Flexible study options, curriculum changes, a new scholarship for First Nations people and the reinstatement of Commonwealth Supported Places at UNE are giving psychologists the chance to enhance their qualifications at a time of unprecedented community need.
Enabling professionals to upskill while working in rural, regional and remote Australia is especially important to retaining this vitally important workforce, according to Clara Murray, Director of UNE's Clinical Psychology Program.
"The National Mental Health Workforce Strategy has identified the shortage of psychologists and the need for a training pipeline to build a sustainable workforce, with a particular focus on areas of greatest need," Dr Murray said. "There is a huge demand for psychologists today, and long-established disparity and inequity of access in rural and regional areas. As many as half our graduates are now working in a regional setting, but ongoing education that requires face-to-face campus attendance and community placements has long been a barrier.
"UNE's vision is to remove geographical impediments for those people who want to advance their qualifications, for the benefit of themselves and their communities. We are also reinvigorating our curriculum to make it easier for them to do so."
UNE has just introduced a scholarship for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students undertaking the Master of Psychology (Clinical) in 2023. Two years ago, it also pioneered the fully online Masters of Professional Psychology (MPP), which includes a supervised simulated placement. The MPP is a fifth year of professional training for Psychology undergraduates that allows them to practise as a provisional psychologist.
"Finding a placement opportunity has been a significant challenge for students outside of major cities, many of whom are also working and raising families," Dr Murray said. "We accelerated this opportunity during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic to allow students to complete their entire training practicum component online."
Without it, high school counsellor Alison Moss would never have been able to realise her study ambitions. Based in Lismore, she is a single mother of two children with additional needs and now enjoying her first psychologist role.
"The opportunity to do the final simulated placement unit online enabled me to complete my MPP," Alison said. "It meant I didn't have to uproot my children and shift schools and therapists, which would have been extremely challenging. The flexibility of being able to complete the program wherever you are is a huge bonus."
Revisions to UNE's Master of Psychology (Clinical) (MPSYC) curriculum have also afforded students more intensive learning about different therapies and their application with complex clients.
"Instead of completing a major research thesis, MPSYC students take an applied clinical research unit that teaches them to critically appraise evidence to inform practice," Dr Murray said. "We have also introduced two new units on specialist practice with adults and children and young people. Replacing the thesis with specialist course-work units has renewed the focus on developing clinical skills and expertise at sixth year, which is pretty innovative in the sector.
"UNE's Psychology programs and courses are nested so students can transfer from one to another to upskill. Our students can complete the MPP online, do their internship, get registered, practice for a year and come back as an online student into the MPSYC program and upskill to a clinical psychologist in just one year."
Julie Clark, a registered psychologist with 15 years' experience, is doing just that, while working part-time as a school psychologist. She was living in Collarenabri, in western NSW, when she enrolled in the MPSYC program at UNE.
"It gave me the flexibility to study in the middle of nowhere, work part-time and mange my family life as well," Julie said. "I was really keen to increase my expertise in clinical psychology and, with UNE, I was able to mould the study around my life. In fact, I've maintained my study while moving house, relocating my family and finding a new job in Armidale.
"Getting credit for one placement and doing another placement in my current workplace has also been invaluable. These are important allowances for people who want to improve their qualifications while remaining living and working in a remote region."
Applications for 2023 entry to UNE's professional psychology programs are now open.
The Indigenous Master of Psychology (Clinical) Scholarship has been introduced for 2023 entry. Details are up on the website:
https://www.une.edu.au/scholarships/2023/indigenous-master-of-psychology-clinical-scholarship
Up to two Indigneous Master of Psychology scholarships will be awarded each year. Each scholarship will be worth $30,000 in total, paid out over the course of the program ($15,000 per year for full-time students, or pro-rata for part-time students).
