Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)/Doctor of Philosophy

This subject is intended as part of a student's preparation for writing their postgraduate psychology thesis by ensuring that they have an extensive knowledge of the contemporary literature in that area along with an understanding of the methodology underlying relevant research. This review of the literature will enable them to determine a pertinent research question by identifying a gap in the literature. Students will conduct their own research projects as outlined in PSYC90095 Thesis (Masters/coursework) Part 1 / PSYC90096 Thesis (Masters/coursework) Part 2.

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This subject supports students to develop competencies of generally registered psychologists in a clinical psychology area of practice competency, via clinical practice within the University of Melbourne Psychology Clinic. In this process, students translate and integrate academic coursework into clinical practice.

Students are required to complete at least 100 hours of direct client contact and an additional 200 hours of indirect client related activity in the University of Melbourne Psychology Clinic. Students will have the opportunity to observe a range of clinical presentations, conduct psychological assessments and deliver psychological interventions, under supervision with adult, child and family patients. They will gain experience in history taking, conducting mental state examinations, arriving at case formulations and making treatment plans. Under supervision, students will be given the opportunity to develop competence in the provision of psychological treatments to individuals and (where possible) groups. In addition, the subject aims to give the student experience of professional psychology practice, including case presentation, report writing and record keeping, managing a clinical caseload, and liaising with other professional practitioners.

Over the placement, students are required to complete at least 15 hours of psychological assessments as part of their direct client contact. The remainder of the required direct client contact hours will consist of intervention-focused work. Students are required to participate in regular weekly group and individual supervision sessions. Supervisors for the Clinic placement will be registered as both psychologists (with Clinical Psychology endorsement) and supervisors with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA). Students undertaking this subject must be provisionally registered with the PBA and meet other local and service-level regulatory requirements. Students are also required to attend 4.5 hours of training in the administration and scoring of neurocognitive tests. They will also attend skills-based workshops aiming to enhance assessment and treatment skills. Finally, they will be required to complete an online training module that provides training in awareness of the risks associated with the clinical placement environment and ways to manage or control for these risks.

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This subject aims to present major approaches to psychological disorders, in which psychopathology is contrasted with "normal" functioning. Reference is made to various theoretical approaches to the aetiologies of disorders/problems, with a focus on recognising the clinical pictures of common psychological disorders/problems that occur in a variety of settings, including, depression, the anxiety disorders, substance abuse/dependence and neurocognitive disorders.

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Psychologists need to be able to provide patients with the most appropriate treatment to address the presenting issues and problems that have brought them to treatment. To do this, psychologists must be able to: assess the patient’s current situation and symptoms; understand how their history has influenced their current situation; and understand the patient’s living circumstances, their own unique range of strengths and weaknesses, supports that are available, and other relevant factors. On the basis of this information, psychologists arrive at an individualised ‘case formulation’ which will then guide the clinician to the most appropriate treatment options.

This subject covers a range of fundamental issues in psychological interviewing and testing in professional settings that enable a clinician to develop case formulations. Specifically, students will be introduced to the principles and practice of diagnostic decision making, symptom assessment and monitoring, the logic of clinical inference-making, and the integration of material derived from the patient history with the mental state examination and other sources to arrive at a case formulation.

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This subject is organised around four major areas:

• risk assessment and management;
• theoretical foundations of ethics;
• ethical problems and the application of ethical principles to practice, and legal and institutional regulations; and
• codes of practice and guidelines.

The exploration, clarification and possible resolution of selected ethical dilemmas commonly faced by psychologists will be covered and may include:

• assessing and managing client risk;
• psychologist/client relationships (for example, confidentiality,
• boundary violations,
• assessment of dangerousness,
• patient and client rights,
• professional responsibility,
• special groups (such as children, employer-psychologist ethical differences);
• psychologist/institutional relationships (such as state regulation of professional practice, legal requirements, certification, mandatory reporting, guardianship, unprofessional conduct);
• research ethics; and
• personal ethical development.

Specific emphasis will be placed on awareness of cultural diversity and the role of culture in defining and influencing ethical practice.

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This subject is designed to equip students with core knowledge and skills in helping people who are experiencing psychological problems. Such problems may occur when things going awry in a person’s habitual ways of thinking, their behavioural patterns, their emotional functioning, or in their relationships, health, or life circumstances. The focus of this subject is on brief psychological interventions, mostly based in the CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) tradition, that have evidence of effectiveness for a range of common problems and disorders. The psychological interventions covered in this subject are frequently used in Australia and are approved as Focussed Psychological Strategies for those with a Mental Health Treatment Plan under the Medicare Better Access Scheme.

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This subject introduces students who are studying clinical psychology or clinical neuropsychology at the graduate level to the principles and practice of psychological and neuropsychological assessment, covering childhood and adulthood. Current trends in the theoretical understanding of personality, psychopathology and cognitive ability will provide the conceptual basis assessment practice. It will be shown that psychological and neuropsychological assessment is best understood to include all aspects of the clinical encounter which lead to diagnostic case formulation. In particular, the subject content will address the application of techniques derived from psychological science to enhance correct classification of psychological conditions.

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This subject provides an opportunity for didactic, case-based and experiential learning in cognitive-behavioural treatment models and techniques. Although the prime focus will be on cognitive-behavioural treatments for adult psychological disorders, attention will be paid to other treatment modalities (eg. pharmacological, psychosocial, etc.) where appropriate. Teaching may be composed of a combination of didactic input, class discussions, role plays and observation.

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When people develop psychological disorders, whether in childhood, adulthood, or later life, they do not arise in a vacuum, but in a psychosocial context. Many individual and cultural factors contribute to this context, and the purpose of this subject is to explore some of these influences, and how they interact with each other. Such an understanding provides the context for relating to clients as a whole person, rather than merely focusing on symptoms and diagnosis of disorders. Consideration of these factors is also crucial to the processes of formulation and engaging clients in therapy.

Topics covered include diagnoses as psychosocial phenomena, and factors in help-seeking and accessing the mental health system. The course considers aspects of diversity, such as physical health, cultural identity, gender identity, aging and family issues, especially as they relate to the presentation and treatment of psychological disorders. Ethical issues, theoretical perspectives, current clinical practice and evidence from the clinical research literature are emphasised.

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This subject focuses on the clinical manifestation, aetiology, diagnosis, assessment, and management of high-prevalence psychological disorders of childhood and adolescence. The role of systemic and developmental factors in understanding and managing young people’s psychological difficulties are a focus. Current theoretical models of common disorders will be presented. Ways in which psychological disorders manifest at different developmental stages will be discussed, and complexities associated with differential diagnosis considered. Challenges associated with assessment and formulation when there are multiple informants will be discussed. Students will be taught about evidence-based approaches to assessment and intervention for each disorder. There will be a strong focus, throughout, on case-based learning.

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This subject focuses on research skills for students undertaking professional training in psychology. Emphasis is placed on the skills and methods that will assist students in the development and completion of their research thesis. Topics may include: major design and measurement decisions; survey approaches; sampling issues; practical management of research; the development of research proposals and theses; and data analysis options.

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This subject presents a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach to the examination and evaluation of various competing theories of aetiology; maintenance and treatment of psychological problems/disorders that commonly present to clinicians. It adopts a case-based methodology for examining how theoretical models apply to case formulation and treatment planning for different adult disorders. The conceptual strengths and weaknesses of these theoretical positions will be examined and discussed, and their empirical status will be evaluated.

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Students will acquire the capacity to carry out independent research, and will demonstrate the ability to make an original contribution to knowledge in the discipline of psychology. The major difference between the Masters by Research and the PhD is that the former is more limited in scope.

Psychological Sciences hosts a number of well-equipped laboratories in which research is carried out by teams of staff members, often in collaboration with researchers from other University departments as well as affiliated institutions. Many of these laboratories have been successful in obtaining grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and other external granting bodies. These laboratories are very keen to accept postgraduate students to participate in their research programs.

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This subject supports students to develop competencies of generally registered psychologists in a clinical psychology area of practice competency, via clinical practice within partner services and university-based group discussion. In this process, students translate and integrate academic coursework into clinical practice.

Students are required to complete at least 150 hours of direct client contact and an additional 200 hours of indirect client related activity at an external agency, taking into account regulatory requirements for placements across the program (including, but not limited to, practise across the life span). Field placement activities include clinical assessment of referred cases, case formulation and diagnosis, development of management strategies where appropriate, recording interactions with and about clients, and attendance at relevant clinical meeting/ward rounds, and participation in supervision consistent with regulatory guidelines.

Students are also required to attend and present cases seen on field placement at a weekly case conference in the Melbourne School of Psychological Science during the teaching semesters over the course of their enrolment in this subject.

Students undertaking this subject must be provisionally registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) and meet other local and service-level regulatory requirements. External supervisors must be registered psychologists and be a Psychology Board of Australia-approved higher degree supervisor.

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This subject will provide students with an overview of medications used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, including their mechanisms of action and side effects. Students will gain an understanding of the role of psychologists in working alongside other health practitioners who prescribe and monitor these treatments. Students will also be introduced to a range of biological aspects of psychological functioning, including the role of endocrine factors in normal functioning and psychological disorders. Students will gain an understanding of the role of psychologists in developing interventions based on these biological perspectives.

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This subject aims to foster competence in health settings through the exploration of relevant assessment issues, advanced treatment approaches and complex clinical practice issues that are faced by clinical psychologists in medical and health settings.

The subject is concerned with the examination of aspects of clinical health psychology practice and theory with an emphasis on students developing a critical approach to various clinical, professional practice and evaluation issues within the context of medical referrals and health and illness.

In addition, the subject will also focus on the management of psychological problems associated with specific medical conditions seen in acute, sub-acute and outpatient medical settings and across the lifespan.

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Students will acquire the capacity to carry out independent research, and will demonstrate the ability to make an original contribution to knowledge in the discipline of psychology. The major difference between the Masters by Research and the PhD is that the former is more limited in scope.

Psychological Sciences hosts a number of well-equipped laboratories in which research is carried out by teams of staff members, often in collaboration with researchers from other University departments as well as affiliated institutions. Many of these laboratories have been successful in obtaining grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and other external granting bodies. These laboratories are very keen to accept postgraduate students to participate in their research programs.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject supports students to develop competencies of generally registered psychologists in a clinical psychology area of practice competency, via clinical practice within partner services and university-based group discussion. In this process, students translate and integrate academic coursework into clinical practice, building on skills developed in previous placements by extending application to a new placement setting and clinical population.

Students are required to complete at least 150 hours of direct client contact and an additional 200 hours of indirect client related activity at an external agency, taking into account regulatory requirements for placements across the program (including, but not limited to, practise across the life span). Field placement activities include clinical assessment of referred cases, case formulation and diagnosis, development of management strategies where appropriate, recording interactions with and about clients, and attendance at relevant clinical meeting/ward rounds, and participation in supervision consistent with regulatory guidelines.

Students are also required to attend and present cases seen on field placement at a weekly case conference in the Melbourne School of Psychological Science during the teaching semesters over the course of their enrolment in this subject.

Students undertaking this subject must be provisionally registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) and meet other local and service-level regulatory requirements. External supervisors must be registered psychologists and be a Psychology Board of Australia-approved higher degree supervisor.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on the interplay between developmental factors and psychological functioning across the lifespan. Students will learn about key developmental tasks and transitions at each developmental stagefrom the perinatal period to the end-of-life stage, and will practice applying this knowledge to clinical case formulation. The subject covers approaches to engagement, assessment, diagnosis, and intervention at each developmental stage , and ways in which interventions need to be tailored in light of maturational, cultural, and other contextual variables . Topics nclude mental health in the perinatal period; working with attachment-related concerns in clinical practice; social, emotional and behavioural problems of early and middle childhood; engaging adolescents; developmental tasks and transitions in early adulthood, mid-life and old age; and psychological intervention in the context of dementia.

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The overall aim of this subject is to provide a forum for the exploration of advanced therapeutic approaches and complex clinical issues in order to prepare graduates for the transition to working as a professional psychologist.

A sense of professional identity and competence is fostered through the exploration of advanced treatment approaches and complex clinical practice issues. The subject is concerned with the examination of aspects of clinical psychology practice with an emphasis on students developing a critical approach to various clinical, professional practice and evaluation issues. Students will be given the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of advanced clinical practice issues, including psychotherapy process, treatment approaches for complex clinical presentations, risk assessment and primary prevention approaches. Students will gain critical understanding of public and private sector contexts for clinical practice, and related regulations, policies and procedures relating to service evaluation and quality assurance, supervision, practice management and professional development.

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Students will acquire the capacity to carry out independent research, and will demonstrate the ability to make an original contribution to knowledge in the discipline of psychology. The major difference between the Masters by Research and the PhD is that the former is more limited in scope.

Psychological Sciences hosts a number of well-equipped laboratories in which research is carried out by teams of staff members, often in collaboration with researchers from other University departments as well as affiliated institutions. Many of these laboratories have been successful in obtaining grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and other external granting bodies. These laboratories are very keen to accept postgraduate students to participate in their research programs.

View detailed information in the Handbook