The number of Psychology Intern Hubs will rise from six to eight next year, with Northland and Dunedin gaining hubs for the first time, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey has announced.
The hubs give psychology interns supervised placements, peer support and exposure to a range of mental health and addiction services. The minister said the hubs would support up to 40 interns each year.
Existing hubs operate in Waikato, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, across specialist, primary and community services.
Securing supervised experience has been a bottleneck for students working toward registration as psychologists. The Government says the expansion is part of a wider plan to grow the psychology workforce.
The extra regional placements could also help services outside the main centres build capacity to train and retain new psychologists.
