MPSYCH/PHD CLINICAL
Course Overview
The clinical psychology program at the University of Melbourne began in the early 1970s. The program enjoys an excellent reputation and is one of the premier clinical psychology programs in the country. The program aims to produce students with a strong knowledge base in 'organic' and 'functional' psychopathologies, combined with a high level of skill and acumen in the detection, assessment and diagnosis and treatment of various psychological conditions. Therapeutic skills are taught primarily within a broad cognitive-behavioural framework within didactic, individual and group-based clinical contexts. In their first year, all students see adult clients referred to the University of Melbourne Psychology Clinic based at Blackwood Street in North Melbourne. In addition, all students undertake second year field placements in adult mental health services and with children and their families at the Royal Children's Hospital and/or in related community treatment services for children and adolescents.
The academic members of the clinical teaching staff are active in both clinical work and research collaborations in a wide variety of clinical domains. Hence, the Program provides the opportunity to access a wide range of clinical placement settings and research programs. Along side of the core training in psychology across the life span, students enrolled in the Clinical Program have the opportunity to focus their clinical and research training in one of three specialist areas: child and adolescent, health psychology or adult mental health domains.
A major focus of the program is the provision of clinical psychology training for the assessment and treatment of adolescents and adults with serious mental illness, work undertaken, for the most part, within public mental health settings. The longstanding and productive collaborations of Clinical Psychology Program academic staff with senior clinicians and researchers in generalist and specialist mental health services, including Orygen Youth Services, has contributed significantly to the development of innovative clinical programs and research. Building on these achievements, students wishing to specialize in this clinical domain have the opportunity to undertake clinical placements and research in challenging areas, such as early psychosis and emerging personality disorder.
The Child specialisation has been developed through partnerships with staff of the Psychology Department at Melbourne's major paediatric service provider, the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH). The staff of the program are senior clinicians with a breadth and depth of clinical and research experience in the child and adolescent area that is unique in Australia. RCH staff contribute to core teaching within the postgraduate clinical programs, and provide clinical placement opportunities. All students undertaking the clinical course will acquire competence in the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and clinical management of psychological disorders presenting in infancy, childhood and adolescence. For those students selecting the child specialization, the clinical placement program will allow for greater emphasis on child and adolescent clients, whilst retaining the core training in clinical psychology across the life span. There are exciting opportunities for selecting the Child specialization to undertake research relevant to the child and adolescent area in mental health and medical psychological domains through collaborative programs with staff at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Orygen Youth Services and the Early Psychosis Intervention Centre.
Clinical health psychology is devoted to understanding psychological influences on physical health. The recent development of partnerships with the Royal Women's Hospital and the Royal Melbourne Hospital has created exciting opportunities for clinical training and research related to the application of psychological principles to treat individuals in health settings. Clinical health psychology components of the program are supported by senior and experienced clinical and academic staff at these major hospitals. The range and breadth of expertise of our staff creates an exciting range of placements and research opportunities across diverse and innovative clinical programs. Developing collaborations across health settings allow the possibility of multi-site research.
2010 Intake
|
Year 1 |
||
Old code |
New code |
Subject |
512900 |
Research Proposal |
|
512911 |
General Clinical Placement 1 |
|
512903 |
Basic Interventions |
|
512904 |
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy |
|
512908 |
Psychosocial Perspectives on Disorders |
|
512910 |
Advance Psychological Assessment and Diagnosis |
|
512914 |
Advanced Psychopathology |
|
512916 |
Biological Psychology and Pharmacotherapy |
|
512950 |
Graduate Research Methods |
|
512952 |
Psychological Assessment Across the Lifespan |
|
512953 |
Introduction to Psychopathology |
|
512938 |
Introduction to Psychopathology |
|
Year 2 | ||
|
Code |
Subject |
|
PSYC90064 |
PhD Research |
|
Clinical Placement 2 |
|
|
Mental Health Issues Across the Lifespan |
|
|
Child Psychopathology |
|
|
Year 3 | ||
|
Code |
Subject |
|
PSYC90064 |
PhD Research |
|
Clinical Placement 3 |
|
|
Ethics and Professional Issues |
|
|
Biological Psychology and Pharmacotherapy |
|
|
Year 4 | ||
|
Code |
Subject |
|
PSYC90064 |
PhD Research |
2011 Intake
Year 1 |
Subject |
Research Proposal |
|
Clinical Placement 1 |
|
Basic Interventions |
|
Psychosocial Perspectives on Disorders |
|
Child Psychopathology |
|
Graduate Research Methods |
|
Principles of Psychological Assessment |
|
Introduction to Psychopathology |
|
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy |
|
Advanced Psychological Assessment |
|
Advanced Psychopathology |
|
Psychology of Health Problems |
|
Year 2 |
|
PhD Research |
|
Clinical Placement 2 |
|
Ethics and Professional Issues |
|
Biological Psychology and Pharmacotherapy |
|
Year 3 |
|
PhD Research |
|
Clinical Placement 3 |
|
Mental Health Issues Across the Lifespan |
|
Advanced Psychological Practice |
|
Year 4 |
|
PhD Research |