NTU Singapore and NHG Health are launching a new clinical psychology graduate programme that contributes to national efforts in strengthening manpower capabilities in Singapore’s mental healthcare services.
The Applied Specialist Psychology Integrated Residency Education (ASPIRE) is a structured, stackable three-year programme that culminates in a Master of Psychology (Clinical) degree.
Jointly developed and delivered by NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) and NHG Health’s Institute of Mental Health (IMH), ASPIRE is Singapore’s first work-study training pathway for clinical psychology.
The programme is supported by the Singapore Psychological Society (SPS).
The growing demand of people seeking professional help comes amid increased awareness of mental well-being. IMH’s Mind Matters study, conducted between 2022 and 2024, found that mental health literacy in Singapore has increased with 58.9 per cent of the population being able to recognise common mental health conditions, compared to 42.3 per cent in the first study, conducted between 2014 and 2015. The study also showed that stigma or negative perceptions towards people with mental health conditions have also improved significantly.
According to the National Mental Health and Well-being Strategy released in 2023, the ratio of psychologists to population is 9.7 per 100,000. Recognising a growing demand for mental health professionals such as clinical psychologists, the Government aims to increase the number of psychologists by about 40 per cent to 300, in the public sector, by 2030.
These developments underpin the need for specialised training particularly in the field of clinical psychology. ASPIRE’s work-study model will allow healthcare institutions and employers to retain a pool of associate psychologists while training a new generation of clinical psychologists with expanded capabilities to support the scaling up Singapore’s mental healthcare services.
NTU Senior Vice-President (Health and Life Sciences) and Dean of NTU LKCMedicine, Professor Joseph Sung said: “As a key contributor to Singapore’s healthcare landscape, NTU LKCMedicine is committed to collaborating with NHG Health in offering a solution that is forward-looking and addresses the urgent demand for clinical psychologists. With ASPIRE, we are leveraging LKCMedicine’s innovative resources and academic rigour as well as IMH’s expertise to go beyond the basics and equip clinical psychologists with new and relevant skills that enable them to adapt to the continuously evolving needs of patients.”
Professor Joe Sim, Group CEO, NHG Health, said: “With fewer than 10 clinical psychologists per 100,000 people, Singapore faces a critical bottleneck in mental health care. ASPIRE removes that bottleneck – by training professionals where care is delivered, so that they stay employed, qualify sooner and join the workforce when we need them the most. Our partnership with NTU in providing this new pathway is timely, given the growing demand for mental health services. Together, we are growing our local pipeline of clinical psychologists that Healthier SG demands and Singapore needs.”
Stackable work-study programme addresses manpower gap; builds capability
The current journey to becoming a clinical psychologist can take up to six years. A graduate with a bachelor's degree in psychology must first secure employment as an associate psychologist in a healthcare institution and gain work experience.
Once they gain admission to and funding for a master's programme in clinical psychology, they are required to pause their practice to enrol as a full-time student for a minimum of two years. This results in a longer runway for them, while healthcare institutions and employers also grapple with a further reduced pool of associate psychologists.
Under ASPIRE, students continue working as associate psychologists while studying. Selected workplace learning will be used to fulfil the programme’s structured, supervised clinical practicum hours, which will count towards the 1,000 clinical placement hours required by SPS to become a registered psychologist.
ASPIRE thus potentially shortens the time taken for associate psychologists to qualify as clinical psychologists to three years.
Programme director Professor Tham Kum Ying, Assistant Dean, Graduate Programmes, Continuing Education & Training at NTU LKCMedicine, said: “When we developed ASPIRE, it was essential to prioritise workplace learning to align with the national healthcare workforce strategy. Having students continue working while studying has the added benefit of enhancing patient care and easing manpower constraint. Our learners can immediately apply their newly developed competencies at the workplace as they progress through the programme.”
ASPIRE is structured as a ‘stackable’ programme. Students will earn a Graduate Certificate upon completion of their first year; a FlexiMasters after their second; and a Master of Psychology (Clinical) degree at the end of all three years.
“ASPIRE is a ground-breaking residency programme where learning happens within real practice settings. We aim to enrich learners’ experience by delivering modules in the context of real clinical work and allowing them to work alongside a multi-disciplinary team that could include other allied health professionals, nurses or even psychiatrists. Our learners will benefit from the chance to observe how theory reinforces practice; and practice validates theory,” says Ms Mavis Seow, Course Director (Clinical) of ASPIRE Programme, and Head of Psychology at IMH, NHG Health.
Learners who require more flexibility to build their skills and credentials incrementally as they juggle other commitments can be granted five years of validity after completing the Graduate Certificate or FlexiMasters.
Ms Chia Yuan Yu Alicia, an Associate Psychologist at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, NHG Health, who is keen to apply to ASPIRE, said: “What really sets this programme apart is the integrated work-study model. As someone already working in the field, being able to earn while I learn makes this both academically appealing and practically viable. Additionally, ASPIRE’s residency component with structured supervision offers the kind of hands-on training that I am seeking, to grow as a competent mental healthcare practitioner.”
ASPIRE will launch with a Graduate Certificate programme this year, followed by FlexiMasters and Master of Psychology (Clinical) in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
Students must hold a bachelor's degree with honours in psychology from a recognised university and be currently employed as an Associate Psychologist or equivalent in healthcare or other relevant sectors that can support the programme’s workplace learning and assessment requirements.
Curriculum develops new capabilities for clinical psychology
ASPIRE is tailored to advance clinical psychologists’ expertise and enable them to adapt to transforming mental health needs, a growing ageing population and the rapid integration of technology in patient care.
The programme is delivered through a blended learning approach, combining E-learning modules, case-based discussions, hands-on sessions with simulated patients and supervised clinical practicum.
It will be the first clinical psychology graduate programme in Singapore to offer a module on restrictive prescribing, which equips clinical psychologists with the essential knowledge and skills to be safe prescribers for specific mental health related medications under strict conditions. The clinical psychology leaders will be working with stakeholders to facilitate the governance and obtain the necessary approval for translation of prescribing knowledge and skills into practice that will benefit patients.
Students will undergo extensive training in psychopharmacology, ethical considerations, risk assessment and evidence-based decision-making. This will be taught in collaboration with psychiatrists, physicians and pharmacists to understand restrictive prescribing practices within multidisciplinary healthcare settings.
Other content covered include Clinical Microskills, which trains students to conduct clinical interviews with mental health patients that require specialised skills, such as recognising the patient’s mental distress and asking questions without aggravating the patient’s emotional and mental state.
Another distinct component of ASPIRE is its Clinical, Ethical and Technological Foundations in Mental Healthcare module which covers the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public mental health. This module will help learners understand how AI intersects with clinical practice for mental healthcare and empower them to confidently evaluate, implement and ethically use new and emerging technologies to maintain clinical quality and advocate for their patients.
ASPIRE’s focus on the deliberate practice of microskills for effective patient interaction, AI, psychopharmacology and prescription aims to nurture a new generation of clinical psychologists who have a firm foundation of advanced mental health interventions and can play a key role in future-proofing Singapore’s mental health services.
