Psychological Resources
What do psychologists do? According to the Australian Psychological Society (APS) the work psychologists do is incredibly varied and the list is endless. You might find psychologists helping to formulate a campaign to influence Australians to give up smoking, designing a new test to detect mental health issues early, or developing an app to help people beat anxiety. In fact, wherever there are people, a psychologist can usually bring their expertise to that outcomes are improved.
Broadly speaking, most psychologists provide assessment and therapy to clients, help facilitate organisational or social change, conduct psychological research, or administer psychological tests to individuals or groups.
More than 60% of Australia's psychologists are psychologists with general registration. All psychologists must be registered with the Psychology Board of Australia, meeting high standards in education, training, supervised practice, ethical and professional standards, and ongoing professional development.
Psychologists with general registration have a minimum of six years of university training and supervised experience, and build on that every year with ongoing education to keep their skills and knowledge up to date. They are often experts with supplementary skills, experience and training in other areas applying their skills in psychology within a broad range of professional settings.
Psychologists with general registration can work in any number of settings and assess, diagnose and treat a wide range of clients and areas of concern. They use evidence-based psychological approaches customised to suit each individual, setting, issue or challenge. They are often called upon to conduct psychological assessments and write reports for individuals, education and forensic settings, health and government departments. Where appropriate, Medicare rebates are available via mental health plan referrals.
Psychologists with general registration apply their skills, knowledge and experience in psychology across a range of areas including:
Mental health and wellbeing
Education and training
Population health
Drug and alcohol
Justice and corrections
Public policy
Corporate and commercial
Marketing and communication
Emerging technology and design
Psychologists utilize a vast number of resources and this month we at the Collective are sharing a selection of our resources with you. As a psychologist with general registration, I use a wide range of resources in my day-to-day practice and (you guessed it), many of those resources are available online. I am always on the look-out for resources and tools that may be helpful for my clients and I have listed a few of my favourites which may be of interest to you:
ParentWorks is a free online program for Australian parents and caregivers of children aged 2-16 years. Developed by the University of Sydney, it provides evidence-based parenting strategies to improve parenting skills, confidence and child behaviour. The strategies in the program have been tested and found to work. For more information visit https://parentworks.org.au/#/
Psychology Tools has evidence-based psychology tools for mental health professionals and people interested in self-help. Resources include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy worksheets, Handouts, eBooks and Guides, Exercises and Audio Resources. For more information visit https://www.psychologytools.com/
Centre for Clinical Interventions provide free online resources to help people overcome mental health issues and offer a range of information packages and self-help resources which include worksheets and information sheets. For more information visit
https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/
The Black Dog Institute offers facts sheets, education and training. There are self-help tools and apps such as myCompass and Bite Back for youth aged 13 – 16 years which are free interactive programs. The videos about depression are outstanding. For more information visit
https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/
Beyond Blue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live. There is an online anxiety and depression check list (K10) which is quick and easy to complete. For more information visit
https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/
Talk soon. Talk often. This is a guide for parents talking to their kids about sex developed by the Government of Western Australia Department of Health. The pdf is available free to download at
https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/~/media/Files/HealthyWA/Original/Sexual-health/TSTO_V2.pdf
Charmed and Dangerous is a Woman’s Guide to Reclaiming a Health Relationship and was developed for women by women. This excellent booklet is the initiative of The Tweed Shire Women’s Services Inc. The pdf is available free to download at
https://womenscentre.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Charmed-and-Dangerous.pdf