UWA PSYCH STUDENTS FIRST TO BE PLACED IN THE PILBARA

WA Centre for Rural Health Acting Director Associate Professor Rohan Rasiah with Phoebe Carrington-Jones (centre) and Megan Ansell (right).

For the first time, clinical psychology students have come to the Pilbara from the University of Western Australia for rural and remote placements. 

Provisionally-registered UWA psychology postgraduate students Megan Ansell and Phoebe Carrington-Jones are undergoing training in clinical psychology at Karratha Central Healthcare.

The pair are aiming to do more than get trained by providing short-term workshops and increasing the availability of psychological help in the Pilbara.

Ms Ansell said she encouraged more mental health graduates to consider working in the regions.

“We’ve seen that student placements in other fields of allied health, things like physio and pharmacy, have filled a gap in services in some areas, or increased the availability of health professionals, but we haven’t seen that in psychology,” she said.

“The hope is that this will be the first placement of many, and we can work out a system and a framework where it is viable and helpful for the community to have psych students placed up here a few times a year.”

Listen to the full interview below: