Inherent requirements for Master of Clinical 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 ensures the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of the individual is not placed at risk

Exemplars:

» Complying with conduct required to maintain provisional registration as a psychologist

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

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 the Australian Health Professional Registration Authority (AHPRA)

Justification of inherent requirement:

» The practice of clinical psychology depends on effective verbal communication with clients and members of the professional team
» Speed and accuracy of communication may be critical for individual safety or treatment

Exemplars:

» Collecting information from clients by asking questions during assessments
» Explaining a treatment plan to a client
» Discussing the client's progress with other professionals

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 cultural differences demonstrates respect and empathy, and permits the development of trusting relationships required to work with clients during placements
» The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues is essential for safe and effective observation of clients' symptoms and reactions as part of their assessment and treatment

Exemplars:

» Recognising and responding to non-verbal cues indicating a change in the emotional state of a client during placements
» Recognising and responding 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
» Accurate written communication for a range of purposes and audiences is vital to provide consistent and safe patient care

Exemplars:

» Constructing an essay to required academic standards including appropriate referencing of sources
» Preparing clinical reports which are appropriate to the purpose and audience, and completed in a timely manner

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Satisfactory performance on placements requires identifying and accurately extracting and understanding information from a range of sources, which must also be applied appropriately

Exemplars:

» Ability to apply academic knowledge to practice during placements, for example through developing and testing hypotheses, developing treatment plans and then conducting individual sessions for clients based upon this

Justification of inherent requirement:

» The ability to acquire information and to accurately convey messages is fundamental to ensure safe and effective assessment, treatment and delivery of care
» The ability to read, decode, interpret and comprehend multiple sources of information is fundamental for safe and effective conduct during placements

Exemplars:

» Conveying a spoken message accurately and effectively in a clinical setting during placements
» Paraphrasing, summarising and referencing in accordance with the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (opens in a new window) conventions
» Producing accurate, concise and clear documentation while on placement in the clinical setting which meets legal and professional requirements

Justification of inherent requirement:

» As clinical psychology practice relies in part on collecting data in a numerical form, for example psychometric assessments, students must be able to accurately record and manage numerical data and to interpret their findings

Exemplars:

» Accurately scoring and interpreting psychological test data while on placement

Student demonstrates:
» The ability to make and maintain rapport with clients
» The ability to engage in effective counselling skills
» Accurate empathy

Justification of inherent requirement:

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

Exemplars:

» Rapidly building rapport with a client in order to engage them in a clinical assessment while on placement
» Effectively managing difficulties arising in the therapeutic relationship while on placement

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Participation in supervision is a key teaching strategy in clinical psychology training which requires adequate understanding oneself in order to appropriately engage in this activity
» Working with clients while on placement and understanding and responding to them requires adequate understanding of oneself and the ability to effectively manage one's reactions to situations that may arise

Exemplars:

» Identifying when a clinical issue is outside one's scope or expertise, or when one's practice may be affected by an impairment.

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Sufficient physical and mental endurance is an essential requirement needed to perform multiple tasks in an assigned period to provide safe and effective care

Exemplars:

» Participating in tutorials, lectures throughout the day
» Remaining focussed and providing consistent responses over a negotiated time frame during placement