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Professional Qualifications : Philip Pocock - Psychotherapist
Academic Psychology and Training
Bachelor of Science - Australian National University(1996) -
Double Major in Psychology and Majors in Neuroscience and Genetics
Graduate Diploma in Applied Psychology - University of Canberra -
Practice including Health and Organizational Psychology
Internship(1998-2002) - This included the following courses and extensive supervised clinical practice with the
Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team at The Canberra Hospital.
Professional Development
Sexual
Counselling - Dr Rosie King
Family
Therapy - Aust Family Therapy Assoc.
Co-
Morbidity of Depression and Anxiety -
Dr Michael Yapko
Psychological Assessment in the Medico Legal Setting and the MMPI-2 - Dr Lucille Douglas
Cognitive-Behavioral
Treatment of Patients with
Relationship
Counselling with Personality
Trauma
and PTSD - Prof Charles Figley
Subsequent Courses and Seminars
Risk Assessment in Clinical Practice ( Violence, Suicide and Pornography Addiction) - Dr Phil Watts
A Reliable Witness - Credible Evidence in Court - Dr Phil Watts
Psychotherapeutic Treatment of Personality Disorders: Contemporary Psychodynamic Approaches - APS Meeting August 2004
Late Life Suicide Prevention - Prof Diego de Leo
Women's Sexual Dysfunction : Recent Advances in Therapy - Dr Rosie King
Psychopharmacology for Psychologists - Dr Mark Boschen for APS
Advanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - Dr Mark Boschen for APS
Clinical Supervision - NSW Psychiatric Institute for ACT Psychology Board
Genetic Molecular Marker Technology (I) - Australian National University - 2009
Choices, Decisions, Outcomes - Structured Sex Education Program for Year 7 - 10 High School Students (for classroom delivery) - 2009
Personal
First tested by a school counsellor at the age of 13 and I was given an IQ score of 153. More recently, since completing university, I have scored 34 out 36 on Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices, at age 43, during testing by an ACT Government Department, the Office of Training and Adult Education. This was completed within the 40 minute time limit. This has proved a difficult test to convert to a standard IQ score but the Prometheus web site converts it by stating a standard deviation equates to 4 points, a population mean of 18 and an age adjustment, for my age at the time, of one standard deviation should be added to the score. This would mean an IQ of 175. This seems to be a severe exaggeration of the score however and I believe my true IQ, in the light of other results is probably around the 160 mark, based on an IQ standard deviation of 15 (close to usual SD when IQ scores are mentioned).
IQ scores are of course dependent on the size of the standard deviation used and as such a number can be quite misleading . In the case of MENSA, where the scores often refer to their tests with a standard deviation of 24 my score of 160 would be 196. Such a test does of course provide a better spread of scores and discrimination between individuals but this is of course really only a way of giving a bit of an ego trip for MENSA members. While technically the entry level for MENSA is two standard deviations above the mean, an IQ score of 148 on a test with a standard deviation of 24 is still the same level of intelligence as an IQ score of 130 on a test with a SD of 15. The standard deviation of around 15 that is usual when comparing estimated IQ for historic figures for example, and indeed MENSA accepts entry based on many such tests with similar standard deviations.
It is a pity MENSA does this because it does just a bit more to discredit the real science of intelligence and the validity of IQ and this appears to put them in with many of the other charlatans making false promises about intelligence in order to make a quick dollar.
The television series called "Make me Smart", featuring an episode on intelligence, seen on SBS on 22/12/2009, and hosted by Michael Mosely, is an excellent example of how misleading this can be. Given that many of the high IQ's were probably based on SD's of 15 , including Dr Mosely's score of 134 undertaken when he was in medical school, it was disingenuous to see his MENSA test results listed as 154(2%). This is of course technically correct but would be identical to his earlier result of 134 if that test had a standard deviation of 15 and the result is contrary to the implicit message that if you follow his processes you too can improve your IQ by 20 points, when, for nearly everyone, this is impossible.Of course IQ doesn't make one wise, virtuous or a social success but it does measure some real capacity and the measurement and utilization of such can have real benefits for individuals and society but striving to be what "one is not" will not benefit anyone.
Developmental Profile - Click to enlarge images.