Information Requirements for Associate  Membership

Applicants for Associate membership must hold the Postgraduate Diploma of Clinical Psychology or a Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree from a New Zealand University, or overseas equivalent.  

Please apply for NZCCP Associate membership here 

Other information required: When applying for Associate evidence must also be provided of:

• A copy of your Degrees or Diplomas, or other proof of qualifications. (Please see below for information for overseas applicants).
• NZ Registration as a psychologist, Clinical Vocational Scope of Practice - a current Annual Practising Certificate,
• current employment details and previous relevant employment details (C.V.),
• two references for membership by NZ Registered psychologists who have known the applicant for more than six months
• a signed declaration of the absence of professional complaints (included in the application form)
• supervision contract

Some flexibility regarding the requirement for references from NZ Registered psychologists is offered on a case-by-case basis for clinical psychologists who have recently arrived in the New Zealand. 

Supervision Requirements during Associate Membership:

All Associate Members must have NZCCP-approved supervision covering at least 12 months of clinical practice, and involving at least 20 contact sessions. The Board of Membership and Professional Standards (BOMPS) of the NZCCP must have approved the supervision arrangements before supervision begins. Supervision shall be based on a formal supervision contract between the Associate, the Supervisor, and the College. The Supervisor will furnish a brief report on the supervisee to the NZCCP written on the appropriate form, which will be taken into account when considering an application for Full membership. 

NZCCP–approved supervisors: The NZCCP BOMPS must approve supervisors as having the experience, skills and expertise to undertake supervision. Minimum requirements to be a supervisor of Associate Members for the College are:

1. They are a New Zealand registered Clinical Psychologist
2. They belong to a professional body (not necessarily the NZCCP)
3. They are in clinical supervision themselves
4. They have had training in clinical supervision 

The form of Supervision: The following are minimum requirements for supervision:

1. The supervision shall cover at least twenty one-hour sessions over a minimum period of one year.
2. The supervision must be undertaken on an individual basis.
3. At least one hour of supervision every two weeks for a psychologist in full time work is expected.
4. The Supervisor and Associate shall define the working format for supervision sessions at the outset of supervision, taking into account the needs and priorities of the Associate, and the skills and resources of the Supervisor. A copy of the written agreement must be forwarded to the Executive Director of the NZCCP.
5. It is primarily the responsibility of the Associate to obtain the necessary supervision to meet the requirements of the College for membership. The College will assist the Associate wherever possible, if difficulties arise in finding a suitable supervisor, or if difficulties were to occur between the supervisor and supervisee. 

The supervision contract: The NZCCP requires that a formal contract for supervision be made between the Associate and the Supervisor, to which the College is also a partner. The negotiation of a contract is an important initial step in setting up a supervisory relationship. Contracting can be a learning experience and a model: it emphasises each person’s commitment to the supervision process and gives a focus to the effective use of time. It can be re-negotiated and adapted appropriately as required. Formulating a contract is intended to make explicit a process, which has a number of functions:

1. Clarification of the purpose of supervision.
2. Clarification of the expectation and views of Associate and Supervisor, in terms of both content and process issues.
3. Clarification of the roles and tasks of the Associate and Supervisor within supervision and during the evaluation process.
4. Clarification of the relationship of the supervision to the formal requirements of the College.
5. Reinforcing acceptance of the application of the code of ethics in relation to the clinical work being supervised.
6. Establishment of a “working format” for sessions, including pre-session preparation, written material, amount of recording, use of audiotapes, one-way screen, videotape, details such as places, procedures for cancellations, conditions (e.g. uninterrupted time), procedures in relation to conflict and any payment involved. 

The College remains a party to the supervision arrangements, and the Associate must forward a copy of the supervision contract to the NZCCP office at the outset of the term of supervision for approval. A standard format has been developed to incorporate College requirements. It includes space to specify particular concerns or foci of interest to be dealt with in supervision. 

Professional Indemnity: Members of the College can purchase membership of the Medical Protection Society (MPS), which provides access to legal advice and representation in the event of a hearing. Even working for organisations such as District Health Boards or the Department of Corrections does not mean they will protect you in the event of malpractice complaints. You have enduring coverage for events that happened in the entire time you paid MPS fees so in the case of a retroactive complaint many years after your retirement, for instance, you will be entitled to representation. More information about MPS professional indemnity

To apply for membership with MPS please complete and email the Medical Protection Society (MPS) membership application form  to NZCCP at office@nzccp.co.nz for processing.

Overseas applicants: Overseas equivalence is determined on a case-by-case basis by the NZCCP Board of Membership and Professional Standards (BOMPS). For example, there is the requirement for equivalence in course material generally and also the requirement for the programme to include a substantial component of supervised clinical practice prior to the final examination (i.e. at least 1500 hours). A research component is also expected.  Receiving the Clinical Vocational Scope of Practice from the NZ Psychologists Registration Board is necessary but not sufficient for admission for membership with the NZCCP. In these cases sufficient course documentation must be provided to the BOMPS to enable it to establish equivalence with the training of New Zealand clinical psychology programmes. This includes but is not limited to provision of a copy of the academic transcript showing the courses taken. Please download and complete the NZCCP Qualifications Overseas form here and submit this with your application. 

In general, for qualifications that are clearly equivalent to New Zealand qualifications (such as UK qualifications leading to chartered status with the British Psychological Society, or American Psychological Association recognised courses in the USA) there is usually little difficulty establishing equivalence.