UWA Handbook 2026

Unit Overview

Description

Students complete a placement at an agency providing psychological assessment and/or treatment. Students are able to apply evidence-based assessment, diagnosis, case formulation, intervention, and evaluation skills for clients with diverse backgrounds (e.g. age and/or culture). Implement professional practice policies and procedures specific to the placement including culturally-responsive written and oral communication with clients and colleagues regarding findings and progress as well as maintain effective and respectful professional interactions with colleagues, peers, and supervisors, consulting when appropriate. Students meet the core competencies as judged by the placement supervisor and the unit coordinator. PSYC5589 is the second external placement unit in the clinical neuropsychology program. After completion of all components of their first internal placement, students consult with the external placement coordinator to select an external placement site that meets their training needs and goals (usually one adult and paediatric-focused placement). Please consult the placement guide and the external preference forms on the LMS organisation Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology Placements.

Credit

12 points

Offering

Availability	Location	Mode	First year of offer
Not available in 2026	UWA (Perth)	On-campus

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) apply evidence-informed, scientific, and culturally responsive methods to conduct comprehensive neuropsychological assessment and case formulation—integrating information from interviews, risk assessments, prior records, behavioural observations, collateral and functional data, and psychometrically sound testing (including symptom validity measures)—to make accurate diagnoses and guide appropriate intervention and risk-management decisions for clients from diverse backgrounds (e.g., age, culture, gender, neurodiversity, etc); (2) apply knowledge of neuroanatomy, neuropathology and disease processes, brain-behaviour relationships, theories of cognitive neuroscience, and psychopharmacology to neuropsychological practice; (3) implement setting-specific professional practice policies and procedures including professional and socio-culturally responsive written and oral communication with clients and colleagues regarding findings and recommendations; (4) demonstrate effective and respectful professional interactions with colleagues, peers, and supervisors; consulting with supervisors and other professionals when appropriate; and (5) engage in self-reflective practice and responsiveness to feedback, maintaining professional and ethical conduct and decision making, including working within the boundaries of one's competence.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) placement documents (summary of placement hours, placement reports) and (2) placement portfolio (logbook and casebook reports signed by supervisor). Further information is available in the unit outline.

To pass this unit, a student must: (a) achieve an overall mark of 50 per cent or higher for the unit; and (b) achieve the requisite requirements(s) or a mark of 50 per cent or greater, whichever is higher and specified in the unit outline, for the placement documents (summary of placement hours, placement reports) and placement portfolio (logbook and casebook reports signed by supervisor) components.

This unit is assessed on an ungraded pass/ungraded failed basis. All assessment items must be successfully completed.

Supplementary assessment is not available in this unit.

Unit Coordinator(s)

Associate Professor Michael Weinborn

Unit rules

Prerequisites

Enrolment in

70560 Master of Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology)

and Successful completion of

PSYC5588 External Placement I

Contact hours

300-400 hrs placement