Benchmark Psychology is pleased to announce that we will shortly be taking on an intern psychologist.
What is an Intern Psychologist ?
An intern psychologist is someone who has completed their undergraduate psychology degree, and achieved an academically high enough standard to be selected for the intensely competitive honours year. They have then completed their honours to a high enough standard to be selected into the even more competitive masters program. Of the several hundred or so students who start a psychology degree, only around a dozen will be chosen for masters training.
At the start of the masters program, a psychology intern is given “provisional registration” by the Psychology Board of Australia, which allows them to complete the hands on part of their training whilst receiving intensive supervision from a senior psychologist. After the first year of training in a university clinic, the intern is then expected to find a placement in the broader community to complete their training. In this case, our intern Jaimee Bishop has been working with us at Benchmark as a receptionist for almost a year, so we are already able to attest to her warm nature, work ethic, and professionalism.
This means, that Jaimee will be completing the final year of her provisional registration before seeking to be fully registered next year. Not being fully registered means that she will not be eligible to bill under medicare. Benchmark Psychology therefore plans to charge a nominal fee ($20.00 per session) to ensure that her clients are able to afford her services.
Why would I choose to see an intern ?
1. Many people are not eligible to see a psychologist under medicare. Maybe you have used all of your sessions for the calendar year, or maybe you do not have a diagnosable mental health condition, or maybe you would like some assessment done. There are a range of reasons that some people may not receive medicare rebates, and for these people an intern is a cost effective solution
2. Equivalence of outcomes. The research shows that typically psychology interns are just as effective as a fully trained psychologist. The only difference appears to be that recovery can take slightly longer with a trainee.
3. Cutting edge thinking. Whilst all psychologists must undertake mandatory professional education on a yearly basis (and psychologist at Benchmark typically do at least double the amount required), an intern will have come directly from university and will be as up to date as it is possible to be with new approaches to assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.
Jaimee has a particular interest in treating children, adolescents and young adults, and she is highly skilled in educational assessment.
If you would like to take up this opportunity, please contact us to register your interest. Due to the nature of her placement she will only be able to see approximately 20 clients. We expect that she will be starting in late July.
