Professional practice

October 2013 | Dr Rebecca Mathews

Psychologists have generally been mindful of the important role of continuing professional development (CPD) to stay up to date with new developments in the field and maintain current skills. With the establishment of the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA), CPD requirements have been...

October 2013 | Chris Gibbs

The Mental Health Professionals’ Network (MHPN) was established by the Federal Government to improve delivery of coordinated and collaborative mental health care, particularly in the context of the Better Access initiative. MHPN achieves this goal by establishing and supporting...

August 2013 | Professor Greg Murray

Publication of the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is a significant event in Australian psychology. While some psychologists may be ambivalent about DSM because of its biomedical connotations, DSM’s...

August 2013 | Professor Cheryl Dissanayake and Dr Giacomo Vivanti

The case of autism is emblematic of the provisional nature of diagnostic classifications. Initially classified under the label of ‘childhood schizophrenia’ in the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I; American Psychiatric Association, 1952)...

August 2013

Psychologists who provide services in schools have to manage a wide range of ethical, legal and professional obligations. These are made more complex due to the age of the recipients of services and the staff duty of care to act in loco parentis – literally ‘in the place of the...

August 2013

Psychologists prepare reports for a range of purposes and client groups, including for making a diagnosis, reporting outcomes of treatment, in response to medico-legal requests, for organisational planning and for disability funding. Recipients of psychological reports include individuals...

August 2013

There has been some debate following the advice in the February 2013 InPsych ‘Q & A’ article on psychological tests and testing in relation to using new versions of psychological tests as soon as they become available. The advice given was that when updated versions of tests...

June 2013

The much anticipated fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was finally published in May 2013 following a long process of development and significant controversy over draft versions. The DSM is the guidebook developed by the American Psychiatric...

June 2013 | Dr Rebecca Mathews

In many ways psychology is a very ‘private’ profession, given the sensitive and confidential nature of most psychological practice, and psychologists are often reluctant to promote themselves and what they have to offer. However, for those that choose to set up an independent practice...