Postgraduate Course: Adult Mental Health - Clinical Placement (CLPS12002)
Course Outline
| School | School of Health in Social Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 12 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Placement |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | All DClinPsychol trainees must undertake a mandatory core placement in providing therapy to adults of working age. Trainees will gather experience of engagement, assessment, formulation, intervention and evaluation across a range of psychological problems, typically including, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and the effects of trauma. Trainees will be expected to use and develop a significant range of the competencies associated with working as a psychologist in adult mental health services. As is typical of psychological therapy, trainees will be expected to deal with complex issues and make informed judgements, considering multiple sources of information, which may sometimes be incomplete. Trainees will be expected to form appropriate professional relationships with colleagues and clients / patients. Trainees will be expected to work from a professional code of ethics and to interpret and apply this. Trainees will also be expected to work from the evidence base, using practices based on research evidence and to engage in reflection through regular supervision of practice. |
| Course description |
a) Academic Description
The placement will take place in NHS settings under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist. There may be situations where trainees are supervised by more than one supervisor or by other Applied Psychologist(s) (e.g. Counselling, Forensic) or by members of other professions according to the Programme Eligibility criteria for supervisor which are found in the NHS and Clinical Practice Placements Handbook. In the remainder of this text the word supervisor denotes supervisor(s).
The placement will be scheduled to last a minimum of 5-6 months and trainees will be on placement for 4 days each week apart from weeks when they have teaching (see Handbook for details). During the placement, trainees are required to demonstrate principles of work relevant to clinical psychology practice and the application of evidence-based practice governed by psychological models and concepts. During Adult Mental health placement, trainees will have 1 study day per week apart from weeks when they are receiving teaching (see Handbook for details). This time is for reading and study relating to placement as well as relating to any academic coursework.
b) Outline Content
Trainees will see a range of clients of working age for psychological therapy. The range of problems may include phobias, OCD, PTSD or other post-trauma work including childhood abuse, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, psychosis, complex bereavement, psychosexual problems and interpersonal/relationship problems. Trainees can expect to experience cases involving assessment of presenting problems, leading to formulation and treatment plans, direct treatment with clients with whom the trainee is the prime worker, indirect work with clients e.g. advising staff or relatives, development of skills in interviewing, formulation/treatment and use of and interpretation of relevant testing/questionnaire material, including neuropsychological assessment where possible. Trainees will gain experience of cognitive behavioural techniques. Where possible, they should also have the opportunity to participate in teamwork. During the placement, trainees are expected to have a range of experiences and client contacts, such that they are able to demonstrate competencies in the application of psychological theory to practice relevant to this population. All trainees are to complete client feedback questionnaires with at least two clients per placement and a session-by-session feedback questionnaire on client experience with at least one client during training.
c) Student Learning Experience
Trainees will be on placement in NHS settings working clinically with clients/patients. These placements are frequently within NHS adult psychology services, though a wide range of other service settings may be encountered, such as community mental health teams, in patient mental health settings or other services for people with psychological disorder. The placement may take place across different locations or services. Trainees will receive regular supervision from their supervisor(s) in line with guidance from the professional/accrediting bodies, in addition to other informal contact and input, sometimes from other psychologists or team members. Trainees can expect to observe their supervisor(s) on at least 5 occasions during the placement. Trainees are expected to be observed on at least 5 occasions by their supervisor(s) during the placement, in order to receive feedback on their performance and for the supervisor to be able to evaluate their progress towards their standard and personalised learning objectives and implementation of agreed changes. It is expected that the supervisor(s) will use the Cognitive Therapy Scale - Revised (CTS-R) as a structured assessment of competence to provide formative feedback on at least 3 of these observations of the trainee.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 23,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Placement Study Abroad Hours 588,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
0 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
Dependant on teaching and Thesis
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Performance on placement is evaluated by the placement supervisor, using a structured checklist of clinical competencies. The supervisor's recommendation is used by the Clinical Tutor to determine if clinical competence has been met. Explicit guidance is given to supervisors about placement evaluation. |
| Feedback |
Formative feedback is given on an ongoing basis as part of regular supervision and case discussion. It is also given after the trainee is observed by the supervisor, whether by sitting in with a trainee's session or by using a video or audio recording of a session. As described above, for some observations, the supervisor is expected to use the CTS-R to provide the trainee with specific formative feedback on their CBT competences. Detailed formative feedback is given prior to the mid-placement visit, when the supervisor completes the Evaluation of Clinical competence (ECC) Form. The supervisor discusses this with the trainee in advance of the mid-placement visit. During the mid-placement visit, the ECC is discussed with the trainee and the supervisor by the mid-placement visitor.
Summative feedback is provided at the end of placement by the supervisor completing the ECC form, to make a recommendation regarding the placement grade, and this is discussed with the trainee. The ECC form and other placement documentation are reviewed at the End of Placement meeting or Joint Annual Review where the decision is made on the placement grade that will be submitted to the Board of Examiners .
Please refer to Section 3 of the NHS and Clinical Practice Placement Handbook for full guidance on mid-placement visits, End of Placement meetings and Joint Annual Reviews. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Assess, formulate, evaluate and address typical clinical problems presenting in adult mental health or other settings, using a range of psychological theories and knowledge and drawing on a variety of models of psychological therapies and intervention.
- Adopt both direct and indirect modes of intervention to improve and support psychological aspects of health and social care and to evaluate their efficacy, working within a framework of evidence based practice, drawing from and developing the professional knowledge base.
- Build effective alliances with individuals (including staff, clients and carers) from a diverse range of backgrounds with full awareness of the influence of structural power; and to communicate effectively with staff from other disciplines and work within multi-disciplinary teams.
- Have a deep understanding of the social context within which psychological problems may develop, how environments may be modified to ameliorate problems and to have a critical overview of the policy, legislative and planning contexts of the services in which clinical practice is undertaken.
- Demonstrate high standards of conduct and ethical behaviour consistent with recognised guidelines for professional practice, understand the need for regular evaluation of their work, be skilled in self-reflection and self-awareness, and understand the need for continuing professional development after qualification.
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Reading List
See Reading list on Learn page for CP1 course for key texts including:
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press.
Wells, A. (1997). Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: A practice manual and conceptual guide. Chichester: Wiley.
Briere & Scott (2006) Principles of Trauma Therapy and Treatment: a guide to symptoms, evaluation, and treatment. SAGE Publications. |
Additional Information
| Course URL |
https://www.ed.ac.uk/health/subject-areas/clinical-psychology/postgraduate-taught/doctorate |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Trainees completing Adult Mental Health will have been required to demonstrate a range of attributes and personal and professional skills in line with HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Practitioner Psychologists, the HCPC Standards of Conduct and Ethics for Students and the Required Learning Outcomes of the BPS Accreditation Criteria for Clinical Psychology Training Programmes. |
| Keywords | Clinical Psychology,Adult Mental Health,Clinical Practice,Psychological Disorders,Assessment |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Neil Millar
Tel:
Email: Neil.Millar@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Adam Conlin
Tel: (0131 6)51 3973
Email: adam.conlin@ed.ac.uk |
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