New Psychology Training To Boost NZ’s Mental Health Workforce

17 March 2025

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) and University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha (UC) are launching a new training programme to expand access to psychological support and strengthen New Zealand’s mental health workforce.

Announced today at UC by Hon Matt Doocey, Minister for Mental Health, the new Postgraduate Diploma in Associate Psychology will provide a new career pathway for psychology graduates, strengthening New Zealand’s mental health workforce and expanding the availability of trained professionals in the sector.

Sue Dashfield, Group Manager Enablement for Health NZ, says there was strong interest from tertiary education providers in the open procurement process in late 2024.

“Both secondary and primary mental health services across the country operate multi-disciplinary teams, delivering integrated care that considers the needs of the whole person,” says Sue Dashfield.

“This new role will be a real boost to increase access and enhance the breadth of psychological care within a service or team, as well as freeing up capacity for other members of the team to work more intensively with people accessing services.

“An Associate Psychologist Advisory Group was established to provide advice and guidance to this project, and we continue to work with the University and the New Zealand Psychologists Board on the development of the role.”

The Associate Psychologist role will be a registered health practitioner working with supervision from a registered psychologist to support individuals requiring mental health or addiction services. This will allow registered psychologists to focus on tangata whai ora who need more support and use their full scope of practice.

UC Vice-Chancellor Professor Cheryl de la Rey says this programme represents an important step in addressing workforce shortages in the mental health sector.

“Right now, many psychology students graduate with undergraduate degrees every year,” says Professor De la Rey. “This programme provides a new opportunity for many more students to continue their studies, gain hands-on experience, and pursue meaningful careers."

Dashfield says the Associate Psychologist workforce will help Health NZ strengthen a multitiered mental health and addiction workforce with complementary skills.

“Associate psychologists will contribute to multi-disciplinary teams, with members working together to provide everything from early engagement and structured therapies to assessing, formulating and treating complex, high-intensity issues. Associate psychologists will be ideally suited to the lower intensity aspects of care and will enable our services to better support the widely varying needs of each person seeking our help and their whānau,” says Dashfield.

Dr Kirsty Dempster-Rivett, Director Allied Health, Mental Health and Addictions, Waikato says “In Secondary and Tertiary Mental Health and Addictions Services we have amazing support workers and assistants who already have psychology degrees at a minimum. The Associate Psychology pathway will allow the opportunity for people already employed with us who love working with our tangata whai ora and whānau to increase their skills set and help us work as a system to provide earlier access to support. For some this will provide a stepping stone to continuing along a pathway to becoming a registered psychologist. For others, it provides an opportunity to add another tranche of support within our dynamic teams.”

A second tertiary provider is expected to be confirmed soon, with both institutions working collaboratively alongside Health NZ and the New Zealand Psychologists Board to ensure the qualification meets workforce needs and regulatory requirements. The first cohort of at least 20 students is expected to begin studying in 2026, with graduates joining the workforce in early 2027.

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