The Psychology Centre

Our Goals 

The Psychology Centre is part of the Clinical Psychology Training Programme at UC. The Centre's goals are:

• To provide a high quality psychological service to our clients
• To provide a high standard of teaching to the Clinical Psychology students who train within the Centre
• To be fully committed to bicultural practice and offer Te Ao Māori models of health

Meeting the needs of students and clients

As a training centre we strive to involve Clinical Psychology students in assessment and treatment in ways that meet the needs of both the student and client. Before working in the Centre students have already completed four years of University study in Psychology and are in the process of completing three years of advanced training in Clinical Psychology. The students are closely supervised in their training by experienced Clinical Psychologists.

The Centre has some capacity to provide a service to clients who do not wish to have a student involved.

Our commitment

We want to provide our clients with a high level of service, so if you see us we will work hard to:

• Work with you to understand your difficulties in a respectful manner
• Provide honest feedback and advice
• Respect your privacy according to our ethical and legal obligations
• Practice in an ethical fashion according to the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights Regulations, and the Code of Ethics for Psychologists Working in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Therapy

We offer cognitive behaviour therapy for a range of difficulties including:

• Depression
• Stress management
• Adjustment to work and life changes
• Relationship problems
• Anxiety management
• Relationship and communication problems
• Grief and loss
• Anger management
• Sexual difficulties

We offer individual sessions initially. Following a review of progress we may also refer onto other specialist mental health services or community support services.

At this time we are only accepting referals for the private clinic. 

No Self Refferals for Student Clinics will be accepted at this time. 

This 2-day workshop on 6th & 7th November 2024, is for all psychologists and registered talking therapists who work with transgender and non-binary people.

Objectives of this workshop:

• Learn relevant aspects of the historical and current contexts of the trans experience
• Learn current best practice principles and how to integrate these into your practice
• Practice affirming therapeutic interventions
• Plan to implement a cultural safety framework for gender affirming psychological practice
• Learn how to implement informed consent in supporting folks and writing letters for accessing gender affirming care

Workshop Facilitator:

Dr Em Edwards (they/them/ia) is a registered Clinical Psychologist in Tāmaki Makaurau. They are a trans, non-binary, and queer Pākehā from California and the UK. Since completing their DClinPsy at the University of Auckland, they worked in adult community mental health and inpatient mental health services, and currently work at Auckland Sexual Health Service and private practice, predominantly with trans and non-binary folks.

For further information or if you have any questions, please contact: psychclinic@canterbury.ac.nz

To register, click here. 

Does your child struggle with anxiety or stress? Would you like to support them to learn skills to enhance their wellbeing?

• The Psychology Centre offers Pause Breathe Smile(PBS), a group for children (age 8-11 years) who struggle with stress and anxiety and their parents to develop skills of mindfulness.  PBS is an evidence-based program, developed by the Mental Health Foundation, found to improved focus and attention, enhance self-awareness and reduced stress.
• To hear kids talking about PBS watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awo8jUxIm0c
• For more information about the research and benefits of PBS look at http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1707/S00094/pause-breathe-smile-mindfulness-training-will-help.htm
• For more information or to enquire about our next course, please email us. 

• The Psychology Centre offers an 8-week group course aimed at teaching skills and offering support to build self-compassion and self-esteem, in doing so, reducing self-criticism.
• Research has found that Self-Compassion focused therapy is effective in managing stress and anxiety, regulating moods and improving overall mental well-being.
• This course is also a research project looking at the effects of self-compassion on wellbeing. Participation in this research is voluntary. 
• This research project has been reviewed and approved by the University of Canterbury Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC 2023/128).
• For more information Contact: Psychology Clinic Mailbox:  psychclinic@canterbury.ac.nz