Training the clinical psychologist: profile of a university-based clinic

Exploration of Client Profile and Clinical Outcome in a University Psychology Clinic

“…The results of this study provide information that will assist in the future evaluation and improvement of university‐based psychology services for both students and clients. There is an obvious gap in terms of current published research, which evaluates the provision of therapy by students undertaking clinical training in the context of university training programmes (Gonsalvez et al, ; Murrell et al, ). It is this gap that the current study seeks to address.…”

“…It is suggested that this practice is likely to increase the profile of and improve standards for accreditation purposes in clinical psychology training programmes (Babbage, ; Gonsalvez et al, ). The current evaluation of client profiles, disorder types, and effectiveness of therapy will provide comparable information for future research of its kind on university‐based clinics in Australia (Murrell et al, ). Few published studies from university‐based clinic settings have evaluated clinical outcomes to determine effectiveness of therapy.…”

“…Chambers () reported on treatment outcomes at the University of South Australia Psychology Clinic, but did not report specific details regarding disorder types, severity of symptoms, length, and effectiveness of treatment. More detailed studies are required in this area in order to identify client treatment outcomes and a diagnostic profile of the clients attending university‐based clinics (Babbage, ; Gonsalvez et al, ; Murrell et al, ). This will assist in assessing the diversity of clients attending therapy at a university clinic and the benefits of the service to clients with mental health difficulties.…”

“…University‐based psychology clinics provide appropriate training of clinical psychologists under intensive and expert supervision in a supportive environment (Gonsalvez, Hyde, Lancaster, & Barrington, ). In Australia, master's level trainees in clinical psychology are referred to as “provisional psychologists.” The advantage of this style of training is that clinics provide training that integrates psychological theory, research, and practical application in professional development (Babbage, ; Gonsalvez et al, ; Murrell, Steel, Gaston, & Proudfoot, ). To ensure standards are maintained for accreditation/quality and clinical best practice processes for training programmes, it is imperative to evaluate the effectiveness of clinic operations.…”

Development and evaluation of an allocation committee to distribute community placements on an equitable basis between universities: Our experience with the University Placement Allocation Committee

“…For example, clinical degrees accredited with the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) must include arrangements for students to attend at least two placements in the community (APAC, 2007). The assumption apparently made by members of the APAC is that community placements provide an opportunity for students to gain ''real-world experience'' when compared to other options for gaining clinical experience at university (for related comments, see Murrell, Steel, Gaston, & Proudfoot, 2002). The absence of attention given to the distribution of community placements in the clinical literature is also unexpected because a considerable degree of attention has been given in Australia to the development and maintenance of university-based psychology clinics (e.g., Conduit, Byrne, Court, & Stefanovic, 2004;Murrell et al, 2002;Sanders, Dadds, Halford, & Schwartz, 1990).…”