Clinical Psychology

What is clinical psychology?

Clinical psychology is the application of scientific psychological principles to understand, assess, and treat people with significant mental health needs. Clinical psychologists use principles of learning, cognition, development, and personality in order to assist people with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties.

Where do clinical psychologists work?

Many clinical psychologists work in hospital settings in mental health clinics for children and adults, where they carry out psychological assessments of clients and deliver psychological treatment. Clinical psychologists are also concerned with general health issues and with disabilities, so in New Zealand clinical psychologists work in pain clinics, in paediatric settings, and in community-based services for people with intellectual disabilities. With additional specialisation in neuropsychology, a clinical psychologist might also be part of a rehabilitation team working with people who have experienced a traumatic brain injury or neurological disorder.

Another major area where clinical psychologists practice in New Zealand is in the Department of Corrections. This involves designing and implementing intervention programmes to reduce offending behaviour. Clinical psychologists are employed by Child Youth and Family Service to assess children and parents, to reduce child neglect and abuse, and to help parents and families manage children's behaviour problems in a positive way. Some clinical psychologists in private practice offer psychotherapeutic services directly to clients. The range of employment opportunities is considerable and there is a widespread shortage of clinical psychologists across the country.

What qualifications are needed?

To practice as a registered Clinical Psychologist it is necessary to have at least a Master's degree in Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology (at Auckland University the qualification is a 4-year Doctor of Psychology degree).

The postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology requires three years of study and practicum experience after the Honours or postgraduate diploma is completed. One of these years is a full-time internship in which one gains closely supervised experience in a psychological service. The postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology is typically taken concurrently with the Masters in Psychology, if one is not already completed..

To be accepted into the Waikato Masters/postgraduate diploma programme, students must first have completed an undergraduate major in Psychology, and an honours/postgraduate year, with specific prerequisite papers, outlined in the guide for students. Because the emphasis in clinical psychology is on scientific principles, undergraduate papers that cover research methods, statistics, physiology, cognition, behaviour, and social development are particularly important. Students thinking of a career in clinical psychology will need to have emotional maturity and good interpersonal skills.

Students sometimes wonder if it necessary for them to have had some kind of direct experience with people having psychiatric or developmental disabilities, either working as volunteers or in some paid caregiving capacity. While this is by no means necessary, it does allow one to find out whether one enjoys working with people whose needs can be quite challenging.

Clinical Psychology at Waikato

At Waikato the clinical programme has a strong emphasis on cognitive-behaviour therapy. We also have special strengths as a bicultural programme and, by integrating a kaupapa Māori element into our teaching and supervision, we make special efforts to ensure that our clinical service delivery is relevant to the needs and aspirations of Māori people. The University and Waikato Hospital have set up a training and research clinic called The Psychology Centre, which provides sophisticated psychological services and allows trainees to obtain careful supervision in their clinical work.

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Where can I join a New Zealand professional organisation of clinical psychologists?
The New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists: http://www.nzccp.co.nz/

See Also:

Graduate Profiles
Guidelines and Requirements for the BSocSc