36 paid psychology internship placements on offer across Western NSW

Marathon Health’s commitment to growing a sustainable mental health workforce for rural NSW has been further enhanced thanks to a program which will support 36 psychology interns to start their careers in the region.

With the need for mental health services in regional areas on the rise, Marathon Health is breaking down workforce barriers with CoreConnectPlus – a program which provides new psychology graduates with the supervision and professional development to support them to become registered to deliver essential mental health services in our community.

The program has received funding as part of the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy by the Australian Government’s Department of Health and Aged Care’s Supporting Provisional Psychologists to Practice Grant – which aims to fast track workforce expansion in the mental health sector, so that Australians can access a psychologist when they need.

The funding has paved the way for Marathon Health and its partners, Health In Mind Orange and Wholechild Specialists, to offer 36 additional psychology internship placements in Western NSW, helping to remove bottlenecks in the psychology training pipeline and to help ensure that provisional psychologists can thrive in regional placements.

Marathon Health’s Practice Lead – Mental Health Workforce Development, Zora Todoroska said “Our healthcare workforce needs to grow considerably to support the needs of our regional communities into the future, and we know that employer-led, innovative programs like our CoreConnectPlus program can help to meet this need”.

Ms Todoroska said this is an exciting opportunity for Marathon Health to expand on its organisational commitment to develop a quality workforce that delivers services and supports to people in rural and remote communities – helping to give country Australians access to the healthcare they need, closer to home.

“Through partnering with Health In Mind Orange and Wholechild Specialists, this program provides fantastic upskilling opportunities across a range of organisations that share psychological practice, supervision and training.

“It offers varied and meaningful work, clinical supervision and professional development that will allow interns to meet their core competencies for accreditation in a supportive environment,” Ms Todoroska said.

This funding will help the organisation build on the previous success of the CoreConnect pilot program, shared by Marathon Health, Health In Mind Orange and Wholechild Specialists and supported by Western NSW LHD, through expanding the program to offer the 36 additional opportunities within these host organisations and others across Western NSW.

Marathon Health values diversity and inclusion – and encourages any recent psychology graduates interested in this opportunity to apply, whether you are First Nations, from a culturally diverse background, live regionally or are in a metro area looking for a change.