Unit details

PSYC5511 Special Topics in Clinical Psychology

Credit

6 points

Offering
(see Timetable)

Availability	Location	Mode
Non-standard teaching period	UWA (Perth)	Face to face

Content

This unit provides a series of master classes addressing a diverse range of theory, assessment, interventions, and professional skills for neurodevelopmental and psychological/ psychiatric conditions as well as other topics relevant to the students' theory, empirical evidence and practice of clinical psychology. Individual topics may change with student/staff interests and availability of visiting lecturers, and include but are not limited to for example: Disability and Neurodiversity, Working with diversity and cultural considerations, Advanced psychotherapies for more complex presentations and cases, including CBT, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy; metacognitive therapies.

Academic Objectives:

1) The students will identify, describe and determine the presentation and diagnoses of a range of mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions, including comorbid presentatoins and differential diagnoses using case examples.
2) Drawing from theory and the evidence-base, the students will
(i) integrate and interpret clinically relevant data to formulate a client's presenting difficulties in case examples; and
(ii) will select and plan psychological interventions for clients in case examples.
3) The students will demostrate diversity/ culturally appropriate understanding of working with diverse clients (in terms of culture and/ or neurodiversity) and will select and explain appropriate and responsive to diversity communication skills in case examples.

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) identify, describe and communicate in writing the presentation and diagnoses of a range of mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions referring to international taxonomies of classification of psychological disorders, including comorbid presentations and differential diagnoses using complex and chronic case examples; (2) drawing from theories of the aetiology, progression, precursors, strengths, and sequelae of psychological disorders and the evidence-base, the students will integrate and interpret clinically relevant data to formulate a client's presenting difficulties in case examples; and will select and plan psychological interventions for clients in case examples.; (3) the students will demonstrate understanding of working with diverse clients (in terms of culture and/ or neurodiversity) and will explain their assessment (with reference to international taxonomies) and intervention selection, using communication responsive to diversity in case examples.; and (4) apply developmental systems and biopsychosocial models of health, as well as a strengths-based approach, to understanding and communicate (in writing) the needs of people with chronic and complex psychological disorders across the lifespan in case examples.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) case study report; (2) multiple quizzes (each after a Master class); and (3) attendance. Further information is available in the unit outline.

To pass this unit, a student must: (a) achieve an overall mark of 50 per cent or higher for the unit; and (b) achieve the requisite requirements(s) or a mark of 50 per cent or greater, whichever is higher and specified in the unit outline, for the attendance component.

For units commencing in May 2022 or later the availability of the supplementary assessment is subject to confirmation.

Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Except where supplementary assessment is not available in a unit, it will be offered to students in all units who:

• Are in good academic standing overall;
• Have passed over half the units taken in the teaching period concerned, except where they are only enrolled in two or less units in the period;
• Have submitted all assessment items in the unit;
• Have achieved a mark between 45 and 49 for the unit overall, or the same mark in any failed component item in the unit; and
• No finding of academic misconduct has been made against them in the unit concerned.

Additionally student may apply for supplementary assessment in any unit which is the final unit required for graduation in there course and where they have achieved a mark between 45 and 49 for the unit overall, or the same mark in any failed component item in the unit.

Unit Coordinator(s)

Associate Professor Jeneva Ohan

Unit rules

Prerequisites:

Enrolment in 01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology or 53370 Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology and Successful completion of two Unit(s) PSYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I and Unit(s) PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II

Co-requisites:

Nil

Incompatibility:

Nil

Contact hours

These are advanced Master classes typically delivered in 3- to 8-hour workshops, up to a total of 50 hours in the teaching period.

Note

Students enrolled in an APAC accredited program must hold provisional registration as a psychologist. It is the students' responsibility to ensure registration eligibility. Enrolled students are also responsible for maintaining provisional registration for the duration of their enrolment in the program