Valuable introduction to psychological practice

Psychology students who set out to enter the world of psychotherapeutic professional practice often face a major challenge: How do I get started in a psychotherapeutic practice? How do I prepare for the complex demands of the psychotherapeutic profession? How do I manage the transfer between theory and practice and how do I know which form is the right one, which documentation is required by the health insurance companies?For psychology students at RPTU Landau, there is a very special opportunity that facilitates this entry: the university's own psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic for children and adolescents. Here, students can put what they have learned into practice under professional guidance.

Inken Wengst, a master's student in “General Psychology,” has already gained valuable experience at the university's outpatient clinic. Not only did she do an internship there, but she has also been working as a student assistant (HiWi) in the administrative area since April 2024.

The outpatient clinic is the official training clinic of the RPTU Landau. This means that students have the opportunity to work and learn in the outpatient clinic not only as part of an internship, but also throughout their entire training. “The outpatient clinic is a place where you can receive practical training with good supervision,” says the student, who came to Landau from northern Germany to study psychology and appreciates the advantages of a smaller university with very good supervision.

An internship with added value

“I already completed my three-month mandatory internship for my master's degree at the outpatient clinic,” says the 23-year-old. ‘It was very motivating for me to finally be able to apply what I had learned in theory in practice.’ In addition, the outpatient clinic is always up to date with the latest scientific findings and the resulting new possibilities for psychotherapy thanks to its affiliation with the university. It offers training at a high therapeutic and scientific level to prospective psychotherapists and psychology students at the RPTU.

The Landau outpatient clinic has, among other things, specialized in a specific area of therapeutic diagnostics – autism spectrum disorders. Wengst was particularly interested in this specialization, especially because it is a topic area in which science is currently making great strides. In addition, the latest scientific findings are directly implemented in the Landau psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic. This specialization offers a unique opportunity for psychotherapists in training to deal with such a specific and complex topic area.

In addition to working with patients and the therapeutic team, administrative tasks were also part of the internship: creating patient files, organizing the therapy processes and ensuring the correct documentation were among her tasks. “I learned how much space bureaucracy takes up in therapeutic work. From my perspective, this makes it an important field. During my studies, this area tends to play a subordinate role.”

A flexible working environment with plenty of responsibility

After completing her internship, Wengst was employed as a student assistant at the outpatient clinic. The clinic offers flexible working hours and above-average pay, making it an ideal place for students to work. “I'm a student assistant for administrative tasks. Because my tasks also include documentation and creating files, I can learn a lot from the approach of the different therapists.” Each new file is a new case with new problems and a different therapeutic approach. ‘I also learn a lot about the bureaucracy behind therapy. This may not always be the most exciting part of the work, but it is incredibly important,’ she explains.

The administrative and organizational work has a particular advantage for Wengst: she feels very well prepared when she starts her therapeutic work after graduating. “If I ever work as a therapist myself, I will already be very familiar with the bureaucratic tasks.”

Training and exchange in practice

Despite the focus of her student job on the administrative side of her future profession, there is still enough time for exchange with the therapists at the outpatient clinic. “You always get specific tips and insights that help you to sharpen your own idea of what your future work will be like in practice,” explains Wengst.

Expensive training so far

Training to become a psychotherapist after graduating from university is currently very expensive. It can cost between €18,000 and €25,000. “But now you can do a Master's in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy in Landau. This means that with the master's degree, you also have the license to practice as a psychotherapist.” This significantly reduces costs.

Another advantage of Landau is that it has a small but excellent faculty in the field of psychology, Wengst continues. The good supervision of students here is truly unique. ”There is always someone to help you. The small groups give you the individual support you need,” she explains.

Master's thesis on a difficult topic

Wengst is currently writing her Master's thesis on the topic of ‘Feelings and fears of psychotherapists when dealing with suicidal children and adolescents’. She is supervised by Dr. Daniela Schwarz, who is herself a therapist in the psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic for children and adolescents. “The topic is difficult, but I believe that the more you work with such cases, the better you become at dealing with them. The aim of my work is to further develop training for therapists so that they can better deal with this difficult topic,” explains Wengst.

A valuable contribution to training

For students of psychology at RPTU Landau, the university's outpatient clinic offers an excellent opportunity to combine theory and practice. The chance to learn from experienced therapists, to master bureaucracy and to prepare for later practice makes the children's and youth outpatient clinic a unique place of learning for the RPTU Landau's prospective psychotherapists.