UWA Handbook 2025

Unit Overview

Description

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.

Credit

6 points

Offering
(see Timetable)

Availability	Location	Mode
Semester 1	UWA (Perth)	Face to face

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.

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

Unit Coordinator(s)

Dr Vance Locke

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

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