Programme Structure, Content and Methods
The course aims to obtain the best possible integration of academic and practical teaching across a range of psychological approaches. Effort is also made to ensure that the course reflects the current needs of the NHS. A revised ‘National Curriculum' has recently been established, reflecting the views of course tutors, specialists in the Region, and past and current trainees. This guides the Syllabus content for each cohort of the course.
Academic teaching
The programme begins with a three week full-time induction teaching block. The remainder of the first year’s academic teaching continues for two days per week, alongside one day for self-directed study and two days on placement, which continues in Year 2 from September until December. For Part Two of the programme [which starts in February of Year 2] there are up to three teaching days per month [all Mondays] until the end of the programme.
The academic teaching is organised in courses, each of which is intended to contribute to the programme aims and objectives in a coherent and integrated way. Local Special Interest Groups contribute extensively to the design and delivery of the courses. These competency-based courses include Induction, Assessment, Formulation, Intervention, Evaluation, Research, Service Delivery, Communication and Teaching, Specialist Topics, and Personal Professional Development (PPD).
Teaching across all years is predominantly in groups and generally conforms to the principles of ‘adult learning’. For example, we view our trainees as active agents who share responsibility for their own development, and we expect our teachers to behave like ‘guides’ rather than experts. We consider ‘discovery’ learning to be the optimal way of achieving many of our objectives and expect that, rather than passively receiving information, our trainees will be empowered to question clinical lore, develop new conceptualisations, integrate new and old knowledge, and work on developing new skills collaboratively and experientially.
The course is full-time for three years and attendance at all course components is mandatory over that time, including the induction period. The length of the course cannot be reduced through the accreditation of prior learning or experience: all trainees are required to complete the full programme of training in order to qualify.
Clinical Experience
Clinical experience takes place during four initial 6 month placements followed by an elective placement of 11 months duration, all within local NHS psychology services and which continue throughout the programme (2 – 4.5 days per week). Overall, about half of the programme will be spent on placement. All of the mandatory client groups (Adult Mental Health, Child, Learning Disability and Older Adults) are still arranged, although we primarily emphasise the core competencies that cut across these groups. We have a wide variety of placement bases in a range of urban and rural areas.
The region offers a considerable choice of elective placement experience in a range of specialist, regional centres (e.g. neuropsychology; psychological therapies; addictions; physical health; forensic). In addition, there is the option to undertake a ‘long-term case’ in year 3 (1 session per week). Meetings between trainee, clinical tutor and supervisor take place regularly to establish appropriate learning objectives and to monitor progress within and between placements.
Research
Starting in the second part of Year 1, students develop a project and following review and development in the early part of Year 2, collect data through Year 2 and the first half of Year 3, leading to the submission of a literature review and a subsequent empirical project during Year Research 3. Research days are available though Year 2 and Year 3. The dissertation consists of a literature review and empirical project presented in manuscript form each typically 5,000 to 8,000 words in length. It aims to introduce trainees to the realities of conducting clinically relevant research and to foster the competencies conducive to an active research role in the NHS. This requires the ability to identify appropriate topics, formulate relevant questions, select an appropriate methodology, submit a research proposal, execute the project within a tight schedule, analyse the results, and communicate the findings effectively through written and oral methods. Both papers are expected to be written to a publishable standard. The region’s research community has a range of ongoing clinically relevant research programmes and welcomes collaboration with our trainees and all projects have an explicit psychological underpinning. We strongly encourage a programmatic research model, in keeping with R & D initiatives within the NHS. This affords significant advantages to trainees in terms of knowledge, expertise and support for the work they are undertaking.
A service-related development research project is also submitted in Year 2. (<5,000 words). This is normally conducted during placement time in Year 1 or 2 and aims to provide trainees with the opportunity to demonstrate competence in relation to service-related, implementation research. It will address topics primarily of relevance to the practice of clinical psychology within the local clinical service in which it is undertaken (e.g. an audit or staff training).
Excellent general learning resources are available within the University. A range of specific and valuable resources are also available on placement.
