Psychology Clinic

A training clinic is a setting that offers psychological services to clients while also serving as a setting for trainees in professional practice in psychology to learn and develop their clinical skills, under the close supervision of experienced Registered Psychologists.

Services at our clinic are provided by Masters- and Doctoral-level graduate students from the UBC Okanagan Clinical Psychology program. Student clinicians are supervised in their work by Registered Psychologists, including the Clinic Director, Clinical Psychology Faculty and Adjunct Faculty. Supervisors do not meet with clients directly but provide close supervision of student clinicians through case discussion, review of video recordings of sessions, and review of written clinical documentation.

At this time, we are unable to accept referrals that include any of the following features:

• High suicidality or risk of violence
• Elevated levels of crisis requiring urgent intervention
• Involvement or likelihood of involvement in litigation of any kind
• Current mania
• Psychosis
• Child or Youth Assessment for the purpose of Autism Spectrum Diagnosis

Immediate availability of our services is not guaranteed and varies throughout the academic year. Our ability to provide services varies depending on course offerings, practicum student enrollment, and specific training needs. Following are estimates of our current wait times which are subject to variation. We try to update this information as often as required (status updated: November 2023).

Individual Therapy Services: 3-4 months.

Neuropsychological Assessment Services: 18+ months. Please note we are not currently accepting assessment referrals for adult Autism Spectrum Disorder. Please check back on this webpage for future updates regarding Autism referrals.

Youth Assessments: Not accepting referrals.

Problematic Substance Use:-  >1 month

Pain Intervention and Treatment: Not accepting referrals for individual therapy. Please inquire regarding potential group offerings throughout the year.

How can I send a referral?

We accept self-referrals, physician, or third-party referrals. Referrals can be made by faxing to 250-807-9675 or by email to ipc.ok@ubc.ca. All referrals are subject to review by our supervising psychologists to ensure they are a good match for our training clinic. If it is determined we are not able to provide services, we will recommend alternative resources.

An assessment appointment typically involves a client meeting with a clinician to complete a clinical interview and several evidence-based cognitive and/or emotional and personality tests.

The information gathered from the series of tests, as well as the clinical interview and review of any accompanying documentation, will inform the clinician(s) in providing a diagnosis (as may be applicable), and to also help identify appropriate treatment recommendations for the client.

Typically, there is an intake appointment, in which the clinician reviews the client’s history and reasons for seeking treatment. In addition, the client and his/her clinician establish treatment goals for what the client may aspire to achieve over the course of treatment/therapy, as well as a general timeline for reaching those goals.

Clinical psychology is the psychological specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive mental and behavioural health care for individuals and families; consultation to agencies and communities; training, education and supervision; and research-based practice. Clinical psychology encompasses all ages, multiple diversities and varied systems.

Source: American Psychological Association