Unit rationale, description and aim
Graduates entering clinical exercise physiology increasingly encounter clients with complex behavioural, psychosocial, and mental health needs, requiring practitioners to apply evidence-based communication, ethical decision-making, and culturally responsive care in fast-paced and diverse clinical environments. This unit addresses these real-world demands by equipping students with the professional and interpersonal competencies essential for safe, effective, and person-centred practice aligned with ESSA AEP professional standards.
This unit develops foundational professional, ethical, psychosocial, and communication skills through engagement with evidence-based behaviour change frameworks, the biopsychosocial model, trauma-informed and values-based care, culturally responsive assessment, and advanced communication strategies such as motivational interviewing. Students will also build mental health literacy relevant to contemporary practice and examine strategies to support practitioner wellbeing, including selfcare, compassion fatigue management, and safe practice in high-risk or emotionally demanding clinical contexts. Together, these learning experiences prepare students to work competently and confidently with diverse client populations across the continuum of care.
The aim of this unit is to support students to develop competencies in recognising mental health risk, conducting client centred and culturally appropriate assessments, and planning effective behaviour change interventions. These skills will be applied across the client lifecycle, from initial screening and assessment through to long-term management.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Apply effective communication and behaviour change...
Learning Outcome 01
Recognise and respond appropriately to mental heal...
Learning Outcome 02
Integrate trauma-informed, person-centred, and ref...
Learning Outcome 03
Critically evaluate the application of ethical, pr...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- Ethical Practice and Values-Based Care.
- Trauma-Informed Care.
- Practitioner Self-Care and Wellbeing.
- Behaviour Change Theory (e.g., Transtheoretical Model – TTM, Self-determination Theory – SDT).
- Communication Skills and Motivational Interviewing (MI).
- Mental Health Literacy for Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs).
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment strategy for this unit is designed to ensure students develop and demonstrate the ethical reasoning, communication skills, psychosocial assessment capabilities, and reflective practice required for safe, person-centred clinical exercise physiology. Assessments are scaffolded to move students from foundational self-reflection to applied biopsychosocial analysis, to real-time communication performance, and finally to reflective integration of practice. This sequence mirrors authentic clinical skill development and supports students in meeting all unit learning outcomes.
Assessment 1 assesses students’ ability to synthesise biopsychosocial frameworks, identify risks, and construct evidence-based behaviour change plans. Assessment 2 develops ethical self-awareness, values-based reasoning, and practitioner wellbeing foundations. Assessment 3 requires students to demonstrate essential professional communication and motivational interviewing skills. Assessment 4 promotes deeper reflective integration of communication performance, wellbeing strategies, and ethical decision-making.
Generative AI must not be used in assessments unless explicitly permitted in the assessment instructions.
To pass the unit, students must demonstrate achievement of all learning outcomes and obtain a minimum overall mark of 50%.
Overview of assessments
To pass the unit, students must demonstrate achievement of all learning outcomes and obtain a minimum overall mark of 50%.
Assessment Task 1 Behaviour Change Intervention ...
Assessment Task 1
Behaviour Change Intervention Plan
Students analyse complex client scenarios, identifying bio-psychosocial factors, ethical issues, mental health risk indicators, and design a behaviour change plan for a client scenario, incorporating Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs), Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) or Self-Determination Theory (SDT).
35%
Assessment Task 2 Professional Reflection Stude...
Assessment Task 2
Professional Reflection
Students engage in critical self-reflection of their experiences to enhance self-awareness and inform future practice.
10%
Assessment Task 3 Practical examination A rolep...
Assessment Task 3
Practical examination
A roleplay assessment where students demonstrate Motivational Interviewing (MI) skills, client-centred communication, and appropriate biopsychosocial reasoning.
40%
Assessment Task 4 Professional Reflection Stud...
Assessment Task 4
Professional Reflection
Students analyse their performance in a practical examination (Assessment 3) through critical self‑reflection.
15%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit adopts an applied, student-centred teaching and learning approach designed to build competence and confidence in ethical, psychosocial, and communication skills essential to clinical exercise physiology practice. Learning activities integrate theory with authentic clinical scenarios, enabling students to critically analyse complex client presentations and apply biopsychosocial, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive frameworks.
Self-paced online resources in CANVAS (pre-recorded lectures, readings and mastery- based quizzes) introduce foundational concepts such as ethical practice, behaviour change theory, motivational interviewing, and mental health literacy. These are reinforced through on campus tutorials, simulated consultations, and case-based discussions that allow students to practise communication strategies, risk recognition, and values-based decision-making in a supported environment. Scaffolded skills practice emphasises progressive development across the client life-cycle, from initial screening to long-term management.
Reflective practice is embedded throughout the unit, encouraging students to evaluate their professional boundaries, cultural responsiveness, and the impact of personal wellbeing on clinical performance. Activities addressing self-care, compassion fatigue, and practitioner resilience equip students with strategies for safe and sustainable work in high-risk or emotionally demanding contexts.