Program Overview

Overview

This unit of study involves students completing a placement in a setting external to the University Psychology Clinic. The placement will expose students to a range of presentations in hospitals and community health settings. One external placement is required to be adults and one with children/adolescents and families. All placements are supervised by clinical psychologists who have approved supervisor status with the Psychology Board of Australia. Oversight of the student's progress in each placement includes a Mid-Placement Review visit to each placement site by a clinically qualified staff member of the University. As the final clinical placement, this unit represents a capstone experience in bringing together learning from prior coursework and clinical placements.

Unit Details and Rules

• Academic unit: Psychology Academic Operations
• Credit points: 6
• Prerequisites: None
• Corequisites: None
• Prohibitions: None
• Assumed knowledge: None
• Available to study abroad and exchange students: No

Teaching Staff

• Coordinator: Caroline Hunt

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 1 September 2025

• Type: Peer or expert observation or supervision
• Description: End-Placement Review Form Placement protocol
• Weight: 0%
• Due: Ongoing
• Length: 4 pages
• Use of AI: AI prohibited
• Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8
• Type: Peer or expert observation or supervision
• Description: Clinical Log Placement protocol
• Weight: 0%
• Due: Ongoing
• Length: 1 page for each week of placement
• Use of AI: AI prohibited
• Outcomes assessed: LO7
• Type: Peer or expert observation or supervision
• Description: Supervision Contract Placement protocol
• Weight: 0%
• Due: Week 03
• Length: 2 pages
• Use of AI: AI prohibited
• Outcomes assessed: LO7
• Type: Peer or expert observation or supervision
• Description: Mid-Placement Visitor Form Placement protocol
• Weight: 0%
• Due: Week 08
• Length: 1 page
• Use of AI: AI prohibited
• Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8
• Type: Peer or expert observation or supervision
• Description: Mid-Placement Review Form Placement protocol
• Weight: 0%
• Due: Week 08
• Length: 4 pages
• Use of AI: AI prohibited
• Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8

Assessment Summary

• Supervision Contract: Students will be required to submit a written contract outlining the placement expectations for both the student and the supervisor. The contract is to incorporate specific goals for each student in accordance with their personal goals, interests, skills development, and previous experiences. The preparation of the contract is the responsibility of the student. The contract must be signed by both the student and supervisor. A template is provided.
• Mid-Placement Review Form: Students will be required to submit a written summary of the Mid Placement Review meeting with their supervisor(s) to document progress on the placement. The Mid Placement Review form must be signed by both the student and supervisor. A template is provided.
• Mid-Placement Review (MPR) Visitor Form: Students will be required to submit a summary of the Mid Placement Review Visit, a formal meeting with the supervisor and student, completed by the visitor who is Clinical Psychology Unit staff. Occasionally, students will be exempted from this visit. The Mid Placement Review Visitor Form must be signed by both student and supervisor. A template is provided.
• End-Placement Review Form: Students will be required to submit a written summary of the End Placement Review meeting with their supervisor(s) to provide a summative assessment of the placement. The End Placement Review form must be signed by both the student and supervisor. A template is provided.
• Clinical Log: Students will be required to submit a week-by-week record of their clinical placement experience. The clinical log is a record of all cases and work completed by the student each week. Each weekly clinical log must be signed by both the student and supervisor. Completed in Sonia Database.
• Clinical Placement Hours Record: Students will be required to regularly update a summary of cumulative clinical placement hours across all clinical placements. A template is provided.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

• LO1. work responsively with a broad range of socially and culturally diverse clients
• LO2. apply advanced psychological knowledge to culturally responsive assessment, case formulation, and intervention
• LO3. implement appropriate, empirically supported treatments
• LO4. monitor clients’ progress and intervention outcomes, assessing areas of improvement and making changes to treatment plan when necessary
• LO5. monitor and manage intra- and interpersonal processes in the context of an evolving case formulation
• LO6. demonstrate respect for the skills and contribution of other professionals, working collaboratively and effectively with them, within the bounds of ethical and legal requirements
• LO7. apply professional practice policies and procedures, including record keeping and psychological report writing
• LO8. demonstrate self-reflection in professional practice, accounting for impact of own values and taking appropriate remediating action

Graduate Qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities has been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

• GQ1. Depth of disciplinary expertise: Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding, and skills of a recognized discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
• GQ2. Critical thinking and problem-solving: Critical thinking and problem-solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence, and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
• GQ3. Oral and written communication: Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
• GQ4. Information and digital literacy: Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create, and convey information using appropriate resources, tools, and strategies.
• GQ5. Inventiveness: Generating novel ideas and solutions.
• GQ6. Cultural competence: Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
• GQ7. Interdisciplinary effectiveness: Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
• GQ8. Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity: An integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
• GQ9. Influence: Engaging others in a process, idea, or vision.

Weekly Schedule

WK | Topic | Learning activity | Learning outcomes ---|---|---|--- Multiple weeks | Clinical placement: 2 days/week for 24 weeks | Clinical practice (336 hr) | LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8

Additional Information

• Science student portal
• Psychology student portal

Work, Health, and Safety

We are governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011, and Codes of Practice. Penalties for non-compliance have increased. Everyone has a responsibility for health and safety at work. The University’s Work Health and Safety policy explains the responsibilities and expectations of workers and others, and the procedures for managing WHS risks associated with University activities.

General Laboratory Safety Rules

• No eating or drinking is allowed in any laboratory under any circumstances
• A laboratory coat and closed-toe shoes are mandatory
• Follow safety instructions in your manual and posted in laboratories
• In case of fire, follow instructions posted outside the laboratory door
• First aid kits, eye wash, and fire extinguishers are located in or immediately outside each laboratory
• As a precautionary measure, it is recommended that you have a current tetanus immunization. This can be obtained from University Health Service.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrollment numbers.

This unit of study outline was last modified on 18 Jul 2025.