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- Australian Psychologist Search
This site aims to help you find an Australian psychologist near you who has the expertise to help you with the particular problems for which you are seeking help. Unlike many other such therapy or psychologist directory sites, which list counsellors, therapists, social workers or generalist psychologists, this site only lists Clinical Psychologists (and Psychologists who are Clinical Psychology Registrars*). The reason for this is that generalist psychologists and counsellors often have not received the training and expert supervised experience in assessment, diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems that Clinical Psychologists have received. As a consequence Clinical Psychologists are often better equipped to assess, and provide psychological therapy for, a range of psychological difficulties such as anxiety disorders, depression, and many other mental health issues.
You are also eligible for higher Medicare rebates if you consult a Clinical Psychologist as compared with rebates available for consultations with generalist psychologists, social workers, and occupational therapists. See the Medicare Rebates page for further details.
Clinical Psychologists have typically completed 6 or 7 years of full-time University training which includes training in a range of psychological problems, as well as specialist supervised training placements in hospitals, mental health treatment facilities etc. Most then subsequently undertake a further one to two years of specialist supervised work experience in Clinical Psychology.** Many generalist psychologists have completed only 4 years of University training which has often included no significant training in assessment and treatment of psychological disorders and usually include no supervised placements. The two years of supervision that they receive after completing their University training is also often not provided by a clinical specialist but rather another generalist psychologist.
While some generalist psychologists have subsequently undertaken a lot of additional training and supervision and have become excellent assessors or therapists in one area or multiple areas of psychological practice, nonetheless the skills, training, supervision, experience, and breadth of expertise varies greatly from psychologist to psychologist. For this reason we have chosen only to list Clinical Psychologists (or Psychologists who are Clinical Psychology Registrars*) on this site as in most cases this ensures you are consulting someone with high levels of skill, high standards of training, and experience in assessing and providing effective therapies for a broad range of psychological problems.
* Clinical Psychology Registrars are fully registered psychologists who have completed their 6 or 7 years of University training and supervised placements described above (including a Masters or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology), but are in their first year after graduation in which they receive additional supervision while they are employed in a Clinical Psychologist position.
** Also included on this site are some Clinical Psychologists without an APAC Clinical Doctorate or Masters (often because these courses were not available at the time they trained) but who are demmed to have equivalent competencies such as those who were accredited as having the skills and competencies of a Clinical Psychologist by the APS College of Clinical Psychologists prior to November 2006.
