Valuable introduction to psychological practice

Psychology students embarking on the world of psychotherapeutic practice are often faced with a major challenge: How can I successfully enter psychotherapeutic practice? How do I prepare myself 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 the one required by the insurance companies? For psychology students at RPTU Landau, there is a very special opportunity that makes it easier to get started: the university's own psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic for children and adolescents. Here, students can put what they have learned in theory into practice under professional guidance.

Inken Wengst, a Master's student in General Psychology, has already gained valuable experience in the university's own outpatient clinic. She has not only completed an internship there, but has also been working as a student assistant (HiWi) in the administrative area since April 2024.

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

An internship with added value

"I have already completed my three-month mandatory internship in the outpatient clinic," says the 23-year-old. "It was very motivating for me to finally be able to put what I had learned in theory into 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 thus offers prospective psychotherapists and psychology students at RPTU training at a high therapeutic and scientific level.

The Landau outpatient clinic has specialized in a particular area of therapeutic diagnostics - autism spectrum disorders. Wengst found this specialization interesting, especially because it is a field in which science is currently making great progress. In addition, the Landau psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic directly implements the latest scientific findings. This specialization offers a unique opportunity for psychotherapists in training to deal with such a specific and complex subject area.

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

A flexible working environment with a lot of responsibility

Following her internship, Wengst was employed as a student assistant (HiWi) in the outpatient clinic. The working hours are flexible and the pay is above average, which makes the outpatient clinic an ideal workplace for students. "I am an administrative assistant. Because my tasks also include documentation and creating files, I can learn a lot from how the different therapists work." Every new file is a new case with a new problem and a different therapeutic approach. "I also learn a lot about the bureaucracy behind therapy. It's perhaps not always the most exciting part of the job, but it's incredibly important," she explains.

The administrative and organizational work has a particular advantage for Wengst: she feels well prepared when she starts working as a therapist after graduation. "When I eventually work as a therapist myself, I will already have mastered the bureaucratic tasks from the FF."

Training and exchange in practice

Despite the focus of her student job on the administration of her future profession, she still has enough time to interact with the therapists at the outpatient clinic. "You always get specific tips and insights that help you to sharpen your own idea of your future work in practice," explains Wengst.

Expensive training so far

Training to become a psychotherapist after graduating is currently very expensive. It can cost between 18,000 and 25,000 euros. "In Landau, however, you can now do the KliPP (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy) Master's degree. This means that when you graduate with a Master's degree, you also have a license to practice as a psychotherapist in your pocket." This significantly reduces costs.

Another point in Landau's favor is that it is a small but nice faculty in the field of psychology, Wengst continues. The good support for students here is truly unique. "There is always someone to help you. The small groups mean you get the individual support you need," she explains.

Master's thesis on a difficult topic

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

A valuable contribution to training

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