More Information
Your learning experience with ADL will not only depend on the quality of the course, but also the quality of the person teaching it. This course is taught by Iona Lister and your course fee includes unlimited tutorial support throughout. Here are Iona’s credentials:
Iona Lister
Licentiate, Speech and Language Therapy, UK, Diploma in Advanced Counselling Skills.
Iona has been a clinician and manager of health services for fifteen years, and a trainer for UK-based medical charities, focusing on psychosocial issues, mental health disorders, and also the promotion of communication skills for people in helping roles. She tutors and facilitates groups via workshops and teleconferences, and now specialises in Sight Loss. As a freelance writer, she contributes regular feature articles for magazines, has written five published books, as well as published courses relating to personal development and counselling skills.
Iona has also written published books, courses and articles across a wide range of subjects, mostly in the areas of health, counselling, psychology, crafts and wildlife.
She has drawn experience from clinical and managerial experience within the NHS as well as medical and humanitarian subjects. She has been a regular feature writer and expert panel member of a national magazine for six years.
Books include: A Guide to Living with Alzheimer’s Disease (and associated dementias), The Psychology of Facial Disfigurement; a Guide for Health and Social Care Professionals, When a Medical Skin Condition Affects the Way you Look; A Guide to Managing Your Future, Facing Disfigurement with Confidence, Cross Stitch: A Guide to Creativity and Success for Beginners.
Courses written include: Mental Health and Social Work, Counselling Skills, Understanding and Responding to Substance Misuse, Journalling for Personal Development, Guided Imagery, Stress Management.
Current work includes: Tutor: Courses associated with Creative Writing, Counselling Skills, Psychology, Holistic Therapy, Certified Hypnotherapist and Hypnotension Practitioner.
Facilitator of Teleconference Groups: Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
Trainer (Skills for Seeing): Macular Society
Reviewer of Books/Information: Macmillan Cancer Support
Fundraiser: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Embroidery/Art Groups Facilitator, Board Member
Website Manager: The Strathcarron Project, Coordinator (Delaware & Tennessee) Human Writes
Excerpt from the Course
Structured and unstructured interviews
Structured – Often, structured interviews use closed questions which require a simple pre-determined answer. Examples of closed questions are “When did this problem begin? Was there any particular stressor going on at that time? Can you tell me about how this problem started?” Closed interviews are better suited for specific information gathering. Structured interviews are useful in that they provide a standard set of questions in a fixed order and there are a restricted number of answers e.g. Yes/no, agree/disagree. They also allow replication and comparison between people and are a quick and easy way to collect data.
SCID
SCID is only one of a range of different structured and semi structured interview tools available.SCID-R is the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-III-R and is, as the name implies, an example of a very structured. It is designed to provide a diagnosis for a client by detailed questioning of the client in a “yes/no” or “definitely/somewhat/not at all” forced choice format. It is broken up into different sections reflecting the diagnosis in question. Whilst SCID-IV is a clinician administered, semi-structured interview that is developed to help diagnose a broad range of psychiatric disorders detailed in DSM-IV.It is probably the most widely used test in North American research. It is closely tied to the DSM criteria.
There are several versions including –
SCID-I/P is used for subjects already identified as psychiatric patients, whilst SCID-i/P with Psychotic Screen, is design for patients in psychiatric settings where psychotic disorders are expected to be rare. There is also a non patient version SCID-I/NP.However, the versions are mainly used by clinicians who are specially trained in their use.
The SCID begins with an overview of the person’s history e.g. Marital status, work history, chief complaint, history of present and past periods of psychopathology, treatment history, assessment of current functioning etc. The responses are in the person’s own words and used to establish a rapport with the client.
There will then be 12 questions that the clinician uses to determine whether some diagnoses can be overlooked. This is followed by diagnostic questions. The questions can be answered simply yes/no, but further information will obviously provide greater understanding. For example, “Has it ever seemed like people were talking about you or taking a special interest in you?” If the person answers “yes” to this, the clinician might ask for specific examples.
The SCID-R can be used in a number of ways, such as with victims of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). SCID-R and the newer version for DSM-IV (SCID-IV) contain a brief preface describing possible criterion for PTSD, followed by a short list of traumas. No behavioural definitions of the assaults are included and respondents are required to generate descriptions of any experienced trauma not on the list. The interviewer will document all traumatic events, but will only use the “worst” trauma, as specified by the subject, in considering a diagnosis. No attempt is made to evaluate or identify subjective aspects of the trauma. Also, no specific prompts on event characteristics will be used, such as number of assailants, duration of assault, presence of weapon etc.
This engaging text explains how psychological profiling is used to assess others – from new staff and school children to criminals and killers.
by John Mason and the Staff of ACS
Psychological Profiling eBook course online. Psychological profiling is used to assess anyone from potential new staff and school children to serial killers. It helps you to determine someones personality, neuroses, mental health and career suitability. This book provides an excellent overview of psychological profiling techniques and pitfalls.
A profile of an individual at its most basic is an outline of what a person is really like in terms of their personality traits and characteristics. The most widely known form of profiling is that which is used to assess criminal behaviour. This is largely due to the popularity of TV shows and books which include criminal profiling.
When we hear the term “psychological profiling”, we often assume it is in relation to criminal behaviour, however profilingcan be used for a wide range of reasons, such as:
■ Assessing a person’s suitability for a specific role or profession.
■ Determining a specific characteristic in a person, such as intelligence or neuroses.
■ Determining someone’s personality.
■ Determining a person’s mental health state.
■ Diagnosing clinical conditions.
We often also see tests online and in magazines that are termed psychological tests”, purporting to tell you the type of person you are by answering a few questions. Whilst these may be based upon some known pattern of traits, determining an individual’s profile is much more involved than this, and such tests only provide an indication at best.
In light of its media and television popularity, psychological profiling has become well-known and accepted over recent years.
Profiling is essentially building up a picture of an individual’s characteristics such as likely behaviours, attitudes, personal traits, unique skills or capabilities, and so forth in relation to norms of the general population. It is an assessment carried out by a skilled psychologist, using techniques and tools from psychology to learn general and specific facts about a person. In other words, a profile is a comparison of one person’s traits and behaviours to those of everyone else. It is a picture of how similar or different someone is, how well or poorly they perform, on a range of characteristics in relation to the average scores and performances of the general population.
CONTENTS
CREDITS
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
- What is profiling?
- Personality
- Types of profiling
- When and why do we carry out profiling?
- How profiling is done
CHAPTER 2 HOW TO PROFILE SOMEONE
- Profiling techniques
- Putting it all together
CHAPTER 3 INTERVIEWS AND QUESTIONNAIRES
- Psychological screening
- What is an interview?
- Planning an interview: structured or unstructured
- Components of a profiling interview
- What can go wrong?
- Dealing with interview data
CHAPTER 4 BEHAVIOURAL ASSESSMENT
- The abc model
- Traditional vs behavioural assessment
- Different applications of behavioural assessments
- Behavioural assessment techniques
- Problems with behavioural assessments
CHAPTER 5 CLASSICAL ASSESSMENT TESTS
- The nature of traditional assessment tests
- Reliability and validity of psychological tests
CHAPTER 6 WHAT COMES NEXT?
- Applications for profiles
- How & where to use a profile
- Ethics of profiling
- Problems with profiling
- The future of profiling
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.
General
Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning?
A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.
Q. Do I need to buy text books?
A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.
Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc)
A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.
Q. Is there an age limit?
A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.
Q. Are your courses up-to date?
A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.
Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy?
A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.
Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students?
A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.
Enrolment
Q. When can I enrol/start?
A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.
Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world?
A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.
Q. How long do I have to complete the course?
A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.
Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.
Assessment
Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.
Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.
Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –
Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.
Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done?
A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.
Qualifications
Q. What qualification will I receive?
A. For individual modules, you would be awarded a Certificate endorsed by TQUK (Training Qualifications, UK), providing you complete all assignments and the exam. If you just want to complete only the assignments and not sit for the exam or finish a Project, then a Letter of Achievement would be awarded. For more details on qualifications available please click here.
Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?
A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.
Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript?
A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.
Tutors
Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.
Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.
Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.
