BSc Applied Psychology (Clinical)Dr Paul FarrandProgramme Director
What can I
do after the
degree?
How do I get a place?
Questions?
What’s so
special about
the programme?
Context for the
BSc Applied
Psychology
(Clinical)
BSc Applied Psychology (Clinical) at Exeter
• 10th in the UK for Psychology• Excellent teaching quality
– 90% for Overall Satisfaction in National Student Survey 2011
• Internationally rated research (RAE 2008)– 11th in UK for world leading research
Teaching Facilities
• Resources of specialist clinical training group (CEDAR) with national reputation
• Clinical skills training suites with full audio/visual recording capacity
• State-of-the-art computer laboratories
• Specialist practical laboratories
Teaching Expertise• International expertise in translating research evidence
into training and intervention development– CBT Mindfulness (Professor Kuyken)– Rumination (Professor Watkins)– Low Intensity CBT (Professor Richards, Dr Farrand)
• Nationally recognised clinical training expertise– Dr Farrand nominated for National Teaching
Fellowship
• Clinically active staff
• Research on clinical training methods incorporated into programmes
Teaching Delivery
• Full range of teaching and assessment methods used:• Simulated competency assessments with actors
(Richards, D & Whyte, M., 2008).
• Problem Based Learning (Stedman, J., Wood, J., Curle, C. & Haslam, C, 2005).
• Self-Practice/Self-Reflection to support training in CBT (Haarhoff, B. & Farrand, P., 2012).
• Reflective blogs to support Self-Practice/Self-Reflection (Farrand, P., Perry, J., Linsley, S., 2010).
Teaching Delivery• Nationally recognised centre of excellence for training
Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners.
• Dedicated Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner Clinical Educator team.
Research Facilities
• Mood Disorders Centre: internationally recognised specialist research group
• Specialist facilities including:– access to fMRI imaging and psychophysiological
labs– group research treatment rooms– clinical labs
Clinical Facilities
• AccEPT Clinic: psychological therapies service offering access to psychological treatments under development
• Provides research placement opportunities
• Enables academic staff to retain clinical practice
• Offers a broad foundation in the core areas of psychology
• Provides a specific focus on the clinical applications of psychology
• Develops clinical competency in low intensity cognitive behavioural therapy
• Provides a range of academic, clinical, research and transferable skills to prepare you confidently for employment or future study
What’s so
special about
the BSc
Applied
Psychology
(Clinical)?
Professional and National Recognition
“The BSc Applied Psychology (Clinical) has been developed in line with The Future of Undergraduate Psychology in the United Kingdom, a joint paper between the BPS, the Higher Education Academy, Psychology Network and the Associated Heads of Psychology Departments aimed at considering how to provide students with an undergraduate learning experience that will enable them to apply their psychological literacy throughout their lives. The programme has been designed to improve employability following graduation, whether they decide to go into a clinical psychology role or move into a different career and reduce stigma of mental health sufferers through increased public understanding”. ‘The Psychologist’ (March, 2012;p224)
Programme
structure
• Core psychology modules shared in years 1 and 2 withBSc Psychology
• Increasing focus on clinical applications of psychology
• Four modules making up clinical training50% 62.5% 100%
Year 1
Term 1 Term 1 & 2 Term 2
Professional Issues and
Development
Historical & Conceptual
Issues in Psychology and Clinical Psychology
Introduction to Clinical
Psychology
Introduction to Statistics
Introduction to Research Methods
Introduction to Social
Psychology
Introduciton to Cognition, Cognitive
Development & Emotion
Evidence Based
Psychological Therapy Practice
Year 2
Term 1 Term 1 & 2 Term 2
Personality, Individual
Differences & Mental Health
Cognition & Emotion
Biological Basis of
Behaviour
Developmental Psychology & Psychopatholo
gy
Methods & Statistics in
Psychology II
Social Psychology II
Engagement & Assessment of Patients with
Common Mental Health
Problems
Evidence Based Low
Intensity Treatment for
Common Mental Health
Problems
Final year
Term 1 Term 1 & 2 Term 1 or 2 Term 2
Clinical Practice
Placement
Clinical Research Project
Methodological & Statistical Approaches in
Clinical Psychology & Health Services
Research
One from:
Improving Access to
Psychological Therapies
Cognitive-Behavioural Approaches to Mood Disorders
Applied Positive Psychology
Parental Psychiatric Disorders
Compulsive Behaviour
Interpersonal Processes in Psychopathology
Innovative featuresDual Accreditation
• BPS accreditation to confer eligibility for:– Graduate basis for
chartered membership– Clinical training component
• Practitioner accreditation with BABCP as NHS role as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner following brief period of employment
Innovative featuresClinical Practice Placement
• Located within an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service or equivalent
• Organised by Exeter Clinical Training Centre (CEDAR)• Two days per week between September and December of
Year 3– Competency developed and assessed in previous term
on IAPT modules
• Undertake role of Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner– Have own caseload– Receive supervision
Clinical Research Project
• Undertaken in final year• Supervision provided within Mood Disorders Centre
– Opportunity for research placements from year 2– Opportunity to link topic to current/proposed
research projects
• Supported by clinically focused statistics and methodology modules in years 2 and 3
Innovative features
Examples of Clinical Research Projects
Do individuals with a
repressive coping style
report personal events
with reduced levels of
specificity?
Does learning style predict choice of
psychological intervention?
Does facial appearance of author influence effectiveness of CBT self-help?
Vantage point of
autobiographical
memories: the role of
body image
Differences in perfectionism between British and Chinese students
Attitudes to physical activity amongst people with depression
Innovative features
Personal and Professional Development
• Establish an ongoing Personal and Professional Development (PPD) Planning Portfolio
• Supported through personal tutor system with clinical practitioners– Individual monthly PPD meetings– Monthly PPD tutorials
• Supports continued reflection on learning and development of transferable skills
• Bridges theory-practice divide• Identifies ongoing development opportunities
• Improved general employment prospects• Excellent experience contributing to clinical psychology training in
the future• Examples of clinically related posts
– Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner– Psychology Assistant– Mental Health Support Work– Clinical Research Assistant
What can I do
after the
degree?
What is a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner?
• Patient-facing mental health professional role• Undertakes all mental health roles
– Assessment and informal diagnosis– Psychological intervention– Signposting– Supporting medication management– Collaborative care
• Spearheads new ways of working– Face-to-face, telephone, email support– Range of evidence-based interventions
What Interventions are Supported?
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) self-help based on books, manuals, computerised CBT, moving into mobile phone apps
• Support for specific evidence-based low intensity CBT interventions including:– Behavioural activation– Exposure therapy– Problem solving– Cognitive restructuring– Behavioural experiments
Development of skills not just linked to employment Development of skills not just linked to employment
in clinical settings however – skills are more generic in clinical settings however – skills are more generic
and therefore increase employability across wide and therefore increase employability across wide
range of professionsrange of professions
Improved Employability
Meeting BPS Recommendations
How do I get a place?
Personal Statement
• Highlight any experience you already have related to mental health– Work experience– Personal knowledge– Project work
• Mention any work experience you have (of whatever type)
• Express your passion for this programme• Convey what you learnt from all of these experiences
Rolling Interview Process
• Small group discussion about mental health with members of the Mood Disorders Centre ‘Lived Experience Group’
• Brief individual interview– Aim to identify potential for development– Acknowledged that applicants often will not
demonstrate at this stage the range of qualities desired by the end of the programme
Still interested?
Additional presentation on the Mood Disorders Centre, Clinical Training (CEDAR), and Career
Development.
www.exeter.ac.uk/bscappliedpsychology