Bridging psychology gap in Townsville
It’s no secret that Australia is currently in the grips of a mental health crisis.
As a result, many patients are having to wait more than 12 weeks to receive care, and according to the Australian Psychological Society one in three psychologists are unable to see new clients due to the heightened demand.
CQUniversity’s Townsville campus is doing its bit to help bridge that gap by producing psychology graduates that are ready to tackle the issue head-on.
Local lecturer Rebecca Wilcoxson has been at the forefront of ensuring Townsville had quality psychology graduates, having spent hundreds of hours working closely with her students to ensure that they were ready to hit the workforce the moment that they graduated.
“Students studying psychology at university in Australia report that they talk less to other students than any other students,” Dr Wilcoxson explained.
“As such, we risk training a whole new generation of psychologists who have been studying in isolation from other students. Here at the Townsville campus though, we are turning that around by building a supportive community of students who enjoying connecting with one another and learning from each other,” she said.
According to the Australian Healthcare Index 2023, the majority of people who require professional mental health support prefer to see a psychologist over a general practitioner (GP) or psychiatrist, however in order to do so, they’re waiting more than three months for the support.
The federal government has acknowledged the issue, delivering more than $800 million to mental health prevention in its most recent budget, with one of the deliverables being the establishment of 61 Medicare Mental Health Centres.
“The recent budget allocation will create more jobs for people trained in psychology meaning our students are likely to pick up jobs in the field relatively quickly after graduating,” Dr Wilcoxson said.
Recent graduate Kirsty-Lee Brown said that it was the face-to-face support that helped get her through the degree.
“Kirsty used to be in the Navy, and she used to come to tutorials as a student, now she (and another honours student, Josie) come to tutorials to help the new students - they provide invaluable help to the new students (as does Kirsty's Assistance dog Ryder),” Dr Wilcoxson said.
Kirsty-Lee said she decided to study at CQUniversity’s Townsville campus while discussing course options with some work colleagues and friends who were veterans and were studying at CQU at the time.
“Their positive experience with the university, lecturers and peers was exactly what I was looking for,” Kirsty-Lee explained.
“I attended weekly tutorials since the beginning of my undergraduate degree, allowing me to engage with peers who were either studying the same units or had previously completed them. This interaction facilitated the development of friendships and mutual support during challenging times,” she said.
“Attending the weekly tutorials enabled me to understand concepts more thoroughly by engaging in open discussions with other students. After completing my undergraduate degree, I continue to attend these tutorials to connect with new students who are at the beginning of their studies, share the knowledge I have acquired over the past three to four years and offer advice on concepts and assessments, drawing from my own experiences and insights gained from previous students and Dr Wilcoxson.”
Kirsty-Lee said Dr Wilcoxson's weekly tutorials had enriched the lives of every student who attended, by fostering a safe space to communicate, discuss different unit concepts in more depth to create a deeper level of understanding and form friendships with other students.
“These tutorials are a perfect complement to online learning.”
First-year student Nikita Crosswell, 35, agreed, saying the support of the Townsville campus was what had kept her travelling from Ayr each week to attend lectures and tutorials.
“I chose to study at CQU due to the campus size and the readily available staff who could assist me in my learning journey,” Nikita explained.
“I travel to Townsville three times a week to attend lectures, tutorials, and utilise on-campus facilities such as the academic learning centre and library. During the exam period, I attended campus daily studying until midnight some nights with another student.”
In addition to studying, Nikita also plays the role of partner and mother and is the first in her family to attend university.
“University has been a way for me to connect with others. During group work assessment it’s allowed me to connect with my colleagues in person and as a result, we achieved a high distinction for our group work. Connecting with others in my cohort has been such a pleasure and enriched my experience, as a family can support you to a point however nobody understands the stress or demands of assessments and exams like another student,” she said.
“One of the first things my wonderful lecturer, Dr Rebecca Wilcoxson, discussed with us was that those who show up, engage and earn their discipline, graduate. By creating and practising discipline, I could see how the university would shape me into the professional and graduate that I aspire to become.”
The student’s successes speak for themselves.
“The end-of-term grades for our Townsville-based group of first year students who just completed their very first unit of study – Foundations of Psychology 1 – were nothing short of fantastic,” Dr Wilcoxson said.
“Nikita received the highest grade for her written assessment in the cohort, and one of our other tutorial students who came to the university experience for high school students last year, Luca Meldrum, got the overall second-highest grade in the first-year class,” she said.
“Another student, Gabrielle Hooper, came fifth in the class and another student, Adrian Ross, came sixth. To put it into context, this first year cohort had over 200 students from around Australia enrolled, yet our little group sat at the top of the class.
“This has occurred every year since the face-to-face tutorials began in Townsville over eight years ago. Our little tutorial groups always do really well, and they usually end up supporting each other throughout their whole degree.”
CQUniversity will be hosting a psychology webinar next month. For more information visit Psychology Open Day webinar.
To enrol in the course, head to Bachelor of Psychological Science.
