| Monash home | About Monash | Faculties | Campuses | Contact Monash |
| Staff directory | A-Z index | Site map |
| Monash home | About Monash | Faculties | Campuses | Contact Monash |
| Staff directory | A-Z index | Site map |
Practicum Placement Program for StudentsMonash University Counselling Service, Clayton Campus, offers practicum placements for advanced postgraduate psychology students. These placements are suitable for students enrolled in a Counselling Psychology course or Clinical Psychology courses requiring placement in a non-clinical setting. The Counselling Service is part of the Health, Wellbeing and Development (HWD) Directorate and we work in close liaison with other HWD services, including Health, Careers and Employment, International Student Support, Occupational Health, Safety and Environment, Family and Child Care, Student Financial Aid and Off Campus Housing. We have eleven registered psychologists and a social worker on staff with a range of specialised training, including psychodynamic therapy and CBT, Solution Focussed Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), mediation, cross-cultural adjustment and relationship counselling. Students accepted for placement will receive the following training opportunities:
Professional development includes:
Our clients are predominantly students but we also see academic and general staff and offer consultancy to Monash faculties, schools and work units. Clients present with a variety of issues ranging from study and academic progress problems to personal issues related to anxiety, depression and more severe psychiatric conditions. We are often asked to do presentations for the larger University community during Orientation, Survival and Mental Health Weeks and other key periods in the University calendar. Applicants should be enrolled at Masters Level, have completed one other placement and be available 9am to 5pm, two days a week for 12 weeks minimum. There may also be occasional participation in programs conducted after hours. Applicants who meet the specified requirements will be offered an interview by potential supervisors. For further enquiries please contact John Waters, Counselling Coordinator, on phone 9905 3156. A Day in the Life of a Monash CounsellorA typical day involves planned activities as well as a preparedness to respond to unscheduled demands such as providing advice or managing an emergency. Our day starts at 9am with the Daily Briefing. It’s a time when the whole counselling team gets together to talk about the day ahead. This discussion may include briefings on clients in crisis, administrative and workflow issues or coming events that need to be planned by team members. By 9.30am the Reception Staff are letting us know our first client for the day has arrived. Most of us have 3 clients booked in for the morning session while one counsellor is on Drop In duty from 11am til 1pm. “Drop In” is the intake system for our service and the counsellors may see four or more new clients during each two hour session. These sessions allow us to make a brief assessment and decide where to direct the client. We often alternate our lunchtimes so that one or more of the counsellors have lunch at 12 noon because they are running group programs like SMART or Meditation at 1 pm, which is lunch time for the majority of students at Monash. On Wednesday mornings the routine varies as we have several activities that alternate on a fortnightly basis. We may come together to discuss clients in the Red Book which is our “at risk” register. We also have journal presentations, peer group supervision and staff meetings. The Red Book is a register of clients which keeps the group aware of those clients who are in crisis. We rotate journal presentations so that we each present a journal or topic of interest to the group for discussion. Journal topics this year have dealt with suicide research, integral psychology, law students, ACT therapy and suicide and culture. Every other Wednesday we have peer group supervision, a professional development process which provides a reflective space in which two staff act as consultant and counsellor and discuss a case the counsellor would like some feedback on. The other counsellors take up the role of observers and don’t engage in the conversation, but give feedback afterwards about what they heard in the discussion between consultant and counsellor. The process elicits some useful insights for the presenting counsellor as they listen to the observations and thoughts of the observing team. In staff meetings we discuss coming events and presentations, group program development and our relationship with the larger University. It is also a time to hear about the activities of the other services within HWD. In the afternoons we see two clients and Project Development time is put aside at 4pm each day, allowing us to complete client cards and have meetings with colleagues about projects and process the day’s events. Supervisor ProfilesLesley Freeman Lesley has a Doctorate in Psychology and is a registered psychologist. She has recently completed specialist training in Mental Health First Aid and delivers MHFA programs to university staff and the wider community. Lesley has also had specialist training in trauma and crisis management, life coaching and supervision. Lesley takes an eclectic approach in her supervision of trainees. Anthony Lester Anthony has worked in the Counselling Service for 5 years and has a Masters in Counselling Psychology. He is also a registered psychologist and in his previous employment at the Centre for Developmental Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash Medical Centre, had extensive training and experience in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for depression and anxiety. His other professional experiences have included a psychiatric inpatient setting. Anthony’s interest areas are anxiety disorders, particularly social anxiety, critical incident stress, depression, motivation and performance and he uses a CBT orientation in his supervision of trainees. John Waters John is Counselling Coordinator on the Clayton campus and he is a Registered Psychologist and Member of the Counselling College of the APS. John has undertaken specialist training in analytic psychotherapy, supervision, CISM, cross-cultural counselling, coaching, mediation, stress management, meditation and clinical hypnosis. His therapeutic interests cover the spectrum of presentations and include working with anxiety and depressive disorders, self-esteem and identity issues, motivation and coaching, relationship counselling, spiritual growth and critical incident debriefing. John offers general supervision as well as supervision in psychodynamic therapy. Nicola Williams Nicola has a Masters in Counselling Psychology and is a registered psychologist. In her previous role at Monash Medical Centre she worked on several clinical research programs, including youth depression, trauma, anxiety, psychosis and school refusal. She has presented on these topics at numerous conferences, both locally and internationally. Nicola has developed specialised skills in the treatment of anxiety and depression, self-esteem, stress management, mindfulness practice, women’s health and disordered eating and body image issues. She works with individuals, families and groups and has conducted skill based CBT intervention group programs for both depression and anxiety. Her supervision focus utilises CBT principles as well as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Mindfulness practice. Jimmy Yeow Jimmy Yeow is a registered Social Worker with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). He possesses qualifications in social work, counselling, family therapy, training and community development. He has several years of experience both in Singapore and Australia, working with international students and young people in community and clinical settings. In his role as International Student Outreach Counsellor at Monash, Clayton he runs mentoring and cultural competency programs for students and staff, organises cross cultural social events like the very popular Global Friendship Night and offers expert advice to staff dealing with international student issues. Jimmy’s supervisory interests are in the area of couple/family therapy and cross cultural counselling. |