Becoming a Child and Family Psychologist
Working as a Registered Psychologist is a busy and rewarding career. Combine that with the challenges of working with the complexities of children, adolescents, families, school systems, mental health systems and welfare systems and you have the everyday experience of those who graduate from the Child and Family Psychology programme.
Mission Statement
The mission of the University of Canterbury Child & Family Psychology Training Programme is to produce competent psychologists eligible to be registered as Psychologists under the Health Practitioner's Competence Assurance Act (2003). These graduates will have grounding in the theory and skills required for work with children, and their entire families in all the contexts within which they present for help and support. These contexts include health, education, welfare, non- governmental organisations and the private sector. The content of the programme aims to be:
- intellectually rigorous
- based on recent international and national theory, research and trends
- evidence- based
- reflective of children’s ecology and contexts
- focused on the strengths, resiliencies and protective mechanisms of children and families
- informed by the social and political context of children in Aotearoa (New Zealand)
(Students will be aware of and guided by the ethical standards adopted by the New Zealand Psychologists Board for Psychologists working in Aotearoa)
Important Note
The programme was restructured in 2009. The new format described here applies for new students from 2010. Students who have completed three or more of the previous Foundation papers (EDEM 661, EDEM 662, EDEM 663 and EDEM 664, or their equivalents) in or prior to 2009 can complete the programme under the previous regulations provided they are accepted into the limited entry papers by 2012 (enquires to the programme coordinator).
Introductory information
The Child and Family Psychology programme was established to meet the market demand for psychologists specifically trained to work with children, adolescents and families. The Programme is offered across both the Health Sciences Centre and the School of Educational Studies and Human Development at the University of Canterbury. There is also a relationship with the Department of Psychology regarding alternate developmental and research methods papers and thesis supervision. It stands alongside existing Psychology training courses such as Educational Psychology and Clinical Psychology. This programme is an exciting new innovation of the University of Canterbury and the first of its kind offered by a New Zealand University.
The Programme consists of two awards. The MA or MSc in Child and Family Psychology (or an approved MEd) are post-graduate degrees which can be completed alone or in combination with the limited entry Postgraduate Diploma in Child and Family Psychology (PGDipChFamPsyc). The PGDipChFamPsyc can be started after the first year of the masters is completed and has been designed for students who wish to become registered psychologists working with children, adolescents and families.
The Postgraduate Diploma in Child and Family Psychology leads to eligibility for registration with the New Zealand Psychologists Board as a psychologist under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.
A strong emphasis is placed on considering the child within an eco-contextual setting, with consideration of strengths and resiliencies as well as deficits and difficulties. The programme aims to reflect the social and political context of children in Aotearoa (New Zealand) with an appropriate bicultural emphasis.
Training includes areas such as adult psychopathology in recognition that children and adolescents do not exist in isolation but are part of family and wider community systems. During training, placement and internship opportunities have been offered in settings including CYFS, Special Education Services, Mental Health Services, Paediatrics Department, Seabrook McKenzie Centre, Family Court, early intervention services, and residential settings with specialist populations.
In the words of a graduate: “The Child and Family Psychology programme is a course that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in working as a psychologist in the area of children and families. The training and the job itself can be challenging at times but this is outweighed by the endless rewards and opportunities and the fact that every day is different.”
Graduate Profile:
- Detailed knowledge of the Child and Family Psychology area and an ability to recognise how to apply this knowledge flexibly and within a variety of contexts.
- Writing skills ranging from the ability to write for the general public through to the ability to generate evidential and academic reports.
- Communication skills ranging from the ability to talk to children with disabilities through to the ability to defend evidence in a court of law or to an academic audience.
- Collegiality which reflects a realistic view of the professional role of the psychologist and an appreciation of the strengths, contributions and experience of other colleagues. This includes the ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team and to disseminate skills and knowledge to co-workers as diverse as parents, community volunteers, primary care professionals, lawyers and medical staff.
- Self-reflection and personal accountability.
- Analytical, critical, synthesis and problem-solving skills.
- The ability to continue learning as the research-base and standards of practice expand and change throughout their professional lives.
Career Paths
Here is a selection of the variety of settings in which our graduates, now working as Registered Psychologists, have been employed:
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
- Special Education Services
- Early intervention Centres
- The Champion Centre
- NGOs
- ProCare Psychological Services (Auckland)
- Church based agencies (e.g. Methoidst Community Services, and Presbyterian Support Services)
- PHO West Coast
- The STOP Adolescent Programme
- Seabrook McKenzie Centre
- Cholmondeley Children’s Home
- CYFS Specialist Services in Auckland
- Private Practice (in various locations in Christchurch, as well as in Australia)
Staff
Lecturers in the limited entry courses |
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Associate Professor Karyn FranceAssociate Professor, and Coordinator of the Child and Family Psychology Programme |
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Associate Professor Tarren-Sweeney Associate Professor in Child and Family Psychology |
Clinical Educators |
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Suzi Hall |
Foundation Course Coordinators |
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Assoc Prof Kathleen LibertyEarly Intervention Programme Convenor |
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Assoc Prof Judi MillerCo-ordinator of Counsellor Education |
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Shanee Barraclough
Lecturer, Counselling |
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Dr Myron Frieson |
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Dr Ann Wilson |
Psychology Resources
- American Psychological Association
- APA Style Information
- APA teaching related publications available online (recently updated - 2004) Careers in Psychology in the 21st Century - http://www.apa.org/students/brochure/
Most recent issue of APA's publication Grad Psych
http://gradpsych.apags.org/jan04/marketingself.cfm
Most recent issue of APA's publication Psychology Teacher Network
http://www.apa.org/ed/topss/PTN_winter_04.pdf - New Zealand Psychologists Board
- New Zealand Psychological Society
More Information
For more information email karyn.france@canterbury.ac.nz or Freephone in NZ 0800 VARSITY (827 748).