Taught courses

Currently taught courses

Courses taught at Vilnius University, Psychology Institute

Personality development (undergraduate)

This module introduces students to the main theoretical approaches toward personality development, including psychoanalysis, social psychology, cognitive psychology, phenomenology, biological psychology, evolutionary psychology, and cross-cultural psychology. Students are encouraged to think critically about the concepts of personality traits, individuality, and personhood. The module also seeks to discuss different influencers on personality, such as early object relations, attachment styles, neurobiology, cultural upbringing, religious values, and sociopsychological aspects (such as social media and digitalism).

Psychology of relationships (undergraduate)

In this module, students learn about different theoretical understandings of human relationships, including psychoanalytic, behavioural, cognitive, humanistic, biological, evolutionary, and cross-cultural. The module seeks to introduce a wide array of relationship concepts, including verbal and non-verbal communication, emotional expression and recognition, social image formation and influence, interpersonal relationships including friendship and romantic attachments, group dynamic processes, conflicts and their resolution, as well as digital forms of communication. Students also learn about different forms of research methods that seek to capture human relationships in psychological science.

Psychology of creativity (undergraduate)

This module seeks to introduce students to the notion of creativity in psychology. The module addresses the idea of creative processes in psychology as well as historical issues in conceptualising creativity and studying it in psychological research. Students learn about a wide array of topics, such as the link between creativity and psychopathology, trauma, social processes, psychotherapeutic processes, scientific advancements, contemporary art, and neuropsychological studies. The module encourages students to not only apply psychological theories to understand creative processes and personalities but also to explore creativity within psychology itself (including theory, research, and clinical practice).

Courses taught at University of Derby, Psychotherapy and Counselling

Working with People with Distress and Disorder (undergraduate)

In this course, students learn about how all people can experience a range of different forms and degrees of emotional and psychological distress and disorder. There is an even wider range of historically, politically, socially, and culturally informed ways of making sense of such experiences, which are introduced in the module. The module involves a range of issues and debates in how we have, and now do, diagnose and then treat people. In addition, the course enables students to critically reflect on their work role and workplace and how they and their colleagues can work with people who experience distress and disorder in a facilitating way.

Theories of Therapeutic Intervention (undergraduate)

This module aims to provide an introduction to some of the major theoretical models of counselling: Psychoanalysis, CBT, Person-Centred and Attachment. It addresses these with regard to the particular socio-cultural context in which they were developed, including the philosophical positions taken in considering the nature of being human from each theoretical perspective. The module also aims to increase effectiveness and confidence in using academic resources, particularly sourcing and reviewing journal articles related to counselling.

Preparing for Research and Evidence Based Practice (undergraduate)

This module enables students to understand and critically discuss the importance of evidence and research in practice environment. It helps students to consider the evidence used in their own professional practice and how evidence and research affect clinical decision-making. Frameworks that underpin the processes of research and evidence-based practice are presented and students begin to apply them to a topic of their choice (relating to their own area of practice). As such, this module will develop skills in critical appraisal of research and evidence directly related to students’ area of practice.

Research and Evidence Based Practice (undergraduate)

The module is a follow–up to Preparing for Research and Evidence Based Practice module. The need for improved clinical effectiveness dictates that healthcare practitioners’ respond to the ever increasing body of knowledge and scientific rationale in order to practice on a foundation of best available evidence, whilst meeting government and international agendas for clinical governance and greater expectations from patients. This module explores evidence based practice; the practical skills and knowledge required in searching for the best available evidence and the critical understanding of different sources of evidence, in order to promote and implement clinically effective care and decision-making. At the end of the module, students develop study protocols to prepare for primary research projects.

Independent Study (undergraduate)

This module is designed to enhance students’ ability to work independently through the process of research project management. This includes consideration of ethical and legal issues; communications including obtaining relevant permissions; literature review; discovering and using internal systems and processes; managing time and resources; planning, implementing and evaluating the project; evaluation; recommendations; report writing and dissemination. The module enables students to further develop academic skills such as problem solving, critical analysis and objective evaluation leading to recommendations for improving practice. It provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their creative thinking and organisational skills.

Integrating Practices (undergraduate)

The module attracts a wide range of professionals involved in the provision and delivery of a global, changing and expanding health and social care agenda. One of the ways things are changing is with increased integration. Attempts at integrating practices may bring together various kinds of approaches and services related to diagnosis, therapy, treatment, care, rehabilitation and health promotion. Hence, it is possible that integration helps to improve services in relation to access, quality, service user/patient satisfaction and efficiency. During this module, students work with other learners in order to both learn and collaborate on an assignment. The module encourages students to explore the following concepts: person centred integrative care and practice; ethical (principles and dilemmas); policy and legal duties and responsibilities; professional and organisational contexts; power, communication, subjects, disciplines and the organisation of labour.

Concepts and Theories within Supervisory Practice (postgraduate)

This module introduces the theories and concepts that are relevant to supervisory practice. The units within this module provide students with the opportunity to critically consider the available models and concepts that are relevant to your area of practice. It then encourages to consider the application of these models and provides students with the opportunity to create a model of clinical supervision that is bespoke to your own practice area. In doing this students have the opportunity to take the most relevant models and concepts and customise them to their own and their supervisee’s specific requirements.

Contemporary Approaches within Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (undergraduate)

This module considers the contribution made by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in understanding of human problems and distress. This is ideal for practitioners who are specialising in integrating insights and skills from CBT within their current practice. During this module, students study all the contemporary approaches within the CBT tradition. Students choose the approach they will focus upon and will both: study this in greater depth and will then practice with aspects of the approach in videoed sessions with peers, in triads. Students offer each other feedback and also peer supervision for this practice. This module is for health and social care practitioners whom wish to further inform their therapeutic practice within contemporary approaches within cognitive behavioural theory. Practitioners can be any area of practice where individuals may experience some emotional issues or difficulties in their mental wellbeing.

Past courses

Courses taught at University of Essex, Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies (2017-2021)

Understanding Individuals, Groups and Organisations: An Introduction to Psychodynamic Concepts (undergraduate)

This is an introductory module for first year undergraduate students, seeking to familiarise them with the key concepts of psychodynamic thinking. In particular, students are taught about unconscious dynamics at work in individuals, groups and organisations. The module aims to establish a theoretical foundation for the rest of the programme. As such, students will study the basis of a psychodynamic approach, the key theoretical ideas and their place within the discipline. The importance of the unconscious and early experience is emphasised. Students explore the way individuals affect one another, institutions affect the people who work in them and vice versa, and what impact this has upon therapeutic practice.

Psychoanalysis and the Child (undergraduate)

This module is taught for second year undergraduate students. In this module we examine some of the developments in psychoanalytic theory with a special focus on the figure of the child. We consider some of the debates surrounding the development of psychoanalysis of children through the work of Melanie Klein, D. W. Winnicott, Anna Freud, amongst others. We pay attention to the importance of play and practices of observation to understand how and why the figure of the child has been central to the development of psychoanalytic thought.

Popular Film, Literature and Television: A Psychoanalytic Approach (Freud and Jung) (undergraduate)

This course forms an introduction to psychoanalytic theory (Freud, Jung, and contemporary perspectives) through material from popular culture. How can we use the insights from psychoanalysis (Freud and post-Freudian) and analytical psychology (Jung and post-Jungian) to understand popular cultural productions like film, television, literature and poetry? Ideas from psychoanalysis and analytical psychology can be applied to understand why it is that cultures produce what they do and why these productions can be so compelling and popular. By understanding the notion of the individual and group unconscious (foundational for both Jung and Freud), psychoanalytic perspectives can also provide insight into cultural phenomena. Film, television and literature will be used alongside theoretical texts to bring out the major insights of psychoanalytic theory as a method to analyse cultural production.

Psychoanalytic Theory: Freud and Object Relations (undergraduate)

This module is taught for second year undergraduate students. Students are introduced to more advanced readings and topics in Freudian theory, which lead to the work of Melanie Klein and the British Object Relations School of psychoanalysis. By paying close attention to foundational topics, this module aims to provide the basic concepts which have been later applied in a variety of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic settings and schools.

Research Skills and Methods in Depth Psychology (postgraduate)

The Research Skills and Methods Forum is designed to bring students from both psychoanalytic and Jungian MA streams together, as well as MA Management and Organisational Dynamics and MA Refugee Care, and draws on the expertise of staff in all these fields to teach some of the fundamentals of MA research.

Current Debates in Depth Psychology (undergraduate)

This module consists of blocks of 2 to 3 seminars by individual members of staff from PPS, where they present their latest research projects. In it, students will extend their knowledge about the variety of different approaches to psychodynamic thinking, as well as experience the different applications of those ideas in concrete research projects in a number of fields: the humanities, history, social sciences, psychotherapy, social care and others.