Professional activities and theoretical orientations of Australian clinical psychologists

Abstract

Professional profiles of Australian clinical psychologists are not widely available, yet such information would seem to be essential in a climate of increasing professional exposure and responsibility. The results of a survey of Australian clinical psychologists are presented. These data establish patterns of professional qualifications, self-reported professional activities, and theoretical orientations of a sample of members of the Clinical Board of the Australian Psychological Society. The findings indicate changes which have taken place over the past decade, particularly those to do with qualifications for clinical practice. 1t is suggested that such information may assist in the process of enhancing public and government awareness of the roles which clinical psychologists might play within the Australian health care system.

The practice of clinical psychology in Victoria, part 2: Professional issues

“…A previous paper reported on the findings from a survey of clinical psychologists in Victoria in regard to their employment setting and the nature of their work. Consistent with previous surveys (Byrne & Reinhart, 1990), it was found that Victorian clinical psychologists are most likely to be employed in public health settings, with a smaller proportion engaged in private practice and a minority holding academic positions.…”

“…The last examination of the professional practice of Australian clinical psychologists took place a decade ago (Byrne & Reinhart, 1990) and replicated Byrne's previous investigation published in 1982. In reporting changes that had occurred in the period between the two studies, Byrne and Reinhart noted that although psychologists did not regard the current training as optimal, there had been an increase in the level of formal qualifications held by practising clinical psychologists.…”

“…Previous surveys of Australian psychologists (Byrne, 1982;Byrne & Reinhart, 1990;Reid & Lord, 1990;Thomas & Wearing, 1986) have focused on psychologists in general, not the speciality of clinical psychology. They have also been constrained by the difficulties of defining the population under study in the absence of a national register for professional psychologists, and the fact that not all psychologists belong to the APS (Jorm, 1994).…”

“…Generic positions are characterised by the fact that they open to a variety of professions including social workers, psychiatric nurses, and occupational therapists as well as psychologists. The introduction of generic positions is a relatively new phenomenon, hence previous surveys of Australian psychologists (Byrne & Reinhart, 1990;Thomas & Wearing, 1986) have not established the extent to which psychologists are employed in such roles.…”

To what extent are cognitive behaviour therapy competencies incorporated into clinical psychology training? A national survey of Australian universities

“…CBT has been adapted for a range of problems and disorders and is commonly practiced across various countries and practice contexts (A. T. Beck, ; Norcross, Sayette, & Pomerantz, ; Orlinsky et al, ). In Australia, CBT is a primary orientation identified by clinicians (Byrne & Reinhart, ; Hicks, Alexander, & Jones, ; Kazantzis & Deane, ) and is the preferred intervention for government‐funded community access to psychological services (Department of Health, ).…”