Bond’s postgraduate psychology students are at the coalface of the COVID-19 pandemic, working in the Bond Psychology Clinic to provide much-needed services for people who are struggling.
In response to the pandemic, the clinic has introduced specialised group therapy sessions around tolerating stress in a pandemic, as well as individual telehealth therapy services.
The services are delivered by provisionally registered psychologists studying the Master of Professional Psychology or Master of Psychology (Clinical) at Bond University, part of the pathway to becoming a fully registered psychologist.
“The Bond Psychology Clinic is a teaching and training clinic,” explains forensic and clinical psychologist and Bond Psychology Clinic Manager, Will Drotsky.
“It’s practical experience for the students, with clients from the public and they are supervised by highly qualified and experienced clinical psychologists.”
The Clinic provides one placement for Master of Professional Psychology students, with students integrating coursework with supervised training and practice in the clinic. It forms the fifth year of professional training in psychology, and upon completion students will be able to seek registration as a general psychologist following a further, sixth year of approved supervised practice.
While Australian Psychological Society (APS) recommended fees are typically $218 per consultation hour for standard psychological services, initial consultations at the Bond Psychology Clinic are free, with additional therapy sessions just $15.
With the addition of group and telehealth sessions, the students facilitating these services are not only gaining valuable experience, but providing accessible and invaluable support to clients in a stressful time.
“I think all Australians are going through a difficult time at the moment with COVID-19,” says Will.
“A lot of people have had employment changes, there’s financial pressure and family pressures. People are losing jobs and businesses are closing, so people are under a lot of pressure.”
Find out more about the Master of Professional Psychology
In addition to undertaking professional experience in the on-campus Psychology Clinic, Master of Professional Psychology students will learn from internationally recognised academics.