Psychology Courses

What is normal?

Learn more about how teenagers think!   A must for anyone working or living with teenagers.

The period of adolescence involves a lot of changes and development. This course considers all the many changes that occur during this period. There are many changes in relation to sexuality, bodily changes, emotional changes, such as depression, self-esteem and so on. Also, how teenagers may become involved in crime and how they develop morally during the adolescent period. This course offers the student the opportunity to consider these changes in depth.

Caring for the elderly?

This course aims to develop your understanding of the aging process, and your ability to help others cope more effectively with their grief.  It is designed to be useful for counseling and other care professions or anyone involved with elderly people in any other way, formally or informally.

Lessons cover: understanding ageing, deteriorating health, lifestyle changes, support services, enablement techniques, grief and loss counselling, debilitating and terminal illnesses, losing a loved one.

LEARN ABOUT ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

Find out this and more on animal behaviour with this fascinating course.  Psychologists have long used the study of animal behaviour as a way of gaining insights into human behaviour. In understanding animal behaviour, we extend our basis for understanding human behaviour. Therefore, this course not only helps you understand why animals behave as they do; it may also be valuable for anyone studying general psychology.

Is it all in your head?

Only in part. Our behaviour is affected by both our psychological and our physical conditions. Moreover, our state of mind and our physical conditions affect each other. This course will further your understanding of human psychology and health with scientific insights into the body-mind relationship. Therefore, it is of particular interest to those who have studied or want to study psychology, as well as to health practitioners.

 Explore the processes of the brain.

This course builds on Biopsychology I, with further exploration of research into brain processes such as memory, and the effects of brain damage and other factors on those processes.  Those working or studying in the areas of counselling, psychology or health will benefit from the deeper understanding of the relationship between our physiological condition and our mental condition and behaviour that this course provides.

Become a Careers Counsellor.

Career Counselling is a valuable addition to your  teaching, counselling, management, life-coaching, or community services qualification.  It can also improve parents' ability to help their children choose suitable career paths, or student's ability to plan their own career or career change.  

Learn more about how children develop psychologically.

Learn how children develop psychologically as they grow, and what factors (such as learning, parenting styles, reinforcement, and genetic makeup) influence their behaviour and thinking. Anyone who lives or works with children will gain valuable insights into child behaviour. Students of counselling or psychology will be better prepared to understand childhood influences on later adult behaviour.

Learn to deal with conflicts.

This course will explore the causes and effects of conflict, and learn how to manage it through effective communication, active listening, and problem solving. Develop your ability to use facilitation, negotiation or mediation in group situations to achieve win-win solutions. Whether you want to improve your ability to handle conflict in your life or to help others manage conflict better, you will find this course very beneficial.

Learn about yourself and develop the capacity to help others.

Develop your ability to support or counsel others through the processes of personal growth and change.
This course introduces you to the kinds of  problems and issues that a person might face in overcoming stresses and limiting attitudes. You will learn about the counsellor's role and the counselling process, and gain basic practical counselling skills; these can also be effectively applied to many situations.  Also recommended for parents, teachers and others who want to communicate in a more supportive, empathetic manner.

ACS Distance Education is a registered member of the Complimentary Medicine Assoc. (UK)

Pre-requisite:    "Introduction to Psychology" or the equivalent.

Gain a more indepth understanding of the use of counselling skills.

 This course will help you to discover how to use counselling micro-skills - including methods of telephone counselling and techniques for dealing with specific crisis situations - to improve your counselling. This course is ideal for those who have already gained the basic counselling skills covered in Counselling Skills I, and want to further develop their ability to counsel others. Those involved in helping services and community services will also benefit from this course. 

 Pre-requisites: Introduction to Psychology (or equivalent)

Develop your understanding of the major theoretical approaches to counselling and their application to the counselling process. The course does not adopt a particular stance but provides an overview and awareness of different types of therapy.

Learn about the different types of therapy that can be used to help clients. If you are a counsellor or want to be one, this is an indispensible part of your training or professional development.

Course Aim: "Explain the key principles and applications of different theoretical approaches to counselling and psychotherapy, including the theories of Freud, Erikson, Adler, Ellis, Rogers, Beck, and others". Pre-requisite: Introduction to Psychology

Why do people commit crimes?

Develop your understanding of criminal psychology and how psychology is used in law enforcement and crime prevention. 

Who should study this?

• Legal secretaries, office staff, etc
• Welfare officers, youth workers, and any other support service staff who may be working with dysfunctional people

Learn to support people in periods of crisis.

A fantastic course for anyone working with people – suitable for all age groups.

Learn about the theories and practice of educational psychology

This course will help you to understand how and why people learn, and how to apply that understanding to bring about changes in people of all ages. This course will benefit a wide range of people,  from parents (understanding of how their children develop) to teachers/trainers and welfare workers or leisure professionals (eg. youth leaders).

Learn more about families and counseling

Develop a better understanding of family Dynamics, and a capacity to analyze and facilitate solutions to problems that emerge in modern families.

Do you work with the grieving or are interested in helping grieving people?

Supporting people through their grief can be an important part of your job.

You may have suffered grief in the past yourself.

You may be interested in supporting grieving people.

Are you a counsellor who wants to work with grieving people?

This course provides a sound basis for understanding and working with people who are experiencing grief.

Learn more about the use of psychology in industry.

By understanding the thought processes that take place in the minds of people at work, a manager or supervisor can develop empathy with their staff, and apply this empathy to the way they manage the workplace.

Fascinated by psychology - Unsure where to start?

"Ever wondered what Freud said, but were afraid to ask? Do you think psychology sounds interesting and want to know more, but don’t know where to start? Well, stop right here. This course gives you an interesting and informative start to the exciting field of psychology".Tracey Jones, B.Sc. (Hons) (Psychology), M.Soc.Sc (social work), DipSW (social work), PGCE (Education), PGD (Learning Disability Studies), ACS Tutor

TRAIN TO BE A LIFE COACH - GET A NEW CAREER.

 This course will enable people in health, fitness, counselling, social work etc to help others set and achieve life goals. Develop an appreciation of how different perceptions of the world can be just as critical as knowledge, skill and opportunity in a person's success or failure. The course also covers such things as coaching processes, coaching skills and goal setting; and is equally relevant to developing both physical and psychological well being in the client.

ACS is now an organisational member (OMAC) of the Association for Coaching (UK)

Learn more about the use of psychology in marketing.

Why do people choose to buy something? What influences their thinking to decide one way rather than another? Develop your ability to understand how an understanding of Psychology can be applied to marketing.

 Understand cultural differences

"The world is shrinking! The internet, aeroplanes, emails, mobiles, faster travel, telecommunication. All of these things bring the people of the world closer together. Multicultural awareness will increase your knowledge and understanding of cultures around the world and how we can live together in a more understanding and knowledgeable way. A useful course for anyone living or working in a multicultural environment." Tracey Jones, B.Sc. (Hons) (Psychology), M.Soc.Sc (social work), DipSW (social work), PGCE (Education), PGD (Learning Disability Studies), ACS Tutor.

Learn more about the study of how a person’s brain works and affects their behaviour.

Study this course to develop your understanding of the way a person’s brain and psychology is affected by anatomical and physiological characteristics within them, as well as the changes that can occur due to damage of the brain.

LEARN EFFECTIVE PRACTICES IN PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLING.

Learn to develop your understanding of appropriate practices and procedures within the counselling profession. Also gain knowledge of the self, personality and emotions and their effect on the counselling process as well as being introduced to some of the most common disorders.

Learn about the supervision process in counselling.

Without the opportunity to discuss cases in a confidential professional situation, a professional can themselves begin to suffer from the burden of having to deal alone with a build up of problems they confront on a regular basis. This course develops skills in supervising other professionals and an awareness of what to expect when undergoing supervision yourself.

Learn more about the use of psychological assessments in business counselling. This course will help you to -

• learn to determine why and when to use psychological assessment
• develop an understanding of the different types of assessment available (eg. Behavioural Assessment, Wechsler Inteligence and Memory Scales, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, etc).

Learn about psychology and the practical implications of counseling in everyday life.

This course will help you to develop your ability to analyse psychological conditions and to apply that knowledge in real world situations. This course may be useful to people interested in counselling, support workers, youth workers and anyone interested in the human mind.

Learn more about drugs and their effect on the body and mind.

Develop your skills in understanding the effects of legal, illegal and prescribed drugs on the mind, body and behaviour. Topics covered include stimulants, narcotics, hallucinogens, marijuana, steroids, alcohol, tobacco, caffine, solvents, sedatives, prescription drugs, etc.

Want to be a relationships expert?

"Relationships start. Relationships develop. Relationships continue, but some relationships breakdown. To gain a greater understanding, this course will provide you with detailed insight into the processes involved in the development and sometimes, the breakdown, of relationships and how we can support the people involved." Tracey Jones, B.Sc. (Hons) (Psychology), M.Soc.Sc (social work), DipSW (social work), PGCE (Education), PGD (Learning Disability Studies), ACS Tutor

Learn more about the social life of humans.

Man is a social animal, and as such, it is very important to understand the psychology of how we interact with each other, or act as a group rather than as an individual. By understanding the "natural" social needs of a person, you can develop an increased sensitivity to other people, and better identify and assist people with attending to deficiencies in their social interactions.

Learn more about sports psychology – a must for anyone involved in sport on a professional or amateur basis. 

This course will - Develop your skills and application of psychological principles for use in sports. Learn about such things as psychological traits common to successful athletes, ways to maintain and increase motivation, leadership, aggression and team dynamics.

Learn more about practical methods of reducing stress.

Stress is modern man's constant enemy. As life becomes more an more hectic, people work longer hours under greater time constraints, over global time zones with less recreation time more and more people struggle to cope with their stress levels. However, with proper self awareness and management techniques stress levels can be lowered, perceptions altered and responses improved. In this course we deal with physical problems related to stress, how to achieve easy living, dealing with drugs, developing self esteem, relaxation, diet and much more.

Anxiety, tension, and mental and emotional strain are all common problems in today's society. This course introduces you to some practical approaches to managing stress.