Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Clinical Psychology

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Clinical Psychology

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Clinical Psychology

MAGISTER ARTIUM IN CLINICAL (60100) AND COUNSELLING (60200) PSYCHOLOGY

Candidates shall be admitted to the degree only if they have obtained an Honours degree in Psychology or equivalent 4th year BPsych degree at a level considered satisfactory by the Department of Psychology.  All candidates are subject to selection and the programme shall extend over a minimum of two academic years of full-time study. 

• Applications Open: April
• Applications Close: June – please see NMMU online applications.
• Shortlisting:July
• Interviews: August
  (These students will be notified via email after short listing)
• Final Selections:  August

PLEASE ENSURE ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS AND LINKS ARE COMPLETED FOR A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION.

The degree shall be obtained on completion of all theoretical modules, practical work, thesis and the internship.  Practical work amounts to 20 hours per week in the first year of study and is prescribed by the Professional Board for Psychology.  Candidates shall be admitted to the internship in the second year of study after successful completion of theoretical modules and research.   Internship training shall extend over a period of not less than 12 months and must be undertaken at an institution accredited for this purpose by the Health Professions Council of South Africa.  The University Clinic in collaboration with the Elizabeth Donkin Hospital is accredited for the training of Clinical and Counselling Psychology Interns.

MASTERS IN COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY

First year modules:

• Psychopathology of adulthood and ageing
• Assessement of children and adolescents
• Individual psychological intervention A
• Individual psychological intervention B
• Individual psychological intervention C
• Individual psychological intervention D
• Child neuropsychology
• Professional issues in psychology
• Child and adolescent development
• Psychopathology of childhood and adolescence
• Assessment of adults
• Group psychological intervention A
• Group psychological intervention B
• Couple counselling
• Integrative models of individual and group psychological intervention
• Adult neuropsychology
• Sport, exercise and health psychology
• Research planning and presentation
• Treatise

Research:

Each Masters student is expected to undertake an individual research project. This project forms the basis of a treatise which must be submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Magister Degree. In order to assist students to complete their research projects successfully in the minimum period of time, expert guidance concerning methodology, quantitative or qualitative analysis and research report writing is offered by staff members, especially by those registered as research psychologists.

THE FOLLOWING ARE CURRENTLY THE MAIN AREAS OF RESEARCH FOCUS IN THE DEPARTMENT, NAMELY:

• Systems research (family & marital; social psychology; ecosystemic)
• Standardization and Development of Psychological Tests
• Lifespan Career Development
• Clinical Health Psychology
• Psychobiographical Research
• The Griffiths Scales of Mental Development
• MMPI-2
• Developmental Psychology
• Neuro Psychology
• Cultural and Cross Cultural Psychology

Second year:

• Internship

The internships for students in each registration category (clinical and counselling) is individually tailored to allow the student the opportunity of getting the most out of the internship experience. During the internship in clinical psychology, the student will have the experience of working at Uclin, the Elizabeth Donkin Hospital (a psychiatric hospital), the Provincial Hospital, Livingstone Hospital, and various Mental Health clinics in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage. Students in counselling psychology do their internship at Uclin, the NMMU Student Counselling Centre, the Missionvale Psychology Centre, and Life Health Care.

Professional Board Requirements:

Timing of Internship:

The internship must commence within two years of completing the first year of a directed Master’s degree.

Community Service:

The Minister of Health has implemented 12 months Community service for clinical psychologists as from 1 January 2004.

National Examination:

As from 1 January 2002 any person who enrolled at a University for a Masters degree in psychology will be required to pass the Board’s National Examination prior to registration as psychologists.  Candidates are required to obtain a minimum of 70% in the examination and sub-minimum of 70% to the question on ethics.  This examination will be conducted in February, June and October of each year.

Those persons required to do community service, will be permitted to either write the examination prior to commencement with community service, or after successful completion of the 12 month’s community service, but prior to their registration for independent practice.

For more information on the above, please contact the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), Professional Board for Psychology, at (012) 338-9300 / (012) 338-9300 or visit their website at www.hpcsa.co.za 

MAGISTER ARTIUM (PSYCHOLOGY) (60102) (MA)

Candidates shall be admitted for this degree only if they have obtained an Honours or equivalent degree in Psychology, of which the course content and the candidate’s level of achievement are considered satisfactory by the Department of Psychology.  All candidates are subject to selection.  This degree consists only of research and shall extend over a minimum of one academic year.  Please see our Research page for a list of registered topics.

Note: This degree does not lead to professional registration with the Professional Board for Psychology.

The following two programmes are currently inactive and will only be offered when student numbers are adequate:

• MAGISTER EDUCATIONIS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY (60400) (MEd(EdPsych)
• MAGISTER ARTIUM (PSYCHOLOGY) (ACADEMIC/RESEARCH) (COURSEWORK) (60101)

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

All students with International qualifications need to apply via our International Education Office.

Tel: +27 41 504-2161 / +27 41 504-2161 or natasha.september@nmmu.ac.za