Inherent requirements for Master of Professional Psychology

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Compliance with the codes, guidelines and policies facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and/or the people they engage with. This supports the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of all.

Exemplars:

» Complying with conduct required to maintain provisional registration as a psychologist.
» Understanding and practising appropriate professional boundaries including confidentiality and duty of care in work with clients whilst on placement.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Behavioural stability is required to work individually and in teams in diverse and changing environments. Students will be exposed to situations which are challenging and unpredictable, and will be required to have the behavioural stability to manage these objectively and professionally.

Exemplars:

» Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback.
» Managing own emotional state in order to be able to develop and maintain an appropriate relationship with a diverse range of clients, professional colleagues and supervisors, academic staff and peers.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Knowledge, understanding and compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements are necessary pre-requisites to placements in order to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
» Compliance with these regulations and the law ensures that students are both responsible and accountable for their practice.

Exemplars:

» Complying with legal requirements regarding all aspects of practice.
» Complying with the requirement for student registration with AHPRA.

Student demonstrates:
» Sensitivity to individual and/or cultural differences.
» The ability to understand and respond to verbal communication accurately, appropriately and in a timely manner.
» The ability to provide clear instructions in the context of the situation.
» Timely, clear feedback and reporting.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Communicating in a way that displays respect and empathy to others and develops trusting relationships.
» The practice of professional psychology requires a wide range of communication skills including effective verbal communication with clients and members of the professional team.
» Speed and interactivity of communication may be critical for individual safety and/or assessment.
» Timely, accurate and effective communication is necessary to provide safe professional support.

Exemplars:

» Participating in tutorial, simulation and applied psychology discussions.
» Responding appropriately in an interview in the field placement environment.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues assists with building rapport with people and gaining their trust and respect in academic and professional relationships.
» Displaying consistent and appropriate facial expressions, eye contact, being mindful of space, time boundaries and body movements and gestures promotes trust in academic and professional relationships.
» Being sensitive to individual and/or cultural differences demonstrates respect and empathy to others and develops trusting relationships that are essential for effective professional support.
» The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues is essential for effective observation of clients' reactions to facilitate the assessment and to provide professional support.

Exemplars:

» Recognising and responding to non-verbal cues in the field placement environment.
» Recognising and responding appropriately to non-verbal cues in classroom situations.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Construction of written text based assessment tasks to reflect the required academic standards are necessary to convey knowledge and understanding of relevant subject matter for professional practice standards.
» Accurate written communication for a range of purposes and audiences is vital to provide consistent and accurate assessments and professional support in the field placement context.

Exemplars:

» Constructing an essay to required academic standards.
» Preparing psychology reports in a timely manner that meets professional standard.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Effective psychology practice is based on knowledge that must be sourced, understood and applied appropriately.

Exemplars:

» Ability to conceptualise and use appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items.
» Applying knowledge of policy and procedures in field placement setting.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» The ability to acquire information and to accurately convey messages is fundamental to ensure safe and effective assessment, treatment and professional support.
» The ability to read, decode, interpret and comprehend multiple sources of information is fundamental for safe and effective support in the field placement context.

Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to effectively acquire, comprehend, apply and communicate accurate information. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with the campus Disability Advisor.

Exemplars:

» Conveying a spoken message accurately and effectively in a field placement setting.
» Paraphrasing, summarising and referencing in accordance with appropriate academic and/or professional practice conventions.
» Producing accurate, concise and clear case notes which meet legal and professional requirements.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Competent application of numeracy skills is essential in psychology to facilitate accurate and effective delivery of results when collecting and interpreting numerical data.

Exemplars:

» Accurately scoring and interpreting psychological test data while on field placement.
» Accurately gathering and interpreting data using psychology specialist software, e.g. SPSS.

Student demonstrates:
» The ability to establish and maintain rapport with clients, academic staff, supervisors and peers. 
» The ability to engage in effective and empathic psychology practice and group work.
» The ability to engage and relate appropriately in individual and group applied psychology and experiential learning groups.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Highly developed relational skills are a cornerstone of effective therapeutic relationships that permit effective engagement, assessment, intervention and closure.

Exemplars:

» Rapidly building rapport with a client in order to engage them in the therapeutic session while on field placement.
» Effectively using relational and interpersonal skills to manage the therapeutic relationship with clients on field placement.
» Relating effectively, openly and sensitively to academic staff, supervisors and peers.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Working with clients while on field placement and understanding and responding to them requires the ability to notice, understand and effectively manage one's own reactions to situations that may arise.
» Professional psychology training requires well developed understanding of oneself in order to appropriately engage with clinical supervision of and feedback on work with clients.

Exemplars:

» Identifying when a professional issue is outside one's scope or expertise.
» Reflecting in clinical supervision on how one's own responses may impede or enhance work with particular clients on field placement.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Sufficient efficient energy and mental endurance is an essential requirement for effective therapeutic practice which requires concentration on the activity during an assigned period to provide effective support.

Exemplars:

» Participating in educational settings, e.g. tutorials.
» Consistent involvement in field placement practice over a negotiated time frame.