Psychology Department
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About Psychology Department
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About usDownload Staff Orientation Kit (PDF 1.8MB)
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About Us
The Psychology Department is a service within the Mental Health Service of the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) and is staffed by Clinical Psychologists and Neuropsychologists. The department offers specific clinical psychology and neuorpsychology services to referrers in the hospital and in the community, in addition to providing services within multidisciplinary settings such as the Mental Health Service, the Gatehouse Centre, Uncle Bob's Child Development Centre, School Function Program in the Centre for Community Child Health, the Developmental Assessment Centre in the Centre for Child Development and Rehabilitation. The department also has links to adolescent and forensic services programs. Clinical Psychologists and Neuropsychologists are trained to comprehensively assess children's cognitive functioning within a developmental framework. Neuropsychologists are skilled in the assessment and understanding of the effects of brain function on the child's cognitive, behavioural and emotional states.
Clinical Psychologists specialise in the assessment and understanding of the interaction between cognitive, developmental, psycho-social and environmental factors on normal and psychopathological functioning in children, parents and families. They are also trained in making diagnoses and in a variety of therapeutic techniques.
What do we offer?
- Developmental, behavioural, and psychosocial assessment, to provide an understanding of the presenting problems and their origins
- Standardised, comprehensive cognitive, neuropsychological, and educational achievement tests which evaluate intellectual and learning ability;
- Diagnostic assessment involving structured interviews and/or rating scales, and/or projective tests in cases where this is relevant to the child's presentation;
- Short term interventions based on a range of treatment models and techniques including cognitive behaviour therapy, individual psychotherapy, family therapy, pain management, parenting skills, group therapy;
- Secondary and tertiary consultation and liaison to professionals within the hospital regarding psychological problems related to children, parents and families;
- Group therapy programmes from time to time.