Rehabilitation psychology focuses on helping individuals adjust to life following physical illness or injury. The Postgraduate Diploma in Rehabilitation Psychology serves as a pathway towards registration as a psychologist in New Zealand.
Develop skills in working with people recovering from illness or injury, including spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, respiratory conditions, neuromuscular conditions, burns as well as sports-related or everyday muscular or orthopaedic injuries. You further your ability to communicate effectively and work within interdisciplinary healthcare teams, employers and the person’s family/whānau to optimise patient outcomes.
The Master of Health Science in Psychology is usually the prerequisite to the Postgraduate Diploma in Rehabilitation Psychology, which is the last component of tertiary study for eligibility to register with the New Zealand Psychologists' Board.
Start date: 2022
Must have completed the following or equivalent:
Students who successfully complete the Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) in Psychology, followed by the Master of Health Science in Psychology – Rehabilitation psychology may apply for enrolment in the Postgraduate Diploma in Rehabilitation Psychology.
Students will be selected following an interview process, subject to registration with the NZ Psychologists’ Board as an intern psychologist, and the securement of a suitable internship position (AUT has a number of internship providers, but students can also arrange their own).
International student entry requirements
Develop your skills in psychological assessment and intervention with a focus on facilitating return to employment, improve sleep quality, sexual functioning, address mood and behavioural issues and re-establishing a sense of self.
You can also develop specialist skills in applying psychological interventions for people experiencing reduced attention and ability to process new information, lack of insight and self-regulation (eg difficulty making decision and managing their own behaviour), which can be experienced as a result of illness/injury.
FAQs Rehabilitation Psychology
An internship is an integral part of the programme and is a full year of practice (four days a week working in a practice setting – the equivalent of 1,500 hours as required by the Psychologists’ Board) and one day a week on campus at AUT North Campus.
As well as being able to work as a registered psychologist, students can use the qualification to undertake careers as:
The information on this page was correct at time of publication. For a comprehensive overview of AUT qualifications, please refer to the Academic Calendar.