in the subspecialty of child and adolescent psychiatry. The key approach of the unit will be to provide students with the capacity to understand child and family psychopathology from the molecular level to the societal. This unit provides an understanding of child development from conception through adolescence, looking at key genetic and environmental factors that contribute to clinical disorder, particularly the role of the family environment. The different phases of brain development will be studied, from the formation of new connections in childhood to the pruning of connections in adolescence and changes to the frontal and temporal lobes. Major psychopathologies such as mood and anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) learning disorders and autism spectrum disorders will be examined. The effects of puberty and gene-environment interactions will be explored with respect to the development of emerging adolescent psychiatric disorders, such as mood disorder. Students will learn about psychological and pharmacological management of mental disorders in children and adolescents, as well as the importance of working with families, carers and wider systems including multidisciplinary teams, education and welfare sectors.
Textbooks
Rey, J.M. (Ed.). (2015). IACAPAP e-textbook of child and adolescent mental health. Geneva, Switzerland: International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions. Open accesspublication: http://iacapap.org/iacapap-textbook-of-child-and-adolescent-mental-health
BMRI5054 Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Care

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr seminar/week and on-line activities Assumed knowledge: BMRI5003 and BMRI5050 Knowledge and skills at the level of completion of Stage 1 Psychiatry training Assessment: Discussion board (10%); case assessment, formulation and plan (20%); presentation (30%), case study (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Relevant clinical experience and current clinical placement necessary.
This unit of study will foster the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to understand, evaluate and apply a wide range of evidence-based psychotherapeutic and psychosocial interventions, including integrated service delivery systems, for individuals with mental health disorders and their families. This unit will build on the psychosocial foundations and concepts of integrated formulation and care established in the first year courses to support trainees to understand the role of the major modalities of psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions which have been shown to significantly contribute to recovery and improved outcomes in mental health. The unit offers an overview of assessment and the historical context of the development of theories and evidence, moving to frameworks of human development across the life span, expanding applied knowledge of attachment and exploring theories of learning and personality. Participants will then examine a range of specific psychological interventions aimed at different aspects of individual and systemic functioning including psychodynamic approaches, DBT, structured brief therapies, more advanced applications of CBT and group, couples, family and systems of care interventions. Teaching methods will focus on research-enhanced and case-based learning with an integrative approach, supplemented by e-learning and audiovisual resources.
Textbooks
Readings and other resources will be available online
Master
BMRI5003 Clinical Psychiatry I

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Caryl Barnes Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x 3-hr lecture/week Assessment: Diagnostic Formulation(30%), Case History (40%),Oral Presentation (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study provides psychiatry trainees with an opportunity to develop effective clinical skills including the psychiatric interview, mental state examination and biopsychosocial formulation. The management of psychiatric emergencies, risk assessment and the use of mental health legislation, as well as the relevance of diagnostic neuroimaging, are explored. This unit of study is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of how genetic and environmental risk factors affect the developing individual to generate the clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders. Students will examine all aspects of psychotic and mood disorders including aetiology, phenomenology and epidemiology. Students learn to develop management plans for these disorders according to a biopsychosocial framework with an emphasis on psychosocial care and recovery principles. The principles of neuropsychopharmacology with a focus on antipsychotic medication, mood stabilisers, antidepressants and their potential adverse consequences are covered in depth, as well as practical aspects of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT).
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5012 Brain Ageing

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Surabhi Bhatia Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2-hr lecture/week Assessment: Extended response questions (40%), case study analysis (40%), oral presentation (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
This unit of study provides an introduction to two important aspects of brain and mind ageing science, neurodegenerative disorders and opportunities for neuroplasticity and human flourishing. Students will learn about the clinical presentation and pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia. Psychogeriatrics and late-life depression will also be covered, and counterbalanced with new insights about what determines successful ageing and how we can use lifestyle interventions to keep people's brains and minds fit and well throughout late life. This unit will use case studies to reinforce learning, focusing on common neuropsychological assessment methods and research methods. Students will also be introduced to the social and ethical aspects of brain and mind ageing.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
PSTY5201 Psychodynamic Principles and Frameworks

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Anthony Korner Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x 1hr lec and 1x2hr seminar/wk (nd takes place on thursday morning). Assumed knowledge: This unit assumes a working clinical knowledge of basic counselling and mental health, commensurate with a clinician having worked 2 or more years in a setting with general health counselling or mental health clients. Assessment: quizzes / short answer (10%); discussion boards (journal review incorporated) (30%); 1 x 3000wd essay (draft 10% and final 50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: A primary degree in the health sciences is required for entry into the Master's program of which PSTY 5201 is a Unit of Study. However, students may apply to do the Unit of Study while doing another degree ¿ in this case entry will be at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator.
This unit provides an introduction to psychodynamic psychotherapy principles, the psychodynamic model of care and how to apply these to setting up a therapeutic framework in a model of health delivery that is person-centred, recoveryfocussed and trauma-informed. This unit is suitable for graduate students studying psychology, mental health nursing, psychiatry and for interested clinicians from general medicine and allied health Students will be introduced to basic concepts in the development of self, reflective capacity, attachment theory, trauma theory and trauma-informed care and the basics of interpersonal neurobiology that underlie contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy. Students will gain a basic understanding of the psychodynamic approach to assessment and treatment and its evidence-based applications. Students will gain a basic understanding of the Conversational Model and its application to psychotherapy interventions across the continuum of care in mental health.
Textbooks
Barkham, M., Guthrie, E., Hardy, G. and Margison, F.Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy: A Conversational Model. London: Sage, 2017. Haliburn J, An Integrated Approach to Short-Term Dynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide, London: Karnac, 2017. Russell Meares, Nick Bendit, Joan Haliburn, Anthony Korner, Dawn Mears, David Butt. Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician's Manual. Sydney: Norton, 2012
PSTY5202 Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: ND, OL: 1 x sem/wk; 1x sup/wk (45 min) ( in group of 2); 2 hrs ce/wk; nd on thursday morning; oral examination may be done online. Assumed knowledge: This unit assumes a working clinical knowledge of basic counselling and mental health, commensurate with a clinician having worked 2 or more years in a setting with general health counselling or mental health clients. Assessment: All modes: supervision log-book (20%); 1 x 2000wd case study draft (10%) and 1 x 3000wd case study final (35%); 1 x oral examination (40min) (35%) ¿ can be done online Practical field work: Supervised Cases x 2 Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: A primary degree in the health sciences; professional indemnity insurance
This unit offers an introduction to ultra-brief psychodynamic psychotherapy using the evidence-based approach of Psychodynamic -Interpersonal Therapy (PIT) suitable for acute and general medical and mental health practice, including as an approach to Project Air clinics, emergency department presentations, self-harm and psychosomatics. This unit is suitable for interested clinicians from a variety of backgrounds, including counselling, nursing, social work, medicine, psychiatry and psychology. The techniques generalize well to developing the therapeutic relationship. Over the semester students will be able to communicate the strong theory and RCT evidence base of this model and how this model can offer a person-centred and recovery-based approach to trauma-informed care and stepped care. Students will attend some initial training and then group supervision to support their acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and clinical skills in the clinical experience of running 2 brief psychodynamic therapies of 4-8 sessions. Students will bring cases from their workplace or allocated from an affiliated clinical program. Students will apply the basics of assessment and engagement and feeling language, using statements and developing formulations. They will demonstrate the PIT structure including the writing of a good bye letter and collaborative future planning, whether for maintenance, onreferral or further treatment.
Textbooks
Barkham, M., Guthrie, E., Hardy, G. and Margison, F. Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy: A Conversational Model. London: Sage, 2017. Hobson R. Forms of Feeling: The Heart of Psychotherapy. Originally London: Tavistock, 1985. Reprint New York: Routledge
PSTY5204 Practising Psychodynamic Psychotherapy B

Credit points: 3 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Janine Stevenson; Dr Joan Haliburn Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x 20min lec/wk; 1x sup/wk (45 min) (in group of 2); 2 hrs ce/wk (nd on thursday morning) Corequisites: PSTY5201 and PSTY5203 Assumed knowledge: This unit assumes a working clinical knowledge of basic counselling and mental health, commensurate with a clinician having worked 2 or more years in a setting with general health counselling or mental health clients. Assessment: supervision log-book (20%) 1 x case presentation (20%) 1 x 3000wd case reflection (30%) 1 x oral examination (30min) (30%) Practical field work: 1 supervised case (for 5203 and 5204 combined 2 x supervised cases required) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
The unit provides a subsequent clinical experience supported by small group supervision, begun in the unit PSTY5203, structuring learning in psychodynamic practice. The focus is on the structured conduct of shorter psychodynamic interventions as comprising initial, middle and ending phases. Students will bring suitable cases with audio-taped sessional material from their work setting or an affiliated psychotherapy program and continue and finish 2 therapies, either short term psychotherapies of 10-15 sessions or one short term therapy and a longer term therapy, with cases continuing from PSTY5203. The second option is open only to those enrolled in the Grad Dip or Masters or requires Departmental permission. Supervision will focus on the micro-skills of engagement and attunement and use of language, assessment of states of mind and formulation and the construction and monitoring of the safety plan, frame and contract. Students will deepen skills in: developing the therapeutic relationship; identification of coping mechanisms, dissociation, transference and countertransference; the use of feeling/affective language and metaphor; managing the vicissitudes of therapy; construction of a goodbye letter. Students will deepen their reflective practice, incorporating ethical conduct and self-care. CE/wk (ND on Thursday morning)
Textbooks
Haliburn J, An Integrated Approach to Short-Term Dynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide, London:Karnac, 2017. Russell Meares, Nick Bendit, Joan Haliburn, Anthony Korner, Dawn Mears, David Butt. Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician's Manual. Sydney: Norton, 2012
PSTY5205 Growth, Trauma and Adaptation

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola Mclean; Dr Anthony Korner Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr seminars/wk and 2x lec/wk. nd mode available only on thursdays. Assessment: quizzes (10%); reflective essay based on reflective diary entries (1 x 2000 word essay) (25%); online discussion board contributions (20%); case formulation (3000 wd) (10% formulative; 35% summative) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
This unit explores the way human beings grow in sensitive and responsive relationships but are broken down by trauma - acute, chronic and complex. We begin by exploring the way early relational experiences develop personal organization and stress regulation in the infant and set up patterns of how a person rests, loves, plays and works, sometimes for a lifetime. Students will study research in human development to examine early development and healthy adaptation as the dyadic interaction known as the proto-conversation repeats thousands of times to establish of attachment states of mind and relational schemas. Patterns that foster a sense of self and those traumatic experiences that lead to dissociation and consequent disruption and constriction of the self will be described, including child sexual abuse. Students will reflect on personal and clinical experience to consider the way people adapt to stress and trauma and the ways the therapeutic relationship might mirror early relationships. We will describe the traumatic range of experience in acute and complex trauma and consider the hierarchical nature of consciousness, regulation and protection and the consequent need for a phase-based approach to trauma treatment. Students will apply the concepts to case studies within their area of practice.
Textbooks
1) Russell Meares. Metaphor of Play, 2005 2) Russell Meares, Nick Bendit, Joan Haliburn, Anthony Korner, Dawn Mears, David Butt. Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician's Manual. Sydney: Norton, 2012 3) Siegel, D. The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact To Shape Who We Are. 2nd edition. New York: Guilford: 2012
BMRI5050 Clinical Psychiatry II

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Caryl Barnes Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 3hr seminar/week Assessment: Attachment Formulation (40%) Reflective journal Essay (25%) and oral presentation (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study provides an overview of normal development, the formation of relational attachments, and psychological sequelae of trauma and loss. Students will examine anxiety, trauma and personality disorders in-depth, including the epidemiology, aetiology, phenomenology and management of these disorders. In addition, there will be a focus on developing trainees' clinical skills towards a broader, well-rounded approach that involves psychosocial techniques, and working collaboratively with consumers and families in multidisciplinary and community settings. The unit will provide psychiatry trainees with foundational knowledge and skills in psychotherapeutic techniques including psychodynamic theory, supportive psychotherapy, building a therapeutic alliance and cognitive behavioural therapy. Principles of recovery-oriented practice and trauma-informed care, psychiatric ethics, history of psychiatry, rural and indigenous mental health will be studied.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning.
BMRI5052 Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Benjamin Hoadley Session: Semester 2 Classes: online lectures, podcasts, 2 x 2 hour face to face workshops (online option available) and one full day face to face workshop Prohibitions: BMRI5011 or BMRI5010 Assumed knowledge: Clinical experience in psychiatry or general practice or paediatrics of equivalent is essential. Assessment: Essay (50%) and Case Study (50%) Mode of delivery: Distance education/intensive on campus
This unit of study is designed for doctors working with children and adolescents with mental health presentations (e.g. psychiatry trainees, general practitioners and paediatricians) to develop their learning in the subspecialty of child and adolescent psychiatry. The key approach of the unit will be to provide students with the capacity to understand child and family psychopathology from the molecular level to the societal. This unit provides an understanding of child development from conception through adolescence, looking at key genetic and environmental factors that contribute to clinical disorder, particularly the role of the family environment. The different phases of brain development will be studied, from the formation of new connections in childhood to the pruning of connections in adolescence and changes to the frontal and temporal lobes. Major psychopathologies such as mood and anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) learning disorders and autism spectrum disorders will be examined. The effects of puberty and gene-environment interactions will be explored with respect to the development of emerging adolescent psychiatric disorders, such as mood disorder. Students will learn about psychological and pharmacological management of mental disorders in children and adolescents, as well as the importance of working with families, carers and wider systems including multidisciplinary teams, education and welfare sectors.
Textbooks
Rey, J.M. (Ed.). (2015). IACAPAP e-textbook of child and adolescent mental health. Geneva, Switzerland: International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions. Open accesspublication: http://iacapap.org/iacapap-textbook-of-child-and-adolescent-mental-health
BMRI5054 Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Care

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr seminar/week and on-line activities Assumed knowledge: BMRI5003 and BMRI5050 Knowledge and skills at the level of completion of Stage 1 Psychiatry training Assessment: Discussion board (10%); case assessment, formulation and plan (20%); presentation (30%), case study (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Relevant clinical experience and current clinical placement necessary.
This unit of study will foster the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to understand, evaluate and apply a wide range of evidence-based psychotherapeutic and psychosocial interventions, including integrated service delivery systems, for individuals with mental health disorders and their families. This unit will build on the psychosocial foundations and concepts of integrated formulation and care established in the first year courses to support trainees to understand the role of the major modalities of psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions which have been shown to significantly contribute to recovery and improved outcomes in mental health. The unit offers an overview of assessment and the historical context of the development of theories and evidence, moving to frameworks of human development across the life span, expanding applied knowledge of attachment and exploring theories of learning and personality. Participants will then examine a range of specific psychological interventions aimed at different aspects of individual and systemic functioning including psychodynamic approaches, DBT, structured brief therapies, more advanced applications of CBT and group, couples, family and systems of care interventions. Teaching methods will focus on research-enhanced and case-based learning with an integrative approach, supplemented by e-learning and audiovisual resources.
Textbooks
Readings and other resources will be available online

Capstone unit

Master students select 6 credit points from the list below as a capstone unit:
BMRI5001 Neuroethics

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Cynthia Forlini Session: Semester 2 Classes: 9am-5pm Wednesday weeks 1, 6 and 10 Assessment: Class discussions (5%), commentary (15%), position paper 1 (40%), position paper 2 (40%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This is a capstone unit of study for the Master in Brain and Mind Sciences and Master of Medicine (Psychiatry).
This unit of study synthesizes and critically scruitinizes our models and concepts of brain and mind through a neuroethics lens. Neuroethics is sub-field of bioethics that is concerned with the ethical, legal and social impact of the neurosciences. Beginning with a module on the historical development of modern neuroscience, students will learn about the beliefs, experiements and discoveries that have led us to recognise how the brain contributes to the human experience in unique ways. Throughout this unit, students will examine how advances in neuroscience have shaped how we conduct research, treat clinical conditions, make individual and collective decisions, and live together as a society. During the class discussions and assessments, students will grapple with the issues that arise when we intervene in the brain and how those interventions modify our concepts of health, illness, identity and morality. The scope of these issues is enormous and speaks to the importance of students developing a clear framework to contextualize developments in neuroscience within the scientific, ethical, cultural, social and legal environments in which they arise.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5017 Genetics of Brain and Mind Disorders

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Marina Kennerson Session: Semester 2 Classes: one day workshop week 1, 5, 9 and 11 Assessment: Lab report (60%), journal article (40%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This is a capstone unit of study.
This unit of study provides a comprehensive introduction to the research methods that can be used in the identification and characterisation of genetic variants underlying neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Understanding genetic variants in the context of genomic medicine is essential for patient management and predicting disease outcomes. Thisunit will provide students with and overview of bench to bedside genomic medicine. Students will be taught skills to identify causative and susceptibility gene variants from next generation sequencing data and shown bioinformatics tools to analyse variants. The variant information will then be considered in a doagnostic setting through the clinical application of genetic counselling for patient management and well-being. The first part of the unit will focus on the statistical methods to quantify the contribution of genetic factors to complex genetic disorders in the population. The principles of genetic association will be discussed, using examples of cognitive traits and neurodegenerative disorders. The course will then discuss concepts of pedigree analysis for Mendelian neurodegenerative diseases with practical excercises inidentifying candidate variants using filtering strategies of next generation sequencing data. The final part of the course will introduce a suite of bioinformatics tools and resources to generate a research report. This report will form an introduction to the genetic counselling practices required for clinical interpretation and use of information for patient-centred genomic healthcare delivery. This is a capstone unit of study that will require students to develop over the semester a scholarly piece of work using advanced bioinformatics skills and interpretting the information for a clinical setting. Over the assessments in this unit, students will identify genetic variants associated with a complex neurodegeneration disorder, map and identify possible causative genes for a Mendelian neurodegenerative disease, examine the suitability of DNA variants identified as disease candidates using bioinformatics tools, and interpret the clinical implications for the patient and their family.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5027 Leadership and Policy in Mental Health 1

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor John Mendoza Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 9am-5pm Friday and Saturday 9am-12.30pm weeks 2 and 7, 9am-5pm Friday week 12 Assessment: Leadership assessment and self development plan (30%), scenario analysis (20%), change initiative and implementation plan (50%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This is a capstone unit of study
This unit is designed to provide participants with an introduction to the key constructs of leadership, leadership development and change management with specific reference to mental health reform in Australia. The unit will provide an overview of concepts and models of leadership and change management and an opportunity to apply these to a personal leadership development plan to embark on a service-level reform initiative. In this unit participants will gain an understanding of, their own leadership attributes and developmental needs and an insight into the development of strategy, organisational level policy and governance for achieving change. These elements will provide the foundations for self-development as a leader and the development of service level change/reform initiatives.
Textbooks
Specific reference material listed on eLearning
BMRI5055 Research Project in Psychiatry

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Assumed knowledge: BMRI5003 and BMRI5050 Assessment: Oral presentation (10%) theis 4000 words (40%), final oral presentation (10%) supervisor evaluation (40%) Practical field work: 3.5-7 hr placement per week Mode of delivery: Supervision
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This practically- based elective unit of study aims to provide a capstone experience for those psychiatry trainees wishing to gain experience in empirical research (quantitative or qualitative) relevant to the field of Psychiatry. This unit is to be taken over 1 semester (7 hours of field placement per week) or may be extended over 2 semesters with 3.5 hours per week field placement. Students will learn a variety of skills for acquisition, analysis and presentation of data particular to their field of interest and will write up their project as a draft research publication. Potential projects can be reviewed by students in the semester prior to commencement so that they can familiarize themselves with research conducted at the Brain and Mind Centre, including placements in clinical research groups and basic neuroscience laboratories, depending on student skills and supervisor availability. Alternatively students may consult their local training networks and propose a supervised project well prior to the commencement of the unit. Projects may contribute to the Scholarly Project for the RANZCP CBFP. Acceptance to a given project will be selective, requiring departmental approval.
PSTY5201 Psychodynamic Principles and Frameworks

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Anthony Korner Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x 1hr lec and 1x2hr seminar/wk (nd takes place on thursday morning). Assumed knowledge: This unit assumes a working clinical knowledge of basic counselling and mental health, commensurate with a clinician having worked 2 or more years in a setting with general health counselling or mental health clients. Assessment: quizzes / short answer (10%); discussion boards (journal review incorporated) (30%); 1 x 3000wd essay (draft 10% and final 50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: A primary degree in the health sciences is required for entry into the Master's program of which PSTY 5201 is a Unit of Study. However, students may apply to do the Unit of Study while doing another degree ¿ in this case entry will be at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator.
This unit provides an introduction to psychodynamic psychotherapy principles, the psychodynamic model of care and how to apply these to setting up a therapeutic framework in a model of health delivery that is person-centred, recoveryfocussed and trauma-informed. This unit is suitable for graduate students studying psychology, mental health nursing, psychiatry and for interested clinicians from general medicine and allied health Students will be introduced to basic concepts in the development of self, reflective capacity, attachment theory, trauma theory and trauma-informed care and the basics of interpersonal neurobiology that underlie contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy. Students will gain a basic understanding of the psychodynamic approach to assessment and treatment and its evidence-based applications. Students will gain a basic understanding of the Conversational Model and its application to psychotherapy interventions across the continuum of care in mental health.
Textbooks
Barkham, M., Guthrie, E., Hardy, G. and Margison, F.Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy: A Conversational Model. London: Sage, 2017. Haliburn J, An Integrated Approach to Short-Term Dynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide, London: Karnac, 2017. Russell Meares, Nick Bendit, Joan Haliburn, Anthony Korner, Dawn Mears, David Butt. Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician's Manual. Sydney: Norton, 2012
PSTY5202 Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola McLean Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: ND, OL: 1 x sem/wk; 1x sup/wk (45 min) ( in group of 2); 2 hrs ce/wk; nd on thursday morning; oral examination may be done online. Assumed knowledge: This unit assumes a working clinical knowledge of basic counselling and mental health, commensurate with a clinician having worked 2 or more years in a setting with general health counselling or mental health clients. Assessment: All modes: supervision log-book (20%); 1 x 2000wd case study draft (10%) and 1 x 3000wd case study final (35%); 1 x oral examination (40min) (35%) ¿ can be done online Practical field work: Supervised Cases x 2 Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: A primary degree in the health sciences; professional indemnity insurance
This unit offers an introduction to ultra-brief psychodynamic psychotherapy using the evidence-based approach of Psychodynamic -Interpersonal Therapy (PIT) suitable for acute and general medical and mental health practice, including as an approach to Project Air clinics, emergency department presentations, self-harm and psychosomatics. This unit is suitable for interested clinicians from a variety of backgrounds, including counselling, nursing, social work, medicine, psychiatry and psychology. The techniques generalize well to developing the therapeutic relationship. Over the semester students will be able to communicate the strong theory and RCT evidence base of this model and how this model can offer a person-centred and recovery-based approach to trauma-informed care and stepped care. Students will attend some initial training and then group supervision to support their acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and clinical skills in the clinical experience of running 2 brief psychodynamic therapies of 4-8 sessions. Students will bring cases from their workplace or allocated from an affiliated clinical program. Students will apply the basics of assessment and engagement and feeling language, using statements and developing formulations. They will demonstrate the PIT structure including the writing of a good bye letter and collaborative future planning, whether for maintenance, onreferral or further treatment.
Textbooks
Barkham, M., Guthrie, E., Hardy, G. and Margison, F. Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy: A Conversational Model. London: Sage, 2017. Hobson R. Forms of Feeling: The Heart of Psychotherapy. Originally London: Tavistock, 1985. Reprint New York: Routledge
PSTY5204 Practising Psychodynamic Psychotherapy B

Credit points: 3 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Janine Stevenson; Dr Joan Haliburn Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x 20min lec/wk; 1x sup/wk (45 min) (in group of 2); 2 hrs ce/wk (nd on thursday morning) Corequisites: PSTY5201 and PSTY5203 Assumed knowledge: This unit assumes a working clinical knowledge of basic counselling and mental health, commensurate with a clinician having worked 2 or more years in a setting with general health counselling or mental health clients. Assessment: supervision log-book (20%) 1 x case presentation (20%) 1 x 3000wd case reflection (30%) 1 x oral examination (30min) (30%) Practical field work: 1 supervised case (for 5203 and 5204 combined 2 x supervised cases required) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
The unit provides a subsequent clinical experience supported by small group supervision, begun in the unit PSTY5203, structuring learning in psychodynamic practice. The focus is on the structured conduct of shorter psychodynamic interventions as comprising initial, middle and ending phases. Students will bring suitable cases with audio-taped sessional material from their work setting or an affiliated psychotherapy program and continue and finish 2 therapies, either short term psychotherapies of 10-15 sessions or one short term therapy and a longer term therapy, with cases continuing from PSTY5203. The second option is open only to those enrolled in the Grad Dip or Masters or requires Departmental permission. Supervision will focus on the micro-skills of engagement and attunement and use of language, assessment of states of mind and formulation and the construction and monitoring of the safety plan, frame and contract. Students will deepen skills in: developing the therapeutic relationship; identification of coping mechanisms, dissociation, transference and countertransference; the use of feeling/affective language and metaphor; managing the vicissitudes of therapy; construction of a goodbye letter. Students will deepen their reflective practice, incorporating ethical conduct and self-care. CE/wk (ND on Thursday morning)
Textbooks
Haliburn J, An Integrated Approach to Short-Term Dynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide, London:Karnac, 2017. Russell Meares, Nick Bendit, Joan Haliburn, Anthony Korner, Dawn Mears, David Butt. Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician's Manual. Sydney: Norton, 2012
PSTY5205 Growth, Trauma and Adaptation

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Loyola Mclean; Dr Anthony Korner Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr seminars/wk and 2x lec/wk. nd mode available only on thursdays. Assessment: quizzes (10%); reflective essay based on reflective diary entries (1 x 2000 word essay) (25%); online discussion board contributions (20%); case formulation (3000 wd) (10% formulative; 35% summative) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day, Online
This unit explores the way human beings grow in sensitive and responsive relationships but are broken down by trauma - acute, chronic and complex. We begin by exploring the way early relational experiences develop personal organization and stress regulation in the infant and set up patterns of how a person rests, loves, plays and works, sometimes for a lifetime. Students will study research in human development to examine early development and healthy adaptation as the dyadic interaction known as the proto-conversation repeats thousands of times to establish of attachment states of mind and relational schemas. Patterns that foster a sense of self and those traumatic experiences that lead to dissociation and consequent disruption and constriction of the self will be described, including child sexual abuse. Students will reflect on personal and clinical experience to consider the way people adapt to stress and trauma and the ways the therapeutic relationship might mirror early relationships. We will describe the traumatic range of experience in acute and complex trauma and consider the hierarchical nature of consciousness, regulation and protection and the consequent need for a phase-based approach to trauma treatment. Students will apply the concepts to case studies within their area of practice.
Textbooks
1) Russell Meares. Metaphor of Play, 2005 2) Russell Meares, Nick Bendit, Joan Haliburn, Anthony Korner, Dawn Mears, David Butt. Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Model: A Clinician's Manual. Sydney: Norton, 2012 3) Siegel, D. The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact To Shape Who We Are. 2nd edition. New York: Guilford: 2012

Project units of study

MEDF5301 Project (Advanced Masters)

Credit points: 12 Teacher/Coordinator: Students must have a University of Sydney staff member or University approved supervisor for their project. Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Students will be required to have regular contact with their supervisor to discuss the progress of their project. Assessment: 2000 word written project proposal (30%) and written final work of up to 10000 words, or a publication (as negotiated) (70%) Mode of delivery: Supervision
Note: Approval of the project and supervisor by the Program Director must be confirmed prior to commencing the project.
Candidates will work on an independent research project in an area of specific interest relevant to their master's degree. The project may take the form of analysis of an existing data set, a systematic or integrative review of the literature, a case series, survey or other project acceptable to the project supervisor. In some streams, projects may be available for students to select. It is essential, where there is the use of patient information or recruitiment of patient study subjects, that appropriate ethics approval is gained from the governing body where the project will take place. The candidate will enter into a learning contract and will be guided through the steps required to plan and execute a substantial research project, and prepare a scholarly work which may be a paper for publication. A candidate must enrol in a minimum of 12 credit points of project units of study in order to submit their final written work.
MEDF5302 Project (Advanced Masters) (Part A)

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Students must have a University of Sydney staff member or University approved supervisor for their project. Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Students will be required to have regular contact with their supervisor to discuss the progress of their project. Assessment: 2000 word written project proposal (30%) and written final work of up to 10000 words, or a publication (as negotiated) (70%) Mode of delivery: Supervision
Note: Approval of the project and supervisor by the Program Director must be confirmed prior to commencing the project.
Candidates will work on an independent research project in an area of specific interest relevant to their master's degree. The project may take the form of analysis of an existing data set, a systematic or integrative review of the literature, a case series, survey or other project acceptable to the project supervisor. In some streams, projects may be available for students to select. It is essential, where there is the use of patient information or recruitment of patient study subjects, that appropriate ethics approval is gained from the governing body where the project will take place. The candidate will enter into a learning contract and will be guided through the steps required to plan and execute a substantial research project and prepare a scholarly work which may be a paper for publication. Where appropriate students will prepare a work suitable for publication. A candidate must enrol in a minimum of 12 credit points of project units of study in order to submit their final written work.
MEDF5303 Project (Advanced Masters) (Part B)

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Students must have a University of Sydney staff member or University approved supervisor for their project. Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Students will be required to have regular contact with their supervisor to discuss the progress of their project Assessment: 2000 word written project proposal (30%) and written final work of up to 10000 words, or a publication (as negotiated) (70%) Mode of delivery: Supervision
Note: Approval of the project and supervisor by the Program Director must be confirmed prior to commencing the project.
Candidates will work on an independent research project in an area of specific interest relevant to their master's degree. The project may take the form of analysis of an existing data set, a systematic or integrative review of the literature, a case series, survey or other project acceptable to the project supervisor. In some streams, projects may be available for students to select. It is essential where there is the use of patient information or recruitment of patient study subjects that appropriate ethics approval is gained from the governing body where the project will take place. The candidate will enter into a learning contract and will be guided through the steps required to plan and execute a substantial research project and prepare a scholarly work which may be a paper for publication. A candidate must enrol in a minimum of 12 credit points of project units of study in order to submit their final written work.