Master of Psychology (Clinical Child Psychology)/Doctor of Philosophy

Course 080CC (2011)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2011.

Year and Campus:	2011 - Parkville
Fees Information:	Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Level:	Research Higher Degree
Duration & Credit Points:	Students are expected to complete this research in 3.00 years full time, or equivalent part time.

Coordinator

Associate Professor Lis Northam

Contact

Mr Wayne Murdoch

Professional Programmes Coordinator

School of Psychological Science

wpm@unimelb.edu.au

Course Overview:	The Child Specialisation program is designed to prepare graduates for work in settings that provide clinical services to children, adolescents and their families. The training program is built on the core clinical stream and has been developed through partnerships with staff of the Psychology Department at Melbourne's major paediatric service provide, the Royal Childrens' Hospital (RCH). The staff of the program are senior clinicians with a breadth and depth of clinical and research experience in the child and adolescent area that is unique in Australia. RCH staff contribute core teaching at advnaced levels, and provide placement opportunities covering experience in a range of agencies and units within the hospital and in community teams attached to the RCH. There are exciting opportunities for doctoral research in the child and adolescent area in mental healt and medical psychological domains through collaborative programs with staff at the Murdoch Childrens' Research Institute, Orygen Youth Services, the Women's and Childrens' Heath Network and the Early Psychosis Intervention Centre.
Objectives:	The objective of this specialisation is to provide graduates with specialist expertise in those areas of clinical psychology that pertain particularly to child, adolescent and family adjustment and maladjustment. Graduates of the program should have a thorough knowledge of child development, developmental psychopathology, methods of assessment of cognitive, emotional, behavioural and family factors, and expertise in a range of treatment approaches appropriate for the particular problems and the developmental stage of child clients. They should acquire experience in all facets of work in this specialty area, including inpatient, outpatient and community based practice. They should also be expected to be able to generate and apply research knowledge in ongoing enhancement and evaluation of their professional work.
Course Structure & Available Subjects:	This course consists of the coursework and placement components of the Master of Psychology (Child Specialisation) together with a full PhD research thesis in Psychology. Coursework consists of 14 classroom-based subjects taken over the first three years of this four-year course (see below) and 115 days of Placement (20 days in the first-year and 95 days spread over second and third-years).
Subject Options:	Master of Psychology (Clinical Child Specialisation)/PhD Subject Study Period Commencement: Credit Points: PSYC90003 Research Proposal Year Long 25 PSYC90012 Clinical Placement 1 Year Long 12.50 PSYC90006 Basic Interventions Semester 1 6.25 PSYC90007 Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy Semester 2 6.25 PSYC90009 Psychosocial Perspectives on disorders Semester 1 6.25 PSYC90029 Graduate Research Methods Semester 1 6.25 PSYC90030 Principles of Psychological Assessment Semester 1 6.25 PSYC90031 Introduction to Psychopathology Semester 1 6.25 PSYC90015 Advanced Psychopathology Semester 2 6.25 PSYC90016 Biological Psychology & Pharmacotherapy Semester 2 6.25 PSYC90023 Child Psychopathology Semester 1 6.25 PSYC90027 Psychology of Health Problems Semester 2 6.25 PSYC90008 Ethics and Professional Issues Semester 1 6.25 PSYC90017 Advanced Psychological Practice Semester 2 6.25 PSYC90018 Child Dev.Issues & Treatment Approaches Semester 1 6.25 PSYC90021 Child Assessment and Treatment Semester 2 6.25 512-922 Child Clinical Placement 2# Not offered 2010
Entry Requirements:	Completion of an Australian Psychological Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited four-year undergraduate sequence in Psychology, namely a three-year major in Psychology as part of an undergraduage degree plus a fourth-year Honours specialisation in Psychology.
Core Participation Requirements:	For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements, Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/
Graduate Attributes:	The program aims to train graduates with the knowledge and skills requried for professional practice in agencies specialising in psychological difficulties across the whole developmental period - infancy to young adulthood. Graduates will be able to provide competent assessment, diagnosis, therapy and clinical managemetn for a range of commonly presenting disorders and will understand the intrinsic and extrinsic influences on the development of adjustment difficulties. They will be expected to generate research and to be skilled in accessing and applying current clinical research findings to enhance and evaluate their practice.
Professional Accreditation:	Accredited by the Australian Psychological Accreditation Council and recognised by the Psychology Registration Board of Australia
Generic Skills:	Written and spoken communication skills Analytic skills
Links to further information:	http://www.psych.unimelb.edu.au/courses/postgraduate/combined.html
Notes:	There will be no intake into this program in 2011

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