Practicum Placement 4 PG (6316.5)

Required texts

• American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5-TR ed.).
• Psychology Board of Australia (2025). Code of Conduct.

The placement organisation may also require certain readings to be undertaken or training to be completed prior to or as part of the placement.

The following books are useful reference texts:

• Andrews, G., Creamer, M., Crino, R., Hunt, C., Lampe, L., & Page, A. (2003). The treatment of anxiety disorders: Clinician guides and treatment manuals (2nd ed). Cambridge University Press.
• Barlow, D. H. (2021). Clinical handbook of psychological disorders: A step-by-step treatment manual (6th ed). Guilford.
• Greenberger, D. & Padesky, C. (2015). Mind over mood: Change how you feel by changing the way you think (2nd ed.). Guilford.
• Leahy, R. L., Holland, S. J., & Mc Ginn, L. K. (2012). Treatment plans and interventions for depression and anxiety disorders (2nd ed.). Guilford.
• Ramnero, J., & Torneke, N. (2008). The ABCs of Human Behavior: Behavioral Principles for the Practicing Clinician. New Harbinger.
• Simmons, J. & Griffiths, R. (2017). CBT for beginners (3rd ed.). SAGE.

Students are encouraged to discuss with their supervisor suggested readings relevant to the assessment and treatment of the placement client population.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Artificial Intelligence

Students are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in assessments for this unit, except for Studiosity Writing Feedback Plus.

GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:

1. the Unit Convener has authorised GenAI use for that assessment
2. the student uses GenAI in the way that the assessment instructions allow
3. the student fully acknowledges their use of GenAI, with proper citations, references and a GenAI Acknowledgement Statement in line with the assessment instructions.

Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not permitted for that assessment. Students must still provide the required GenAI Acknowledgement Statement to indicate whether GenAI has or has not been used in the preparation of the assessment. If unsure, students should seek advice from the Unit Convener.

The GenAI for Students Library Guide provides further information, including how to reference GenAI.

How to submit placement documents

All required placement documents are to be completed on or uploaded to the student's Smartabase site. Please see Canvas for a guide to using Smartabase.

The student is to notify the External Placement Coordinator by email when all placement documents are complete on Smartabase. If the placement documents are incomplete, the student will need to rectify any errors then re-email the External Placement Coordinator in order to pass.

Special assessment requirements

Requirements to pass: This unit will be assessed as a non-graded pass or fail. An ungraded pass is achieved by attendance at mandatory group supervision and/or seminars, passing all assessment items, completion of the requisite number of face-to-face and clinical experience hours, submission of all placement documentation in line with requirements (as outlined on Canvas), and completion of all required client-related work. These additional assessment requirements are in line with conditions set by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council.

Hours: The student is required to aim toward a target of 250 hours of placement activity per placement. Of these 250 hours, a minimum of 100 hours should be direct client contact. However, if a student is deemed to be competent in all domains but they have not reached 100 client contact hours (student must have 80 hours of client contact or more), they may receive an ungraded pass. This can only occur under the provision they complete the required client contact hours during their next placement. In that case, an agreement will be made between the student and the Placement Coordinator, which will be documented and recorded on their Smartabase site.

Placement documentation: Details of required placement documentation can be found on Canvas. Documentation includes but is not limited to:

• Placement hours log. This log book should provide evidence of all hours spent on placement (client contact, non-contact and supervision). Every entry must be signed or endorsed by the student and supervisor.
• Records of supervision. These must detail all supervision sessions completed (individual and group) throughout the duration of the placement, including a summary of the topics discussed, reflection, and future research or tasks related to the supervision content. Every single entry must be signed or endorsed by the student and supervisor.
• Student evaluation of the placement.

Please note that all client notes, including progress notes and reports, must be signed by both the student and supervisor. A student will not be passed on the placement if there are any documents left unsigned.

Supplementary assessment

If a student receives an Unsatisfactory Progress or Progress with Concerns grade at the mid-placement review, an Unsatisfactory grade at the end-of-placement review, or is deemed to be at risk of failure at any stage during placement, a remedial support plan will be developed. See details in section 5b (Additional Information) of this Unit Outline for further information.

For the supervision contract, case report and ethical reflections, students will be provided with one re-attempt per assessment task if they miss demonstrating a specific competency for that task. If they fail the second attempt, the student will fail the unit.

Additional Information

Remedial support plans. 

If a student receives an Unsatisfactory Progress or Progress with Concerns grade at the mid-placement review, an Unsatisfactory grade at the end-of-placement review, or is deemed to be at risk of failure at any stage during placement, a remedial support plan will be developed. This plan will be developed in consultation with the student, supervisor, [the UC Psychology Clinic Manager (for internal placements), and Placement Coordinator. The plan will document the specific concerns and related areas of competence, and the planned actions and supports to address these concerns. The plan will include a timeframe, as negotiated between the parties, as to when progress on the plan is reviewed. The placement may need to be extended in order to support the student’s development in reaching appropriate competence. Alternatively, the placement may be suspended for the student to undertake personal development or remediation. The plan should be signed by all parties and uploaded to the ‘other documents’ section of Smartabase. .If satisfactory progress is not made or the student does not reach the required stage on the CYPRS within an appropriate timeframe, a fail grade will be applied. In these circumstances the supervisor and student will be required to identify specific learning needs and activities to address the concerns raised should the student re-attempt placement. Further information on managing concerns about student competence can be found in the Clinical Placement Handbook.

Misconduct.

Any breaches in ethical, legal or professional conduct at any stage during placement will result in referral to the appropriate discipline staff members for assessment of whether a probation period or an immediate fail grade and termination of placement is required. For significant student misconduct behaviour, students will be referred to the Associate Dean of Education and/or WIL. Serious ethical and professional misconduct by a provisional psychologist could also necessitate an AHPRA notification, which could affect provisional registration and completion of the placement units. Further information on managing serious concerns about student misconduct can be found in the Clinical Placement Handbook.

Fail grades and re-attempting placement. 

In the event a student fails the placement, consultation with the External Placement Coordinator and the Convenor of the Master of Clinical Psychology course is required to discuss options before re-enrolment.

If a student chooses to re-attempt a placement following failure or an early withdrawal, they will be required to develop and follow an individualised learning plan based on competencies not met during the previous attempt, and/or breaches or other specific circumstances that led to the failure or withdrawal. The individualised learning plan will be developed in consultation with the Course Convenor, Placement Coordinator and Psychology Clinic Manager (for internal placements). The plan may include one or more reflective pieces, simulated tasks or other tasks that allow for demonstration of sufficient competence for clinical practice at their level of training, and might specify that direct client contact work is not to commence until certain tasks have been completed or certain competencies demonstrated. The plan will include dates by which these tasks need to be completed. The plan should be signed by all parties and uploaded to the ‘other documents’ section of Smartabase.

As the individualised learning plan is a hurdle requirement, students who fail to complete the tasks in the plan within the required timeframe will be afforded one re-attempt. This will take the form of a second learning plan. It is expected that students will complete tasks in the second learning plan using the same amount of resources (e.g., amount of supervision and support) as other students at the same level of training (i.e., completing the same placement unit). If the student fails to meet the requirements of the second learning plan within the required timeframe, the student will fail the placement.

It should be noted that failing a re-attempted placement indicates significant concerns about the capacity of the student to perform at the expected standard and meet competency. As such, it is highly likely that further attempts to complete a placement would be unethical. As such, a second fail grade might result in the Discipline recommendation to the University that the student fail the MCP program. This will be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis.

Further information on re-attempting placement can be found in the Clinical Placement Handbook.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Participation requirements

At the discretion of a placement organisation and External Placement Coordinator, a placement may be completed at 3 days per week. However, this arrangement can only be undertaken if a placement organisation has agreed to or requested this, it is appropriate, and if the student is able to do so.

Students are required to attend placement for the equivalent of two full days per week for a minimum of 16 weeks until all assessment items (including special assessment requirements described in section 5b of this unit outline) are complete. This duration allows for sufficient engagement in the workplace and extent of practice in the domain of experience. Placement duration may be negotiated in advance with the placement organisation and External Placement Coordinator in the case a student is undertaking 3 days per week.

Should absence be required for any reason, the placement supervisor must be advised by telephone as soon as possible.

If attendance requirements cannot be satisfied (e.g., due to outside employment), it is recommended that you meet with the Convenor of the Master of Clinical Psychology course to schedule this unit for a future semester.

Required IT skills

None

Work placement, internships or practicums

Pre-placement requirements

This unit has pre-placement requirements. Information in relation to pre-placement requirements can be obtained from the Placement Requirements website and/or the Placement Office.

It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they are compliant with all pre-placement requirements. Students are required to complete details relating to pre-placement requirements in InPlace (inplace.canberra.edu.au). If you have any queries related to InPlace please contact placement@canberra.edu.au.

Students will not be allowed to start placement if they have not met pre-placement requirements. A delayed start to the placement must be approved by the External Placement Coordinator. If not approved, the student will be required to withdraw from the unit. A failure to withdraw by Census date will result in a fail grade being awarded for this unit.

Placement allocation and conflicts of interest

Prior to placement allocation, students are required to declare all potential conflicts of interest to the External Placement Coordinator. This is to ensure that students receive placement allocations that will maximise their learning opportunities without pre-existing relationships that may impact on professional learning. Declarations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Failure to declare a conflict of interest may cause you to be withdrawn from the placement which could delay your progression through the course. See the Clinical Placement Handbook for further information and, if you have further queries on this, please seek advice from the External Placement Coordinator or Careers UC team.

Allocations are randomly undertaken by the Placement Office and reviewed by the External Placement Coordinator (and, if necessary, the  Convenor of the Master of Clinical Psychology course) to ensure that opportunities maximise competency development based on the needs of the student, placement opportunities, and suitable supervision. Please note that students are required to inform the Placement Office and External Placement Coordinator if they are unable to undertake a placement allocated to them as soon as possible.

Inherent requirements and fitness to practice

The University of Canberra has responsibilities under work health and safety laws to protect the safety of those for whom it has a duty of care. Additionally, the University of Canberra is mandated, under Health Practitioner Regulation National Law ACT (2009), to notify the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) if it reasonably believes that a student has a health impairment that, in the course of the student undertaking clinical placement, may place the public at risk of substantial harm. Students who cannot meet inherent requirements or are not fit to practice during clinical placement may pose a risk to themselves, the public, clinical placement organisation staff, UC staff and other students if they are permitted to participate in clinical placement. These students may also fall within the mandatory notification requirements under national law.

Adherence to relevant UC policies and procedures

Students must adhere to the University policy during WIL experiences, including the Student Conduct Rules 2018, the WIL Policy, WIL Procedure, Assessment Policy and the Assessment Procedure.

Additional information

Student professionalism

Students are expected to be familiar with, and act in accordance with, the PsyBA Code of Conduct and the Psychology Board of Australia/AHPRA registration standards at all times, as well as other legislative requirements. If a student is found to have breached the Code of Conduct during placement, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) may be advised, which could affect provisional registration and completion of placement units.

Students are required to engage with their placement organisation as they would a professional workplace, including adhering to the organisation's policies and procedures.

Students are expected to respond promptly when allocated new referrals, complete clinical client notes in a timely manner, and present clinical notes to their supervisor for review and endorsement (signature) in a regular and timely manner.

Supervision expectations

Clinical supervision will begin at the commencement of the placement at a time agreed upon with the supervisor.

There is a requirement for one hour of supervision for every 15 placement hours.

A minimum of 50% of the required supervision hours must be individual supervision.

Absences from placement

Requests to not attend placement for a limited period for compelling personal reasons, aside from illness, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

What to do if struggling to meet requirements

Any problems with the placement or meeting the requirements should be flagged by the student with their supervisor and the unit convener as soon as possible so they can be rectified early. Delaying notification of problems (e.g. in relation to supervision or the completion of work) may result in the placement being extended.

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