New support for mental health postgraduates

August 10, 2007

Four clinical psychology students at the University of New England have been awarded scholarships under a new scheme that addresses the current shortage of qualified mental health professionals – a shortage that is particularly felt in regional areas.

The four students – Shirley Liffman, Julian Rote, Jodie Shipp and Anna Todd – are enrolled in the first year of UNE's postgraduate clinical psychology program. They have been awarded the $20,000 scholarships through the Mental Health Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme.

These scholarships, available for the first time in 2007, are funded by the Australian Government's Department of Health and Ageing and administered by the Royal College of Nursing, Australia. The scheme aims to encourage and support people interested in undertaking postgraduate study in either clinical psychology or mental health nursing by helping them to meet accommodation, living and travel costs.

Associate Professor Nigel Marsh, the Course Coordinator of UNE's postgraduate clinical psychology training program, said that the scholarships, while recognising the outstanding quality of the recipients, would provide an incentive to those considering postgraduate clinical psychology training in the future.

"UNE’s success last year in obtaining Commonwealth support places for the clinical psychology program removed the need for students to pay full fees," Dr Marsh said, "but some suitable applicants are still discouraged from applying for training places because of the living costs associated with undertaking two further years of training after completing their four-year Honours degree program in Psychology. The availability of the Mental Health Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme will encourage such people to commit themselves to the two years of postgraduate study required to qualify as a clinical psychologist."

"Although we encourage students to get some 'big hospital' experience (usually in Newcastle or Sydney) as part of their training," he added, "the UNE clinical psychology program has a strong emphasis on students completing some of their practical training in regional areas. This is consistent with the focus of the UNE Strategic Plan on contributing to regional development, as such training experiences are considered to increase the probability that students will keep working in regional areas once they graduate. The fact that a number of recent UNE clinical psychology graduates have remained in the region supports this view."

THE PHOTOGRAPH of two of the UNE scholarship recipients displayed here expands to show (from left) Shirley Liffman, Anna Todd and Julian Rote, UNE Psychology lecturer Debra Dunstan and Associate Professor Nigel Marsh, and Jodie Shipp.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at August 10, 2007 10:23 AM