Perspectives on Clinical Psychology Training by Students at Australian Regional and Urban Universities

Abstract

Training in clinical psychology in Australia has become increasingly popular after coverage for psychological services under national Medicare was introduced. All regional universities in Australia offer clinical psychology training at the master's level, but little is known about how such training at these universities compares with training in larger, urban universities. Here, we report on results of surveys of clinical students and training directors at regional universities across Australia in order to contrast the perceived quality of training and various aspects of the nature of training. Responses from 190 students and all 35 directors of training show little difference in the perceived quality of training on several indices, with differences limited to the use of staff clinical research. Students at urban universities were less disposed to undertake a placement in a rural setting than those at regional universities.

Key words:

• clinical training
• postgraduate training
• student survey
• perceived quality

Acknowledgements

Support for this work has been provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations (Award PP8‐900 to N. A. Pachana, K. Sofranoff, A. Baillie, M. Kyrios, G. Murray & E. Helmes). The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council.