Master of Advanced Professional Psychology

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Overview

La Trobe’s industry-connected Master of Advanced Professional Psychology helps you thrive on the path to becoming a registered psychologist. Gain support in all aspects of your internship year, from sourcing your industry partner to preparing for your National Psychology Exam. Then, graduate with the advanced skills and experience you need … For more content click the Read more button below. You’ll begin by working closely with our internship coordinator, who will make every effort to help you find the right industry partner for your final year. Alternatively, they can provide you with an assessment of your independently sourced internship to ensure it meets the Psychology Board of Australia’s requirements. From there, you’ll build your professional and interpersonal skills through our four internship support subjects, where you’ll engage in weekly group supervision and simulated direct client activities. You’ll also receive detailed feedback for the logbook required to document your internship activities. Alongside your internship, you’ll complete case report subjects, where you’ll build critical appraisal skills while receiving feedback on your assessment and intervention reports. You’ll prepare for successful registration as a psychologist with multiple practice papers aligned to the National Psychology Exam and you’ll participate in professional development via elective modules of your choice. As you study, you’ll be guided by psychology staff with a wide range of clinical experience, including public mental health, perinatal mental health, private practice, neuropsychological services, and educational and forensic services. Our expert staff are well-versed in current best practice and have access to the resources and professional networks you need to excel in your chosen profession. The fully online Master of Advanced Professional Psychology gives you the flexibility to study from anywhere and fit your learning around work commitments. Completion of this course, along with your internship and National exam, means you will meet all requirements of the Psychology Board of Australia and be eligible to apply for full registration as a general psychologist. The course also helps to reduce the burden on your primary supervisor, which can provide a strong incentive for time-poor individuals and businesses to participate in internships. The professional development, direct client contact and supervision you undertake during the course will help to reduce the required meeting hours with your supervisor, while the detailed professional feedback you’ll receive on your reports and logbook will increase the quality of the drafts you submit. Complete your journey to becoming a fully registered psychologist with confidence and peace of mind. You'll learn:Contemporary requirements to practice psychology in AustraliaStudy the topics covered by the National Psychology Exam, including ethics, assessment and diagnosis, psychological and pharmacological interventions, and communication.Professional development for practicing psychologistsSelect topics from specialist areas and work with an expert in the field to increase your knowledge and develop your skills.Report writing for psychological assessments and interventionsAccess specialist advice and detailed feedback as you prepare the four assessment and intervention case studies required for registration by the Psychology Board of Australia.Professional psychology internship supportEngage in secondary supervision and direct client activities to enhance and build upon your internship experience and receive feedback on the logbook required for your registration.

You’ll begin by working closely with our internship coordinator, who will make every effort to help you find the right industry partner for your final year. Alternatively, they can provide you with an assessment of your independently sourced internship to ensure it meets the Psychology Board of Australia’s requirements. From there, you’ll build your professional and interpersonal skills through our four internship support subjects, where you’ll engage in weekly group supervision and simulated direct client activities. You’ll also receive detailed feedback for the logbook required to document your internship activities.

Alongside your internship, you’ll complete case report subjects, where you’ll build critical appraisal skills while receiving feedback on your assessment and intervention reports. You’ll prepare for successful registration as a psychologist with multiple practice papers aligned to the National Psychology Exam and you’ll participate in professional development via elective modules of your choice.

As you study, you’ll be guided by psychology staff with a wide range of clinical experience, including public mental health, perinatal mental health, private practice, neuropsychological services, and educational and forensic services. Our expert staff are well-versed in current best practice and have access to the resources and professional networks you need to excel in your chosen profession.

The fully online Master of Advanced Professional Psychology gives you the flexibility to study from anywhere and fit your learning around work commitments. Completion of this course, along with your internship and National exam, means you will meet all requirements of the Psychology Board of Australia and be eligible to apply for full registration as a general psychologist.

The course also helps to reduce the burden on your primary supervisor, which can provide a strong incentive for time-poor individuals and businesses to participate in internships. The professional development, direct client contact and supervision you undertake during the course will help to reduce the required meeting hours with your supervisor, while the detailed professional feedback you’ll receive on your reports and logbook will increase the quality of the drafts you submit.

Complete your journey to becoming a fully registered psychologist with confidence and peace of mind.

You'll learn:

Contemporary requirements to practice psychology in Australia
- Study the topics covered by the National Psychology Exam, including ethics, assessment and diagnosis, psychological and pharmacological interventions, and communication.
Professional development for practicing psychologists
- Select topics from specialist areas and work with an expert in the field to increase your knowledge and develop your skills.
Report writing for psychological assessments and interventions
- Access specialist advice and detailed feedback as you prepare the four assessment and intervention case studies required for registration by the Psychology Board of Australia.
Professional psychology internship support
- Engage in secondary supervision and direct client activities to enhance and build upon your internship experience and receive feedback on the logbook required for your registration.

Portfolio

Office of the Provost

School

Course coordinator

Sandy Stewart

Location(s)

On-Line

Course instance contact

Sandy Stewart

Course duration (full time)

1 year

Course duration (part time)

2 years

Study level

Postgraduate

AQF level

Level 9 - Masters Degree

Available only as an exit award

Study options

Domestic

Completion requirements

To qualify for the award of Master of Advanced Professional Psychology, students must complete 120 credit points consisting of: 120 core credit-points

Course structure
120 credit points

Level one120 credit points

Core120 credit points

Course intended learning outcomes

On successful completion you will be able to:

Demonstrate autonomy, expert judgement, and adaptability working both under supervision and independently in a professional psychology setting.

Critically apply complex and specialised skills to practice professional psychology in a reflective and integrated manner, underpinned by theory and evidence.

Collaborate effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and with community organisations and individuals with relevant lived experience to meet diverse client needs.

Apply an agile and inclusive approach to professional psychology practice to address the needs of culturally and socially diverse clients in different service settings.

Apply advanced knowledge and skills in accordance with all content areas assessed by the Australian National Psychology Exam, including ethical, legal, and practical issues likely to be encountered in practice.

Communicate clinical outcomes of psychological assessments and interventions, professional decisions, and research in psychology effectively and sensitively in oral and written modalities, to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Critically engage in the process of supervision to identify, critically reflect on, and formulate strategies to manage personal and professional issues related to psychological practice.

Exemplify high standards of professional integrity by competently applying the Australian Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics for the profession, including engaging in ongoing professional development.

Career outcomes

After successful completion of a supported internship and satisfaction of all requirements of the Psychology Board of Australia, you’ll be eligible to apply for full registration as a general psychologist. Registered psychology professionals can find employment in a variety of roles, including:

General psychologist
- Work with children, adolescents, and adults in a range of settings to identify and diagnose mental, behavioural, or emotional disorders.
Private practice psychologist
- Administer treatment to clients while operating your own business and setting your own schedule.
Public sector psychologist
- Provide psychological support for individuals in diverse settings such as schools, hospitals, prisons, and aged care homes.

Core participation requirements

Behavioural and relational skills

Core requirement

Students must be able to manage their own responses and behaviour to work effectively in a range of learning environments with diverse people and tasks. This includes the capacity to be receptive and respond appropriately to constructive feedback. Students should also be able to work with others in a team or group environment and make and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of individuals in order to complete tasks or for professional practice.

See also Student behaviours policy for more information.

Course-specific requirement

Psychology is a profession governed by specific regulatory and ethical standards and requirements set out by the Psychology Board of Australia in order to ensure healthcare is delivered in an accountable, professional, and safe manner. Provisional psychologists are registered with the Psychology Board of Australia and must be both accountable and responsible for ensuring ethical and professional behaviour in all contexts.

Under these regulations and standards provisional psychologists must:

• be able to manage personal responses, beliefs or preferences such that they can work with diverse groups, for example they must be able to work with clients of any gender, different sexual orientations, different religious and cultural backgrounds, and all psychological disorders.

• engage in ethical behaviour in professional practice, in compliance with these codes, guidelines and policies, in order to facilitate safe, competent interactions and relationships for the people they engage with. This ensures the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of the individual is not placed at risk.

• display behavioural stability and manage their personal responses while working with emotionally and physically distressed individuals from diverse groups and backgrounds, and in diverse and changing environments. For example, provisional psychologists 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. This includes being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback, managing their own emotional state in order to be able to develop and maintain an appropriate relationship with a diverse range of clients.

• accurately reflect on their professional performance, in order to accept feedback on their professional practice and respond constructively, identifying when an issue is outside one's scope or expertise, or when one's practice may be affected by an impairment.

• must also consistently possess and demonstrate relational skills in order to make and maintain strong therapeutic relationships with a wide range of clients in order to provide effective assessment and intervention. For example, provisional psychologists must sufficiently demonstrate an ability to make and maintain rapport with clients, engage in effective counselling skills, provide accurate empathy, and effectively manage difficulties arising in the therapeutic relationship.

Adjustments must not compromise the codes, guidelines and policies of the Psychology Board of Australia, result in unethical or unprofessional behaviour in both academic and healthcare settings, or compromise client care.

https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/
https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/Standards-and-Guidelines/Registration-Standards.aspx
https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/Standards-and-Guidelines/Codes-Guidelines-Policies.aspx

Cognition

Core requirement

Students must be able to locate, acquire, retain and apply knowledge as part of their learning and for assessment. They must have the ability to sustain their attention over a designated period, maintain their focus in a variety of learning environments and remember information long enough to complete tasks in a reasonable and safe timeframe.

Course-specific requirement

Provisional psychologists must demonstrate consistent and effective knowledge and cognitive skills to undertake safe and competent psychology practice. They must be able to acquire, remember and locate appropriate and relevant information, process information relevant to practice in a timely manner, and then integrate and implement this knowledge in practice, for example:

• to develop and test hypotheses, develop treatment plans and then conduct individual sessions for clients based upon retained and newly acquired knowledge

• to retain, apply and comply with legal and regulatory requirements regarding all aspects of practice and the requirement for provisional psychologist registration with the Australian Health Professional Registration Authority (AHPRA) that facilitate safe, competent interactions and relationships for the clients they engage with. This ensures the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of the individual is not placed at risk.

Provisional psychologists must also consistently and effectively demonstrate and apply sufficient cognitive skills to undertake safe and competent psychology practice. For example, provisional psychologists must be able to:

• Attend and focus their attention for sustained periods of time and process information in order to respond effectively to critical changes in instructions, measurements or observable behavior.

• Maintain consistent and sustained level of attention and mental performance as needed to perform multiple tasks in an assigned period to provide safe and effective care.

• Elicit, understand and respond to sensitive and challenging information (both verbal and written) accurately, appropriately and in a timely manner; and provide timely clear feedback and reporting to clients and other professionals.

• Interpret and correctly apply numerical data, measurement and numerical criteria in the execution of psychology practice, such as accurately scoring and interpreting psychological test data in order to ensure safe client care.

• Read, decode, interpret and comprehend multiple sources of empirical and client information in a timely manner in order to ensure safe client care.

Adjustments for knowledge or cognitive impairments must not compromise or impede student's ability to demonstrate the minimum acceptable level of knowledge and cognitive skill required to practice safely and sufficiently, and must not compromise the codes, guidelines and policies of the Psychology Board of Australia, or client care.

Sensory (visual, auditory, tactile, olfaction)

Core requirement

Students should possess the ability to interact with visual, auditory or tactile inputs sufficiently to manage their learning environment and to meet professional performance needs.

Course-specific requirement

Provisional psychologists must demonstrate the capacity to recognise and interpret auditory and visual information, including, verbal, non-verbal and behavioural cues, in order to respond appropriately and timely to the dynamic needs of the clients they work with. They must be able to observe and understand auditory and visual cues for safe and effective observation of clients' symptoms and reactions as part of their assessment and treatment, including recognising and responding to non-verbal and auditory cues indicating a change in the emotional and mental state of a client. This capacity to interact with visual and auditory inputs is essential for provisional psychologists to be able to effectively and sensitively communicate with clients, build rapport, and demonstrate respect and empathy, thus permitting the development of trusting relationships required to work with clients during placements. Provisional psychologists must also be able to process auditory and visual information in classroom situations.

Adjustments for visual 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.

Adjustments for auditory impairments must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity and accuracy of verbal communication issues to ensure safety.

Adjustments must not compromise the codes, guidelines and policies of the Psychology Board of Australia, or compromise client care.

Strength and mobility

Core requirement

Gross motor skills: Students should possess the strength, range of motion, coordination and mobility sufficient to manage their learning environment and ultimately, professional performance needs.

Fine motor skills: Students should possess the manual dexterity and fine motor skills sufficient to manage their learning environment and ultimately, professional performance needs.

Course-specific requirement

Provisional Psychologists must demonstrate sufficient physical capacity and endurance at a consistent and sustained level to undertake and complete common and repetitive tasks, such writing case notes and reports, engaging in client sessions for the duration, in a timely manner and over time in order to provide safe and effective care.

Adjustments must ensure that physical performance is consistent and sustained over a given period, and must not compromise the codes, guidelines and policies of the Psychology Board of Australia, or compromise client care.

Handbook