CQUniversity Unit Profile.

This assessment item consists of all placement-related documents. All documents must be fully signed by the supervisor that provided supervision as indicated on the respective forms.

• Placement Agreement
• Mid and End-placement Review. The End of Placement Review form must indicate that you have achieved 'Level 4 Competencies' to pass the placement
• Weekly Practice Logs
• Weekly Supervision Forms

1. Placement 

The purpose of this assessment task is to provide you with an opportunity to develop skills in performing psychological assessments, interventions, and associated activities, under the supervision of Clinical Psychologists/Psychology Board-Approved Supervisors. By the end of this unit, you will demonstrate Level 4 competence in nine core competencies that represent critical capabilities and attributes for effective psychological practice. 

Competencies 1 - 8 are specified by AHPRA and Competency 9 is a requirement of the Master of Clinical Psychology Course. Level 4 competence represents the competency expected to practice independently as a psychologist. Both your Clinical Psychologist/Board-Approved Supervisor (Primary Supervisor) and the Placement Coordinator must sign off on your competencies at Level 4 to pass. Your Placement Agreement, Mid-Placement Review, and End-of-Placement Review must be signed by yourself, your Primary Supervisor, and the Placement Coordinator and uploaded to Moodle. 

If you have not met all required competencies (including all nine core competencies and the APAC assessment requirements) by your End-of-Placement Review you may be provided with a further opportunity to meet these competencies with a Support Plan. However, this is up to the discretion of the Unit Coordinator in consultation with the Head of Course. It can be useful to discuss competencies with your Primary Supervisor before your Mid-Placement and End-of-Placement Reviews, to identify any areas where you are not demonstrating the expected level of competency and develop a Support Plan to address areas where you are 'not on track' before your End-of-Placement Review. 

To pass the unit all Level 4 competencies must be met.

2. Weekly Practice Logs and Supervision Forms 

You must submit your signed practice hours (Weekly Logs/logbook) signed weekly by your Primary Supervisor at the end of Clinic IV in chronological order. The Weekly Log must include the following; detailed total number of direct client activity hours, individual supervision hours, group supervision hours, and associated placement/practice activities. Your complete logbook must include your 1000 hours of placement activity over the four Clinic Team units of the Master of Clinical Psychology course.

You are also required to complete supervision forms from individual and group supervision. All supervision entries in your Weekly Logs must have a corresponding supervision form signed by yourself and the supervisor who provided the supervision. Supervision forms must also be signed by your Primary Supervisor/supervisor that provided supervision and uploaded to Moodle in chronological order at the end of Clinic IV.

The criteria are set out on the Placement Review forms and cover the core competency areas which define the critical capabilities and attributes deemed necessary to ensure that graduates are equipped to practice psychology safely and effectively subsequent to graduation. It is expected that at the end of Clinic IV and the completion of the Master of Clinical Psychology course students will demonstrate 'Level 4' competency and achieved the level 4 competencies on the End of Placement Review form. 

To pass this assessment task, all signed documents and logbooks must be submitted.

Weekly Practice Logs and Supervision Forms (Pass/Fail)

Weekly Practice Logs must be signed weekly by your Primary Supervisor and uploaded to Moodle in chronological order at the end of Clinic IV. Weekly Practice Logs should detail your total number of direct client activity hours, individual supervision hours, group supervision hours, and associated placement activities. Entries related to direct client activity hours must include the client's initials, age, gender, and description of the service provided in sufficient detail.

You are also required to submit all of your signed supervision forms from individual and group supervision, in chronological order to Moodle at the end of Clinic IV. All supervision entries in your Weekly Practice Logs must have a corresponding supervision form signed by yourself and the supervisor who provided the supervision.

Reflective journals are to be uploaded weekly. Reflections need to be no more than one page on average and should reflect personal and clinical learning from the lecture and/or from discussions of your clinical placements. Reflective journals should demonstrate the nexus of learning between placement activities, supervision, lectures, and professional reading. The journal should be utilised to reflect on experiences and conversations that have stimulated your thinking and self-reflection about your practice and development as a psychologist.

Each journal is to be submitted to Moodle by Monday 9.00 a.m. (commencing in Week 2) to reflect on the week, with the last submission in Week 13 (to reflect on learnings in Week 12). 

Each journal submission must demonstrate self-reflection on your practice as a psychologist, including your reflections on what you are learning about your own practice through the placement experience, your emerging strengths, and areas for development. Journal submissions should include some self-reflection on both the tasks and process of working with clients and other stakeholders. If any journal submission is lacking in self-reflection on your practice, you may be required to resubmit to demonstrate self-reflection before the journal submission is passed.

Each student will complete a presentation in class. The presentation should be about a client that you have seen in the current placement. It must include intake information and may include further information from subsequent sessions with the client. You should guide the class in doing a 5P formulation as part of your presentation, then present a differential diagnosis and a plan or report of further assessment and/or intervention after the intake process. You should plan for around 30 minutes for the presentation, group 5Ps, and discussion. You should upload a link to one or two relevant academic journal articles prior to your presentation, and clearly explain in the presentation how your chosen article(s) relate to the case being presented.

The Case Presentation is (Pass/Fail). Your case presentation will be assessed according to the following criteria, and each criteria needs to be passed to pass this assessment

• A link to a relevant research article must be added to the Moodle discussion board before the presentation day.
• The presentation must be of a client that you have seen in the current placement.
• It must include intake information and may include further information from subsequent sessions with the client.
• It should consider ethical issues including risk assessment if required.
• The presentation should include evidence of the relevance of the chosen research article.
• The in-class presentation must include guiding the class in doing a 5P formulation, and then present a differential diagnosis.
• It must include a plan or report of further assessment and/or intervention after the intake process.
• It should engage the class in discussion.
• It should take around 30 minutes for the presentation, group 5Ps, and discussion.

This case report is the final of a series of four case studies you will write over the entire Master of Clinical Psychology course. You will write a report on one of the clients you have seen at your placement. The report should be de-identified by removing names, date of birth (but retain year/age) and any other identifying information such as place of work.

The case report should be no more than 2000 words.  

The report must be accompanied by the cover page template and follow the described format. The report will include a Comprehensive Needs Assessment, Opinions, Intervention Plan/Recommendations, Evaluation and Reflection sections, and be presented using appropriate Formatting and Referencing as described in the Assessment Criteria. The placement supervisor needs to sign off on the report (i.e. they acknowledge that the report has been de-identified, the case sufficiently meets the privacy requirements of the organization and that the case study does not include any inappropriate materials) to show that they have approved the use of the de-identified information provided in the case study. 

• The report must follow the guidelines discussed in class and available on Moodle.
• It must be a report of a client you have seen in your current placement.
• It must include all relevant intake and assessment information.
• It must include a formulation, differential diagnosis, and intervention plan.
• It must include some critical reflection on the student's own performance.

The viva clinical assessment is held individually in week 6 & 7. It involves seeing a simulated client for an assessment interview and then presenting your intake information with a formulation, diagnosis and plan, then answering questions following your presentation. The class will have a viva preparation workshop before the vivas are held.

• The student must conduct a satisfactory assessment interview, including obtaining sufficient relevant information and forming a therapeutic relationship with the client.
• The interview must consider any relevant professional or ethical issues.
• The presentation must be of a satisfactory standard and include a formulation, differential diagnosis and a plan for further assessment or intervention.
• The student must be able to answer questions posed by the viva assessment panel.
• The presentation must be uploaded to Moodle after the viva assessment.