Definition of Clinical Psychology

The shape and form of Clinical Psychology at Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 is influenced by the Scope of Practice of the Profession of Psychology and the Scope of Practice of Clinical Psychologists promulgated in 2011 by the Professional Board of Psychology of the HPCSA, as well as South African literature on clinical psychology training (Ahmed & Pillay, 2004; Kagee, 2006; Pillay & Kritzinger, 2007; Pillay, Ahmed & Bawa, 2013) and recent reviews of mental health services in South Africa (e.g. Lund, Peterson, Kleintjes & Bhana, 2012). In particular, our vision is that the domains of practice of clinical psychology include: assessing, diagnosing and intervening with clients experiencing life challenges, in particular those in psychological distress and/or with forms of  psychopathology; the holistic management of serious mental disorders; applying evidence based psychological interventions to people with psychological or psychiatric conditions; developing practice and research in line with increasing access to humane mental health care which involves recognising the value of short term models of psychotherapy, systemic understandings and interventions, prevention of mental health problems alongside remediation, and a focus on social justice and social betterment as permanent agendas; the promotion of community mental health through less traditional roles such as providing support and training to primary mental health workers, and getting involved in advocacy initiatives, public information campaigns and policy work; and research practices that are locally relevant and directly influence clinical psychology practice.

Professional Masters Programme in Clinical Psychology

The MA in Clinical Psychology at Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 is a professional training programme that provides theoretical and supervised practical work that will lead to
registration as a Clinical Psychologist with the Professional Board for Psychology of the Health Professions Council of South Africa. To achieve registration, you are
required to complete the following components to a satisfactory standard:

• One year of academic and practical training;
• A research mini-thesis;
• A one-year internship at Fort England Hospital, which is our linked internship site;
• The national examination set by the Professional Board for Psychology;
• One year in a community service placement, a government paid post.

Professional training at Rhodes was first offered in 1975 — to a single clinical psychology student — under the direction of Professor Dreyer Kruger. It was one of only two such programmes offered by English-medium universities then. We now train six in Clinical Psychology students. The shape and form of Clinical Psychology at Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 are informed by the Minimum standards for the training of Clinical Psychology, as published by the Board of Psychology, HPCSA, in February 2019. It is also influenced by the Scope of Practice of the Profession of Psychology and the Scope of Practice of Clinical Psychologists promulgated in 2011 by the Professional Board of Psychology of the HPCSA, as well as South African literature on clinical psychology training (e.g.
Ahmed & Pillay, 2004; Kagee, 2006; Pillay & Kritzinger, 2007; Pillay, Ahmed & Bawa, 2013) and recent reviews of mental health services in South Africa (e.g. Lund,Peterson, Kleintjes & Bhana, 2012).

In particular, our vision is that the domains of clinical psychology practice include assessing, diagnosing and intervening with individuals and groups with psychological and mental health disorders. Clinical psychologists work in a range of settings, from primary healthcare contexts to the general hospital and tertiary hospital contexts. Therefore, they need to be able to deliver services that are at times preventative and at other times remedial in nature, assessing and treating mental health disorders that range from mild to complex and severe with short- and long-term interventions, respectively. Clinical Psychologists understand mental illness from a biopsychosocial perspective and are concerned with delivering high-intensity interventions with a clear evidence base. They are also worried about the promotion of public mental health through less traditional roles such as providing support and training to primary mental health workers, and getting involved in advocacy initiatives, public information campaigns and policy work. Finally, clinical psychologists are well versed in research practises that are locally relevant and directly influence clinical psychology practice. The teaching of the clinical programme draws on a problem-based learning model, in other words, learning will largely take place around particular psychological disorders. In addition, the programme emphasises that professional identities are not isolated; your identity as a clinical psychologist will develop within the contexts in which you work, often unique to South Africa and Africa. Thus, the programme emphasises contextualising problem-based learning within a South African context drawing on local case examples to ensure that Clinical Psychologists remain responsive to the population of South Africa.

The Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 Clinical Psychology programme aims to train former psychology honours students to be competent, ethical, socially responsive, and scientifically guided clinical psychologists. 

The clinical psychology course coordinator is Dr Duane Booysen.

MA in Clinical Psychology Selections for 2025 has been completed.