Psychological Counseling

Psychological Counseling is a field of knowledge and practice containing a systematic description of the process of providing psychological assistance to both an individual and a group of people. The psychologist-counsellor assumes that a specially organized process of interaction can activate additional psychological strengths, resources and abilities in those seeking help, which in turn will contribute to finding new ways out of difficult life situations and overcoming problems that arise.

Professional skills:

• individual psychological counselling skills: from assisting clients in difficult life situations to dealing with complex life crises, including those related to extreme life experiences;
• family counselling skills, from the perspective of different theoretical approaches;
• organizational counselling skills, including assistance in dealing with staff adaptation, professional recruitment and selection, staff appraisal, career planning and many others;
• skills of group work — from psychological training on formation and development of the required attributes to therapeutic group work;
• skills of providing psychotherapeutic assistance based on the methods of modern approaches: Gestalt therapy, cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy, catalytic-imaginative psychotherapy, Ericksonian psychotherapy etc,
• research skills in psychology and critical scientific thinking.

The benefits of education. Graduates of our Master's programme are:

• psychologists-researchers;
• psychologists-counsellors;
• psychologists-therapists;
• coaches.

Relevance of education: The demand for psychological services is driven by the individual characteristics of people's lives and by social demand. The content of the Master's program is constantly being refined and adjusted in accordance with the employers demand. The research competences acquired give the graduate a unique opportunity to carry out expert assessment of the effectiveness of developmental, correctional and psychotherapeutic programs.

The specific features of the educational process at VVSU:

• the study schedule is adapted for students combining work and study;
• leading lecturers of the Master's program are highly qualified specialists (doctors and candidates of sciences, practitioners), authors-compilers of unique education courses;
• during the whole period of education master's students take part in scientific-research work on actual psychological problems, in scientific-practical conferences of different levels, in Russian and foreign contests and grants;
• upon the recommendation of the leading lecturers of the master's program, master students have the opportunity to join the professional community of psychologists of Primorsky region (Primorsky Professional Psychologists Association) in order to broaden their professional experience and exchange their professional skills;
• in the process of the educational process at VVSU, active teaching methods and electronic technologies are widely used, allowing students to quickly learn new information, use time-management technologies, participate in teleconferences with leading researchers from Russian universities and the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, have access to the latest databases of world electronic libraries, as well as receive online consultation from lecturers;
• VVSU also offers master classes by leading psychologists in modern psychological practices.