The Department of Psychology at NUS proudly celebrated 10 years of Masters in Psychology (Clinical) programmes at NUS U-Town on Friday 25th May 2018!
With national initiatives to promote mental health and well-being and to prevent and reduce mental illness in Singapore, clinical psychologists have a central role to play. To contribute to the training of clinical psychologists locally and to bring the clinical psychologists-population ratio in Singapore in line with other developed countries, the NUS and NUS-University of Melbourne joint postgraduate Masters in Psychology (Clinical) programmes was initiated in 2008, 10 years ago.
On the 25th May 2018, NUS President Prof. Tan Eng Chye, representatives from the FASS Dean’s Office, faculty from the department, FASS and other departments, alumni of the programmes and current students, and many clinical psychology supervisors and clinicians from the community gathered to mark the occasion.
We were honored with the presence of NUS President Prof. Tan Eng Chye (pictured above right, with Head of Department Associate Professor Sim Tick Ngee, pictured above left), who celebrated our 10th birthday with us.
Our Guest of Honor was Ms. Vivienne Ng, Chief Psychologist from the Office of the Chief Psychologist (OCP) at the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). Invited speakers included Ms. Karen Sik, Senior Principal Clinical Psychologist from the OCP at the MSF and Chair of the Singapore Psychological Society Register of Psychologists, and adjunct Associate Professor Long Foo Yee Fred, who is the second Singaporean to have been trained in clinical psychology! We also had lovely speeches from two of our alumni, Ms. Ivena Clarissa and Ms. Chermain Wong, who are now working in senior roles at the National University Hospital and the Institute of Mental Health, respectively.
During our 10 years, we have achieved many milestones. Most importantly, our programmes have graduated 111 qualified clinical psychologists to date! Our handbook “Clinical Psychology in Singapore”, showcasing local clinical psychology practice and edited by two of our faculty members, was also another significant achievement.
We have developed a strong in-house psychology training clinic that accepts referrals from other organizations and self-referrals from the public, and we have built strong links with hospital, community and other psychology settings, providing practicum placements to our interns – we thank all our partners and clinical supervisors for their continuing support.
It was wonderful to see so many of our alumni and to reconnect with both alumni and colleagues! More photos from the event can be viewed in the video below:
Happy 10th birthday, NUS Masters in Psychology (Clinical) programmes, and here is to another 10 successful years ahead!
From the time the first cohort graduated in 2010 to the present time in 2018, we have weathered many storms but what’s most heartening is to see many ex-students return to give back to the Clinical Psychology Programmes in NUS by supervising our interns. This is what makes the programmes special in my opinion and I’m proud to belong to a team of fiercely dedicated colleagues, past and present, to the programmes! 🙂
Ros