Psychology clinical

These inherent requirements apply to the following course: Master of Psychology (Clinical).

Prospective and current students who are concerned about their capacities in relation to inherent requirements are strongly encouraged to contact the CDU Access and Inclusion team to discuss possible adjustments or alternative courses.

E: inclusion@cdu.edu.au

These inherent requirements should be read in conjunction with other course information and the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council Standards (APAC, 2019). 

There are eight domains of inherent requirements for Master of Psychology (Clinical).

Each domain has five levels: 

1. Introduction
2. Description
3. Justification
4. Adjustments
5. Exemplars

Acting in ways consistent with the recognized values of society and avoiding activities that do harm.

In the context of inherent requirements, students undertaking a course of study may be governed by practice standards and codes of ethics.

1. Introduction
   Clinical psychology is a profession governed by the codes, guidelines, and policies of the Psychology Board of Australia where clinical psychologists are both accountable and responsible for ensuring professional behaviour in all contexts. Students should demonstrate knowledge and engage in ethical behaviour in practice.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates knowledge of and engages in ethical behaviours in practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Compliance with the codes, guidelines and policies facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and/or the people with whom they engage. This ensures the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of the individual is not placed at risk.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must not compromise the codes, guidelines and policies of the Psychology Board of Australia or result in unethical behaviour.
5. Exemplars:
   • Demonstrating appropriate behaviour with confidential information in classroom and practicum settings
   • Demonstrating ability to reflect on ethical dilemmas and issues and take responsibility for ensuring awareness of ethical behaviour
   • Complying with conduct required to maintain provisional registration as a psychologist.

The maintenance of conduct that is acceptable and appropriate, according to the recognised norms of society over a given period.

1. Introduction
   Behavioural stability is required to function and adapt effectively and sensitively in a demanding role.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates behavioural stability to work constructively in a diverse and changing academic and clinical environment, which may at times be challenging and unpredictable.
3. 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must support stable, effective, and professional behaviour in both academic and clinical settings.
5. Exemplars:
   • Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback
   • Managing own emotional state to be able to develop and maintain an appropriate relationship with a diverse range of clients.

Related to the law. In the context of inherent requirements, this refers to the legal requirements of professional bodies relevant to specific courses of study.

1. Introduction
   Clinical psychology practice is mandated by specific legislation (Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009) to enable the safe delivery of care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates knowledge and compliance with relevant laws and professional regulations.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Knowledge, understanding and compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements are necessary pre-requisites to work integrated learning placements 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must be consistent with legal and regulatory requirements.
5. 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).

Verbal communication: Conveying messages, ideas, or feelings through speech.

1. Introduction
   Effective verbal communication, in English, is fundamental to clinical psychology and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathic, honest, and non-judgmental.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The ability to understand and respond to verbal communication, accurately, appropriately and in a timely manner
   • The ability to provide clear instructions in the context of the situation and provide timely clear feedback and reporting.
3. 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments for impaired verbal communication must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity, and accuracy issues to ensure safety.
5. 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.

Non-verbal communication: Communication other than speech that conveys meaning including gestures and facial expressions, body posture, stance, touch, eye movements, eye contact and distance from the person/s with whom you are communicating. Non-verbal cues can provide significant additional information to the person with whom you are communicating.

1. Introduction
   Effective non-verbal communication is fundamental to clinical psychology and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathic, honest, and non-judgemental.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The capacity to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues
   • Consistent and appropriate awareness of own behaviours
   • Sensitivity to individual and cultural differences.
3. 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments for non-verbal communication impairments must enable the recognition, interpretation, and appropriate response to non-verbal cues as well as initiation of effective non-verbal communication in a timely and appropriate manner.
5. Exemplars:
   • Recognising and responding to non-verbal cues indicating a change in the emotional state of a client during placements and recognising and responding to non-verbal cues in classroom situations.

Written communication: Communication by written symbols including electronic means, print or handwriting.

1. Introduction
   Effective written communication, in English, is a fundamental clinical psychology responsibility with professional and legal ramifications.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Capacity to construct coherent written communication appropriate to the circumstances
   • The capacity to use a range of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) t complete academic assessment requirements.
3. 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments for written communication impairments must not compromise the necessary standards of clarity, accuracy, and accessibility to ensure effective recording and transmission of information in both academic and clinical settings.
5. 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.

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through one's thoughts, experience, and senses.

Knowledge and cognitive skills: Acquired skills that reflect an individual's ability to think. Cognitive skills include verbal and spatial abilities, concentration, memory, perception, reasoning, planning and organisation, flexible thinking, and problem solving.

1. Introduction
   Consistent and effective knowledge and cognitive skills must be demonstrated to undertake safe and competent clinical psychology practice.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The capacity to locate appropriate and relevant information
   • The ability to process information relevant to practice
   • The ability to integrate and implement knowledge in practice.
3. 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments for knowledge or cognitive skills impairments must not compromise or impede student's ability to demonstrate the minimum acceptable level of knowledge and cognitive skill required to practice safely.
5. 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 on relevant information.

Literacy (language): This relates to the ability to acquire, understand, and apply information in a scholarly manner.

1. Introduction
   Competent literacy skills, in English, are essential to permit safe and effective practice of clinical psychology during placements.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to:
   • Accurately acquire information and convey appropriate, effective messages, read, and comprehend a range of literature and information
   • Understand and implement academic conventions to construct written text in a scholarly manner.
3. 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments to address literacy issues must not compromise the student's ability to demonstrate the minimum acceptable capacity to effectively acquire, comprehend, apply, and communicate accurate information.
5. 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
   • Producing accurate, concise, and clear documentation while on placement in the clinical setting which meets legal and professional requirements.

Numeracy: This relates to the ability to understand and work with numbers.

1. Introduction
   Competent and accurate numeracy skills are essential to provide safe and effective demonstration of clinical psychology practice skills.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to interpret and correctly apply numerical data, measurement and numerical criteria in the execution of clinical psychology practice while on placement.
3. 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments to address numeracy issues must not compromise the student's ability to demonstrate the minimum acceptable capacity to manage and interpret numerical data.
5. Exemplars:
   • Accurately scoring and interpreting psychological test data while on placement.

Actively listening to someone express their thoughts, feelings or experiences and showing understanding by consciously responding through skills such as paraphrasing, summarizing or mirroring.

1. Introduction
   Clinical psychology practice requires self-awareness and a capacity for reflectivity to consider the effect of one's own issues, actions, values, and behaviours on practice.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to accurately reflect on their professional performance, and to accept feedback on their professional practice and respond constructively.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Participation in supervision is a key teaching strategy in clinical psychology training which requires adequate understanding oneself 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments for reflective skills impairments must not compromise the student's ability to demonstrate an acceptable minimum level of capacity in this area.
5. Exemplars:
   • Identifying when a clinical issue is outside one's scope or expertise, or when one's practice may be affected by an impairment.

Personal skills required to interact appropriately with others with the aim of building and maintaining healthy, productive relationships. Skills include empathy, trustworthiness, patience, active listening, approachability, and reliability.

1. Introduction
   Clinical psychology practice requires the ability to make and maintain strong relationships with a wide range of clients, often under stressful circumstances.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The ability to make and maintain rapport with clients
   • The ability to engage in effective counselling skills
   • The ability to express appropriate empathy.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Highly developed relational skills are a cornerstone of effective therapeutic relationships that permit effective assessment and intervention.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments for relational skills impairment must not compromise the student's ability to demonstrate minimal acceptable level of effective relational skills across the range of tasks and clinical populations required to successfully complete their studies.
5. 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.

The ability to undertake a task/s over a pre-determined length of time. This could include physical performance such as standing for a length of time, or cognitive (mental) performance such as concentrating for a particular length of time.

1. Introduction
   Clinical psychology practice requires both physical and mental performance at a consistent and sustained level to meet individual needs over time.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Consistent and sustained level of physical energy to complete a specific task in a timely manner and over time
   • The ability to perform repetitive activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately
   • the capacity to maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period of duty.
3. 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.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a given period.
5. Exemplars:
   • Participating in tutorials, lectures throughout the day
   • Remaining focused and providing consistent responses over a negotiated time frame during placement.