UPEI psychologists will give students 'second level of support'
University psychologists will teach and practice on campus
The UPEI administration has decided to put provincial funding for student mental health toward hiring two clinical psychologists.
In addition to operating counselling services on campus, the psychologists will teach in the new Doctorate in Psychology (PsyD) program in psychology that's starting next fall.
"If we didn't have our clinical psychologists here then that student might be referred to a psychiatrist. The wait list for a psychiatrist, my understanding, is six months to a year," said Jackie Podger, vice-president of administration and finance at UPEI.
"At least now we are able to give a second level of support to the students that they wouldn't have gotten."
The province provided $100,000 in new funding after the UPEI Student Union lobbied for it last year.
The clinical psychologists will also oversee 10 students who will start in the program next fall. Their training will include doing student assessments in the P.E.I. public school system.
More P.E.I. news
With files from Laura Chapin
Corrections
- An earlier version of this story referred to the new program as a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy). In fact, it will be a PsyD program (Doctor of Psychology).Nov 05, 2018 2:48 PM AT