3-hour interactive practicums
Facilitated, case-based sessions where you reason through real clinical situations alongside peers and a Board-approved supervisor.
Cohort-based · live facilitation
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Learning Essentials
Programs · Learning Essentials
Structured education for your 5+1 internship year
Learning Essentials is COPP's foundational education for provisional and early career psychologists on the 5+1 pathway — designed to meet, and go beyond, the PsyBA 5+1 internship requirements. Twelve core modules and 70+ hours of multimodal learning, building the practical skills, ethical foundations and confidence for real-world practice.
12 modulesCore curriculum
70+ hoursMultimodal learning
from $6,000Structured education
Live, interactive practicums
How you learn
Seventy-plus hours, across five ways of learning.
Each module combines live discussion, independent study and applied practice, so what you learn in the program connects directly to the work you are doing on placement.
Guided independent study
Structured self-directed activities and curated readings between practicums, so live time is spent applying — not catching up.
On your schedule · guided pathway
Exercises & clinical resources
Applied exercises, bonus e-learning and a library of clinical resources you can carry straight into your placement work.
Practice-ready · resource library
The curriculum
Twelve modules across four capability strands.
The core modules are organised around the capabilities the 5+1 internship develops. Together they cover reflective practice, ethical decision-making, therapeutic relationships, contemporary intervention skills, and applying the PsyBA Code of Conduct in day-to-day practice.
What the modules build
From self-awareness and supervision-readiness through to evidence-based intervention. The intervention strand introduces contemporary modalities — Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) — within an ethical, reflective frame, so technique never outruns judgement.
12
core modules
core modules
70+
hours of learning
hours of learning
Dec 2025
curriculum-current
curriculum-current
5+1aligned
Strand 01
Reflective practice
Developing self-awareness, the use of supervision, and the habit of reflecting on your own clinical decisions.
Strand 02Ethics & the Code of Conduct
Ethical decision-making and applying the PsyBA Code of Conduct to the situations interns actually meet.
Strand 03Therapeutic relationships
Building and maintaining the working alliance — rapport, boundaries, rupture and repair — across diverse clients.
Strand 04Intervention skills
Evidence-based intervention, including ACT, DBT and IPT, framed within reflective and ethical practice.
Plainly stated
Education, not supervision-of-record.
We want this to be unambiguous. Learning Essentials is structured education. It does not constitute supervision-of-record toward general registration.
- Your supervised internship hours are logged through a Principal Supervisor — that is a separate arrangement.
- COPP offers that supervision through Expert Supervision, and both together as the National 5+1 Program.
- COPP is an educator, not a regulator. General registration is granted solely by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) under AHPRA.
- You remain responsible for confirming your own pathway requirements with PsyBA.
How it fits together
Three parts, one supported year.
Learning Essentials is the education layer. Pair it with Expert Supervision for your supervised hours, and the NPE Boot Camp for exam preparation — or take all three as the National 5+1 Program.
Explore the 5+1 Program →
At a glance
The essentials of Learning Essentials.
Who it's for
Provisional psychologists
Interns on the 5+1 pathway who want their foundational education structured, sequenced and competency-mapped from day one.
Format
Multimodal, cohort-based
12 core modules · 70+ hours · 3-hour live practicums, self-directed activities, applied exercises, bonus e-learning, clinical resources and readings.
Alignment
PsyBA competency framework
Designed to meet and go beyond PsyBA 5+1 internship requirements; competency-mapped professional development, current to the December 2025 curriculum.
Investment
From $6,000
Structured education for the 5+1 year. Also available as part of the National 5+1 Program — talk to us about what fits your circumstances.
Questions
Frequently asked.
No. Learning Essentials is structured education and does not constitute supervision-of-record toward general registration. Your supervised hours are logged with a Principal Supervisor — a separate arrangement, which COPP offers through Expert Supervision.
It's multimodal and cohort-based: 12 core modules totalling 70-plus hours, combining 3-hour live interactive practicums with self-directed activities, applied exercises, bonus e-learning, clinical resources and readings. Live sessions are facilitated by Board-approved supervisors and experienced practitioners.
Reflective practice, ethical decision-making, therapeutic relationships, intervention skills (including ACT, DBT and IPT), and applying the PsyBA Code of Conduct — delivered as competency-mapped professional development across twelve core modules.
Yes. The curriculum is current to the December 2025 standards, with COPP content updated in January 2026 to reflect the latest PsyBA competencies and Code of Conduct.
Learning Essentials is from $6,000. You can take it as standalone education, or as part of the National 5+1 Program (which combines education, supervision and NPE preparation). Get in touch and we'll help you work out what suits your pathway.
Start the conversation
Not sure if Learning Essentials is right for you?
Tell us where you are in your 5+1 year and what you'd like to work on. We'll talk you through the modules, how the program fits alongside supervision and NPE preparation, and the best next step — no obligation.