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INSTITUTE OF LIFE AND HUMAN SCIENCES
SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY
DOCTORATE IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
(D.CLIN.PSYCHOL. PROGRAMME)
Programme Handbook – 2017-2018
On request, information in this Handbook can be made available in an alternative format - please
contact the D.Clin. Psychol. office at: [email protected]
D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Dear Trainee,
On behalf of everyone here, a very warm welcome to the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology programme and
to the School of Psychology.
This Handbook has been written to provide all the information you need to help you understand how the
programme is organised, where you can obtain further information and assistance, what you can expect
from the School and your programme, and also what we expect from you.
You should read it thoroughly during the early weeks of your programme, and also refer to it regularly during
your time as a student at the University.
I hope that by the end of your training you will have come to regard this Handbook as a well-known, good
and trusted companion.
With every good wish for a happy and successful student career.
Dr Kate Bennett
Head of School of Psychology
Welcome from Programme Director
On behalf of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology programme team, I would like to welcome you to the
programme. We are all delighted that you have chosen to do your clinical psychology training with us and
we look forward to getting to know you and work with you over the next three years. The programme will
hopefully be a very rewarding and exciting experience but not without its challenges – such is the nature
of clinical psychology training. We hope that you will enjoy and make the most of your training and the
many opportunities available to you. This Handbook will be a key source to turn to for the information that
you need about the programme and the university from the outset and throughout the three years. If you
need further information or have any concerns or queries, please do feel free to approach any member of
the programme team.
I wish you a successful and enjoyable training.
Dr Laura Golding
Programme Director
Purpose of the handbook
This handbook aims to be a guide to life on the programme and in the School of Psychology. It contains
information on the structure of the programme, the School, its staff, its committees, and other important
information. It does not replace any other communications you receive from the University, Faculty, or
individual subject department, but should be read in conjunction with them. Please note that this handbook
is specific to the 2017/18 entry cohort and is updated annually.
D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION ONE: Pages
Introduction to the programme and general information 1-17
Background and history of the Clinical Psychology training programme 1
Philosophy 1
Programme management 2
The School of Psychology 2 The Department of Psychological Sciences 2-3
Key contacts 3
Programme staff team and roles 3-4
Programme administration team and roles 4
Other staff involved in programme delivery 4
Liverpool Experts by Experience Group 4
Trainee – staff communication 4-5
Communication routes 5-6
Trainee support and review systems 6-8
Academic Advisors (Personal Tutors) 6-7
Trainee review process 7
The training mentor scheme 7
Personal Therapy / Counselling 7-8
Disability support 8
Trainee involvement and representation 8
Trainee / student forums and trainee feedback 8
Staff / student liaison committees 8 Representation on committees 8-9
The Programme’s Training Committee (PTC) 9
Trainee representation on the PTC and sub-committees 9 The Board of Examiners 9
External Examiners 9-10
The Research Review Committee 10
Ordinances 10
Progress of students 10
Attendance 10
Attendance monitoring 10-11 Extenuating circumstances 11
Extenuating circumstances policy 11 Fees 11
The Student Charter 11
Health and safety information 11
Programme overview 11-12
Components of the training programme 12
D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Time allocation during training 12-14
Teaching 13
Clinical experience and activity 13
Research activity 14
Personal and professional development 14
Reading and private study 14 Programme resources 14-15
Overview of programme assessments 15
Types of assessment 15
Publication of end-of-year and final results 15 Academic Integrity Policy 15
Failure criteria 15-16
Appeals procedure 16
Fitness to practise 16
Graduation 16-17
SECTION TWO: Pages
The Teaching Programme 18-23
Introduction 18
Components of the teaching curriculum 18-21
Guidelines for managing emotional responses within teaching sessions 19-20
Main components 20
Clinical and professional skills development 20-21
Clinical skills /case presentation sessions 21
Teaching and learning styles 21-22
Dictaphone use in teaching 22
Design and structure of teaching units 22-23
Individual trainee feedback on teaching 23
Feedback meetings 23
SECTION THREE: Pages
The Clinical Practice Component 24-49
Introduction 24
Clinical practice training 24-25
Placement dates and deadlines 25-26
Number of days spent on placement 26
Leave 27-28
Annual leave 27
Study leave 27
Sickness leave 28
Leave for family reasons 28 Allocation to placements 28-29
Geography of placements 28-29
Final decisions 29
D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Travel expenses 29
Placement management and activity 29-47
Pre-placement contract 29
Placement contracts 30-34
Contracting framework 30
Clinical experience 31
Areas of work 31-32
Staff and organisational activities 31
Consultancy / supervision activities 31-32
Teaching activities 32
Small scale clinical research activities 32
Relationships with other disciplines 32
Meetings / observations / visits 32
Administration 32
Other activities 32
Demonstration of specific therapeutic competencies (e-portfolio) 32-33
Supervision and support arrangements 33-34
Final details 34
Client confidentiality and data protection 34
Personal safety on placement 34
Mid-placement reviews 35-36
Format for the meeting 35-36 Guidelines for supervision 36-46
Clinical supervisors 36
The supervision process 37-46
Preparation 37
Supervision sessions 37
Initial supervision sessions 37
Style of supervision 37
Observation 37
Differences in orientation 38
Use of academic knowledge 38
Report writing and communication 38
Relationship Issues 38
Scope of involvement of placement 38
In case of difficulty on placement 38
Feedback and records 39
Clinical Research Investigations – guidelines for placement supervisors 39-41
Aims of clinical research investigations 39
The role of the supervisor 39-40
The supervisor’s signature 40 Client consent 40-41
End of placement assessment and evaluations 41-45
On completion 42
Guidelines for the evaluation of clinical placements 42-45
Feedback on supervision 42
Psychological intervention experiences 42
D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Professional experiences 43-44
Rating scale 44-45
Additional comments 45
Record of ethical issues arising on placement 45
Recommendations 45
On completion 45 Procedure to be followed when a supervisor suspects a trainee may fail a placement 45-47 Personal and professional development (PPD) 47-48
Aims of the PPD teaching unit 47
Personal and professional development and supervision 47-48 Training Mentor Scheme 48
Academic Advisor (Personal Tutor) Scheme 48
Personal therapy 48
Counselling services 49
Addressing ethical concerns 49
SECTION FOUR: Pages
The Research Component 50-74
Introduction 50
The vision for research training of D.Clin.Psychol. trainees at Liverpool 50
The research team 50
The major research dissertation 51
Aims of assessment by research dissertation 51
The major research dissertation format 51-52
Research dissertation guidelines – larger projects 52
Research literature review 52
Research days 52-54
Research training curriculum 54-57
Research training curriculum - Year 1 54-55
Research training curriculum - Year 2 55
Research training curriculum - Year 3 55
Figure 1 – Schematic of research training and completion of thesis 56 Research progress presentations 56-57
The annual research conference 57
Organisation of the dissertation system 57
The supervisory team 57-58
The primary supervision allocation process 58-59 Programme research director and tutors 59
D.Clin.Psychol. Research review Committee (RRC) 59-60
Key progression milestones for major research project 60-63
Year 1 60-61
Year 2 61-62
Year 3 62-63 The research proposal 63-67
One page lay summary 64
D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Research budget costs 67
Statement of responsibility 67 Scrutiny of research proposals by the D.Clin.Psychol. Research Review Committee 68-70
Sponsorship, governance, data protection and ethics approval 70
Transcription policy and procedures 70-71
Research data management policy 71
Safety policy and procedures 71
The viva voce examination 72
Examiners’ recommendations 72
Post viva 72-73
Failure criteria for the major research dissertation 73
Dissertation format, submission and viva voce examinations 73-74
SECTION FIVE: Pages Assessments 75-83 Types of assessment 75
1. Academic coursework assignments 75-77 2. Written examinations 77-78 3. Clinical case research investigations and clinical service research investigations 78-79 4. Clinical placement reports – supervisor’s assessment of trainee 79-80 5. Major research dissertation 81 6. Viva voce examination 81
Progress on the programme 82
Code of practice on assessment
Postgraduate research code of practice Other key policies and procedures 82-83
Academic integrity policy 82
Assessment appeals 83
Fitness to practise 83
Student complaints 83
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SECTION ONE
INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAMME AND GENERAL INFORMATION
Background and History of the Clinical Psychology Training Programme
The University of Liverpool postgraduate clinical psychology training programme is one of the oldest and
most successful of its type in the country. In December 2012, the programme passed the major landmark
of its 50th anniversary of delivering pre-registration training of clinical psychologists for work in the NHS.
Throughout its history the programme has remained dedicated to high quality teaching of trainee clinical
psychologists and students in other clinical professions, to innovation in clinical practice and to excellence
in research. By December 2012 well over 550 qualified clinical psychologists had graduated from the
programme.
Philosophy
The overall objective of clinical psychology training at Liverpool is to provide a programme of training that
will equip graduates with appropriate learning experiences to enable them to practise competently as
qualified clinical psychologists in the National Health Service (NHS). On successful completion of the
programme, trainees are eligible to apply for registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health
and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and eligible to apply for Chartered status with the British
Psychological Society (BPS). On completion of this programme, trainees meet the HCPC’s Standards of
Proficiency for Practitioner Psychologists:
http://www.hcpc-uk.org/publications/standards/index.asp?id=198
During their training, trainees are expected to adhere to the HCPC’s Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for
Students:
http://www.hcpc-uk.org/assets/documents/10002C16Guidanceonconductandethicsforstudents.pdf
(The current guidance is out to consultation and will be updated in the near future). Those who
successfully qualify must be “fit for practice and purpose” in the NHS. Our perspective concerning this
task is derived from the key statement issued by the BPS Division of Clinical Psychology regarding the
Core Purpose and Philosophy of the Profession (document on VITAL).
It is also the central objective stated in the Programme Specification for the D.Clin.Psychol. degree:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/programmespecs/Clinical,Psychology,DClinPsychol.pdf
Our intention, therefore, is to produce highly competent, self-aware, research led, independently minded
professionals capable of maximising the contribution of psychology to healthcare services. This entails
developing individual practitioners who are able to:
integrate psychological theory and research with their practice
demonstrate a capacity both to understand and to conduct and report research that can contribute
to the knowledge-base of the profession
communicate well with others
establish strong working alliances with both service users and colleagues
maintain a high level of professional integrity and sound ethical conduct in all aspects of their work
appreciate, value and work with diversity amongst service users, carers, colleagues and society
reflect on their practice, and critically analyse their own and others’ activities within the context of
healthcare systems and in the community as a whole.
2 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Programme Management
The Doctorate in Clinical Psychology is funded through a contractual arrangement with the NHS. The
commissioning of clinical psychology training places at the University of Liverpool is currently undertaken
by the Health Education England North West (HEENW) which is also responsible for the commissioning of
the other two programmes in the North-West (at the universities of Lancaster and Manchester
respectively).
Within the University of Liverpool, an internal Faculty of Health & Life Sciences NHS Liaison Committee
meets on a quarterly basis. This group includes representatives of the Faculty of Health and Life
Sciences with contractual arrangements to provide professional healthcare training programmes.
Graduates from the University of Liverpool’s D.Clin.Psychol. programme are eligible for registration as a
Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC. Registration with the HCPC is mandatory in order to be able to
practise as a Clinical Psychologist in the UK and to use the title Clinical or Practitioner Psychologist. The
programme has on-going approval by the HCPC, subject to annual monitoring. For more information,
please see the HCPC website at:
www.hpc-uk.org
In addition to having HCPC approval, the programme is accredited by the BPS. Accreditation visits take
place every five years, with the next visit due in June 2018. The British Psychological Society is the
professional body responsible for developing and supporting the discipline of psychology and
disseminating psychological knowledge to the public and policy makers. For further information please
see: www.bps.org.uk/membership
Successful completion of the programme confers eligibility to apply for chartered Membership of the
Society and full membership of the Division of Clinical Psychology.
General management and delivery of the programme is the responsibility of the Programme’s Training
Committee (PTC) and the Board of Examiners. Programme staff, together with the Head of the School of
Psychology, and other senior staff are members of both these groups. Both groups have agreed terms of
reference approved by the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.
The School of Psychology
The Doctor of Clinical Psychology programme is administered through the School of Psychology. This
offers three undergraduate degree programmes:
BSc Psychology (3 years; full-time)
BSc Psychology (2+2 years; full-time in partnership with Wirral Metropolitan College)
MPsycholSci (4 years; full-time integrated Masters programme)
Given the strong research emphasis of clinical psychology training, the programme is also supported by
and linked to the University’s research departments. For this purpose, the research element of the
programme is administered through the Department of Psychological Sciences.
The Department of Psychological Sciences
The Department of Psychological Sciences was founded in 2013 to bring together all existing
Psychological, Psychiatric, Behavioural Medicine, and allied disciplines within the Institute of Psychology,
Health and Society. The Department includes clinical, applied and experimental researchers who conduct
funded projects in a wide-range of research groups including:
3 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Addiction
Appetite and Obesity
Forensic and Investigative
Language Development
Mental Health in Context
Perception
Psychology of Health Care
In addition to these groupings the Department of Psychological Sciences has three cross-cutting themes
to enable research activities in all seven areas:
Expertise and Decision Making
Mother-Infant Interaction (including Developmental Psychopathology)
Neuroscience
The Department of Psychological Sciences has extensive and well maintained research facilities including
state of the art eye tracking, EEG, a bar lab, appetite research unit, HYDRA suite, facilities dedicated to
the taking and analysing of biological samples and supported access to functional imagining technologies
at MARIARC. It provides clinical teaching to the School of Medicine. The Department also provides the
bulk of teaching provision for the School of Psychology (taught undergraduate and postgraduate
provision).
Key Contacts
Head of School of Psychology: Dr Kate Bennett
Head of School of Psychological Sciences: Professor Jason Halford
School Administrator (School of Psychology): Mrs Jackie Bradshaw
Programme Staff Team and Roles
The direct delivery of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology programme is the responsibility of the following
staff:
Dr Sarah Butchard Senior University Clinical Teacher and Joint Year 1 Academic
Lead
Dr Luna Centifanti Senior Lecturer / Research Tutor and Joint Year 1 Research
Lead
Dr Catrin Eames Lecturer / Research Tutor and Year 2 Research Lead
Dr Andrea Flood University Clinical Teacher / Tutor Practitioner
Dr Stephen Gillespie Lecturer / Research Tutor and Joint Year 3 Research Lead
Dr Laura Golding Programme Director
Dr Beth Greenhill Joint Clinical Director and Clinical Placements Lead
Dr Gundi Kiemle Senior University Clinical Teacher and Academic Director and
Admissions Tutor
Dr Katy Lobley University Clinical Teacher and Joint Year 1 Academic Lead
4 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Dr Valentina Lorenzetti Senior Lecturer / Research Tutor and Joint Year 1 Research
Lead and Academic Lead
Dr Susan Mitzman Senior University Clinical Teacher / Tutor Practitioner and Year
1 Clinical Lead
Dr James Reilly Senior University Clinical Teacher / Tutor Practitioner and Year
3 Clinical Lead
Dr Julie Van Vuuren Senior University Clinical Teacher and Year 3 Academic Lead
Dr Ste Weatherhead Senior University Clinical Teacher, Year 2 Academic Lead and
Year 2 Clinical Lead
Dr Ross White Research Director and Joint Year 3 Research Lead
Dr Jim Williams Joint Clinical Director and Professional Line Manager for all
Trainees
Programme Administration Team and Roles:
Mrs Amanda Harrison Clinical Placements Administrator
Mrs Emily Joseph Research Administrator
Mrs Susan Knight Programme Coordinator
Ms Vicky McLoughlin Academic Administrator
Mr Thomas Murphy Administrative Assistant
Other Staff involved in Programme Delivery
In addition to the programme team, members of both the School of Psychology and the Department of
Psychological Sciences contribute to the programme, including teaching and research supervision. Details
of the staff of the School of Psychology and the Department of Psychological Sciences and their teaching
and research activities can be found at:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/psychology/
http://www.liv.ac.uk/psychology-health-and-society/research/psychological-sciences/about/
Liverpool Experts by Experience Group
The Liverpool Experts by Experience (LExE) is a strategic stakeholder group for the Doctorate in
Clinical Psychology programme. It aims to develop a framework for participatory learning and
experts by experience involvement across all aspects of programme delivery. LExE members are
members of the public who are also experts by experience (EbEs); that is, people who use(d), or
support(ed) others in their use of, clinical psychology services, usually in the NHS. Their contact
with a clinical psychologist may have arisen through children’s services, adult mental health
services, through services for older adults or services for people with a learning disability. The
group has a regular membership of 15-20 people who meet monthly. The group acts as “a critical
friend” to the programme team in supporting the learning experience of trainees.
The LExE group is underpinned by human rights principles and co-production values. Both are
core to the programme’s delivery. The human rights principles of Participation, Accountability,
Non-discrimination, Empowerment and upholding human rights Law (PANEL) underpin both the
process and aims of the group. Co-produced practices are embedded within teaching and
formative assessment, research, placement activity reviews, and future trainee
selection/admission processes.
5 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Trainee - Staff Communication
Programme staff draw on a range of sources of information about trainees during the training period.
Formal evaluation outcomes, such as examination marks, academic assignment marks, clinical research
investigation marks, or major research dissertation marks are routinely available to all programme staff
and members of the Board of Examiners. They are kept on file in the D.Clin.Psychol. programme office
and are entered into relevant databases. Trainees are only entitled to know their own marks and other
aspects of their own performance on the programme.
Less formal information about trainees may range, for example, from difficulties arising in their research
projects to changes in personal circumstances. Trainees are encouraged to talk to core staff group
members about issues which relate to their progress on the programme, or which may affect their
performance at different times. In respect of such conversations, trainees should normally assume that
their content will be shared as appropriate with other members of the core team, unless confidentiality has
been explicitly agreed. Programme staff may at times be unable to offer such confidentiality but are able
to do so in agreed circumstances. This issue should therefore be broached at the outset of any
conversation where the boundaries of confidentiality are of concern to a trainee.
Information recorded as part of the Individual Trainee Review Process will be shared, as required,
between core staff team members. Twice per annum, members of the staff team convene an integrative
review meeting to collate information on individual trainees, highlight any areas requiring attention and
where necessary identify any additional needs for support.
Communication routes:
Trainees are provided with a University email account and once registration is complete, all University
communications will be sent to this account. It is very important that trainees check this daily during term-
time, and also regularly during vacation periods.
When trainees email academic staff or professional services staff, they should do so only from their
University email account. Emails should be written in a professional, polite style, and with an appropriate
greeting and sign-off in all mails.
When contacting the Central Student Administration office or Student Support Centre, it is important that
trainees indicate their student ID number, the degree programme, and the year of study.
Academic and professional services staff will not normally reply to emails outside of normal office hours -
in other words trainees should not expect a reply to emails in the evenings or at the weekend. Please see
the D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Email Communication Policy November 2016 document on VITAL.
External post
Sometimes we need to contact trainees via the external postal system so it is important that the programme
is kept informed of any changes to of address - both term-time and vacation. Trainees can update personal
details via Liverpool Life. Please check that postal details and mobile phone details are accurate and
up to date.
Telephone contact
All staff have a direct telephone number and many have voicemail. Please note that when telephoning staff
on a University telephone, only the last 5 digits are required (e.g. for 0151 794 1234 you simply dial 41234).
6 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Calls made from outside the University or from a mobile require the full number. When dialling from outside
the UK, use the prefix +44 (151).
VITAL
Trainees are expected to monitor information on the VITAL (Virtual Interactive Teaching at Liverpool)
network regularly. Information about the programme will be communicated via your VITAL programme
page.
Important dates (term, placement and submission dates for the 2017 - 18 academic year) are available in
VITAL.
The Programme website
This contains information for current and prospective students as well as external collaborators:
http://www.liverpool.ac.uk/dclinpsychol
The School website
This contains information for current students at:
http://www.liverpool.ac.uk/psychology/
The page contains links to staff-student liaison committee minutes and is regularly updated with news and
information relevant to students.
The Programme Newsletter
The D.Clin.Psychol. programme produces a twice-yearly newsletter which students are encouraged to
contribute to. Please contact Emily Joseph: [email protected]. Previous editions are available
here: http://www.liverpool.ac.uk/dclinpsychol/news/
Mersey Care NHS Trust News
“yourNews” a weekly round-up of news from the trainees’ employing Trust.
Key Events for the 2017 - 18 Calendar
Annual Programme Review: 23rd November 2017
Graduation Ceremony to be held at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool: 5th/6th December 2017 (to be
confirmed)
The programme’s Open Day: 20th October 2017
Selection Interviews for 2018 intake: 15th - 18th May 2018
BPS Accreditation Visit: 21st & 22nd June 2018
Annual Research Conference: 10th July 2018
D.Clin.Psychol. programme main Board of Examiners' and Progress Board meeting: 5th September
2018
Trainee Support and Review Systems
Individual Academic Advisors (Personal Tutor)
All trainees are allocated a member of the programme team who will become their Academic Advisor and
primary point of contact with reference to a wide range of activities and needs. This aspect of their role is
7 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
designed to allow staff to get to know trainees more fully on an individual basis and to develop a reciprocal
working and trusting relationship. The Academic Advisor’s role is to:
1. Address specific queries individual trainees may have and provide information and explanation of
programme developments; within this, to draw trainees’ attention, where appropriate, to
information and guidance given in the programme handbooks.
2. Provide individual support as and when needed and requested throughout the three years of
training.
3. Discuss outcome of coursework assignments Clinical Case Research Investigations and essays.
4. Hold review meetings with each trainee at least twice annually (more frequently should the need
arise), and encourage trainees to update and maintain the review documentation provided for this
purpose (as shown in the Clinical section of this Handbook).
5. Monitor and verify completion of the NHS KSF initial and final gateways.
6. Monitor performance in the acquisition of competences and in the formal assessments conducted
during the programme. To raise any issues regarding these areas in relation to attendance,
punctuality, or behaviour both in the university and on placement.
7. Act as a referee when trainees make job applications during their final year of the programme.
8. Liaise with other members of the programme team as necessary, and coordinate support or take
other action as required. Other than in exceptional circumstances, this should be done with the
agreement of trainees.
In carrying out this role, Academic Advisors are required to act in accordance with University, NHS and
programme-specific policies in relation to equal opportunities, confidentiality, exchange of information and
other essential areas.
Individual Trainee Review Process
The appraisal/review process involves an individual meeting between each trainee and her/his personal
tutor/academic advisor on a regular basis. Such meetings are held twice annually, a major review held
during Term 1 (October / November) and a mid-year review held towards the end of term 2 (March /
April). All areas of training are discussed as a means of monitoring progress, including professional and
personal development, academic programme, skills development, research activity, and clinical work.
One related aim is to identify development needs and thereby systematically construct a programme of
placement experience across the three years of training. Trainees are provided with a document on
which they can summarise the content of the meeting and maintain a record of what they consider to be
key aspects of their professional development: this Annual Review form is available in VITAL. Personal
Tutors / Academic Advisors will also review trainees’ e-portfolios as part of the 'Annual Review' process –
link to section on OneFile in Clinical section – page 32.
The Training Mentor System
The Training Mentor system has been in place for a number of years providing trainees with an ongoing
supportive relationship / mentor external to the programme staff team. All trainees are allocated a Mentor
and will be expected to make use of these contacts, and should meet at least once each term. The
nature of the trainee-mentor relationship is intended to be flexible. Trainees will continue to be invited to
express preferences about the broad characteristics they would be seeking in their Training Mentor and
where feasible, occasional meetings for mentors will be convened to ensure the system is working
satisfactorily.
Personal Therapy / Counselling
Clinical Psychology as a profession does not regard personal therapy as a pre-requisite for undertaking
clinical work. The Liverpool programme is continuing to consider its potential place in training within the
wider debate concerning the level of self-awareness we are seeking to foster during training.
8 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Where personal therapy is required in response to a more pressing need, staff will facilitate contact with
an appropriate therapist. In the latter context, arrangements would be made through the Clinical
Director engaging therapy services outside the NHS and local psychology services. In this way every
effort would be made to ensure that the therapist concerned would not be involved in any other aspect
of the trainee’s experience on the programme; ideally they would be external to local psychology
services.
Additionally, as students of the University and as employees of Mersey Care, trainees have the right to
access Student Support Services from the University, and/or Staff Counselling services from the Trust.
Disability Support
The programme supports students with a range of disabilities and is compliant with both the University
and Mersey Care Equality and Diversity Policies. A designated programme team member, the Student
Disability Support Lead, takes responsibility for liaising with the University Student Disability Support
Team (http://www.liv.ac.uk/studentsupport/disability/). This ensures that appropriate adjustments are
made to all aspects of the training as required in each individual’s case. Please note, it is the trainee’s
responsibility to discuss any issues that they may have concerning disability, or requests for consideration
of any ‘reasonable adjustments’ directly with the Student Disability Support Lead, Dr James Reilly, in the
first instance. Please also note that any information that trainees declare to the Mersey Care Occupational
Health department, as part of their pre-employment checks, remains confidential and is NOT shared with
the programme, underlining the need for trainees to discuss any such matters directly with the Student
Disability Support Lead.
Trainee involvement and representation within the Programme, School and Faculty
The School tries to be as open as possible in the way it runs, and students are encouraged to make their
views heard. This is not to say every opinion will be acted upon because ultimately academic staff are
responsible for using their judgement about how their subject should be taught and assessed. But student
opinion is always listened to and seriously considered. There are many ways in which student engagement
in the programme operates, including through individual trainee/student feedback, trainee/student forums
and the Programme, School and Faculty committees described below. For more information on how to get
involved contact Sue Knight, Programme Co-ordinator.
Trainee / student forums and Trainee Feedback
Trainees are afforded a number of other channels through which they may make their views known to
programme staff, take part in decision-making, and influence the overall development and delivery of the
programme. These include the following feedback mechanisms:
Evaluation feedback is collected from trainees via web-based questionnaires following
each teaching session;
Trainee/student forums (held separately for each year-group) at the end of each teaching
term, with members of the staff group.
Staff Student Liaison Committees
Staff/student liaison committees (SSLCs) are run across the School usually once per term.
Staff/student liaison committees are formal but friendly forums for students to raise issues of general
concern about their studies; they cannot deal with matters of an individual or personal nature. They may
also be used to consult with students on policy changes, curriculum development, assessment, feedback,
etc.
If you are interested in becoming a student representative please contact the D.Clin. Psychol. office in the
first instance. Students may serve as representatives for one year or throughout their studies if they wish.
9 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Representation on Committees
There are committees at Faculty, School and Programme level and all include student representation on
their membership. Committee reps are usually recruited through the programme and you will hear more
about these opportunities form the Programme Co-ordinator. You can also find out more by contacting
the Student Voice Coordinator who is based in the Guild but works very closely with staff in the faculty.
The Programme’s Training Committee (PTC)
The Doctor of Clinical Psychology Programme’s Training Committee (PTC) has strategic responsibility for
oversight of all aspects of the running of the programme. It consists of:
programme staff
representatives of the Faculty
clinical supervisors based in NHS clinical psychology services,
service user/ carer
trainees from each year-group.
The PTC is, in University terms, the Board of Studies for the training programme. The PTC meets
quarterly and a series of meeting dates will be published at the commencement of the academic year
2017-2018. Meetings follow a specially prepared agenda, and formal minutes are kept. The current chair
of the Committee is Dr David King, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Mersey Care NHS Trust.
There are three sub-groups covering Curriculum Development, Clinical Placements and Research which
are responsible for specific aspects of the programme and for liaison between the Programme Team and
NHS clinical staff. NHS Service Users and Carer representatives are members of all of these groups.
From time to time as required the PTC may establish smaller committees or working groups to
accomplish specific review tasks or perform other functions related to programme management and
development. Such groups also include trainee representatives.
Trainee representation on the PTC and its sub-committees
The constitution of the (PTC) states that trainees must have representation on this, and its various
standing committees. Some formal arrangement of this type is required for all postgraduate programmes
in the Faculty. Each year-group is asked to nominate the required number of representatives, including
deputies, to cover each of the main committees. Trainees are also represented on working groups that
may be appointed by the PTC for specific purposes (usually to review or revise some aspect of policy).
Subject to discussion by trainee groups, either their regular representative or another member of the year-
group may take on this role.
The Board of Examiners
The Board of Examiners (BoE) is chaired by the Programme Director and consists of Programme and
School staff, Internal Examiners and External Examiners. As the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
qualification is awarded by the University of Liverpool, the BoE is responsible for both the monitoring and
approval of trainees’ progress and performance. It meets twice annually, in May and in September.
External Examiners
External Examiners play a vital part in quality assurance and in maintaining equivalent standards of work
across degree programmes at different universities in the UK. Their primary role entails examination of
trainees’ research dissertations, the conduct of oral examinations, and moderation of a proportion of
trainees’ written programme assignments and examinations, and decision-making and advice at the
Board of Examiners. External examiners submit an annual report covering all aspects of the programme.
External Examiners for the academic year 2017 – 2018 are:
10 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Dr Helen Beinart - University of Oxford
Dr Breeda Cullen, University of Glasgow - tbc
Professor Rudi Dallos - University of Plymouth
Dr Vyv Huddy - University College London
Dr Pieter Nel - University of Hertfordshire
Dr Theresa Powell - University of Birmingham
Dr Nicholas Wood – formerly of University of East London
The Research Review Committee
The Chair of the Research Review Committee (RRC) is the Research Director. The primary role of the
RRC is to give in initial assessment of the trainees’ project proposals for the major research dissertation.
Additional information concerning the RRC can be found in the Research section of this Handbook
Ordinances
Programme regulations governing the award of the Doctor of Clinical Psychology can be found at:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/cgso/programmeordinances/ORDINANCE,59,Degree,of,Doctor,
of,Clinical,Psychology.pdf
Progress of Students
Trainees should familiarise themselves with the University’s Guide on the Progress of Students which
covers matters including: monitoring mechanisms, extenuating circumstances, progress and exam
boards, faculty progress committees and appeals committees:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment/appendix_E_cop_assess.pdf
Further details of the progression requirements for the programme are included in the Assessment
Section of this Handbook.
Attendance
Attendance at all curriculum activities of the programme is compulsory and failure to attend except under
exceptional circumstances.
Attendance in teaching is crucial to the successful completion of coursework and examinations, and those
are in turn central to trainees’ progress from one year to the next. Attendance at all classes and the
punctual submission of coursework are key factors in determining whether a trainee’s progress is
satisfactory.
Attendance monitoring
If a trainee is unable to attend the programme due to sickness or other unforeseen circumstances they
must telephone the D.Clin.Psychol. office to report their absence by 9.00am on the first day. In
addition, trainees must also inform their clinical supervisor and / or research year lead if their absence
falls on a clinical placement or research study day. Following any absence trainees are required to
arrange a ‘return to work’ interview with their Academic Advisor.
Absences are monitored closely by the programme and reports are submitted to the Programme’s
Directors and to the employing authority, Mersey Care NHS Trust. Trainees are required to sign the
attendance register on arrival at the University on all teaching days.
In their final year or after graduation, when trainees apply for employment or further study, they will need a
reference. Employers and educational bodies invariably request details of attendance and timekeeping.
11 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Consistent commitment to work and conscientious attendance throughout training will therefore have an
impact on your future career.
Extenuating Circumstances
Trainees or students sometimes perform more poorly in assessments (whether examinations or other
types of assessments) than their previous performance or achievements would have predicted.
Sometimes this poor performance can be attributed, or partially attributed, to particular circumstances
beyond the control of the individual. These circumstances are described as 'extenuating circumstances' if
they are accepted in extenuation of the poorer than expected performance. When the Extenuating
Circumstances Committee accept a trainee's application of extenuating circumstances, the BoE will take
this into account when making decisions.
Extenuating Circumstances Policy
All trainees must read the university's policy and guidance documents on Extenuating
Circumstances
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-
assessment/appendix_M_cop_assess.pdf
Extenuating circumstances should be reported using the form available at:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment/extenuating-
circumstances-form.docx
In the first instance, you may be advised to contact your academic advisor or Academic Year lead
before proceeding with the Extenuating Circumstances procedure.
It is the responsibility of the trainee concerned to report all circumstances. Trainees should report such
extenuating circumstances as soon as possible (normally within five working days) after the events under
consideration occur, and no later than one week before the meeting of the Board of Examiners at which
the assessment concerned will be considered.
Fees
Trainees should be aware that the payment of University Registration and Re-Examination fees are
applicable where a trainee is required by the Board of Examiners, to revise and resubmit their thesis for a
second examination. In addition, trainees who defer submission of their thesis beyond the initial 3 year
registration period are required to pay the relevant University Registration fees.
The Student Charter
The purpose of the Student Charter is to set out a partnership in learning. Jointly created by the University
and the Liverpool Guild of Students, it represents a shared commitment to the values of the University and
to developing and maintaining a stimulating, diverse and supportive environment that is conducive to
learning. https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/tqsd/student-engagement/student-charter/
Health and Safety Information
Specific guidance regarding health and safety on placement can be found on page 33 of the Clinical
section of this handbook and for conducting research see page 63 of the Research section. Trainees
should also familiarise themselves with the University’s Health & Safety policies:
https://www.liv.ac.uk/intranet/safety/universitysafetypolicy/
Programme Overview
The provision of clinical psychology training is a collaboration between the university and NHS clinical
psychology staff. The university has the responsibility for coordinating the overall scheme of training,
providing academic and research components of the programme, arranging and managing the clinical
experience of trainees, and evaluating all aspects of the trainees’ performance and competence. The
12 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
NHS psychologists and other staff are involved in training through the provision of clinical placements,
clinical supervision, research supervision, academic teaching, assessment and marking, mentoring, and
membership of programme committees and working groups.
During clinical training, on average approximately 50% of a trainee’s time is spent working under the
supervision of a qualified clinical psychologist in NHS settings. Information concerning how this is
structured is given below and fuller details are given in the Clinical section of this Handbook.
The programme is engaged in a collaborative process not only with the other two training providers in the
North West (Lancaster and Manchester universities), but also with all psychology services across the
region. The North West is contiguous with the conurbations of Greater Manchester and Merseyside and
the county of Lancashire and parts of Cheshire and Cumbria. The region has an estimated population of
approximately 5.5 million people and approximately 950 clinical psychologists are employed in psychology
services or multi-disciplinary teams in a wide variety of service settings.
Many NHS clinical psychologists in clinical services, not only more locally but across the whole of the
North West, contribute substantially to programme delivery. The bulk of the direct teaching on the
programme is carried out by clinicians from outside the University. A significant number of these staff
members have Recognised Teacher or Honorary Lecturer status within the Faculty.
Components of the Training Programme
In line with the HCPC’s Standards of Education and Training and the BPS’s Standards for Doctoral
Programmes in Clinical Psychology, the Doctor in Clinical Psychology programme at Liverpool is
designed to contain four principal elements:
An academic programme
Clinical experience in the NHS and social care services
Research training curriculum and the conduct of a research project
Private study.
The above elements - the academic programme; trainees’ clinical training and experience, which occurs
outside the University on clinical placements in NHS settings; and research training of trainees - are
discussed more extensively in the Clinical, Teaching, and Research sections of this Handbook. An
overview of certain aspects of all these ingredients are described below.
The time devoted to the formal academic (‘taught’) component of the programme decreases as the
programme progresses from the first to the third year (see below). Thus, at the outset trainees spend five
weeks in an intensive teaching and learning block and have teaching on two days per week through
university terms. In contrast, by year three, blocks are shorter and there is formal university-based
teaching on only one day a week. However, throughout the three years, there are two-week preparatory
teaching blocks at the start of all placements, excluding the sixth placement.
Time Allocation during Training
The proportion of each year devoted to each main type of training activity (taking into account public
holidays and annual leave entitlement), is approximately as follows:
Activity Year one Year two Year three Total
Days % Days % Days % Days %
Placement 132 49 140 54 150 58 422 54
Research Project
16 6 54 21 58 22 128 16
13 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Teaching 98 36 42 16 28 10 168 21
Priv. study 24 9 24 9 26 10 72 9
Total 270 260 260 790
Teaching
The teaching programme entails a total of approximately 1000 hours of direct teaching and learning
activities across the three years. Key areas of teaching/training include: academic, clinical, research,
professional and personal issues and Trust mandatory training. Teaching sessions are normally of three
hours’ duration (9.30 am to 12.30 pm and 1.30 to 4.30 pm, with a break at a convenient midway point),
though most Monday afternoons are further sub-divided into shorter sessions of 1¼ -1½ hours. The
teaching programme is divided into a total of 30 teaching units. Within each unit, a wide spectrum of
teaching and learning methods may be employed, including didactic/lecturing sessions; small group
exercises with plenary feedback and discussion; workshop formats including role-plays, other structured
activities or experiential sessions; and enquiry-based learning. An increasing number of sessions are co-
produced with service users and carers. Descriptions of the objectives and contents of separate teaching
units which make up the teaching component of the programme, including the teaching elements of the
research curriculum, are given in the Teaching section of this Handbook. Timetables showing the overall
plan of each teaching term will be emailed to trainees and teaching staff prior to the start of each term.
More detailed information on the contents of individual programme teaching units, together with reading
lists, will be issued at the start of each unit.
Fuller details of the teaching programme are given in the Teaching section of this Handbook.
Clinical experience and activity
Practical clinical experience is gained through the provision of a series of six placements, generally each
of six months’ duration, based in NHS or social care services and supervised most commonly by a
qualified clinical psychologist with a minimum of two years’ post-qualification experience. Subject to
availability, according to trainees’ needs, and following discussion with the programme team, a 12-month
placement may be arranged covering all of the third year. The general sequence of placements for
Liverpool trainees has been agreed in conjunction with colleagues on the Lancaster and Manchester
training programmes in order to maximise usage of placement and supervisor availability across the North
West. The sequence at Liverpool is as shown in the following table.
Period Placement
Year 1 October to March Adult mental health
Year 1 April to September Older adults
Year 2 October to March Intellectual disabilities
Year 2 April to September Child and family services
Year 3 October to March Specialist 1
Year 3 April to September Specialist 2
Fuller details of the clinical component of the programme are given in the Clinical section of this
Handbook.
14 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Research activity
Clinical psychology is a “research-led” profession. Hence research informs and indeed pervades the
activities of clinical psychologists and it is a requirement of training that it include research methods
teaching, the conduct of a major clinically relevant research project and submission of a project
dissertation of up to 25,000 words. This will familiarise trainees with all aspects of the research process
from development of ideas, through preparing a project proposal, obtaining ethics approval, data
collection, analysis, and writing up. Each trainee is allocated an individual university-based primary
research supervisor and may also have an external (usually NHS-based) or internal second supervisor.
The Research Training Curriculum comprises a total of approximately 162 hours, which includes core
research teaching sessions and research presentation seminars. The research curriculum also includes
an Annual Research Conference and several optional research workshops/seminars/surgeries throughout
the three years of training to further support research learning and skills development.
Fuller details of the research component of the programme are given in the Research section of this
Handbook.
Personal and Professional Development (PPD)
The programme recognises both personal and professional development to be of fundamental importance
throughout the whole course of training, and there are a number of ways in which these areas are
addressed.
Further information of this aspect of the programme is covered in the Clinical and Teaching sections of
this handbook.
Reading and private study
The BPS has recommended that for all trainees, ten per cent of programme time be allocated to private
study. Trainees at Liverpool are allocated one half day per week for reading and private study.
Programme Resources
Teaching on the D.Clin.Psychol. programme is primarily located in a set of three large rooms in the
basement floor of the Whelan Building, where there is also a number of smaller group rooms, used for
clinical case and research presentations, and PPD group sessions. Occasional use is made of other
rooms on the campus.
The programme’s facilities include a full range of audio-visual and presentation equipment including
computer projectors, whiteboards, flipcharts and TV monitors. Other types of equipment such as audio-
recording, digital recording, transcribing and camcorder facilities, and laptop computers are available by
arrangement with the D.Clin.Psychol office, for use in training sessions or in research work. Trainees also
have access to a networked printer for printing, photocopying and scanning documents, located on the
ground floor of the Whelan building.
Trainees are allocated an ipad for use on placement, specifically to allow access to their on-line e-
portfolios, VITAL, DatAnywhere and to facilitate video capture of client sessions for their CBT CTS-r CCRI
- see the Assessment section for further information.
The programme also has a dedicated learning resource room on the ground floor of the Whelan Building
which contains six computer terminals with internet access. Also in this room is a small internal library for
use by clinical psychology trainees, for which specific access times are arranged throughout the teaching
terms. The university’s principal libraries are the Harold Cohen Library, which is also only two minutes-
walk from the Whelan Building and holds medical, biological, and other science and engineering books
15 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
and journals; and the Sydney Jones Library, which is approximately ten minutes-walk away and houses
psychology, social science and humanities books and journals. The University’s Computer Services
Department provides excellent IT, internet, electronic database and other state-of-the-art facilities. Large
numbers of accessible terminals are located in the two main university libraries (the Harold Cohen and
Sydney Jones libraries)
The Programme team are located in offices on both the second floor and the ground floor of the Whelan
building. The programme’s central administration office is situated in room G.05 on the ground floor of the
Whelan building.
Overview of Programme Assessments
Types of Assessment There are six main types of assessment employed for award of the D.Clin.Psychol. degree, and trainees
are required to perform adequately in all of these areas in order to be awarded the degree:
1. Academic Coursework Assignments
2. Clinical Case Research Investigations/Clinical Service Research Investigations
3. Written Examinations
4. Clinical Placement Reports
5. The Major Research Dissertation
6. The Viva Voce Examination
Please refer to the Assessment, Clinical and Research sections of this Handbook for guidance on all
aspects of coursework assessment.
Publication of end-of-year and final results
Written notification of results will be sent to trainees via University email. Examination marks must be
ratified by the Board of Examiners. Results are therefore usually available following the September
meeting of the Board of Examiners.
Academic Integrity Policy
Information on The University’s Academic Integrity Policy is covered in a teaching session at the
beginning of the induction block in year 1. If any trainee has any queries about the matters covered by
this policy, they must contact the Academic lead for their year, the Academic Director or the Programme
Director.
The University of Liverpool’s Academic Integrity Policy is available at:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment/appendix_L_cop_assess.pdf
The University of Liverpool’s Academic Integrity Policy: Guidelines for Students and Staff are available at:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-
assessment/appendix_L_cop_assess_annex1.pdf
On submission of all written work, trainees are required to complete a Declaration of Academic Integrity.
Failure Criteria
Alongside the various criteria used by the programme to evaluate trainees’ progress, there are also
criteria for programme failure. It is the responsibility of programme staff to ensure that a professional
qualification in clinical psychology can be awarded only to those in whom there can be confidence that
16 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
they will be capable of and suitable for working in this capacity in the NHS. There are six sets of criteria
for programme failure, in the following areas:
1. Professional conduct. Any concerns regarding significant breaches of professional conduct,
whether in a clinical or university setting, will be dealt with under the Mersey Care disciplinary
procedures and / or the University Board of Discipline, as deemed appropriate.
2. Criminal offences. Convictions for criminal offences of a serious nature or which in the judgement
of Mersey Care NHS Trust may place NHS clients at risk will result in dismissal from the
programme.
3. Attendance. Trainees’ attendance on teaching days at the University and on clinical placements is
mandatory and monitored. Unauthorised absence will be addressed with reference to Mersey
Care policies and procedures.
4. Written examinations. Written examinations must be passed to the satisfaction of the Board of
Examiners on the basis of the marking guidelines given in this Handbook. Other than in
exceptional circumstances, one re-sit only will be allowed for each written examination paper.
5. Submitted coursework assignments. All academic assessments, clinical research investigations
and the major research dissertation must be passed to the satisfaction of the Board of Examiners
on the basis of the marking guidelines given in this Handbook. Marking guidelines and failure
criteria are given in the Research and Assessment sections of this Handbook. Other than in
exceptional circumstances, one re-submission only will be allowed for each assessed piece of
work.
6. Clinical placements. Trainees must successfully pass all six clinical placements on the basis of the
placement evaluation criteria set out in the Clinical section of this Handbook. Subject to review by
the Board of Examiners, one placement can be repeated following the expected completion date
of the programme. In these circumstances should they arise, programme staff in co-ordination with
the placement supervisor will provide a written statement of issues to be addressed and goals to
be met on the repeated placement. Failure to pass the repeated placement will result in
programme failure.
Appeals Procedure
In accord with the university Appeals Procedure for research degrees “candidates may appeal against a
decision not to award a degree, or not to allow re-submission for a degree’.
For coursework, written examinations and placement work reference may also be made to the appeals
procedure for undergraduate and taught postgraduate degrees:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/tqsd/pol_strat_cop/cop_assess/appendix_F_cop_assess.pdf
Fitness to Practise
Issues regarding fitness to practise will be dealt with under the University’s procedure:
https://www.liv.ac.uk/student-administration/student-administration-centre/policies-procedures/fitness-to-
practise/
Graduation
On successful completion of the D.Clin.Psychol. programme, as part of the convocation ceremony, those
graduating as healthcare professionals are asked to recite (collectively), the Declaration of Geneva. This
is a World Medical Association statement of professional ethical principles, now endorsed by the World
17 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Health Organisation and adopted by other healthcare professions. The text of the declaration is
reproduced below.
"At the time of being admitted as a Member of my Profession:
o I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to the service of humanity;
o I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due;
o I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity;
o The health of those in my care will be my first consideration;
o I will respect the secrets that are confided in me, even after the patient has died;
o I will maintain by all the means in my power, the honour and the noble traditions of my profession;
o My colleagues will be my sisters and brothers;
o I will not permit considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender,
nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, or social standing to intervene between my
duty and my patient;
o I will maintain the utmost respect for human life from its beginning, even under threat, and I will not
use my specialist knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity;
I make these promises solemnly, freely, and upon my honour.”
18 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
SECTION TWO
THE TEACHING PROGRAMME
Introduction
The teaching programme consists of a total of approximately 1000 hours of direct teaching and learning
activities across the three years of training. Key areas of teaching/training include the following: academic,
clinical, research, professional and personal issues and Trust mandatory training. The teaching
programme covers all the principal elements required by the BPS’s Standards for Doctoral Programmes in
Clinical Psychology (BPS, 2014) and the HCPC’s Standards of Education and Training (HCPC 2014).
The teaching programme is divided into a series of 30 inter-linked teaching units varying in length between
two sessions (six hours of teaching contact) and 29 sessions (more than 80 hours), with a number of other
single ‘stand-alone’ sessions on selected topics. Within each unit, a wide spectrum of teaching and
learning methods may be employed, depending on the objectives of the unit and the type of material to be
covered.
The programme’s inter-linked teaching units each focus on a designated area enabling an integration of theory, research and clinical practice. The inter-relationships of the specific learning objectives, teaching and learning strategies, and assessment methods are complex. An illustration of this can be seen in the Programme Specification document at: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/programmespecs/Clinical,Psychology,DClinPsychol.pdf. For example, most of the programme’s coursework assessments are integrative: that is, satisfactory performance requires trainees to combine learning of several kinds. This emphasises the integrative nature of the training programme as a whole, and highlights one of its key intrinsic objectives.
The time devoted to the formally taught component decreases as the programme progresses through
years 1, 2 and 3 - see table below. At the beginning of the course, trainees attend full-time for a five week
intensive teaching induction block. Y1 trainees then attend teaching two days a week in term time
throughout the first year. Y2 trainees attend teaching one day a week in term time throughout Y2 and Y3
trainees attend for teaching on one day a week for the first two terms only.
Components of the Teaching Curriculum across a Three-Year Cohort
The constituent teaching units of the programme and the specified numbers of hours in each are
summarised in the following table. Note that the hours shown do not correspond to the parallel timetables
for a given academic year, but for the cumulative numbers of hours devoted to specific teaching units
across a three-year cohort.
Teaching Unit Year 1
Hours
Year 2
Hours
Year 3
Hours
Total
Hours
Addictions 10
3 13
Behaviour and Cognition 47
47
Children, Young People and Family
69
69
Clinical Assessment 23.75
23.75
Clinical Health Psychology 28.5
28.5
Clinical Interviewing 19.83
19.83
Clinical Neuropsychology 36.5
36.5
Clinical Psychology with Older Adults 57
57
Clinical Skills / Research Presentations 24.25 24.25 19.5 68
Eating Disorders 6 6
Enquiry Based Learning (formulation) 20.75
20.75
Enquiry Based Learning (from practice to research) 10.25
0.5 10.75
19 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Family and Systemic Therapies 4.5 34.5
39
Forensic Practice
24 24
Human Rights 12
12
Human Sexuality 12
12
Intellectual Disabilities
68.5
68.5
Mersey Care Induction 12 12
Optional Seminars
8.75 8.75
Orientation 34.25 1.5
35.75
Personal and Professional Development 12 8.5 9.75 30.25
Personality Disorders
19.75
19.75
Professional Issues 19.5 19.5 48.5 87.5
Psychodynamic Psychotherapies 40.5
40.5
Psychological Models and Theories 15
15
Psychopharmacology 9
9
Psychosis and Recovery 6
39 45
Research Sessions 35 16 22.75 73.75
Risk Assessment and Management 10.25 10.25
Third Wave Therapies 15 12
27
TOTAL 514.83 279.5 175.75 970.08
Teaching and learning has been designed so that much of the teaching on the core psychological topics is
completed by the end of the first year, allowing trainees to make maximum use of this knowledge in
subsequent placement experiences. The programme is founded on a long-standing policy of giving
approximately equivalent time to the major theoretical paradigms (e.g. cognitive-behavioural, cognitive
analytic therapy, psychodynamic, and systemic), which have significantly informed and influenced clinical
skills, theory and practice. However, in teaching sessions trainees are also encouraged to identify common
factors across different approaches, as well as the differences between them. This spirit is further reflected
in the allocation of placement experiences, which requires that trainees gain ‘hands on’ experience of
more than one therapeutic approach.
The three teaching terms are generally ten weeks in duration. Teaching sessions are normally of three hours duration (9.30 am to 12.30 pm and 1.30 to 4.30 pm, with a break at a convenient midway point), though some sessions are further sub-divided into shorter sessions of 1¼ -1½ hours. The teaching day begins at 9.00 am and ends at 5.00 pm to allow time for trainees to report to the programme office to sign the register in accordance with the university’s Health and Safety policy and the requirements of the Mersey Care NHS Trust, the trainees’ employer. Trainees are also required at times to attend meetings, outside normal teaching hours. A one-hour lunch break begins at 12.30 and there are short morning and afternoon breaks at suitable points, mid-way through teaching sessions. Trainees are reminded that the same standards of professional behaviour are expected during their University teaching days as those that are required when they are on their clinical placements.
Guidelines for managing emotional responses within teaching sessions The programme has a guidance document for teachers – “Guidelines for Managing Emotional Responses within Teaching Sessions for Trainees and Facilitators”. These guidelines are designed to address the issues that may arise when teaching on the programme encourages trainees to reflect on personal experiences that may have an emotional impact on them, and/or when trainees attending teaching sessions are struggling with personal issues that may trigger upset unexpectedly. The HCPC requires that when students on any HCPC approved programme participate as service users in practical and clinical teaching, appropriate protocols must be used to obtain their consent. Written consent is sought from all trainees at the beginning of training. For this consent to be meaningful, it is important that the requirements of the programme are outlined, as well as guidance for facilitators of teaching sessions and trainees. In addition to the above-mentioned guidance document, three sets of guidelines have been
20 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
produced by the Liverpool Experts by Experience Group (LExE) for Lecturers, Experts by Experience and Trainees:
Guidelines for Lecturers involving Experts by Experience in teaching
Guidelines for Experts by Experience involved in teaching
Guidelines for Trainees attending teaching involving service users and carers.
These documents are available in VITAL
Main Components The main components of the teaching programme can be summarised under three primary headings as
follows.
(a) Background theory and research
Presentation and discussion of theoretical models and research findings is required to cover a range of
areas relevant to the work of clinical psychologists. These are:
background research and theoretical models of psychological disorders and distress and personality
disorders
key therapeutic approaches (behavioural, cognitive, third wave, cognitive analytic, psychodynamic and
systemic
knowledge pertaining to the interface between psychological and medical practice (clinical health
psychology, clinical neuropsychology, psychopharmacology).
Whilst these topics can conceptually be inter-connected in numerous ways, the ‘Structure of Teaching
Units’ diagram illustrates a conceptual scheme for understanding their relationships within the programme
as a whole.
(b) Areas of application
Some teaching units are directly associated with issues arising in specific areas of clinical practice and
are, therefore, used as preparatory sessions prior to commencing, and through the early stages of clinical
placements, to provide trainees with essential competences for work in those areas. In many instances the
staff providing these teaching sessions also act as supervisors on placements. Broadly speaking these
units can be divided into two groups as follows:
preparatory teaching related to mandatory areas of clinical practice (older adults, intellectual
disabilities, child, adolescent and family work)
sessions pertaining to various specialist areas of psychological practice (e.g., addictions, forensic
psychology, human sexuality, psychosis and recovery)
There is no single teaching unit entitled ‘adult mental health’, though this is a core area of clinical
experience and forms the first placement of the clinical programme. However, a number of the teaching
units provided at the outset of Year 1 and in terms 1 and 2 of that year could be collectively described as
focussing on work in adult mental health.
Clinical and professional skills development
This title encompasses a number of discrete but inter-related teaching units which incorporate teaching
and practice on a variety of elements: assessment, interviewing, formulation of clinical problems, and
professional issues. Throughout these components, an emphasis is also placed on the integration of
theory and practice addressed directly to clinical work. The ability to conduct research is seen as a core
professional skill of clinical psychologists. Please refer to the Research Section of the programme
handbook for details of the research component of the programme.
21 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
This group of teaching units therefore comprises:
core aspects of professional work (professional issues, social context of psychological practice,
personal and professional development, consultation, leadership, service development, critical
psychology)
core clinical skills (assessment, formulation, psychological therapy, evaluation of progress)
research methods. Please refer to the Research Section of the Handbook for details concerning
research methods and Research Training Curriculum.
Staff providing sessions in the programme are encouraged to foster active participation by trainees as far
as possible. Skills-oriented sessions place a particular emphasis on this, and it is additionally important in
relation to case presentation sessions which are trainee-led.
Clinical Skills / Case Presentation Sessions
Integrating theory and practice in clinical work
Face-to-face contact with service users, on either an individual or a group basis, is a core activity in the
practice of clinical psychology. A primary aim of the programme is to encourage trainees to develop an
approach to this which integrates well-formulated theory and relevant background research with clinical
application and evaluation of service users’ progress. This is accomplished through case presentation
sessions. During the first and third terms of each academic year, in a series of consecutive weekly
sessions, trainees from all year-groups present clinical work from their current placements (excludes Year
3 in Term 3) in small mixed year group sessions, including trainees from all years, and facilitated by a
member of the core staff team.
The purpose of these sessions is to enable trainees to present and discuss clinical work with individuals or
groups. Material for presentation may be drawn from any area of the trainees’ current clinical placements.
These do not have to be ‘successes’ or well-polished demonstrations of outstanding clinical performance.
They may illustrate cases with successful outcomes, but equally they may illustrate complexities and the
difficulties that typically arise in clinical work, adaptations of methods to specific individuals or situations, or
actual errors or obstacles and their consequences. They are a useful opportunity for group problem-
solving, for sharing stress caused by difficult client work, and for reflecting on the impact of therapeutic and
other clinical activity.
The sessions also mirror the kinds of discussions or presentations that occur in clinical teams and allow
trainees to practise using such occasions purposefully; to gain confidence in presenting their work in a
group setting and to acquire a respectful approach to speaking about clients.
In addition to the above elements of the programme, which are integrated within specified teaching units,
there are several other individual sessions focused on circumscribed topics or issues that do not form part
of a teaching unit as such. They include, for example, induction sessions and endings in therapy.
Teaching and Learning Styles
The methods employed in the programme teaching range from lectures, group discussions, structured
exercises, workshops, case study and formulation sessions, to the use of skills-training, role-play (some
with professional actors as clients), video and experiential work. All teaching rooms contain flipcharts,
whiteboards, dvd players, document viewers, microphones, speakers and computer projection facilities.
Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL) approaches are used in year one with the aim of improving trainees’ ability
to:
conceptualise cases from different theoretical perspectives
integrate knowledge and research skills with those of clinical practice
develop their skills and competencies as adult learners
22 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Specific methods employed within teaching/learning sessions can be itemised as follows:
Discussion of all aspects of the programme including specific areas of content within single
sessions, and with reference to developmental sequences across sessions and modules
Lectures / didactic sessions, or as elements within sessions, to impart key aspects of background
knowledge and explication of theory
Skills training workshops for practice of interpersonal communication in clinical settings, focused
on assessment and therapeutic skills in individual and group-based practice
Sessions of personal and professional development designed to develop awareness within the
individual of his or her functioning, and of the complex interplay between private and professional
dimensions of experience
Use of simulation and role-play exercises to recreate aspects of interaction in clinical settings
Use of semi-structured exercises to provide opportunities for development of awareness of ethical
dimensions of practice
Unstructured experiential sessions relevant to some forms of practice in psychological therapy
Active reflection (individually and in groups) on the content and process of learning, and specific sessions
Opportunities for personal review and self-appraisal by trainees on an individual basis with
designated members of staff at key points across the three-year programme
Direct clinical practice in a range of NHS clinical services, including specialised work for a period of
six months in adult mental health; services for people with intellectual disabilities; services for
children, young people and families; and for older adults
Clinical practice in two specialist clinical placements (or one 12 month specialist placement)
Provision of individual clinical supervision whilst on clinical placements
The ‘Descriptions of Teaching Units’ document includes brief reading lists, citing the main sources used
as background for teaching in that area. Staff delivering sessions will also provide other more detailed
lists as appropriate for the material they are presenting or the area they are developing. Trainees are
provided with one half-day per week of private study throughout the programme. Given the extent of
published work in clinical psychology and allied fields, the importance of reading, using the provided
reference and resource lists as a starting point but becoming gradually more self-directed, cannot be over-
emphasised.
Dictaphone Use in Teaching
The programme supports students with a range of disabilities and is congruent with both the University
and Mersey Care Equality and Diversity Policies. A designated programme team member, Dr James
Reilly, takes responsibility for liaising with the University Student Disability Support Team:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/studentsupport/disability/. This ensures that appropriate adjustments are made to all
aspects of the training as required in each individual's case. Specific to teaching, this includes, the use of
a Dictaphone to record teaching sessions where this is recommended by the University's Student Support
Service. See the programme's ‘Use of Dictaphones by Trainees’ policy.
Design and Structure of Teaching Units
The programme’s teaching units focus on specific areas of theory, research, clinical work, or aspects of
professional practice (see Research Section for Research Training Curriculum teaching sessions). Each
unit has an appointed convenor (a function sometimes performed by two people or a small group working
jointly), who proposes specific content for the unit and makes initial contact with potential contributors. A
series of sessions is then planned in general terms and finally specific times are arranged and confirmed
by the teaching unit coordinators, in liaison with the Academic Team year lead as well as with the
programme’s administration team.
23 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
The teaching programme is reviewed and updated with reference to emerging background knowledge,
changes in healthcare and social care policy and service development, and to take account of changes in
the specific focus and detailed requirements of clinical competencies over time.
All programme teaching is reviewed annually by the Curriculum Development and Planning Group, a sub-
group of the PTC. This group, chaired by the Academic Director, consists of teaching staff together with
convenors of the teaching units and other individual sessions that make up the academic programme. The
group meets once per annum; further information concerning its responsibilities is given below. Its principal
tasks are to review and plan the teaching programme. Furthermore, internal academic team meetings
take place regularly. In addition to external criteria which influence the general design of the programme,
the following mechanisms are used to inform the review process. Particular elements of the teaching
programme e.g. research teaching and mandatory training are additionally reviewed by other bodies.
Individual Trainee Feedback on Teaching
An electronic system, Qualtrics, for gaining feedback from trainees on every teaching session, is in place
and trainees can access web questionnaires via mobile phone or PC.
Feedback Meetings
Feedback is also obtained from each trainee year-group at the end of each academic term via year
Student / Trainee Forum meetings. Discussion in these sessions covers all aspects of trainees’ ongoing
experience. Three members of the programme team, the year leads for the academic, clinical and
research teams, attend these meetings. The information and viewpoints obtained is fed back to the full
team and to the relevant Programme Training Committee sub-group and action taken accordingly, if
necessary passing information on for further discussion or action by the PTC.
24 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
SECTION THREE
THE CLINICAL PRACTICE COMPONENT
Introduction
The Clinical Practice component of the training programme aims to allow trainees to apply and
supplement the learning and skills development of the academic programme. It is also where they will
be most aware of their positions as NHS employees and as embryonic members of the profession. The
implications of these two roles are clearly significant in terms of how trainees relate to programme staff
and supervisors.
The clinical director has line-management responsibilities for all trainees as well as overseeing
placement provision and assuming more pastoral and educative roles. Trainees are expected to
operate as they would in a service environment in respect to punctuality, accounting for their
whereabouts at all times, and generally functioning in a professional manner. The early sections of the
handbook relating to the reporting of sickness and requests for annual leave are particularly important
in this respect.
Much of the remainder of this section of the handbook describes arrangements for:
the allocation of placements;
the development of placement contracts;
supervision;
programme monitoring of trainees’ progress on placement and across the clinical component of
the programme as a whole
Descriptions of the placements available are provided in a separate document, the Placement Register,
available online through the VITAL pages.
Descriptions of the placements available are provided in the relevant sections of the Placement
Register:
Adult Mental Health Placement
Older Adult Placement
Learning Disability Placement
Child Placement
Specialist Placement
These include details of placements across the North West, following agreement between the three
North West programmes to collaborate in the organisation of placements. One implication of this
arrangement is that trainees will be required to travel further afield for some of their clinical placements,
although it is hoped that the burden of travelling can be shared across any trainee group in an equitable
way.
Clinical Practice Training
Clinical practice training is a major component of the programme, enabling trainees to meet the HCPC
standards required for registration and the competency framework leading to eligibility for Chartered
membership of the BPS. The associated documentation, including the Contract; the Trainee Log Book;
the Mid-Placement Review Report; and the Supervisor’s Assessment of Trainee’s Clinical Skills have
25 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
been in place across all three North West D.Clin.Psychol. training programmes (Liverpool, Manchester
and Lancaster) since October 2004.
In addition, the standards and competency framework each recognise that a range of clinical settings
are necessary to enable trainees to develop the required breadth and depth of proficiency and
competence. With increased numbers of trainees, the competency framework in particular introduces
greater flexibility in planning programmes of clinical experience for individual trainees, hence
maximising the use of available placements. However, as is the case with the Lancaster and
Manchester programmes, the Liverpool programme remains committed to providing trainees with
placements during years 1 and 2 in each of the four traditional core areas: adults with psychological
problems, children, older adults and people with learning disabilities. Two specialist placements are
arranged in year 3 in any one of a range of specialist areas (for example, neuropsychology, alcohol
abuse, psychotherapy, women's health, forensic services), or building on core placement experience.
It may be possible to undertake one year-long specialist placement during Year 3, if it is considered that
this will appropriately serve the trainee’s learning needs at this stage of the programme.
The placements are each of approximately six months duration and normally occur in the following
sequence:
1 Year 1 Oct - Mar Core Adult
2 Year 1 Apr - Sept Core Older Adult
3 Year 2 Oct - Mar Core Learning Disabilities
4 Year 2 Apr - Sept Core Child & Family
5 Year 3 Oct - Mar Specialist 1
6 Year 3 Apr - Sept Specialist 2
All placements are managed and supervised by an appropriately experienced, HCPC registered
practitioner, who is usually a clinical psychologist, and a well-developed programme of supervisor
training is available locally to support supervisors. A review meeting (MPR) is conducted with the
supervisor and trainee, by a member of the programme team, mid-way through the placement. The
trainee’s performance is evaluated through the end of placement evaluation process (Supervisor
Assessment of Trainee (SAT) form) and the Clinical Case Research Investigation (CCRIs) / Clinical
Service Research Investigation (CSRIs) submitted - for each of the first four placements. Over the
course of training, trainees will also need to gather evidence to demonstrate how they are meeting the
required therapeutic competencies (see section on 'Demonstration of specific therapeutic
competencies' below).
Placement Dates & Deadlines October 2017 – October 2018
Placement-related documents:
Placement Contract
Trainee's Assessment of Clinical Placements
Supervisor's Assessment of Trainee Form (Placements 1-5)
Supervisor's Assessment of Trainee Form (Final placement)
Placement-related documents (available in VITAL) are to be submitted to the Placements Administrator in
the D.Clin.Psychol. office.
26 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
YEAR 1 (2017 Intake)
Start of Adult placement Wed 18th Oct 2017
Submission of contract Tue 21st Nov 2017
End of Adult placement Fri 6th Apr 2018
Submission of end-of-placement evaluations and log Tue 10th Apr 2018
Start of Older Adult placement Wed 25th Apr 2018
Submission of contract Tue 5th June 2018
End of Older Adult placement Fri 28th Sept 2018
Submission of end-of-placement evaluations and log Tue 2nd Oct 2018
YEAR 2 (2016 Intake)
Start of Learning Disabilities placement Tue 17th Oct 2017
Submission of contract Mon 20th Nov 2017
End of Learning Disabilities placement Fri 6th Apr 2018
Submission of end-of-placement evaluations and log Mon 9th Apr 2018
Start of Child and Family placement Tue 24th Apr 2018
Submission of contract Mon 4th June 2018
End of Child and Family placement Fri 28th Sept 2018
Submission of end-of-placement evaluations and log Mon 1st Oct 2018
Year 3 (2015 intake)
Start of Specialist placement (1) Tue 17th Oct 2017
Submission of contract Mon 20th Nov 2017
End of Specialist placement (1) Fri 6th Apr 2018
Submission of end-of-placement evaluations and log Mon 10th Apr 2018
Start of Specialist placement (2) Mon 10th Apr 2018
Submission of contract Mon 4th June 2018
End of Specialist placement (2) Fri 28th Sep 2018
Submission of end-of-placement evaluations and log TBC – in advance of
September 2018 Exam Board
Number of days spent on Placement
Year During University Term
Outside term Research
1 (Oct - Summer exam) 2.5 4.5 *
1 (following Summer exam) - 3.5 1
2 (Oct - Mar) 2.5 3.5 1
2 (Apr - Sep) 2.5 3.5 1
3 (Oct - Mar) 2.5 3.5 1
3 (Mar - Submission of thesis) 2.5 2.5 2
3 (Submission of thesis - Sep) 4 4 0.5
27 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Leave
It is essential that the whereabouts of trainees are known to programme staff at all times during the
working week. Failure to report sickness absence, and the taking of annual or study leave without
approval of the clinical director will be treated as misconduct. Please follow the guidelines below:
Annual Leave
1. Trainees are generally entitled to 27 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays
2. Trainees may not take annual leave on designated academic days
3. Only two consecutive calendar weeks, and three calendar weeks/15 days in total, may be taken
as annual leave during any one placement
4. Trainees are expected to spread their annual leave proportionately across, placement, research
and private study time, and to also spread it over the year to accommodate placement and
programme activity
5. Annual leave must be applied for in advance on the form provided, and must be approved by
both the placement supervisor and clinical director. The form can be posted or faxed to the
University out of term times, and approval given by telephone, e-mail or fax
6. The signed form is passed to the programme administrator who will return it to the trainee after
recording the dates being taken off. The Mersey Care leave card should also be submitted for
signing
7. Private study/research days must be taken as annual leave if not used for these purposes
8. Trainees are encouraged to use their leave allocation in each year. Trainees cannot be
reimbursed financially for leave unused at the end of the training period. In exceptional
circumstances (for example in cases where there has been protracted sick leave), the Clinical
Director has the discretion to allow trainees to transfer up to 5 days of annual leave to the next
year. In such cases, a written application, including an account of the exceptional
circumstances, must be sent to the Clinical Director at least 2 weeks before the end of the
annual leave year. Please note, failure to adequately plan annual leave in advance will not be
seen as a valid reason for carry over of leave.
These guidelines are intended to operate under normal circumstances. Any variation must be
negotiated with both the relevant supervisor and the clinical director.
Study Leave
Private study time and research days are built into the programme and do not normally need approving
separately.
There are two exceptions to this both relating to additional research time details of this are included in the
Research section of this handbook.
28 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Sickness Leave
When sickness leave is required:
1. Trainees must ensure that both the placement and the University are informed as early as
possible on the first day of absence
2. Thereafter both the placement and the University must be regularly updated on any continuing
absence. On return to placement the University must be informed
3. For up to 3 days of sickness, no certificate is required
4. For 4 -7 days sickness, the relevant self-certification form (Mersey Care Sickness Absence
Form) should be completed on return to work and submitted to the University within 7 days
5. If more than 7 days of absence occurs, a Doctor’s note must be forwarded to the University and
renewed if the period of illness continues. A return to work date should be stated on it and
trainees should not return to work before that date
6. Exceptionally, an extended period of illness may require a placement to be repeated or
extended
7. In line with Mersey Care Policy, trainees must make arrangements to see their academic
advisor (formerly personal tutor) for a “return to work” interview following any episode of
sickness (including one day)
Leave for Family Reasons
Again, as employees of Mersey Care, trainees may be granted paid leave to respond to the
unexpected immediate needs of those who are close to/dependent upon them. Such situations may
include the death of a relative; illness or accidents in children or other dependents; an unforeseeable
breakdown in child-care arrangements etc. Such leave should again be negotiated with the clinical
director. The period of leave will vary depending upon individual circumstances, but will normally be
limited to a maximum of 5 days in a 12 month period.
Allocation to Placements
For all placements apart from the first, the programme aims to allocate placements with consideration
of trainee preferences and their particular clinical development needs. Such factors will be discussed
individually with trainees in annual and interim review meetings as well as more informally.
Trainees can consult the Placement Register available in VITAL for information about placements.
Trainees must not, however, seek to negotiate their placements with supervisors directly, although they
are encouraged to indicate their specific learning needs on the ‘Placement Preference’ form, for
example, the ‘AMH Experience Questionnaire’ or the ‘OA Trainee Preference form’ that is circulated
before each round of placements. This ensures that tutors can allocate placements fairly across the
trainee group.
Geography of placements
The collaborative arrangement with the Lancaster and Manchester programmes means that whilst most
of the placements are still in the Merseyside area, we increasingly need to utilise placements across
the whole of the North West, some of which may be quite distant from trainees’ homes and therefore
29 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
involve substantial travelling. This is a common feature of many training programmes and all trainees
are therefore expected to share the burden of travel across the three years.
Final decisions
Lastly, it should be noted that any final decisions regarding linking a trainee to a particular placement
will be the clinical tutor’s, after considering the needs of the individual in conjunction with those of the
whole trainee group and the availability and suitability of placements.
Travel Expenses
Travel expenses can be claimed for travel within placements, and for travel to and from placement
which exceeds the distance between the trainee’s home and the University. Trainees are reimbursed
for travel to and from placements at the Study/Training miles rate, but within placement mileage (e.g.
travelling to client’s home; different site) is claimed at the Business miles rate. It is essential to record
each of these in the appropriate column on the official travel claim form. Claims for expenses must be
submitted regularly, and online. Please refer to the Mersey Care Trust website.
Placement Management and Activity
Placements provide the opportunity for trainees to integrate their University-based learning, and
develop further knowledge and skills, within a clinical service. Whilst trainees may have specific
learning objectives and aspirations, these must be balanced against a realistic appreciation of service
priorities and limitations. Whilst supervisors and placements aim to emphasise the learning experience
of the trainee, trainees should also see themselves as contributing to the delivery of a service in which
the needs of clients remain paramount.
Please see the ‘Guidelines for Supervisors and Trainees on Formal Assessment’, which summarises
the main placement tasks and responsibilities of trainees and supervisors. Sections below provide
supplementary guidance on aspects of developing contracts and the supervisory process.
Trainees have the opportunity to discuss their placement activity with clinical tutors. Sessions on using
supervision are incorporated into the timetable.
In addition to registration with the HCPC, all supervisors who qualified from 2005 onwards will need to
have attended a BPS ‘STAR’ accredited introduction /foundation training workshop before they are
eligible to supervise a trainee.
Pre-Placement Contact
Trainees are released from placement for half a day within the final month of placement. This is to
allow them to visit their next supervisor to begin arrangements for the next placement. The trainee will
gain a general feel for the supervisor’s interests, and the range of experiences and referrals available.
It also allows supervisors to ascertain the trainee’s interests, previous experience and expectations,
and to begin to identify suitable cases for the trainee to work with once they begin the placement.
Supervisors may at this stage provide trainees with relevant orienting literature to the service or team
and the nature of the placement to review at leisure.
In years 2 and 3, negotiation of which day is to be used for research may occur at this stage.
30 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Placement Contracts
Trainees will be provided with an initial introduction to a placement and time to formulate ideas about it.
However, once they have a general feel for the placement, the supervisor and trainee should negotiate
the experiences to be provided in the form of a contract. This will usually take place within the 2nd or
3rd week of the placement. The contract should make explicit both what the trainee will be doing, and
the supervision and support arrangements required. In a sense, the process might be regarded as a
precursor to developing work objectives in future jobs after qualification as well as being the period
when trainee and supervisor start to develop their working relationship.
Consideration should be given to the range of opportunities available on the placement, balanced by
the individual's developmental and training needs, personal interests and experiences already gained.
Supervisors may find it helpful to consider the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Practitioner
Psychologists; the BPS competence framework relating to required learning outcomes; and any
relevant SIG Core Competences frameworks. Particular efforts should be made to fill major gaps in
the trainee's experience, including those identified in the specific therapeutic competencies E-Portfolio
(see below). Supervisors and trainees are required to review the trainees' most recent SAT form, and
log entries from previous placements to highlight potential gaps in training and areas requiring further
development. Clinical Tutors will also aim to draw to a supervisor's attention any specific requirements
for individual trainees.
Trainees are also required to meet with their Academic Advisor sometime between the end of one
placement and the start of the next, to rehearse specific objectives that might be negotiated into the
next contract.
Practice across the region about who actually draws up the contract will vary. However, it would be
particularly helpful for trainees to undertake this task, both to develop their skills and to help ensure
positive ownership of the contract.
Objectives are reviewed formally at the mid-placement review, but also should be reviewed informally
and modified as necessary at various stages in the placement by agreement with both supervisor and
trainee. Supervisors are advised to help the trainee strike a balance between a sufficient quantity of
direct clinical experience, and ensuring quality in their work through having adequate time for planning,
reading and administration.
Contracting Framework
The content of the contract between a trainee and supervisor should reflect the following:
aims and objectives of the programme
core experiences for the particular area of work
the trainee's stage of development
particular resources and constraints of the placement
All three programmes in the North West use the ‘Placement Contract’ document designed to dove-tail with
the Competencies Framework. Supervisors are requested to review the trainee’s E-Portfolio to identify
competency development needs that can be addressed on this placement. The format is designed to
elicit specific Learning Outcomes in each of the key domains specified in the Competency Framework,
and identify clearly the ways in which these Learning Outcomes are to be achieved. Key areas that need
to be specified within the Contract are suggested in the following sections.
31 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Clinical Experience
This section gives details of the type of work that will be undertaken to help the trainee to achieve the
intended Learning Outcomes. Consideration needs to be given to the balance of work across a number
of areas listed below. Activities may be undertaken independently by the trainee, or jointly with the
supervisor, or with other professional colleagues, or refer to observation of the supervisor’s work.
Areas of work
Direct work
Objectives may relate to direct assessment and intervention work with people. This may include face to
face contact with:
individuals
couples
families
groups
Indirect work via relatives
Objectives may relate to face-to-face contact with a partner, parents or other relatives of a referred
individual. Here the intention is to provide a psychological service to the relative(s) in order to bring
about an improvement in the condition of the individual.
Indirect work via professional staff
This concerns face to face contact with a range of professional staff having the direct care or supporting
an individual who has been referred to a service offering psychological input. Here the intention is to
provide a psychological service to the staff member(s) in order to bring about an improvement in the
condition of the individual referred. Such staff might include ward and day unit nursing staff, residential
support staff in social service settings, schoolteachers, voluntary and independent sector support staff.
Staff and organisational activities
As well as working directly with clients or patients, psychologists may work at other levels within an
organisation to develop improved health care and enable individuals to develop quality lifestyles such
as:
Work with others who provide services to clients/patients
Work with the planning, organisation and management of those services
This type of activity involves the application of psychological principles to the management of problem
situations, creating appropriate environments for others to help and support people, and the
development of monitoring and feedback systems to produce increasing service standards. It
encompasses work across a range of agency settings, including health and social services, education,
and voluntary and independent sector provision.
Examples of objectives set in this area might include participation in the development of care
programmes, team building; staff support groups; stress management; development of individualised
day time curriculae for people with learning disabilities; quality assessment of a residential care in the
community scheme; change management in a ward unit.
Consultancy / Supervision activities
In a number of instances, psychologists may not be engaged in a specific area of work or project but
provide a consultancy/supervision service to a range of staff working in different service settings. Here,
staff may seek advice or guidance in applying psychological principles to the care or support of their
32 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
clients or patients, or, for instance, in developing ways of working together. The psychologist may
provide such a service on an ad hoc basis (for example with GP's or social workers) or an agreed
sessional basis, (for example, input to a daycentre or ward unit). In line with ‘new ways of working’,
trainees are expected to seek experience of both consultancy and supervision, especially in their
specialist placements, although it is anticipated that trainees are mostly likely to undertake such work in
collaboration with a qualified clinical psychologist.
Teaching activities
These refer to activities concerned with the dissemination of psychological skills and approaches; for
example the development of teaching material or packages; presentations; lectures; planning and
organisation of workshops and courses.
Small scale clinical service research activities
For example; evaluating the quality of day service provision for people with long term mental health
problems; investigating non attendees for psychology services at a GP centre; identifying natural
support networks for older people in particular communities; description of follow up treatment
outcomes for problem drinkers. In addition to undertaking such work on one placement, in order to
submit a Clinical Service Research Investigation, trainees may have the opportunity to contribute to
other projects being planned or ongoing within their placement settings.
Relationships with other disciplines
Objectives here may reflect an expectation that the trainee participates in the activities of a
multidisciplinary team (e.g. Community Mental Health Team, or Community Support Team for people
with learning disabilities) or establishes joint working relationships with other professions, or, where
relevant, engages in liaison and contact with other professions over casework. Being able to work
effectively as part of a team is a core competency for training, although it may not be possible for all
trainees to have this experience on all placements.
Meetings / observations / visits
Trainees may be expected to accompany their supervisor to planning and management meetings. They
may also undertake a range of visits or spend time in other service settings, or discussions with
different professions or agency personnel.
Administration
With some psychology departments, the contract may make reference to the particular administrative
and record keeping system used by the service.
Other activities
The contract may specify additional activities to be undertaken by the trainee, reflecting particular opportunities afforded by the placement; for example; gaining familiarity with a piece of equipment; attending workshops or conferences; meeting with service user/carer groups or representatives etc.
Demonstration of specific therapeutic competencies (through the 'E-Portfolio')
In response to changes in the BPS Accreditation Criteria, all trainees who enter the programme from
2016 onwards will need to demonstrate how they meet the 'CBT plus one' requirement with regards to
the development of specific therapeutic competencies by the time they complete the programme. To
enable trainees to demonstrate the development of specific therapeutic skills, the programme has
developed an 'E-Portfolio' to enable specific competencies to be 'signed off', either by the placement
supervisor, or a member of the programme team, as appropriate. In addition to CBT, which is
33 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
mandatory for all programmes, trainees will need to demonstrate that they have met the requirements
for ONE further therapeutic framework, which for the Liverpool programme will either be CAT,
Systemic, or Neuropsychological competencies. It is anticipated that trainees will be able to achieve
this requirement through the usual pathways through training, and in the usual course of programme
activity, although due to limitations in placement availability it will not be possible for trainees to select
which framework their 'plus one' will be at the outset. Until a dominant framework emerges, trainees are
therefore required to manage their own portfolio, to ensure that credit by way of supervisor /
programme team member signatures are gained as the skills are demonstrated, across all frameworks.
Trainees are therefore expected to be fully familiar with the portfolio, and to be pro-active in gaining the
required competencies, and trainees are strongly advised to get into the habit of seeking 'sign-offs' for
identified competencies on a regular basis. To support this, the trainees' Personal Tutor / Academic
Advisor will review the E-Portfolio as part of the 'Annual Review' process.
The E-Portfolio has been developed by a private company, 'OneFile', and is available on-line. To
facilitate access, trainees will be issues with a tablet, and instructions given about how to log on.
Trainees will be given training in the content and use of the E-Portfolio by both the 'OneFile' Accounts
Manager, who has led the development of the system, and by programme staff. Copies of the original
documents on which the E-Portfolio was developed are also available on VITAL for additional
information. Training will also be provided to placement supervisors.
The E-Portfolio includes the following elements:
1. A 'Logbook' for recording
a. details of all clients seen and
b. all non-client related activity
for each clinical placement
2. A 'Cumulative training record' to log the range and diversity of clinical activity undertaken with
respect to various key domains across all placements
3. A cumulative record of 'Psychological Testing Competencies' to track all self-report and
performance-based psychometric tests used across all placements
4. A CBT framework for recording specific CBT competencies and requirements gained throughout
training
5. A CAT framework for recording specific CAT competencies and requirements gained throughout
training
6. A SYSTEMIC framework for recording specific Systemic competencies and requirements
gained throughout training
7. A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL framework for recording specific Neuropsychological
competencies and requirements gained throughout training
Supervision and support arrangements
Contracts should clearly indicate the following arrangements:
The amount of time given to formal supervision
Opportunities for informal contact and discussion
Contingency arrangements when the main supervisor is unavailable through annual leave,
sickness, etc.
The timing for the mid-placement review, and end of placement evaluations
34 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Initial discussions between trainee and supervisor should also address the following issues:
Therapeutic models or approaches to be used
The supervisor’s model or approach to supervising, and the trainee’s previous experiences of
supervision.
The focus or content of supervision and how the trainees might best prepare for supervision
sessions.
Use of direct observation of trainees' and supervisor's work; audio or video recordings; joint
work; ‘live supervision’ (as in family therapy) etc.
Co-ordination between supervisors where necessary.
Professional and ethical issues, see document on ‘Promoting Professional and Ethical
Practice’.
Personal and professional development issues including the opportunities for/limits on
exploring the interface between the trainee’s personal and professional experiences.
Final Details
There will be details that specific placements will want to negotiate and/or identify; for example:-
Likely resources or constraints operating.
Service standards or procedures to be applied. This should include key policies and
procedures applicable to that service, including record keeping, and case file
management/security.
Client Confidentiality and Data Protection
Trainees should be careful to operate within local, national and professional guidelines, including the
HCPC Guidance on conduct and ethics for students.
Clients should never be offered absolute confidentiality but should be given information about the limits
of confidentiality in accordance with the service policy. Usually, this explains about supervision
arrangements; communication between professionals on a ‘need-to-know’ basis; and the
circumstances in which information would be passed to others without the client’s permission (i.e. risk
situations).
Written material about clients should always be held in secure storage. Client records should not
normally be removed from the service setting and should never be taken home, unless special
provisions are made for this, e.g. home visits at the end of the day.
Trainees must be aware that carrying client records from one site to another has implications for their
security and on such occasions must be especially vigilant about risks of theft or loss.
Client information must not be held on personal computers and any work which includes extracts from
client sessions (e.g. CCRIs) should never involve using the client’s real name, even in a draft version.
Particular care should be taken with memory sticks holding such work. If selling on a PC, trainees must
ensure that they have erased any files pertaining to their professional activities, including from the re-
cycling bin. Most Trusts now prohibit the use of personal computers/memory sticks for client related
information.
Ideally trainees should undertake all placement work on the PC provided within the NHS service where
they are based. If a laptop is brought into work due to scarce resources, the guidelines above should
be observed.
35 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Personal Safety on Placement
Early on in a placement trainees should acquaint themselves with the service’s policy on risk
assessment and personal safety. This should also be discussed in supervision. Early on in the
programme there are several sessions on risk assessment and management and safe working
practices.
Trainees should not meet with clients in a service setting when no other staff are in the building. They
should also be mindful of the accessibility of those staff if there are any concerns about a risk posed by
a client.
When home visits are required, preliminary assessment of risk is particularly important and ideally the
trainee would be accompanied on the first visit. Services usually have a system for practitioners to ring
in to confirm that a visit has been completed, if they are not returning to base afterwards.
Trainees who are uncomfortable with the arrangements for meeting with clients should discuss it with
their supervisor in the first instance, and can also raise concerns with programme staff.
Clients may also feel vulnerable in certain situations e.g. a male trainee seeing a woman in an
apparently empty department; a frail elderly person being visited at home. Appropriate consideration of
the context in which each piece of work takes place serves to protect all parties.
Mid-Placement Reviews
A formal meeting is arranged towards the middle of the placement with the trainee, supervisor and
clinical tutor. The purpose of this mid-placement review is:
To monitor the progress of planned experience as defined in the contract and how the trainee
is utilising the learning opportunities of the placement
To facilitate ongoing trainee self-evaluation and evaluation by their supervisor
To assist in the development of the supervisory relationship
To review the incorporation of professional and ethical issues into the supervisory discourse, in
accordance with the relevant HCPC and programme documents
To identify areas of difficulty and potential solutions/remedial action. To ensure that any
possibility of failure is raised and addressed. See guidance on ‘Procedure to be followed when a
Supervisor suspects that the Trainee may fail the Placement’.
The mid-placement review meeting is conducted within the following broad structure and is likely to
take about one hour and a half.
Format for the Meeting
Separate brief meetings with trainee and supervisor
Review of contract and progress towards meeting contract objectives
Feedback from trainee and supervisor's preliminary meeting; perceptions of trainee's progress to
date and expectations of the remainder of the placement, To include discussion on any sections
rated as 'requires attention' or 'unsatisfactory' on the previous SAT form
Reflection on clinical activity as reported in the placement log
Brief discussion of one particularly interesting or challenging g piece of clinical work and the
issues it has raised
36 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Proposed Clinical Case Research Investigation or Clinical Service Research Investigation.
Discuss arrangements including timescales, concerning the work that needs to be conducted in
order for the report to be submitted on time
Discussion of supervision partnership: practical arrangements, the supervisory process, provision
of feedback, management of differences or dilemmas, observations opportunities etc.
Arrangements for observation, both of, and by, the trainee
Consideration of the trainee's strengths and development needs
Issues of poor performance by the trainee and how these will be managed and remediated
Practicalities, e.g., room availability, secretarial support, etc.
Any other items
It is suggested that trainee and supervisor prepare for the mid-placement review by arranging a
preliminary meeting, probably during regular supervision time, to undertake their own review of the
placement. The final evaluation form could be used at this stage to determine what levels of
competence have been achieved for each item.
The trainee should ensure that an up-to-date copy of their Trainee Log Book is made available
to the relevant clinical tutor via the placement administrator, along with a copy of the placement
contract, approximately one week before the visit. The Trainee Log book, both sections Ai) and
Aii) should be downloaded from the E-Portfolio.
Although usually there is only one placement review, other meetings may be arranged on a particular
placement as required. Although such additional meetings may be connected with addressing
difficulties, they may also be provided as additional general support for trainees and supervisors.
During the placement review, the clinical tutor summarises the main points of the meeting in the Mid-
Placement Review Report. A copy of this will be sent to the trainee and copied to the supervisor(s).
Guidelines for Supervision (These guidelines draw on those published by the BPS).
Clinical supervisors
The overall responsibilities of a clinical supervisor are:
1 To negotiate placement objectives and plan appropriate clinical experience with their trainee.
2 To take overall clinical responsibility for the work of the trainee within the service in which
they are on placement.
3 To evaluate trainees in terms of their performance on placement.
4 To supervise the writing up of clinical research investigations (one from each placement).
5 To review progress at the mid placement review, with the trainee and clinical tutor, and at the
end of the placement, using the clinical rating forms.
In accordance with both HCPC and BPS requirements, to be eligible to supervise a trainee, the
supervisor must:
Be registered with the HCPC
Be a qualified Clinical Psychologist, OR appropriately qualified as an Applied Psychologist in a
related area (e.g. Health Psychologist; Counselling Psychologist; Forensic Psychologist) OR
appropriately qualified in another profession
37 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Be suitably trained and experienced. NB Practitioners who qualified after 2005 will need to
have attended a BPS STAR accredited Introductory/Foundation supervisor’s training
workshop.
It is the responsibility of the relevant Clinical Tutor to ensure that all supervisors meet the above
criteria before they are matched to a trainee.
The Supervision Process
Preparation
Trainees are expected to visit their future supervisor sometime in the month preceding the start of
placement.
It is helpful if prior to the first day the supervisor has made preparations to ensure that placement
experiences are available right from the first day so that valuable time is not lost at the start due to
suitable work not being immediately available. However this should be balanced with adequate time for
the trainee to become familiar with the placement and the department and to absorb relevant
information.
Supervision sessions
It is expected that the supervisor and trainee establish a regular weekly time for formal supervision for
the duration of the placement. Although the amount of the supervision will vary according to the stage
in training and the needs of the trainee, the BPS require a minimum of one hour of formal supervision
per week. Whilst this may be provided in a group supervision session, where this is the case there
should also be an appropriate amount of individual supervision in addition to group supervision.
Trainees should also have reasonable access to their supervisor at other times in the week, and there
should be a minimum of three hours total contact between the trainee and supervisor each week.
Both trainees and supervisors are encouraged to adhere as closely as possible to the agreed time
allocation for supervision sessions and to protect the space from other intrusions and activities.
Initial supervision sessions
The first few meetings between trainee and supervisor are an important stage and might be
conceptualised much as we do the assessment phase of therapy; a time to become attuned to one
another’s experience, knowledge and expectations of the supervisory relationship. Investment in this
early phase is likely to be valuable to both trainee and supervisor. It is also a useful time to anticipate
some of the dilemmas which could arise in the future, and reflect on how each party could best raise
them in supervision.
Style of supervision
This will vary according to the individual trainee and the stage of training. Although a trainee should be
encouraged to work with increasing independence as the placement progresses, the supervisor should
continue to have an educational as well as a monitoring function throughout the placement.
Observation
The BPS also require that trainees have the opportunity to observe the work of their supervisors, and
that supervisors must observe some of the work of trainees. This may be achieved through a variety of
means: joint work, audio or video taped interviews or the use of a one-way screen. Minimum
requirements for observation of, and by, supervisors are now included in the placement contract.
38 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Differences in Orientation
Supervisors may find that they have different interests and a different orientation from the trainee.
When this situation arises tolerance needs to be shown by both sides. The trainee should be
encouraged to be open to alternative approaches while a supervisor should be equally open to helping
and supporting the trainees with their own interests and style of working (unless there are serious
doubts concerning the effectiveness of the approach or potential harm to clients).
Use of Academic Knowledge
Supervisors have a crucial role in contributing to the integration of academic and practice aspects of the
programme. It is important that the supervisor should discuss literature relevant to the clinical work on
placement and suggest suitable reading to the trainee. See ‘Guidelines for Supervisors and Trainees
on Formal Assessment’.
Report Writing and Communication
Trainees should be encouraged to write reports appropriate to the recipient and the supervisor has a
major role in encouraging a trainee to develop a clear writing style, providing relevant information while
maintaining confidentiality.
All reports and letters must be read and counter-signed by the supervisor.
Entries into clinical records do not need to be counter-signed, unless it is the policy of the particular
service. However, supervisors are encouraged to monitor trainees’ entries and advise them of the
appropriate format in accordance with local service policies and standards, and the British
Psychological Society’s, Division of Clinical Psychology (2000) publication: ‘Clinical Psychology and
Case Notes: on Good Practice’.
Relationship Issues
Supervisors should be sensitive to issues that arise for the trainee in relation to clients and staff in the
course of their clinical work. These can be discussed in the context of either formal supervision
sessions or informal discussion with the supervisor. The role of the supervisor in facilitating personal
and professional development is addressed later in this Handbook.
Scope of Involvement on Placement
Supervisors should endeavour to involve the trainee in all aspects of their work. In addition to individual
and group intervention, trainees should be provided with opportunities for observing/participating in
teaching, consultation, supervision, research and in organizational work as appropriate and where
available.
In Case of Difficulty on Placement
If difficulties arise on placement which cannot be satisfactorily resolved through discussion with the
trainee, the clinical tutor should be contacted to discuss the issues. It may be helpful for the tutor to
meet with the supervisor alone, or if appropriate, they may suggest a joint session where concerns
could be addressed together, using a similar format to the mid-placement review meeting. See also,
section on Details of procedure to be used when a supervisor suspects that the trainee may fail the
placement.
For concerns of a more serious nature relating to the provision or quality of supervision, including
issues that call into question the conduct or competence of a supervisor, the ‘serious concerns’ policy,
which has been adopted by the three North West Training Programmes should be followed. See:
‘Promoting Professional and Ethical Practice’.
39 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Feedback and records
At the mid placement review, in addition to the provision of feedback on progress, supervisors should
raise any points of concern to allow the trainee time to improve. At the end of placement, supervisors
should provide full feedback on the trainee's clinical performance. This is summarised on the
‘Supervisor’s Assessment of Trainee Form’ (SAT form).
Supervisor's Assessment of Trainee Form (Placements 1-5)
Supervisor's Assessment of Trainee Form (Final placement)
When providing feedback the supervisor should try to set aside personal feelings about the trainee. It
should be detailed and constructive and designed to help a trainee to develop a range of effective and
appropriate clinical and professional skills. Recognition of strengths and progress should not be
overlooked, but it is particularly important to feed back any unsatisfactory aspects of a trainee's
performance and behaviour. Any such issues must be raised with the trainee at the earliest opportunity,
and not held until the end of the placement, to ensure that the trainee has adequate time to address
any concerns raised.
The trainee will also complete a ‘Trainee’s Assessment of Placement’ form (TAP form) which allows an
opportunity for the trainee to comment on the placement experience and supervision received.
Both supervisors and trainees are likely to maintain a written record of supervision sessions and may
wish to discuss the format for such notes and how both client and trainee confidentiality is protected.
Clinical Research Investigations - Guidelines for Placement Supervisors
It is a programme requirement that a CCRI, or alternatively a Clinical Service-Related Investigation
(CSRI) is submitted after each of the first four placements. Please consult the Assessment section of
this Handbook for up to date requirements.
This section is to clarify the supervisor’s role in supporting the trainee to complete this aspect of their
work.
Aims of Clinical Research Investigations
The CCRI / CSRI has a dual function. Firstly, it enables an assessment to be made of the trainee's
competence in an area of work (e.g. the ability to use theoretical and empirical research in practical
clinical contexts). Secondly, it provides an opportunity for learning both in terms of the work that goes
into the writing of the CCRI / CSRI and in terms of the feedback the trainee receives from markers.
The Role of the Supervisor
Where required, completion and submission of a CCRI / CSRI will be included as a specific objective in
the placement contract. As such, supervisors are asked to monitor and facilitate the trainee’s progress
in completing their report by the end of the placement. Please note, the supervisor is NOT required, as
part of this role, to read or provide feedback on drafts of the report itself, but rather to support the
overall process. This includes discussing, at the start of the placement, the trainee’s plans and
intentions for their report, and ensuring that an appropriate amount of time is made within placement
activity for the work to be completed. This also includes making time available during supervision to
monitor progress towards the report’s completion.
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Where a trainee is intending to complete a CCRI, supervisors are asked to facilitate selection of an
appropriate case, from the trainee’s general caseload, that would meet the requirements of the report to
be submitted, and would meet the service’s requirements with regards to informed consent (see below
for further details). Clinical supervision of the case will, of course, take place as part of the regular
activity of caseload supervision.
In the case of a CSRI, negotiation will be needed to ensure that the project is practical and feasible,
and that any necessary approvals (e.g. with regards to research governance/ethics, including those that
might be required either by the service, or by the University) are secured in reasonable time. Most
commonly, supervisors will already have ideas for projects (service evaluation/audit) that they would
like the trainee to participate in which can be adapted to meet the needs of a CSRI. This enables a
mutual benefit for the trainee and the service. See the Research and assessment sections of this
handbook for further information.
Whether the trainee is intending to submit a CCRI or a CSRI, supervisors and trainees are asked to
review the relevant guidelines to ensure that the intended piece of work will meet the programme’s
requirements. In addition, for CCRIs, trainees are issued with guidance notes on good practice in
writing reports, which should be shared with their supervisor.
The supervisor's signature
Supervisors are asked to submit a brief contextual summary of the report, commenting on any
constraints that the trainee encountered (for example, only having a very limited number of clients to
choose from for whatever reason; shortage of time for clinical service research investigations (CSRIs)
caused by project committee requirements). The supervisor's signature on the front sheet of the CCRI /
CSRI only signifies that the investigation is ‘factually’ correct and that the work described was actually
undertaken as reported. It does not imply that the supervisor shares responsibility for the written work.
The CCRI / CSRI remains the trainee's own work. Therefore, in a disagreement over anything other
than factual content, the trainee has the final say, and the supervisor is not responsible for the finished
product.
Client Consent
The Department of Health’s ‘Reference Guide to Consent for Examination or Treatment, 2nd edition,
2009’, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-guide-to-consent-for-examination-or-
treatment-second-edition requires that Trusts develop policies and procedures which ensure that
patients/clients are fully informed about the care being offered to them, and that their consent to
examination and treatment is routinely sought. Trainees should discuss with supervisors how this
is implemented in their work with clients, in accordance with local practice.
In the spirit of these developments, and the generally more collaborative quality to health care
provision, clinical psychology programmes have been deliberating about the seeking of consent for
client material to be used in coursework such as CCRIs and essays. This would seem to be best
practice, although providing there is complete anonymisation it is permissible within the DCP
Professional Practice Guidelines (1995) to write up such work without seeking the client’s specific
permission, as long as there are other safeguards in place (see below).
It is also recognised that obtaining consent is often a complex process and we are concerned to avoid
creating unnecessary barriers for trainees in fulfilling programme requirements. The following general
principles should be adopted:
All clients should be informed about the status of trainees, including their general
requirement to submit coursework based on their clinical experience.
Trainees should discuss with supervisors how this is best undertaken with their clients
41 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Where appropriate, verbal information should be supplemented with written information. Clearly this will vary according to the client group, and how information to clients about the service and its practitioners is usually provided. Guidelines and a sample contract are available in the following document, “Consent Guidance, client information sheet and sample consent form”.
Trainees must be prepared to explain more fully the nature of their programme
requirements in this respect, and discuss with supervisors how to manage the process
of obtaining consent for a piece of work, if the client indicates that they would want to
give specific permission.
Consideration should also be given to how a trainee will respond to a client request to read the
finished report. The trainee should not agree to any action without first bringing the issue to
supervision. If it is considered appropriate, the process for sharing the report should be guided
by the Trust procedure for accessing health records.
Whilst specific consent for CCRIs is not required by the programme, trainees must be
absolutely scrupulous in anonymising/disguising client details.
Disguise (ie. altering details about the client which are not material to the report) provides a
higher level of protection of client confidentiality than anonymisation alone. This is
recommended particularly when e.g. a client’s circumstances are relatively unique; or they are
themselves a health professional locally.
If it is suspected that a client would not have given consent had they been specifically
asked, this piece of work should not be written up.
End of Placement Assessment & Evaluations
The three North West University Doctorate in Clinical Psychology programmes share the same placement
documentation for both the placement contract and the SAT form.
At the end of placements both the trainee and the placement are evaluated. Assessment of the trainee
is undertaken by the supervisor and focuses on the trainee’s personal and clinical qualities and
competencies. Evaluation of the placement is undertaken by the trainee, including the clinical
supervision received.
If a supervisor is uncertain about any section, they should not hesitate to contact the programme
clinical staff for further clarification. The SAT form should be discussed with the trainee at the middle of
the placement, and again at the end of the placement when the form is completed. The trainee will, at
the same points, be discussing or completing the form for the evaluation of the clinical placement.
At the end of the SAT form the supervisor is requested to provide general comments in a number of
areas. This includes the supervisor’s comments and recommendations for future placements, and the
kinds of experiences that the trainee would benefit from. We would ask supervisors to make a clear
distinction between ‘development needs’ and ‘concerns’. All trainees, at any stage of their training, will
have development needs, and will benefit from knowing how their future development as practitioners
can be enhanced. The term ‘concerns’ should only be used where it is felt that, despite available
opportunities and support, the trainee’s performance is currently falling short of where it should be,
taking into account their stage of training. Where concerns are raised, supervisors are asked to be as
specific as possible in describing the nature of those concerns.
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On completion
The SAT form should be given to the trainee so that they have time to read it in advance of discussing it
with the supervisor. Having discussed it, the form should be signed by the supervisor and by the
trainee. By signing it, the trainee is NOT indicating that they necessarily agree with all of the ratings or
comments, simply that they have had the opportunity to discuss them. Two copies of the form should
then be made, one to be retained by the trainee and another by the supervisor, with the original being
sent to the programme Placement Administrator.
In order to ensure that placements are planned to take account of the particular needs of a trainee,
trainees are required to show their next supervisor the SAT form from their previous placement.
Therefore supervisors should ensure that they have completed the form and discussed it with the
trainee in sufficient time for this to be achieved.
Guidelines for the Evaluation of Clinical Placements
These guidelines have been prepared to assist trainees to complete the form for the evaluation of their
clinical placements. If a trainee is uncertain of their interpretation or feels an issue has arisen to which
they do not readily apply, they should not hesitate to contact the clinical tutor for further clarification.
This form should be discussed with the supervisor half way through the placement, and again at the
end of the placement when the form is completed. The supervisor will, at the same point, be discussing
and completing the form for the assessment of the trainee's clinical skills.
Feedback on supervision
This section is designed to provide feedback to the supervisor regarding the experiences on placement.
These experiences have been selected to correspond to the abilities demonstrated by the trainee that
the supervisor will be asked to evaluate. These abilities have been selected because it is considered
that they are applicable to work in different specialities and within different theoretical orientations,
though clearly they do not cover all abilities relevant to every area. This form is to provide feedback to
the supervisor regarding the extent to which the trainee has been helped to develop these abilities
whilst on placement. Trainees should feel free to discuss other experiences in the "Additional
Comments" section (see below). A distinction has been made between Psychological Intervention
experiences and Professional experiences. Each set of experiences in defined below:
Psychological Intervention Experiences
1. Assessment
The extent to which the supervisor is able to facilitate assessment and information gathering skills.
2. Problem Formulation
The extent to which the supervisor is able to facilitate the generating of different formulations.
3. Appropriateness of Intervention
The extent to which the supervisor discusses the relative merits of intervening in a given case or
situation.
4. Knowledge and Planning of Interventions
The extent to which the supervisor is able to model and/or explain a variety of possible interventions,
to discuss their pitfalls and to encourage the use of interventions in a critical manner.
5. Feedback on Intervention
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The extent to which the supervisor discusses the progress of the trainees' interventions and provides
constructive feedback on them, including such issues as professional boundaries, termination, etc.
It also refers to the extent to which the supervisor facilitates a critical evaluation of interventions
carried out in ways that further a trainees' skills and understanding.
6. Independence
The extent to which the supervisor encourages the trainee to work independently, once both parties
are satisfied that a sufficient level of competence and confidence has been reached.
Professional Experiences
7. Verbal Communications
The extent to which the supervisor gives assistance in considering issues related to verbal
communications with other professionals (psychologists and other disciplines), whether informal or
formal. This includes the sensitivity of information, the sharing of information, professional
relationships etc.
8. Written Communication
The extent to which the supervisor gives assistance in all important aspects of the preparation of
reports, letters and other material. This includes who to write to, what information to include, and
when to write.
9. Dissemination of psychological skills and approaches
The extent to which the supervisor is able to model and discuss a range of teaching and
presentation styles and methods for different groups (e.g. service users; care staff managers).
10. Information on joint and multi-disciplinary team working
The extent to which the supervisor is able to reflect upon issues relating to successful joint or team
working with other professionals, and more or less helpful ways of resolving tensions or conflicts.
11. Information on Organisational Issues
The extent to which the supervisor is able to provide a good working knowledge of the
organisational structure within the placement, its agency, as well as other agencies and services
that overlap or have boundaries with it.
12. Information on Service Delivery Issues
The extent to which the supervisor is able to provide a good working knowledge of the background
issues affecting services to the client group.
13. Information on Ethnic and Cultural Issues and of Equal Opportunities Legislation and
Practice
The extent to which the supervisor is able to reflect upon issues relating to people's differences as
they affect service delivery to the client group, and of equal opportunities legislation and practice.
14. Variety of Experience
The extent to which the supervisor makes available a range of experience, given the limitations of
any one placement.
15. Workload
The extent to which the supervisor provides the trainee with enough work to do but does not
overload them.
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16. Accessibility
The extent to which the supervisor is readily accessible for supervision and provides both formal
contact time (minimum one and half-hours per week) and informal contact time (total contact time
should be at least 3 hours a week).
17. Punctuality
The extent to which the supervisor attends and is usually on time for pre-arranged meetings with
the trainee.
18. Advice on Background Material
The extent to which the supervisor is generally able to recommend appropriate material for areas
under discussion on placement.
19. Support and Personal and Professional Development
The extent to which the supervisor provides an overall supportive context for the trainee, including
being able to discuss sympathetically stresses and coping strategies in clinical work, and sensitivity
to any personal issues that arise for the trainee in relation to their clients or other aspects of work.
20. Resources
Resources available on placement; for example interviewing rooms; desk space; equipment;
secretarial support; books and journal articles.
Rating Scale There are six points on this scale:
1 2 3 4 5 6
Unsatis- Needs some Satisfac- Good Excellent Unable to
factory attention tory Rate
In arriving at a rating the following points should be considered:
Supervisors cannot realistically be expected (nor expect themselves) to operate a
satisfactory or better level in all areas all of the time. Therefore the use of other
columns should not be seen as unusual nor as necessarily implying a negative
response to the supervisor's approach as a whole.
The named supervisors may not facilitate/help the development of all of these abilities.
This role may be fulfilled by other clinical psychologists at the placement. Therefore, it
may be helpful to acknowledge if this is the case.
Feedback to be helpful has to be clear and constructive. Therefore, when either
columns 1 or 2 above are used, indications of why this is so and what might be done to
improve the situation should be given in the comments column.
The comments column should be used as much as possible to indicate why the
particular rating was made.
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If a trainee feels unable to rate an experience, this and the reasons for it should be
indicated in the comments column.
Additional comments
This can be used either to expand on comments previously made or to introduce points not covered in
other sections of the form.
Record of Ethical Issues arising on a Placement
This should be used to briefly outline any issues or events falling within the scope of the programme
statement on Ethical Issues: ‘Promoting Professional and Ethical Practice’. If any of the formal
pathways to resolution have been evoked, this should be stated.
Recommendations
This relates to how trainees might be facilitated in the development of their abilities whilst on this
placement, in relation either to objectives or experiences. The more detailed the recommendations, the
more helpful this is likely to be for both the supervisor and future trainees.
On completion
The form should be given to the supervisor so that they have time to read it in advance of discussing it
with the trainee. Having discussed it, the form should be signed by the trainee and by the supervisor.
By signing it, the supervisor is not indicating that they necessarily agree with all the ratings or
comments, simply that they had the opportunity to discuss them. Two copies of the form should then
be made, one to be retained by the trainee, another by the supervisor and the original sent to the
programme Placement Administrator.
Procedure to be followed when a Supervisor suspects that the Trainee may fail the
Placement
The procedure detailed below attempts to ensure that an appropriate grade is recommended when
there is doubt about a trainee's clinical or professional competence. In particular, it is hoped that
trainees will feel protected from the possibility of an idiosyncratic decision being made about their
competence. Equally importantly, it is hoped that supervisors will feel supported in the event of having
to make a difficult decision.
As soon as a supervisor becomes aware that the trainee with him or her may fail the placement they
should inform the clinical tutor. It would obviously be desirable if some indication of the degree of
concern held by the supervisor would be given at the mid-placement visit. However, if this is not
possible, the supervisor should inform the trainee and the clinical tutor as soon as he or she becomes
aware of doubts about the trainee's competence or professional practice. At that stage, the trainee
should be clearly and specifically informed of what the supervisor’s concerns are and what they need to
do in order to make sufficient improvement to pass the placement. This information should then be
written down and a copy given to the clinical tutor. If this occurs at the mid placement review, it can be
recorded on the review form by the clinical tutor.
In some instances, the supervisor, trainee and clinical tutor may meet to identify specific difficulties
impeding the trainee's progress on their placement, and look towards resolving these. In exceptional
circumstances (for example, prolonged sickness), the placement may be cancelled or wound up at this
stage, with a view to rearranging the necessary experiences at a future date.
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The next stage occurs at the end of placement evaluation (usually in the final fortnight or week). Firstly
the supervisor and trainee should fill out the forms for (a) Supervisor’s Assessment of Trainee and (b)
the Assessment of the Clinical Placement, respectively. They should then seek to discuss these. This
must happen prior to the programme director and clinical director's involvement. The programme
director and clinical director will then see the trainee and supervisor individually to discuss the
assessments, and will, together with the supervisor, decide what overall grade to assign to the trainee.
The following step-by-step action plan has been drawn up to clarify the procedure and to act as a quick
reference guide.
1 Supervisor contacts clinical tutor involved with the placement to discuss concerns.
2 Supervisor informs trainee and together they make a plan of what the trainee needs to do to
make sufficient improvement to be able to pass the placement.
3 Supervisor sends a copy of this plan to the clinical tutor/clinical director.
4 Both (2) and (3) can be done as part of the mid-placement visit, or as part of a separate
meeting.
5 The supervisor, trainee and clinical tutor engage in problem solving meeting(s) to sort out
specific difficulties arising.
6 The clinical tutor arranges appointments for the supervisor and trainee to meet with them and
the programme director at the end of the placement. If not already involved, the clinical director
should also be present.
7 During the final week of the placement, the supervisor and trainee complete the Supervisor’s
Assessment of Trainee Form without assigning an overall grade and the Clinical Placement
Assessment Form respectively.
8 The supervisor and trainee meet to discuss these.
9 The clinical director and programme director meet the trainee, who should bring 3 completed
copies of both the Supervisor’s Assessment of Trainee Form and the Clinical Placement
Assessment Form to that meeting. The trainee may bring their Training Mentor or delegate to
the meeting.
10 The clinical director and programme director meet the supervisor to discuss both forms.
11 The clinical director, programme director and supervisor decide on an appropriate grade to
assign to the trainee.
12 The clinical director, programme director and supervisor then see the trainee to inform them of
the assigned grade and the implications of this.
Personal & Professional Development (PPD)
The programme recognises both personal and professional development to be of fundamental
importance throughout the whole course of training, and there are a number of ways in which these
areas are addressed:
47 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
In the academic curriculum, there is a PPD Teaching Unit
Through relationships with clinical supervisors
The Training Mentor scheme
The Personal Tutor/Academic Advisor scheme
Open relationship between trainees and programme staff
Where required, programme staff will facilitate personal therapy.
Aims of the PPD Teaching Unit
The programme has been refined several times in recent years, based on feedback from trainees, and
in an attempt to meet changing needs. The programme for this years’ first year will be provided in due
course. The objectives of this teaching unit are:
To facilitate for each trainee, an appreciation of ordinary routes to self-awareness and personal
growth, as well as the range of professional avenues which can assist in this process.
To assist each trainee to identify and monitor their own level of self-awareness and their on-
going development needs in this area.
To ensure that all trainees fully appreciate the significance of the following and undertake some
self-exploration in respect of them:
- understanding their personal motives in becoming a clinical psychologist;
- recognising the impact of the work on them;
- appreciating their particular interpersonal style with individuals as well as in group/teams;
- recognising/monitoring how their own history, beliefs, values, influence their work,
especially in face-to-face contact with clients.
To assist trainees to cultivate a reflective stance in all settings/situations.
To introduce trainees to a range of theoretical models for thinking about how they relate to
clients, supervisors and others.
To assist trainees in starting to develop a professional identity which achieves a congruency
between particular career choices/therapeutic orientations and their own unique qualities and
experiences.
To create a Personal Development ‘curriculum’ which recognises and utilises the developmental
nature of the training programme allowing issues to be addressed as they occur at different
stages.
Personal & Professional Development and Supervision
The programme is concerned to ensure that all trainees are provided with the opportunity to achieve an
adequate level of self-awareness by the end of their training. However, issues and ideas addressed in
the teaching module are likely to become more live in the context of placements, and supervision is
therefore viewed as a further central dimension of PPD.
The Supervisor Training Programme aims to guide supervisors in addressing issues relating to PPD,
where there can be uncertainty about what is appropriate material for supervision sessions. Whilst the
focus of supervision should be primarily on the trainee’s clients, it should also be a place where a new
practitioner can express uncertainty and anxieties about their role, and explore the emotional impact of
their work. This should not be seen as simply supporting a trainee (although that is a perfectly worthy
48 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
intention) but as part of their general development as a practitioner and member of the profession.
Supervisors may find the objectives above helpful in highlighting areas which may sometimes be
appropriately addressed in supervision, as well as through a range of other opportunities available on
placements.
Clearly supervision should not be used as an alternative to personal therapy. However, the boundary
between this, and appropriate reflection on the interface between our professional and personal lives, is
generally evident to both supervisors and trainees.
Training Mentor Scheme
Each trainee is allocated a mentor, a clinical psychologist, working in the NHS and independently of the
Programme, who acts as a guide and supporter throughout his or her three years on the programme.
This individual relationship has been highly valued by many trainees, being the only formal element of
the programme which is confidential and has no evaluative dimension.
Originally presented to trainees as something entirely optional, we have recently more strongly
encouraged them to make use of the relationship, recognising the enormous contribution to Personal &
Professional Development which it potentially offers. However we remain aware that some trainees
make little or no use of it.
The title of Training Mentor seems to accurately reflect a relationship between two colleagues, and to
foreshadow the kind of professional support individuals might set up when qualified. All local clinical
psychologists are invited to offer themselves for the role.
Each trainee will be allocated a mentor soon after the start of the programme, and programme staff will
aim to more actively encourage adherence to regular contact. The exact nature of mentor relationships
will remain open to individual needs and preferences, but broad guidelines are provided to both parties.
Academic Advisor (Personal Tutor) Scheme
Each trainee is allocated to an academic advisor, who will be a member of the programme team.
Trainees and academic advisors meet twice yearly, generally in the period between placements, to
review general progress and set individual objectives for the next six months. One key purpose of
these meetings is to promote continuity between placement experience by focussing on the trainee’s
general development within the ‘Standards of Proficiency’ and the competency framework. All areas of
training are discussed as a means of monitoring progress, identifying development needs and
systematically constructing a programme of placement experience across the three years of training.
Trainees complete an Annual Review form summarising the content of the meeting. The academic
advisor is also available to the trainee as and when required for more general support and advice.
Personal Therapy
Clinical Psychology as a profession does not regard personal therapy as a pre-requisite for undertaking
clinical work.
However, we would support and encourage trainees who wish to arrange a course of therapy for
themselves and when this is in response to a more pressing need would expect to facilitate contact with
an appropriate therapist. In the latter context, arrangements would be made through the Clinical
Director engaging therapy services outside the NHS and local psychology services. In this way every
effort would be made to ensure that the therapist concerned would not be involved in any other aspect
of the trainee’s experience on the programme; ideally they would be external to local psychology
services.
49 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Counselling Services
Trainees are entitled to access two counselling services and can do this without reference to anyone
involved in the training programme:
University Counselling Service:
Based at 14 Oxford Street (opposite the Sports Centre, but entered at the rear of the building).
Website: http://www.liv.ac.uk/studentsupport/counselling/
tel: (0)151 794 3304
email: [email protected] in order to arrange an appointment.
Mersey Care Staff Support Service: Appointments can be arranged by telephoning 0151 330 8103.
Addressing Ethical Concerns
Where trainees have concerns about the standard of care provided to service users/carers, they should
feel able to raise those concerns with their supervisor, as the first ‘port of call’, and a decision made as
to if and how such concerns need to be addressed. Guidance concerning such matters is provided by
Health Education England North West (HEENW).
Whilst it is generally appropriate for trainees to discuss any concerns they may have initially with their
supervisor, there may be occasions when the trainee’s concerns relate to the practice or conduct of the
supervisor.
Following consultation with supervisors and Heads of Services across the North West, the three Training
Programmes (Liverpool, Lancaster and Manchester) have agreed a uniform approach in evaluating and
addressing trainee’s concerns about supervision or supervisor’s professional practice. In addition to
clarifying the procedures to be taken for more serious concerns, the policy describes the process for how
trainees should raise, and attempt to address less serious concerns, initially informally with the
supervisor, before involving members of the programme team.
Trainees and supervisors are urged to read the policy carefully and utilise it as a basis for dialogue
about the nature of their supervisory relationship, if this becomes necessary. It is felt that open
discussion at an early stage is likely to pre-empt later ambiguity or reticence in raising with each other
areas of concern. However, should this prove impossible, and concerns arise for either party, the
policy should be invoked.
Trainees requiring external advice can contact the secretary to the BPS Ethics Committee.
50 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
SECTION FOUR
THE RESEARCH COMPONENT
Introduction
Clinical psychology is an evidence-based discipline, and as such research forms an integral part of the
whole programme. This is recognised in the BPS Division of Clinical Psychology’s document on ‘The core
purpose and philosophy of the profession’. The importance of research in clinical psychology training has
been consistently emphasised and trainees undertake a major research project, which is written up in the
form of a dissertation. In addition, trainees are expected to make use of research evidence in all their
academic and clinical work.
It is expected that trainees will already have undertaken substantial research training in their
undergraduate degree, and also potentially as postgraduate students. Trainees’ further learning about
research during the programme is supported by Research Training Curriculum sessions, seminars and
workshops, presentations on major research projects within the research presentations groups,
attendance at the annual Trainees’ Research Conference in July, and individual research supervision.
This section of the programme handbook is largely concerned with the research training curriculum and
with the major research project. It is intended to be a resource to trainees and research supervisors. The
University of Liverpool produces a Postgraduate Research Handbook for postgraduate research (PGR)
students and supervisors; the most recent edition of which is available on the University web pages:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/student-administration/research-students/pgr-handbook/. Trainees are
registered as PGR students at the university. PGR policies, procedures, and regulations are available on
the University web pages. Some of the information in this Handbook simply repeats this information to
make it more accessible to trainees and supervisors and in some cases it gives additional advice and
specific guidance on D.Clin.Psychol research and presentation.
The Vision For Research Training of D,Clin.Psychol. Trainees at University of Liverpool
The D.Clin.Psychol. Research Team at the University will endeavour to help trainees develop their:
appreciation of the value of research activity; understanding of research theory, methodology and design;
competencies in conducting research, and confidence in disseminating research findings.
The Research Team
The development of research skills and knowledge throughout the three years of the training programme
is supported by the programme team but especially the Research Team. The research team work
together with the D.Clin.Psychol. staff team to support your learning and development and to monitor your
progress. The research team are:
Dr Ross White Research Director. Responsible for the overall Research Training
Curriculum and research component of the programme.
Year 3 Co-convenor (and post year 3).
Dr Catrin Eames Research Tutor. Year 2 Convenor
Dr Steven Gillespie Research Tutor. Year 3 Co-convenor
Dr Valentina Lorenzetti Research Tutor. Year 1 Co-convenor
Dr Luna Centifanti Research Tutor. Year 1 Co-convenor
51 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
The Major Research Dissertation
It is a requirement of the degree that trainees submit a major research dissertation. Planning for and
design of the research project begins in year 1 of the programme with the submission of ethical
applications, main data collection, analysis and writing of the dissertation undertaken during years 2 and
3. The conduct of a research project and literature review and submission of a dissertation form a vital
part of the degree. The dissertation submission date, unless otherwise notified, is in early June of the final
year.
Aims of Assessment by Research Dissertation
The work should be of a sufficient quality to demonstrate that the trainee is competent to go on to conduct
future research and to offer advice on research, without close supervision. Trainee research dissertations
should aspire to make valuable contributions to the research field In practice, this means:
1. There should be sufficient quantity of work, given the time and resources available. Due to time
restrictions, longitudinal and intervention studies are usually beyond the scope of a D.Clin.Psychol.
research project.
2. The study should show the trainee’s ability to put psychological ideas and theory into practice.
Trainees are cautioned against undertaking surveys or similar types of investigation that might
lack adequate sophistication for doctoral level research.
3. The results of the research should have clear implications for clinical psychology and/or its
associated stakeholders. Studies which stretch the limits of conventional methodology and design
in the attempt to link with clinical practice are encouraged.
4. The research should be of such quality as to be considered for publication in peer-reviewed
journals. Although each trainee's aim should be to publish their research findings, this is not a pre-
requisite for passing the viva voce examination of the dissertation. Positive or provocative results
are not crucial. What is essential is that the trainee has carried out a study that has potential
clinical relevance and value.
5. There should be evidence that the trainee has learned from the experience of research. For
instance, in the dissertation and viva voce examination, the trainee should demonstrate a capacity
to reflect on how the original research question(s), design or methods could have been modified.
6. All research has limitations. The write-up should show an awareness of the limitations of the
particular project.
The Major Research Dissertation Format
The University’s Ordinances governing the degrees of MPhil, PhD and MD include the D.Clin.Psychol.
major research dissertation. This specifically allows for candidates to submit a thesis as a series of
published or submitted papers embodying the results of their research.
There are three main reasons for this format. One is that, properly followed through it should increase the
likelihood of the research being published, as converting a traditional thesis into a journal paper format is
time consuming and for that reason becomes difficult to do once trainees are qualified and have entered
full-time working in the NHS. The second is that in many respects it represents a more ‘ecologically valid’
training exercise, in that the vast majority of research reports are published in the form of journal articles
which are in essence the ‘currency’ of research as an activity. The third is that, given that participants
52 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
have contributed time and effort in being involved in research, it provides further justification for their
having done so.
The typical contents of a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology dissertation written in this format comprise:
1. An Introductory Chapter providing an overview of the research dissertation, and describing how
the remaining sections relate to each other. This is not for publication.
2. Chapter 1, Literature Review paper, which will most likely be a systematic review or narrative
review that draws on systematic methods.
3. Chapter 2, Empirical Paper (quantitative or qualitative), which reports the major research project
itself.
4. Appendices
For Chapter 2 (empirical paper), trainees are required to specify a ‘target’ journal to which they would
submit the paper. In addition, trainees are encouraged to specify a ‘target’ journal to which they would
submit the literature review paper detailed in Chapter 2 to, however, this remains optional. The specified
journal(s) will be based on discussion with supervisors.
The maximum word count for the research dissertation is 25,000 words. This includes appendices.
However, the word count for Chapter 2, Empirical Paper, must adhere to the word count stated in the
author instructions for the ‘targeted’ journal. Presentation should also adhere to the targeted peer-
reviewed journal. There are two exceptions, (i) tables and figures are presented in the main text for
examination purposes and (ii) the cover page of the empirical paper (Chapter 2) should only include the
title, the ‘target’ journal, and word count (do not list co-authors). The trainee’s name and respective
supervisor names are listed only on the thesis cover page. Similarly, if Chapter 1, Literature Review, is
intended for publication, then the word count and presentation should adhere to the relevant journal
author instructions. Supplementary material can be included in the appendices.
Note: Trainees are required to submit their research dissertation based on the format instructions given to
the cohort with whom they commenced their doctoral training in clinical psychology. Dissertation
instructions and guidelines for each cohort from 2010 onwards are available on VITAL.
Research dissertation guidelines - larger projects
If your research has formed part of a larger project or data have been collected in conjunction with other
trainees/researchers, you should include a preface outlining the overall investigation and explain your role
(and contribution) within it to clarify the situation for reviewers and examiners.
Research literature review
The conduct of the literature review should be of a standard that would be acceptable to referees of the
British Journal of Clinical Psychology. That means it would be reasonably thorough but not necessarily
exhaustive, with some features of a systematic review including:
Identifying the databases to be searched, and/or other sources
Stating search terms
Listing inclusion and exclusion criteria
Recording numbers of ‘hits’ extracted
Specifying method of analysis (narrative, systematic review/ coding procedures/ ballot-box/ meta-
analytic)
Critical evaluation of key studies identified
Summarising conclusions
Linking the review to the objectives of the dissertation research
53 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Research Days
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
8 half-days
(1st two terms)
+
1 day pw after July
exam = 12 days
Total = 16 days
1 day per week =
52 days
1 day per week up
to the end of term 2
= 30 days
+ additional day
per week until
thesis hand in
(early June) = 9
days
+
6-day block
+
half day research
after submission
until end Sep = 8.5
= 53.5 days
121.5 days
Trainees should fill in the leave request form that is used to request both research leave and annual leave.
Request forms must be submitted to the Research Administrator at least one week in advance of
the requested leave days, after being agreed with the placement supervisor if necessary, to be
considered for approval by the Research Director. Research leave must be approved by the
Research Director prior to leave being taken. Retrospective leave requests will not be granted
approval.
During year 1, following the exams in July to the end of September, trainees have one day per week for
their research. The research day is agreed with the placement supervisor.
In year 1 the main task is the preparation of the research proposal. The proposal submission deadline is in
mid-May (Monday, 14th May 2018). Most of the work on this will be undertaken during trainees’ own study
time. However, it is recognised that trainees will need time during working hours to meet with potential
supervisors and negotiate with ‘gatekeepers’ concerning access to potential participants etc. To this end,
trainees may request up to a total of eight half-days out of placement before the submission of their
research proposal. However, only a maximum of four half days can be requested in any one term.
Requests for research leave must be taken as half days. Only in exceptional circumstances will a one-day
research leave be approved. The purpose of the meeting must be stated briefly on the Research Leave
application form. These half days may not be carried over beyond the proposal submission deadline.
During year 2 and through to the end of June of year 3, trainees have one day per week for their
research. This research day(s) cannot be carried over, or claimed back retrospectively. Having one day
per week for your research is a programme requirement. The research day is agreed with the placement
supervisor, usually before the beginning of the placement. The day of the week to be taken will often be
driven by the requirements of the research (for instance, by the need to attend a clinic on a particular day
to recruit participants). Trainees are strongly discouraged from taking Fridays as their regular research
day. Experience suggests that Friday is a poor choice as research days are more likely to be lost to
annual leave. Trainees are generally more tired at the end of the week. It is advisable to choose a day
when your research supervisors are available. Placement supervisors may see Fridays as a good choice
of research day, as it allows consecutive days for clinical work in the middle part of each week. All of this
indicates the importance of discussing and negotiating in advance with both research and clinical
54 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
supervisors and arriving at the best overall solution taking account of the specific needs of the research
alongside other demands. It is incumbent upon trainees to follow that process and agree the most
appropriate solution.
Between the time when teaching finishes in year 3 and the dissertation hand-in date, trainees also
have Monday to work on the write-up of their dissertation. Following the official hand-in date trainees have
one day per week for research until early June and are then are entitled to half a day per week for
research until the end of September (i.e. for keeping abreast of their research, preparing for the Trainee
Research Conference and the viva voce oral examination, as well as writing research reports (e.g., NHS
Trust R&D committee/ ethics committee).
Trainees are also entitled to six days research leave during year 3. These are usually taken to form a
block of one or two weeks dedicated research time. This does NOT include teaching on Mondays – if
trainees take their research leave while there is still teaching, they must still attend. If trainees choose to
take their research weeks in a week with a Bank Holiday then they do NOT get an extra research day to
take at another time. Trainees are also strongly advised to discuss this with their research supervisor in
the context of a discussion of a work plan and deadlines for producing drafts. Trainees may make a
request to take their six days research leave as individual days but it is important to consult with your
placement supervisor at an early stage to arrange this. A block week dedicated to research would include
Mondays (when trainees either have teaching or a free day for research anyway, depending on the time of
year) and their one research day per week.
Research Training Curriculum
Research Training Curriculum (109.75 total hours)
Research
Teaching
Sessions
Research
Presentations
Research
Conference
Hours
Year 1 35 6 6 47
Year 2 16 6 6 28
Year 3 22.75 6 6 34.75
Note. In addition, several optional research surgeries, workshops and seminars are available to support
specific research learnings, knowledge and skills development in each year of training.
References for recommended reading relating to the Research Training Curriculum over the 3-years of
training are available on VITAL. It is essential that trainees regularly consult these electronic resources.
Research Training Curriculum Year 1
Co-convenors: Dr Luna Centifanti and Dr Valentina Lorenzetti
AIMS
To re-familiarise trainees with the fundamental concepts involved in conducting research relevant to
clinical psychology with a particular focus on the theoretical assumptions that underlie: quantitative
research methods, qualitative research methods and systematic approaches to reviewing and
synthesising research evidence. This builds on the material that trainees are expected to know from their
undergraduate/postgraduate qualifications and on the basis of having GBR. It is essential that you re-
acquaint and familiarise yourselves with this material.
55 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
To provide outlines of:
the types of research which are typically conducted within clinical psychology and allied fields, and
the reasoning underlying them.
a range of quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection and analysis, including also an
examination of the relationships between them.
ethical issues in clinical research
the processes involved in planning a research dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Clinical
Psychology.
service users and/or carers involvement in research
The teaching unit is designed to ensure that trainees can decide on appropriate methods of analysis for
their own research and evaluate published research which may have a bearing on it. The module aims to
draw together the applied nature of clinical research, with both taught and practical components to
sessions.
Suggested reading:
Clark-Carter, D. (2009). Doing Quantitative Psychological Research Hove: Psychology
Press.
Field, A. (2009). Discovering Statistics using SPSS (3rd Ed.). London: Sage Publications.
Pallant, J. (2010). SPSS Survival Manual: A step-by-step guide to data analysis using the
SPSS Program. Melbourne: Allen & Unwin.
Ritchie, J. & Lewis, J. (2003). Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science
Students and Researchers. London: Sage Publications.
Robert, M.C. & Ilardi, S.S. (2005). Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology.
Oxford, Blackwell.
Research Training Curriculum Year 2 and Year 3
The research training curriculum includes research teaching and learning sessions during years 2 and 3 of
the programme. These research sessions draw on a variety of learning contexts to support the
development of research knowledge, understandings and skills to enhance student learning.
Year 2 - Convenor: Dr Catrin Eames
The year 2 research sessions focus mainly on ethical issues and applying for ethical approval,
undertaking research in NHS services and third sector settings and service-user consultation, literature
review protocols and conducting literature reviews, critiquing empirical research (quantitative and
qualitative). Particular focus is allocated to the practical application of quantitative research methods,
qualitative research methods and systematic approaches to reviewing and synthesising research
evidence. Optional surgeries and workshops are offered in response to trainees’ research learning needs
(e.g., designing literature review protocols).
56 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Year 3 – Co-convenors: Dr Ross White and Dr Steven Gillespie
The year 3 research teaching sessions, seminars and workshops aim to support the on-going
development of research knowledge and critiquing skills. The research sessions also aim to facilitate and
support trainees in completing their doctoral research dissertations, preparing for their vivas, writing for
publication, and disseminating their research (e.g., service-users and carers, mental health services,
community organisations, research conferences, publications, media).
57 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Figure 1. Schematic of research training and completion of thesis
Research Progress Presentations
All trainees will be asked to give a short presentation on their on-going research every year. This
presentation will be made within the same small groups as are brought together for clinical skills
presentations. Slots for this are included in the timetable, and you will be given a date well in advance for
your presentation. In year 1, the presentation is an outline of the research proposal that you are
developing (this provides opportunities for input from fellow trainees, research tutors and members of the
Liverpool Experts by Experience group about the feasibility of the proposed project). In year 2 it will be a
presentation on your research progress to date, often presenting the rationale and methodology for
the study. In year 3, you may have initial results to present but it is more likely that the presentation will
focus on the methodology and a reflective evaluation of how this is working in practice.
The sessions will be in the style of conference presentations followed by an opportunity for questions and
discussion. Trainees should prepare sufficient hand-outs for their presentations. Formative feedback will
be provided on presentations from research members of staff.
These presentation sessions provide an opportunity to develop skills in conference presentations and
critical appraisal and to gain feedback from peers and experience of engaging in discussions about the
research. Year 3 trainees gain the opportunity to develop their skills of chairing meetings and time-
keeping. At these presentations a research tutor or other research active members of the department will
be present.
The Annual Research Conference
Every year a one-day research conference is organised at which third year trainees will present their
research. The conference is held in July, following submission of major research dissertations in June.
The presentations are attended by programme trainees, research supervisors, University and programme
team staff, invited colleagues from NHS clinical departments, service users and carers and PGR students
in IPHS. This is an opportunity for trainees to gain experience in the preparation of research for
dissemination to a wider audience and more specifically in conference presentations. It is also a useful
opportunity for feedback prior to the viva voce examination.
Organisation of the Dissertation System
Trainees’ planning, execution and analysis of their research is supported through supervision, research
training sessions, the research director and research tutors, the Research Review Committee and the
Department of Psychological Sciences.
The Supervisory Team
It is the responsibility of each trainee to identify a team of suitable research supervisors in the course of
preparing the research proposal (see below). In year 1 trainees will be provided with a excel spread-sheet
detailing the research interests and methodological expertise of supervisors based in the D.Clin.Psychol
programme staff group, the Department of Psychological Science and the School of Psychology. In
addition, members of the research team will be able to help you identify suitable people to approach as
potential supervisors.
In particular, the Primary Supervisor is responsible for:
Advising on theoretical, clinical, design and methodological issues specific to the area of study.
Ensure that the trainee is regularly liaising with other supervisors..
Ensuring that the study is practicable given the time and resources available (including access to
research participants, availability of any special equipment or materials). As highlighted above,
longitudinal and intervention studies are typically beyond the scope of a D.Clin.Psych project.
58 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Overseeing the application for ethical approval.
Informing the Research Director and Research Year Convenor as soon as possible of any
problems arise that threaten the research.
Monitor trainee research progress.
Facilitate access to any necessary support and resources within the University.
Read a draft of each dissertation chapter and read a draft of the complete dissertation and provide
feedback in relation to the requirements of the degree.
Any proposed change in supervision or research project must be approved by the Research Director.
All trainees must have two named supervisors. Trainees must have a University of Liverpool
supervisor who is usually a member of the Department of Psychological Science (IPHS) research staff,
the School of Psychology staff or a member of the D.Clin.Psychol. programme team at the University of
Liverpool and will act as the primary supervisor. The second supervisor may be an internal or external
supervisor. It is not unusual for different supervisors to bring different skills and experience to the
supervisory team. For instance, one may have specific expertise in the subject matter of the project and
methodological expertise whilst another brings a clinical expertise.
The supervisory team must include suitable psychological and research expertise to support your
research project. For example, an external supervisor might be an NHS-based psychologist or other
health practitioner. Where more than two people are involved in guiding the project, it will usually be
advisable to designate some of these individuals as advisors or collaborators (rather than as supervisors).
Note: external supervisors who act as second supervisors must have prior experience of supervising
postgraduate research. They will also require an honorary research university appointment in order to act
as second supervisor on a trainee research project.
Trainees should be aware that there is a natural limit on the number of projects staff can supervise
in any one year and some trainees may find that their first choice supervisor is not available.
Trainees are advised to approach potential internal university primary supervisors in the early
stages to discuss possible research project(s). A research project will not be approved without a
university primary supervisor.
At least one supervisor must have an appropriate qualification in psychology.
The Primary Supervision Allocation Process
After the circulation of a spread-sheet detailing the research interests and methodological expertise of
potential supervisors, the trainees should contact potential Primary Supervisors, trainees will be required
to list two potential Primary Supervisors and to submit them to the Year 1 Research Co-convenors, Dr
Luna Centifanti ([email protected]) or Dr Valentina Lorenzetti ([email protected]) and to the
Research Administrator, Emily Joseph ([email protected]).
The Research Team will review the submissions and allocate a primary supervisor to each trainee project.
The relative contributions and responsibilities of the primary and second supervisors should be discussed
and agreed at the beginning of the project and should be explicitly stated in a Research Supervision
Agreement that is prepared by the Trainee and signed by the Trainee and all supervisors. The primary
supervisor who has the main responsibility for supervising a D.Clin Psychol. research project.
Trainees and their supervisors will be asked to provide updates to the research team, summarising the
process of supervision and providing a commentary on the overall progress of the work. These updates
59 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
are not an evaluation as such, but allow any potential problems that may impact on the research progress
to be identified.
Trainees should expect to meet with their primary supervisor about once a month on average throughout
the lifetime of the project. The intensity and frequency of contact does vary across the lifespan of the
project, with more intense contact when you are preparing your research proposal, ethical application,
literature review protocol, starting data collection and completing the analysis and write-up. Meetings with
the second supervisor are usually less frequent but should be discussed in the early stages of the
research. If your primary supervisor is a university academic beyond the D.Clin.Psychol. programme staff,
then it is preferable to have a second supervisor who is a D.Clin.Psychol. member of staff, as they are
particularly familiar with the requirements of the D.Clin.Psychol. dissertation requirements. If your second
supervisor is the only D.Clin.Psychol. staff member on your supervisory team, then you should arrange to
meet with this supervisor at least every 6-8 weeks. If it is not possible to have a D.Clin.Psychol. staff
member as a supervisor, then you should seek to have a research advisor to the project who is a member
of the D.Clin.Psychol. programme staff.
Your supervisors must read and approve your research proposal before it is submitted to the
D.Clin.Psychol. Research Review Committee for review.
It is the responsibility of the trainees to negotiate agreed times with their supervisors for submitting drafts
of research proposals and subsequent chapters to receive feedback. It is usual for supervisors to require
at least two weeks to read drafts. The support offered by second supervisors will vary according to the
level contribution agreed at the start of the project. However, if your second supervisor is the only
D.Clin.Psychol. staff member on your supervisory team, then it is expected that that s/he would read a
complete draft of your dissertation (or a draft of each chapter) before you submit your thesis. However,
your primary supervisor has the main responsibility for overseeing the supervision of your project and you
should not submit your thesis without the approval of your primary supervisor.
We recommend that you discuss roles, how you will maintain communication, eventual publication of the
work etc. with your supervisors at an early stage and review this throughout the lifetime of the project. This
should then be summarised in the Research Supervision Agreement.
Inevitably, sometimes staff change jobs, take maternity leave and in these instances the research year
convenor and director will assist in identifying new supervisors (or maternity leave cover). All new
supervisors must be approved by the Research Director. A trainee cannot change their research project
for a new project without this being discussed and approved by the D.Clin.Psychol. Research Review
Committee. A change of research project would only take place in exceptional circumstances. Trainees
must inform ALL the relevant Research Ethics Committees, the D.Clin.Psychol. Research Review
Committee, and the Faculty Research Support Office (in relation to sponsorship cover) of any change in
supervisor and/or project. Trainees should also ‘notify’ the University Sponsorship and University Ethics
Committee (CORE) of amendments to the title of their dissertation. Failure to do this would mean that you
were working outside your ethical approval and/or without insurance.
Programme Research Director and Tutors
The research team is responsible for supporting and monitoring the progress of trainees with their
research.
There is a designated research tutor for each year of the programme (see the table above). The year
research tutor will:
60 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Monitor the overall progress of trainees with their research projects through contact with trainees
and research supervisors.
Be a source of advice for trainees and supervisors on the specific requirements of the programme.
The members of the research team have a range of expertise in research methodology as well as some of
the practical and procedural aspects of research. Members of the research team offer workshops on
specific aspects of research methodology throughout the programme. Research team members can also
provide research advice. However, any queries regarding research designs, methodologies and analyses
should be discussed with the trainee’s supervisors and importantly any decisions taken are the
responsibility of the trainee and the primary supervisor.
D.Clin.Psychol. Research Review Committee (RRC)
A Research Review Committee (RRC) within the Doctorate of Clinical Psychology programme formally
reviews PGR students’ research proposals to ensure they are of a standard appropriate for the degree
and feasible within the time constraints of the programme. Trainees are not permitted to progress
research proposals for ethical approval or sponsorship arrangements until their proposal has been
approved by the RRC and they have received a letter informing them of this approval. Any subsequent
amendments to the proposal need to be approved by the RRC.
However, it should be noted that the outcome of the viva voce examination is dependent on how well the research is conducted, the standard of the final dissertation and performance in the viva and not the RRC.
Key Progression Milestones for Major Research Project
Please note that generally the dates given are the last dates by which milestones should have been
reached, and the ‘desirable’ date would generally be earlier.
Key Progression Benchmarks required in each year of training:
Year 1. Research proposal submission to the RRC (and possible resubmission following the
completion of any changes required by the RRC)
Year 2. Submission and approval of the ethical application
Year 3. Submission of dissertation and viva voce examination.
Note. It is expected that trainees will gain approval for their research proposal in their first year of training.
It is also expected that trainees will complete a literature review protocol and commence data recruitment
in their second year of training.
Year 1
Trainees are advised to start thinking about their research project in the early stages of the programme. In
addition to the spread-sheet detailing the research interests and methodological expertise of potential
supervisors, you can find information on staff research on the IPHS, and Department of Psychological
Sciences University web-pages. Research projects that become available will be advertised on VITAL,
and a Research Fayre presenting potential project areas is arranged in the first term. The research
teaching curriculum includes specific advice on planning your project and preparing your research
proposal. Trainees should start by selecting a broad research topic, conducting literature searches and
approaching potential supervisors. They may also contact the research team and other potential internal
primary members of the programme team for advice and guidance on potential D.Clin.Psychol. and
Department of Psychological Sciences staff to approach i.e. particular subject areas.
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April, year 1
Pre-submission project outlines
There are key deadlines for identifying possible primary supervisors and research proposal progress. You
will be prompted for information on the progress of your research proposal during year 1 before the
submission of your proposal. The dates for these reports and their format will be published on VITAL. This
is simply so that we can pick up where trainees are having problems and also identify supervisor
availability. Additionally, one week before the proposal submission deadline, you will be asked to submit
brief information on your proposal in the form of a draft one-page lay summary, comprising of a title, the
name of your supervisors and, in the broadest terms your research aims or questions and the
methodology you will be using, as well as details of your proposed procedures. This information will be
used to assign reviewers to your proposal and to set the RRC meeting agenda. The one-page lay
summaries and/or full research proposals will be available to the RRC members. We also use the one-
page lay summaries for administrative purposes to reduce the time between your actual proposal
submission and the RRC.
Supervisor approval of proposals
Once trainees have been assigned a primary supervisor and secured a secondary supervisor they should
be in regular contact with their supervisors during the preparation of their proposals. Please be aware that
it is a requirement that your proposal includes a statement from your supervisors that they have read and
approved your proposal. This implies that you will need to have a full draft of your proposal ready at least
a few weeks before the submission date in May. Therefore, it is important to negotiate with your
supervisor(s) when to submit your draft proposal well in advance of the due date. It is important to
establish a pattern of regular supervisory contact, particularly with your primary supervisor, as early as
possible and to maintain it throughout the 3 years.
Submission of proposal
A date in the summer term for submission of proposals will be included in the list of deadlines for the year.
Trainees will be provided with feedback from the RRC meeting in the form of feedback from two reviewers
and the RRC and a covering letter within two weeks after the committee has met. If the proposal is
considered to meet the required standard then you will be ready to proceed to the next stage and seek
University Sponsorship for your project (if required) and the relevant ethical approval (either from the NHS
or from the University Committee of Research Ethics CORE). However, many trainees are likely to obtain
‘provisional’ RRC approval, which requires them to write a letter to the year 1 RRC Vice Chair to address
points raised by the reviewer(s) and the RRC. If the letter to the year 1 RRC Vice Chair and the revised
research proposal is of a satisfactory standard and has the signed approval of supervisor(s) it is likely that
RRC approval to progress to the next stage of the research will be granted. You must have ‘final’ RRC
approval before you can proceed to apply for university sponsorship and ethical approval. If the RRC
consider the proposal requires further work you will be given feedback and a resubmission date for your
revised research proposal. Resubmissions are all due in the first year of training.
Year 2
Beginning of academic year 2
Except in the exceptional circumstances of complete breakdown of a project due to external events
trainees should not change fundamental aspects of their project proposal once the research project has
been approved. Following the approval of the research proposal, no new research proposal can be
undertaken without the approval of the Research Director. Trainees must inform the RRC of any proposed
changes to their research, even minor changes. All proposed project amendments must be approved by
the RRC Chair or Vice Chair before proposed amendments are submitted to University Sponsorship (if
applicable) and the relevant ethical committee. Minor amendments can usually be approved by the RRC
Chair or Vice Chair. However, major changes may require a review process similar to the process in Year
62 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
1. Requests for proposed research amendments should usually be addressed to the RRC Year Chair or
Vice Chair. All research budgets must be approved by the project supervisors and by the Research
Director.
Trainees will usually also have to submit their research proposal for external scrutiny by other agencies. In
organisations such as the NHS this will include obtaining approval from the NHS Trust via Research
Governance and applying for ethical approval via the Health Research Authority (HRA) system
http://www.hra.nhs.uk/about-the-hra/our-plans-and-projects/assessment-approval/
HRA has the following features:
It is a single system for applying for the permissions and approvals for health and social care/
community care research in the UK
It enables you to enter the information about your project once instead of duplicating information
in separate application forms
It uses filters to ensure that the data collected and collated are appropriate to the type of study,
and consequently the permissions and approvals required
It helps you to meet regulatory and governance requirements
It retains familiar aspects of the NRES form system
The HRA application will be reviewed by an NHS Research Ethics Committee (NHS REC). Any proposal
that requires an HRA application for NHS ethical approval must be accompanied by notification from the
University of Liverpool that the University will sponsor the research for insurance purposes i.e. a
Sponsorship form. The Sponsorship forms are obtained from [email protected] and are submitted
electronically to the University.
In non-statutory agencies, such as voluntary bodies, there may be different requirements and it is
important to be aware in advance of the procedures to be followed in relation to the proposed setting of
the work.
Trainees conducting research that does not require an NHS application must submit an ethics application
to the relevant University of Liverpool Committee on Research Ethics (CORE) or IPHSREC (for projects
meeting the criteria for expedited review, as outlined in the application form):
http://www.liv.ac.uk/researchethics/ or [email protected]. All NHS projects require university sponsorship,
including NHS staff projects. NHS staff projects require university ethical approval rather than NHS ethical
approval. However, NHS staff projects do require NHS site approval.
Trainees must not submit their CORE, IPHSREC, HRA, or University Sponsorship applications until their
research proposal has received final approval by the RRC. All subsequent proposed research
amendments must also have RRC approval before proposed amendments are submitted to University
Sponsorship and/or the relevant ethical committee.
HRA or CORE applications should be submitted by approximately November of year 2. It is recognised
that when Trust Research Governance committees and/or NHS RECs ask for project amendments ethical
approval may take some time. However, trainees should take all possible steps to ensure that they
respond speedily to these committees. Once the relevant NHS REC/ CORE/ IPHSREC/ Sponsorship
approval has been granted, trainees should submit a copy of their letter of approval to the Research
Administrator, Emily Joseph ([email protected]) in the D.Clin.Psychol. Programme office and to
their primary supervisor. (Note that you should retain a copy of your ethics approval letters and
sponsorship approval for your record). All ethical and university sponsorship approval letters and
subsequent correspondence regarding proposed amendments must be sent to your primary supervisor
and to Emily Joseph in the D.Clin.Psychol. admin team.
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Supervisor Feedback Reports - Year 2
Supervisors will be asked to provide research progress reports in November and June. The November
report will include a detailed progress report concerning the ethical application and approval progress for
the project and the development of your literature review protocol. The June report will provide a detailed
summary of progress to date, including recruitment, data collection and the literature review draft. In
addition to your regular research supervision meetings, trainees should arrange to meet with their
supervisors in early November and early June to give them an update on their research progress.
Year 3
Supervisor Feedback Reports - Year 3
Supervisors will be asked to provide feedback concerning the research progress at two points. By
December, trainees should have:
Completed a draft literature review chapter
Have completed or be close to completing data collection.
Be up to date in entering quantitative data into a data file (e.g., SPSS), or transcribing interview
data, or equivalent.
Have a clear plan for data analysis.
By the end of November supervisors will be asked to review supervisee research progress and indicate if
their supervisees are on course to submit their thesis by mid-May. By this point, trainees should have:
Completed a draft empirical paper
Commenced planning the materials to be included in the appendices.
In addition to your regular research supervision meetings, trainees should arrange to meet with their
supervisors in early November and early March to give them an update on their research progress.
In March it is strongly advised that trainees should agree a series of deadlines with their supervisor to aid
progress towards completion of the research dissertation. It is important to agree well in advance
deadlines for the submission and reading of drafts.
Draft dissertation submission
Trainees must submit a full draft to their supervisors for feedback on an agreed date at least one month
prior to the submission deadline for the thesis. Therefore, if the submission date is set for mid-May, then
the complete draft dissertation should be submitted by mid-April. It is important to remember that many
supervisors are working with more than one trainee and without enough time to read through drafts it is
not possible to guarantee the highest level of feedback. This may ultimately compromise the quality of the
final submission.
Year 3 third term
Deadline for submission of the dissertation will be mid-May of the final year. Trainees will be notified of
the exact date at the commencement of their final year. Note that trainees may wish to submit before this
date in order to balance the research with other coursework and placement commitments.
As well as their thesis, trainees must also submit a copy of all their raw data, suitably anonymised. This
will usually be in the form of an electronic file such as an SPSS data file or interview transcripts in WORD.
Examiners have the right to ask to inspect any raw data and evidence of analysis (e.g., SPSS analysis,
audit trail for qualitative research). Trainees should expect that they will look at least a sample in each
cohort.
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The Research Proposal
When submitting research proposals trainees submit 6 documents:
A one-page lay summary of the research (final version submitted with the proposal, draft version
submitted 1 week prior).
The research proposal (3 hard copies)
A separate one-page detailed budget (signed by supervisors; 3 hard copies: see Preparing
Research Costings)
A signed research supervision contract
A signed approval for the submission of the proposal by each of your supervisors
A signed declaration of trainee’s responsibilities
In addition to submitting a hard copy of all the above mentioned documents, trainees are required to
submit an electronic copy of these same documents to the Research Administrator, Emily Joseph and
D.Clin.Psychol. admin ([email protected]).
It is the trainee’s responsibility to ensure that their supervisors have time to read the proposal and provide
a signed approval and supervisory agreement by the submission deadline. If any of these documents are
not provided by the deadline then the proposal will not be accepted.
The research proposal must be presented double spaced using a font size as described in the section
Presentation of Assignments, and in line with the most up-to-date APA manual guidelines, which is
currently the 6th edition. The maximum length for the proposal itself is 7 pages. This page limit does not
include costs, timescale, references, or the one-page lay summary which is also required (see below).
The proposal should not include either footnotes or appendices. The proposal should be structured in the
manner of a research grant application according to the outline provided below. You will also find the
sections very similar to those required for application to committees dealing with ethical permission.
As a guide we would expect the rationale for your study to consist of 1-2 paragraphs, the literature review
should ideally be about 1 page, and certainly never more than 2, the methodology (including measures,
procedure, analysis) should be about 2 pages.
Trainees usually design their own research projects. Occasionally, however, a trainee may undertake a
project, which forms part of a larger project or a project that has already been designed. If the trainee has
not designed the project, then one additional A4 page should be appended to the research proposal to
address the following requirements: An identification of an alternative design that could potentially be used
to address the research question(s), identification of the potential strengths and weaknesses of the design
and a sound rationale for the choice of design and the analyses being conducted. At a Doctoral level of
training it is important for trainees to have an opportunity to develop independent thinking and critiquing
skills in the research process, including at the project design stage. Individual trainees may also be invited
to attend the RRC to clarify any issues if their project is part of a larger study.
Trainees should observe the most recent APA (6th Ed) manual guidelines on reference and presentation
style required for academic work. Clearly, much of the proposal will be written in the future tense but
otherwise the style is much like that of any assignment. However, the most important thing is that it is
clear to the reader. In many cases, trainees at this stage may still be negotiating aspects of access and
procedure. It is important to explain clearly what you have already done and how you intend to progress.
One Page Lay Summary
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Please provide a short summary of your whole proposal. This should fit on one, separate page. It must
include:
Your name
Submission date
Title
Your supervisor(s), and their contact details
Aims, hypotheses / objectives
Method e.g. Qualitative “IPA, Grounded Theory” or Quantitative “Regression Analyses, ANOVAs”
A brief summary of your procedure
Service user/carer consultation
This should be on a separate page at the start of your proposal. The one-page lay summary will be
circulated to all members of the Research Review Committee.
Information to be included in the Full Research Proposal:
Your name
Title for the project
The project title should be concise and succinct (in accord with APA guidelines)
Date and Version Number
The date of submission should be clearly shown on the title page. As trainees may be asked to submit
revisions of their proposal, this is vital for good administration.
Supervisor(s)
Please see the guidance on supervisors under ‘organisation of the dissertation system’ above. You must
append to your proposal a statement from your supervisor(s) to say that they have read and approved the
proposal submitted. This should be in the form of a signed statement of approval from each of the
supervisors. You should ensure you have two supervisors in place, one of which must be an internal
primary supervisor in the Department of Psychological Sciences in the Institute of Psychology Health and
Society (research staff) or School of Psychology in the Institute of Learning and Teaching (D.Clin.Psychol.
academic and clinical staff).
Aims
What, overall, is the question being posed by your research? You should be able to state the overall aim
briefly, in one or two sentences. This is then broken down into a series of research questions or
hypotheses. It is essential to ensure that your methodology is one that can meet your stated aims.
General background
This should set the context for the research and explain how the proposed research will contribute to
theory and practice. This section is normally one or two paragraphs. Try to use non-technical language
here – the more technical explanation and most references to the literature come in the next section.
Brief account of relevant literature
What work has already been done in this field that has a direct bearing on your proposed project? You do
not need to write a literature review at this stage, but must set your research in the context of previous
studies. Many trainees are tempted to make this section too long – one or two pages is sufficient.
Hypotheses / objectives
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Express your research question in the form of an experimental hypothesis or hypotheses, or state clearly
the precise objectives of more exploratory or qualitative research.
(Please note that it is important to set focused and precise aims for qualitative research to be undertaken
for your D.Clin.Psychol. project).
Design
What form of research design will be used in your project? Design statements are generally short (one
sentence) but it should be clear from the proposal as a whole why this is the most appropriate
methodology to use. Note, trainees typically have approximately 6 months for recruitment based on one
research day per week in Year 2 and Year 3. Given the constraints of undertaking a D.Clin.Psychol.
research project, trainees should not undertake designs which cannot be completed within this recruitment
time period (e.g., intervention studies, longitudinal studies).
Participants / sampling / access
With which client or staff groups will this work be conducted? Are sufficient numbers available for the
work, in locations to which you have access? Are they likely to co-operate with the research? A
justification of the proposed sample size is expected. For quantitative research, this will normally include a
power analysis. The sample size for qualitative work should also be justified.
Try to be as precise and detailed as you can in this section, making clear how you have established e.g.
the number of potential participants and the likely response rate. This is often a key point in deciding if
your research is practicable. Proposals which do not include this information will not be approved.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria should be explicit.
Permission of ethics committees
Most research in health service settings, or in adjacent agencies, requires ethical approval by specially
appointed committees. You need to give consideration to the ethical procedures pertinent to your study,
and detail the relevant ethical committees you will need to submit to for approval.
Procedure
Specify the procedures you will use in collecting data. This section should make clear both the
methodological justification for your approach with reference to key texts and the practicalities of the
research.
You may wish to make reference to any special training needed.
Your proposal should make clear exactly how the data will be gathered.
Trainees should show their awareness of ethical and safety issues, making reference to any relevant
policies and the use of supervision in maintaining the safety of themselves and others.
Consent and withdrawal procedures should be detailed, as well as defined end of study, dissemination
and archiving arrangements.
Measures / Materials
If you are using questionnaires or other psychometric tests you should include a short paragraph on the
psychometric properties of each, with references.
Other equipment / materials should be listed and you should make clear whether and how you have
access to these.
Data analysis
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How will the data be analysed? Be clear and specific. For quantitative studies, you may find it helpful to
structure this around the stated hypotheses. For qualitative studies, a clear rationale for your choice of
method and a description of the method should be included.
Will statistical, computing, or other professional advice be needed and if so where will it be obtained?
Service user/carer consultation
State how service users and/or carers have been consulted in the design of the project and your plans for
consultation throughout the duration of the study and beyond.
End of Study
State anticipated end of study. This should not before all the data has been collected and analysed.
Trainees usually state the end of September in their final year of training. However, you are advised to
discuss the proposed end of study date with your primary supervisor.
Archiving
State who the data custodian will be and how long the data will be stored and in what form it will be
stored. Data custodian must be either a university academic supervisor or NHS supervisor.
(Please note, data and all appropriate documentation should be stored for a minimum of 5 years after the
completion of the study, including the follow‐up period, unless otherwise directed by the
funder/sponsor/regulatory bodies).
Publication
You should state where you intend to publish your research.
Although this early indication is useful it is also recognised that you and your supervisors may review the
preferred journal outlet at a later stage in the research process.
Organisation of the work
You should include a plan of work that shows the time allowed for each stage of the project.
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Research Budget Costs
Trainees should present the financial costs of their research that they will need to claim from programme
funds, including items such as commercial psychometric tests, participants’ travel expenses, copying of
materials, tapes for recording interviews. Trainees may also claim for the costs of transcription of interview
recordings, but should be aware of the normal maximum which may be claimed for research costs, and
that transcription (which is a time-consuming task even for a skilled typist) is expensive. Trainees’ own
travel costs are claimed in the same way as travel costs for placements, and should not normally be
included in the proposal.
Only reasonable costs associated with the research that were included in the proposal can be reclaimed
from the programme. Many approved costs (such as materials required) are usually ordered on your
behalf by the programme administrative team (see Emily Joseph). For other approved costs that cannot
be ordered in this manner, receipts will be required in order to claim any approved reimbursement from
the budget. Please note that trainees may not spend ‘savings’ from one area of proposed expenses on
another research cost. In some instances, trainees budget for an item which at a later date is not required.
Such items should remain in any subsequent revised budget, but listed as ‘non-spend’ items. Particular
attention will be paid to ensuring that trainees have budgeted adequately for participant costs and these
will be carefully ring-fenced. Any requested research budget amendments must be approved by the
Research Director in advance of any expenditure. Requests should be presented in a letter format with
the project title included, the date, a clear rationale to support the revised budget request and details of
costs included in the letter, including the revised total budget. Copies of the original budget and revised
budget (and version) should accompany your letter to the Research Director. Emily Joseph (Research
Administrator; [email protected]) should be copied into all correspondence. Receipts must be
provided in order to be reimbursed of any research costs and these should be submitted to Jackie
Bradshaw (School Administrator; ([email protected] ). Note, re-imbursement for retrospective budget
expenses cannot be claimed.
For details on preparing research costs see: Preparing Research Costings and Guidance on Claiming
Research Expenses. Please ensure that you refer to these rather than previous dissertations to ensure
you have the most up-to-date estimates. Please note budget costs must be submitted on a separate page.
The amount available to support the costs of trainees’ research is limited by the amount included in the
NHS contract which funds the programme. Trainees may budget for up to £1000 research costs in their
proposal for review by the Research Review Committee, year 1 research convenor and Research
Director.
Statement of Responsibility
In order to ensure that all trainees are aware of their responsibilities under the University’s research ethics
and sponsorship arrangements, trainees are required to submit a signed statement of responsibility with
their proposal. A copy of this is available on VITAL.
Scrutiny of research proposals by the D.Clin.Psychol. Research Review Committee (RRC) All members of the RRC will receive a copy of your 1-page lay summary and/or full research proposal.
Two independent reviewers with specific interests and expertise relevant to the area and methodology of
your proposal will be appointed by the Research Tutors for year 1. Your proposal may also be read in full
by other members of the RRC. Research progression requires that trainees have submitted their research
proposal in their first year of doctoral training.
No marks will be awarded for the proposal; rather, the RRC will consider whether the proposed work has
the potential to be of sufficient quality and quantity to merit the award of the degree. The RRC will be
69 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
particularly concerned to anticipate practical difficulties that may be encountered when carrying out the
work. Advice may be given by the RRC where appropriate. The RRC is not an Ethical Committee but it
may give advice on issues, which may be raised by other research ethics committees to which the
proposal will be submitted.
For information on the BPS guidelines on ethical principles in research go the BPS web pages at
http://www.BPS.org.uk to find the revised code of conduct. For question specific guidance (QSG)
regarding NHS applications see http://www.hra.nhs.uk/.
The BPS website also provides ethical guidelines on conducting online studies see:
http://www.bps.org.uk/system/files/Public%20files/inf206-guidelines-for-internet-mediated-research.pdf.
For guidance re University ethical approval see https://www.liv.ac.uk/intranet/research-support-
office/research-ethics.
Approval will not be given in the event of the proposed work:
being too ambitious to be practical
not having appropriately qualified supervision for the project (e.g., qualitative/quantitative
methodological expertise)
not having potential clinical relevance
being of insufficient academic merit to warrant a doctoral standard of research
However, trainees are reminded that the outcome of the viva voce examination is dependent on how well
the research is executed, the standard of the final dissertation and performance in the viva and not RRC
approval. In planning your research project, you should be mindful that some projects may be better
suited to a service-related evaluation rather than a doctoral thesis. In the event of approval not being
given, the trainee will be required to submit a new or amended research proposal on a date given by the
RRC.
The Chair of the RRC is the Research Director and the Year Research Convenors act as Vice Chairs of
the committee. It is usually the year 1 research co-convenors (Vice Chairs) who will attend to submissions
and resubmitted amendments in your first year of training. In cases where only minor amendments are
required you may be told that your revised proposal can be submitted for approval by the Vice Chairs (or
Chair) action. Your letter to the Vice Chairs (or Chair) and any responses and/or amendments must be
approved and signed by both supervisors. If major amendments are required, the revised proposal is read
by the appointed reviewers who report directly to the Vice Chairs (or Chair). Proposals may still be
discussed at the RRC prior to approval being granted. There may be circumstances in which the research
proposal has to be modified following comments from other Ethical Committees (LREC, CORE), or
following the advice of the supervisor re feedback from initial data collection. Throughout the 3 years of
doctoral training, trainees should always inform the Chair or relevant Vice Chair of any subsequent
proposed modifications and request the Chair’s action. If required, the Chair may submit your request to
the RRC for approval before changes to your research may be implemented. Any proposed research
amendments must be approved by the Chair or RRC before being submitted to the relevant Ethical
Committee and university sponsorship.
There is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ research design or a fool-proof proposal and so you should certainly
not feel that this is what is expected of you. At the same time, approval of the proposal by the RRC cannot
guarantee that problems will not emerge with your research later on. Whether your dissertation is
ultimately judged by the examiners to meet the requirements of the D.Clin.Psychol. will depend on your
execution of the research and on the discussion of the merits and weaknesses of your work in the
dissertation and viva voce.
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No data collection should be carried out until the work has been approved by the RRC. Proposals will also
have to be considered by either NHS Local Research Ethics Committees (LREC) or the University
Committee on Research Ethics (CORE) or IPHSREC (when meeting the criteria for an expedited review),
and trainees should not submit proposals to these ethics committees until the proposal has been
approved by the Doctorate of Clinical Psychology RRC. This is also the case regarding any subsequent
proposed project amendments, which must be addressed to the Year Vice-Chairs (or RRC Chair) in the
first instance and approved prior to submitting ethical amendments.
The proposal (in its final approved version in each case) will be placed in the trainee’s academic file and in
principle can be made available to Internal and External Examiners and auditors. In instances in which the
research has varied from its originally proposed plan, this will serve to clarify the position for the examiners.
Research progression in year 2 requires that trainees have submitted their ethical application and have
gained ethical approval.
Sponsorship, Governance, Data Protection and Ethics Approval
The Research Curriculum in year 1 includes information and guidance on the procedures you will need to
go through regarding your research, but some points to think about at the planning stage are included
here.
Many Trusts where you wish to collect data will insist that you have an honorary contract with that Trust
and this will include providing a DBS check. In some cases, they will accept the check carried out when
you joined the programme so KEEP YOUR COPY SAFE. Unfortunately, other Trusts will insist on a more
recent DBS check, so be aware of this in your time planning.
Applications for NHS ethical approval are made through the online HRA system. The HRA form asks you
to name the ‘sponsor’ for the research. The term can be confusing and it may seem you are being asked
about funding, but it actually means something more like underwriting insurance. Once your project has
been approved by the Doctorate of Clinical Psychology RRC you will need to fill out an application for the
University to act as sponsor for the research. See https://www.liv.ac.uk/intranet/research-support-
office/crg/ for details re obtaining and submitting the University Sponsorship. All trainees will need
University Sponsorship to have insurance for their major research study. Sponsorship correspondence
must always include the named primary supervisor (Chief Investigator) and the D.Clin.Psychol. Research
Administrator (Emily Joseph).
Transcription Policy and Procedures
If your project includes transcription of interviews then it is your responsibility to find an approved
university transcriber and to manage this process. A list of administrative staff in the university IPHS and
ILT who provide a transcription service and have agreed to abide by the conditions of the Programme is
available from the D.Clin.Psychol. admin office on request. Sometimes NHS Trusts have transcription
services, and the Trust R&D office will be able to give you information on this (note that you will still be
expected to pay for this). The D.Clin.Psychol. RRC will expect that a transcription service will be provided
via IPHS, ILT or the NHS Trust R&D approved transcribers. Transcription costs can be included in your
research costs and it is usual to estimate costs per transcription hours. Transcription costs range from £12
to £15 (max) per hour. It typically takes 4 hours to transcribe a one-hour interview. Individual interviews
should not exceed one hour, as this can be quite demanding for participants and it would also involve
extensive analytic work.
71 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
You must be absolutely clear that it is your responsibility to ensure that your transcriber is acting ethically
and appropriately, adhering to procedures that you have described on your NRES application form and
working within the Data Protection Act (1998). This includes being very clear about where data will be
stored and who will have access to it and ensuring that all copies, including electronic copies, of any data
are given to you or destroyed when transcription is complete.
Trainees will be expected to name the Data Custodian for the research study on the HRA, and the CORE
application form. The responsibilities of the Data Custodian have been summarised by the Medical
Research Council (MRC), see 'Principles for access to, and use of, MRC-funded Research Data'.
Research Data Management Policy
Trainees must familiarise themselves with the University’s Research Data Management Policy -
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/library/research-data-management/
In accordance with Programme regulations the raw data from the major research project should be
available to be inspected by the supervisors and the examiners. Once the thesis has been successfully
examined the administration team will facilitate arrangements to securely destroy the raw data via the
University Data Management Services e.g. video/audio cassette tapes, questionnaires containing
identifying information etc. Thereafter, trainees will have an opportunity to electronically transfer data in
accordance with the University of Liverpool Data Management Policy , and it is the responsibility of the
Data Custodian to ensure that the anonymised data are destroyed after the retention period stated on the
HRA, CORE application form. In accordance with Mersey Care NHS Trust and MRC guidelines it is
expected that anonymous electronic data will be stored for a minimum of 5 years, however University
Research Data Management policy requires data to be retained for a minimum of 10 years. See the Data
Storage/Destruction Guidelines.
Safety Policy and Procedures
One of the things the RRC and the NHS REC, where applicable, will be concerned about is your own
safety. The D.Clin.Psychol. Programme acts in accordance with the Institute of Psychology, Health and
Society (IPHS) safety policies. Please refer to the IPHS and the department website for the School home
visits safety policy and procedures https://www.liv.ac.uk/intranet/psychology-health-and-society/health-
and-safety/. See also ‘Guidance on conducting home visits’.
As an additional safety measure the D.Clin.Psychol. Programme team require that you provide an
estimated end time; telephone contact will be made at this time to ensure that you have safely concluded
the meeting. The University Contact Point (UCP; Emily Joseph, Research Administrator) will destroy the
home visit record following this confirmation.
Please make sure that you have read and abide by the university IPHS and Department of Psychological
Sciences policies and the home visit policy for the Trust(s) where you are conducting your research. It is
important that you discuss this with your primary supervisor at an early stage to ensure that it will be
feasible to undertake the proposed project safely. For instance, will someone be available as a contact
person if you are making home visits out of office hours. A risk assessment form will need to be completed
with your primary supervisor.
A home visit record must be completed and left with the University Contact Person (UCP); it is a
requirement that at least 48 hours’ notice be given for a home visit and be negotiated with the UCP. This
confidential information will be securely stored prior to the visit and destroyed by the UCP following
72 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
completion of the visit. Should the home visit be cancelled for any reason, the trainee must contact the
UCP to ensure that the home visit record is destroyed.
Please review the following documents in VITAL:
(a) Home visit risk assessment
(b) The home visit record
(c) Personal safety when working off campus
(d) University IPHS and Department policies
The Viva Voce Examination
An internal and an external examiner will be appointed to examine you on your thesis. The external
examiner is one of a panel of external examiners to the D.Clin.Psychol. Programme and the internal
examiner is normally a member of the D.Clin.Psychol. programme team or of the Department of
Psychological Sciences. They will read your thesis and conduct a viva voce examination which usually
takes place in the final month of the programme. The examiners will discuss the research with you and
may ask questions about any aspect of the work and how it has been analysed and presented. They also
have the right to ask to see additional materials, such as raw data or analytic work.
Trainees are advised to make sure that they are familiar with all aspects of their research work (including
statistics) before going into the examination. Trainees should not be overly anxious about this and should
not be afraid to indicate how they might, with the benefit of hindsight, have carried out some piece of work
in a different way. The examination usually takes approximately 45 minutes.
Prior to the viva voce examination, both examiners will complete an independent pre-viva report form.
Prior to the viva they will meet and discuss their evaluation of the dissertation and the points they wish to
cover in the examination.
Examiners’ Recommendations
Following the viva the examiners will discuss their evaluation of the work and complete the major research
investigation joint examiners report form. At the Board of Examiners meeting that follows the completion
of all the vivas, the examiners will make a recommendation. The examiners may recommend:
That the candidate has passed the major research component of the D.Clin.Psychol1.
That the candidate has passed the major research component of the D.Clin.Psychol., subject to
minor corrections, which should normally be made to the satisfaction of the examiners and within a
time limit set by the examiners (usually not more than three months from the date of the oral
examination).
That the candidate is required to revise and re-submit the research component of the D.Clin.
Psychol.2, within a time limit set by the examiners (usually not more than one year from the date of
the oral examination).
That the candidate has failed the major research component of the D.Clin.Psychol.
Notes
1. Trivial corrections that can be completed in no more than one day are allowable within this recommendation.
2. In the case of revise and resubmit a second oral examination will be held unless waived by the examiners upon
re-examination of the revised thesis.
73 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Post Viva
Where modifications to the thesis are required, a written summary of these will be prepared (usually by
the internal examiner) which will be emailed by the D.Clin.Psychol. admin office to the trainee’s University
email address, normally within one week of the exam board meeting.
In the case of amendments, trainees are required to submit a letter to the examiners, which outlines how
they have responded to each of the points (and any amendments) raised by the examiners, along with their
amended dissertation. It is important to discuss revisions with your supervisors and for supervisors to have
an opportunity to review your letter and amended thesis before resubmission.
Trainees should be aware that it is very usual for at least minor modifications to be required by the
examiners and that it is advisable to make plans to be available to undertake these modifications.
Trainees should also be aware that in order to graduate in December after a viva voce exam in
September they will need to have all revisions approved and submit a final, soft bound copy of their
dissertation to the D.Clin.Psychol. office and deposit their e-thesis on the University of Liverpool, Liverpool
Elements site: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/intranet/liverpool-elements/ in time to meet the deadline
imposed by the University’s Post Graduate Research office.
Until confirmation is received from the Post Graduate Research office that all components of the
programme have been satisfactorily completed, trainees have not and should not claim to have completed
their D.Clin.Psychol. degree. A trainee who has not satisfactorily completed the research component of
the programme cannot register with the HCPC and would need to be employed on Band 6 post in the
NHS until successful completion of the D.Clin.Psychol. programme and registration with the HCPC. You
must tell your employer that you have not yet completed all components of your D.Clin.Psychol. training.
Failure Criteria for the Major Research Dissertation
Outright failure to pass the major research dissertation will result in programme failure. Other than in
exceptional, extenuating circumstances, the research dissertation may be re-submitted once only. Where
re-submission is required, a statement will be provided regarding issues to be rectified or addressed in the
re-submission.
Dissertation Format, Submission, Viva Voce Examinations
Thesis Format on Submission
Trainees are required to submit their research dissertation based on the format instructions presented to
the cohort with whom they commenced training. Dissertation Instructions and Guidelines are available on
VITAL.
1st Submission of Dissertation & Viva Voce Examination
For first time submissions, two dates are usually set for submission in June and January, and two
accompanying dates are set for the viva voce examinations in September and February / March. For
trainees who submit in mid-May, their vivas will be held in July and for those who submit in early January,
their vivas will usually held in February or March (depending on examiner availability).
Presentation of Research Dissertation
The major research dissertation must be presented in the format required by the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association (APA; 6th edition). An exception to this is where the chapter is
intended for publication in a journal which uses a different referencing and presentation style. In these
cases the style required by the journal should be adopted for the chapter. The empirical chapter (usually
Chapter 2) should always be written with a journal in mind. The literature review chapter (typically chapter
1) will not necessarily be written with a journal in mind. If a journal is not considered for the literature
review then it would be written in APA (6th edition) style as the default.
74 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Language
Language should be non-sexist. Avoid using sex-specific forms generically and avoid specifying the sex of
the referent unless it is relevant. Human participants in psychological research should be referred to in a
way which respects their dignity. The term ‘subject’ should not be used to describe human participants in
research (although it is acceptable in design and analysis statements where no alternative exists, such as
to describe a between-subjects statistical test).
Confidentiality and anonymisation
The careful safeguarding of confidential information is a centrally important aspect of sound clinical
practice. Full interview transcripts must not be included in the research dissertation appendices nor must
any confidential material or third party material be included in the final submitted e-thesis but may be
included for examination purposes only. Similarly, presentation of anonymised excerpts from transcripts
may be included in some chapters, but it should be ensured that these excerpts pose no risk to any
individual’s confidentiality.
Submission of research dissertation
Trainees are required to submit three copies of their dissertation for examination. Trainees are advised to
keep both a hard copy (to take to the viva) and an electronic copy. The dissertations are required to be
submitted in a temporary thermal binding along with a copy of your anonymised data file (your name and
date included on USB) and the accompanying forms required for submission. Further details regarding
submission of your dissertation, data file and accompanying forms are provided in your third year of
training. One soft bound copy of the final version of the research dissertation is submitted after the Board
of Examiners meeting and following examiners’ approval of any required revisions. At this stage, you
should ask your supervisor(s) if they would like a hard copy and/or electronic copy of your dissertation.
Trainees are required to submit, via VITAL, an electronic word document version of their research
dissertation. This electronically submitted word document includes the main body of text but NOT the
table of contents or references. A word count should accompany the electronic research dissertation
submission. On submission of all written work trainees are required to complete and submit the following
forms:
Declaration of Academic integrity form
Thesis Submission form
Submission of Electronic Data Set form.
These forms are available in VITAL.
75 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
SECTION FIVE
ASSESSMENTS
Types of Assessment There are six main types of assessment employed throughout the programme. Trainees are required to
perform to the stated satisfactory pass standard in all of these areas in order to be awarded the degree:
1. Academic Coursework Assignments
2. Written Examinations
3. Clinical Case Research Investigations/Clinical Service Research Investigations
4. Clinical Placement Reports
5. The Major Research Dissertation
6. The Viva Voce Examination
Trainee Year Assessment Month
1 Coursework assignment 1: 4500-5000 words January / February
1 Placement 1 Adult Mental Health – CCR1/CSRI 1 March / April
1 Written Examination : 3 hours July
2 Placement 2 Older Adults - CCR1/CSRI 2 September / October
2 Placement 3 Intellectual Difficulties CCR1/CSRI 3 March / April
2 Coursework assignment 2: 4500-5000 words May
2 Written Examination 2: 3 hours July
3 Placement 4: Child and Adolescent / Specialist CCRI/CSRI 4 September / October
3 Coursework assignment 3: 4500-5000 words March
3 Research Dissertation and Viva voce examination May and July
1. Academic Coursework Assignments
Trainees are required to submit three academic coursework assignments, one each in Years 1, 2 and 3.
Year 1 Case Based Formulation Assignment focuses on ‘psychological models’. Trainees are required
to describe a client with whom they have worked on their first adult mental health placement, and provide
a formulation of their presenting difficulties from three separate clinical-theoretical perspectives, outlining
their implications for intervention. The focal service user for this assignment must be different to the focal
service user for their CCRI from their first placement. Detailed guidance on this assignment is issued
during the first term of year 1. More details are provided about the Year 1 Case Based Formulation
Assignment – in the document in VITAL.
Year 2 Teaching/Clinical Consolidation Assignment requires trainees to choose one assignment
question from each of the following four teaching units:-
Addictions
Clinical Psychology for Children, Adolescents and Families
Intellectual Disabilities (child)
Intellectual Disabilities (adult)
76 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
(Each of the four assignment questions are set and marked by convenors of the respective teaching
units.)
Year 3 Professional Issues Assignment is written on a topic which is chosen by the trainee. The
Professional Issues (PI) Assignment may address any aspect of professional issues relevant to clinical
psychology training. It may relate to professional issues arising directly from the trainee’s placement
experience that they wish to explore further, may be in an area that the trainee anticipates may concern
future clinical work, or it may relate to professional issues in undertaking research. More details are
provided about the Year 3 Professional Issues Assignment - title procedure and proposal form in VITAL.
All coursework assignments have a word limit of 4500 -5000 maximum which will include tables, figures,
text boxes and footnotes. The assignments must not contain any appendices.
Two typed, single sided hard copies are required to be handed in the D.Clin.Psychol. office, room G05,
Whelan building, by 9.15am on the day specified for submission.
In addition to an electronic copy should be submitted via VITAL by 9.15am on the day specified for
submission.
Trainees must ensure that they submit two fully anonymised versions, together with two named/signed
front sheets.
An extension to the due date (without penalty) may be granted by the Academic Director or his/her
designated nominee on medical or other exceptional grounds. The student must request an extension in
writing, normally giving at least 10 working days’ notice.
The standard university penalty, as set out in the University Code of Practice on Assessment (CoPA), will
be applied for unauthorised late submission. https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/aqsd/academic-codes-of-
practice/code-of-practice-on-assessment/
Work submitted should not exceed the word limit stated above. Any assignment that exceeds the word limit will be returned to the trainee and treated as an unauthorised late submission.
The trainee is expected to adhere to the conventions of academic integrity by producing their own work.
The University’s Academic Integrity Policy for dealing with poor academic practice with Guidelines for
Students and Staff is set out in an appendix of the CoPA. This is available at:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment/
The assignments will be double ‘blind’ marked by an internal and external marker independently. The final
mark will be agreed by the markers.
The marking criteria for the course work assignments can be found in VITAL.
The pass mark for coursework assignments is 50%.
A selection of assignments (including all moderated pass/fails and all fails) will be made available for moderation by the programme’s External Examiners.
Written notification of results will be sent to trainees’ University email address. Examination marks must
be endorsed by the External Examiners and results are therefore usually available following the
September meeting of the Board of Examiners.
Feedback will be sent to trainees normally within five weeks maximum of the submission date.
77 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
When a trainee fails a piece of submitted written coursework, they may re-submit that work on one
occasion only for each assignment. The extent of revision required will be at the discretion of the Academic
Director in consultation with markers and examiners, and will depend upon the nature and extent of the
deficiencies in the original submission. Any trainee who fails a coursework assessment more than once will
be deemed to have failed the entire programme, unless extenuating circumstances apply and are upheld.
Process for resubmission of failed assignments Trainees will be informed of their resubmission date when they are sent their list of amendments via email.
Resubmission of a failed assignment is usually required six weeks after receipt of the written amendments.
Should a trainee wish to bring forward, or extend, their resubmission date they should contact the
appropriate academic team year lead to request this.
On the deadline date trainees should submit their assignment as if it is a first submission (i.e. two copies in the appropriate colour wallets handed into the admin office and a copy uploaded onto VITAL). Trainees should also hand in a covering letter addressed to the markers explaining the changes they have made in accordance to the list of amendments and, where appropriate, highlight all changes within the body of the assignment.
2. Written examinations
Written examinations are held in early July of the first and second years of the programme, one paper in
each year.
Trainees are allowed one week of study leave before each examination paper.
The content of the examinations is as follows:
i. First Year Written unseen Examination: One three-hour paper: four questions, one from each
section:
Clinical Neuropsychology
Clinical Psychology of Older Adults
Psychological Models and Theories
Psychological Therapies
ii. Second Year Written unseen Examination: One three-hour paper: the ‘Formulation paper’
Trainees will be presented with brief case accounts from seven different clinical specialities;
Intellectual Disabilities (ID) will include a choice of either (a) an adult ID case or (b) a child ID case.
Trainees will be asked to choose two cases (only one of which can be an ID case), describing how
they would approach the problem (e.g. in terms of assessment, formulation, intervention and
evaluation).
Examination questions are set by the relevant teaching unit convenors and lecturers.
The scripts will be anonymous and double ‘blind’ marked.
The pass mark for the examination is 50%
The marking criteria for the written examinations can be found in VITAL
78 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Written notification of results will be sent to trainees’ University email address. Examination marks must
be endorsed by the External Examiners and final results are therefore usually available following the
September meeting of the Board of Examiners. Examination marks will be sent to trainees normally within
five weeks of the sitting of the examination.
A selection of scripts will made available for moderation by the External Examiners.
Trainees who fail an examination will be required to pass a corresponding re-sit examination. Any trainee
who fails an examination more than once will be deemed to have failed the entire programme, unless
extenuating circumstances apply and are upheld.
3. Clinical Case Research Investigations (CCRI) and Clinical Service Research
Investigations (CSRI) – See Research section for further detail on preparation of CSRIs
Trainees are required to submit a total of four reports, usually one at the end of each core placement,
although in exceptional circumstances, trainees may sometimes need to write up a client from one of their
specialist placements.
Three of these reports must describe clinical work with clients (CCRI), including one which must be a
'CBT-CTSR-CCRI' (see below) and one must consist of a piece of service-related work (CSRI).
Optionally, one of the three clinical CCRI reports may consist of a detailed assessment of a complex case
and one may consist of a systemic / consultation intervention. A list of submission dates will be distributed
at the beginning of each academic year.
The CBT-CTSR-CCRI is a new requirement from 2016/17 onwards, in line with national professional
requirements of evidencing defined CBT (plus one) competencies. This CCRI is a case study report, with
contextual theoretical and research evidence, which must evidence certain pre-defined CBT-specific
competencies (taken from the CTS-R, Cognitive Therapy Scale-Revised, a nationally used, fairly reliable
established scale). This CCRI will be based on a client the trainee is working with on their clinical
placement. All trainees must submit and pass a CBT-CTSR-CCRI at some point during their three year
training; it is anticipated that many will do so within their first six month placement (adult mental health)
and the vast majority, certainly within the first two years (i.e. within one of the four core placements). For
anyone who has not submitted their CBT-CTSR-CCRI by the end of year 2, they must do so within year 3.
There are two parts to the CBT-CTSR-CCRI. Part 1 (VIDEO) is a Video recording of a therapy session,
which is marked using the CTS-R. Part 2 (WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT) is a 3000 word assignment
addressing academic issues, but linking them to the clinical work shown in the therapy video recording.
Both parts 1 and 2 relate to the same clinical work, and therefore both parts must be passed in order for
the assignment to pass
Guidelines for preparing CCRIs and CSRIs, examiners’ marking guidelines, and internal marking
moderation guidelines, will be provided.
All reports have a word limit of 4500 -5000 maximum (with the exception of the 3000 word written part of
the CBT-CTSR-CCRI) which will include tables, figures, text boxes and footnotes. CCRIs/CSRIs may
contain appendices; these are excluded from the word count.
Two printed, single sided hard copies are required to be handed in the D.Clin.Psychol. Office, Room
G05, Whelan Building by 9.15 on the agreed submission date. In addition to an electronic copy should
be submitted via VITAL by 9.15am on the day specified for submission.
79 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
CCRIs and CSRIs which do not bear the relevant placement supervisor’s signature cannot be accepted;
CCRIs/CRSIs which are in any way incomplete, cannot be accepted. Trainees must check through their
reports prior to depositing them in the D.Clin.Psychol. programme office to ensure that all parts of the
reports, text, references, appendices, figures or tables where appropriate, are included.
Trainees must ensure that they submit two fully anonymised versions, together with two named/signed
front sheets.
An extension to the due date (without penalty) may be granted by the Academic Director or his/her
designated nominee on medical or other exceptional grounds. The student must request an extension in
writing, normally giving at least 10 working days’ notice.
Work submitted should not exceed the recommended number of words stated above. Any CCRI/CSRI that exceeds the word limit will be returned to the trainee and treated as an unauthorised late submission.
The trainee is expected to adhere to the conventions of academic integrity by producing their own work.
The University’s Academic Integrity Policy for dealing with poor academic practice with Guidelines for
Students and Staff is set out in an appendix of the CoPA. This is available at:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment/
The marking criteria uses a pass/fail scale and can be found in VITAL.
Each CCRI / CSRI is blind marked by two independent examiners, one from the University and one
usually working in the NHS in the North West. The CBT-CTSR-CCRI will be single marked, with all fails
and up to a total of 10 CCRIs being moderated by a single moderator.
Samples of all CCRIs and CSRIs (including all moderated pass/fails and all fails) are also moderated by the programme’s External Examiners, who will provide written feedback to the academic director, which will inform the annual report to the Board of Examiners.
Feedback will be sent to trainees normally within five weeks maximum of the submission date.
In the event of failure of one of these reports the trainee will be required to submit further reports to the
satisfaction of the examiners. A trainee who fails a clinical research investigation report more than once
will normally be deemed to have failed the entire programme, unless extenuating circumstances apply and
are upheld.
Process for Resubmission of Failed CRIs
The process is the same as the process for failed assignments (see above). In addition, please note: it is
not necessary for trainees to submit another signed front sheet by the placement supervisor unless the
CRI has altered considerably (i.e. a complete re-write has been undertaken or an entirely new piece of
work is reported).
4. Clinical Placement Reports – Supervisor’s Assessment of Trainee (SAT)
The trainee will be assessed at the end of each placement using the SAT Form.
Assessment of the trainee is undertaken by the supervisor and focuses on the trainee’s personal,
professional and clinical qualities and competencies.
The Assessment comprises judgement of performance across a number of transferable competencies
and specific competencies using a PASS/FAIL rating scale.
80 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Pass = Satisfactory
Pass = Requires attention*
Fail = Unsatisfactory
Non-applicable = No opportunity
N.B. * ‘Requires attention’ is used as formative feedback. It is still a pass grade, and indicates that the
trainee has, at least, met the minimum required standard for that competency on that placement; it is used
to identify those areas where subsequently the trainee, clinical tutors and supervisors can address the
development of this competence as a specific placement goal.
Transferable Competencies
Commitment to inclusivity
Verbal and non-verbal communication
Self-awareness and openness to learning
Personal maturity
Warmth and empathy
Resilience
Professional skills
Motivation and Application
Contextual Awareness
Problem solving and decision making
Ethical practice and decision making
Interpersonal skills
Specific Competencies
Assessment
Formulation
Intervention
Evaluation
Teaching
Consultation
Supervision of others
Service development
Risk assessment
Keeping records and information governance
Knowledge and creative application of a specific psychological theory or approach
Community engagement skills
Facilitating meetings or collaborative projects
Written communication
Working alongside service users
Multi-professional liaison
Service Audit
Managing a reasonable workload
The trainee is expected to be rated as ‘satisfactory’ in the majority of relevant competencies above and to
receive a maximum of one competency with a rating of ‘unsatisfactory’ to receive a rating of ‘satisfactory’
overall.
81 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
In the event of a trainee failing one end of placement assessment, they will be required to undertake
and pass further assessed placement experiences to the satisfaction of the examiners. A trainee who
fails more than one end of placement assessment will normally be deemed to have failed the entire
programme.
See the Clinical section of this handbook for more detail of this element of assessment.
5. Major Research Dissertation
Trainees are expected to submit a major research dissertation (maximum 25,000 words) at the end of the
third year of the programme.
The trainee is expected to adhere to the conventions of academic integrity by producing their own work.
The University’s Policy Plagiarism and Fabrication of Data for Postgraduate Research programme
operates for this element of the D.Clin.Psychol. degree. This can be accessed at:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/student-administration/research/pgr-code-of-practice/
6. Viva voce examination
Trainees are expected to attend for a viva voce examination to discuss and defend the research
dissertation.
An internal and an external examiner will be appointed to examine the trainee on the thesis.
The external examiner is one of a panel of external examiners to the programme. The internal examiner is
normally a member of the programme team or of the Department of Psychological Sciences.
Following the viva the examiners will discuss their evaluation of the work and complete the major research
investigation joint examiners report. The examiners may recommend:
That the candidate has passed the major research component of the D.Clin.Psychol.1.
That the candidate has passed the major research component of the D.Clin.Psychol., subject to
minor corrections, which should normally be made to the satisfaction of the examiners and within a
time limit set by the examiners (usually not more than three months from the date of the oral
examination).
That the candidate is required to revise and re-submit the research component of the D.Clin.
Psychol.2, within a time limit set by the examiners (usually not more than one year from the date of
the oral examination).
That the candidate has failed the major research component of the D.Clin.Psychol.
Notes
1. Trivial corrections that can be completed in no more than one day are allowable within this recommendation.
2. In the case of revise and resubmit a second oral examination will be held unless waived by the examiners upon
re-examination of the revised thesis.
Outright failure to pass the major research dissertation will result in programme failure. Other than in
exceptional circumstances, the research dissertation may be re-submitted once only.
See the Research section of this handbook for more detail of these elements of assessment.
82 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
Progress on the programme
Progress on the programme is governed by:
The Code of Practice on Assessment (academic and clinical components)
The Postgraduate Research Code of Practice (research component)
A trainee is permitted to proceed with his/her approved programme of study only if acceptable progress is
made. This will be evidenced by attendance satisfactory to the Programme Director, by maintaining
satisfactory results in relevant assessments and by the proper completion of such other work as may be
allotted to the individual concerned. The following general progress requirements and procedures are
applied:
1. All elements of the assessment must normally be attempted and the minimum declared pass
mark/grade in all elements of the assessment must be achieved before the student can progress to
the next stage/year of the programme or receive the award of qualification.
2. A student will not normally be allowed to carry a fail mark/grade in any element of the assessment
procedures into the next year of study.
3. A student who fails in an assessment that has been resubmitted or retaken will normally be required
to withdraw from the programme.
It is recognised that trainees sometimes perform more poorly in assessments than their previous
performance or achievements would have predicted. Sometimes this poor performance can be attributed,
or partially attributed, to particular circumstances beyond the control of the student. These circumstances
are described as ‘extenuating circumstances’.
The programme Ordinance empowers the Board of Examiners to take account of extenuating
circumstances affecting students’ performance (academic and clinical) when determining any conditions
relating to continuation of studies and re-assessment, in accordance with the provisions set out in the
Extenuating Circumstances Policy in the CoPA at:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-
assessment/appendix_M_cop_assess.pdf
The right of appeal against the Examination Board decision to terminate studies (academic and clinical)
shall operate under the procedures for the Progress of Students on Taught Programmes of Study found
in the CoPA at:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-
assessment/appendix_E_cop_assess.pdf
Other key policies and procedures
Academic Integrity Policy Information on The University's Academic Integrity Policy is covered in a teaching session at the beginning of the induction block in year 1. If any trainee has any queries about the matters covered by this policy, they must contact the Academic lead for their year, the Academic Director or the Programme Director.
83 D.Clin.Psychol. Programme Handbook 201718
The University of Liverpool's Academic Integrity Policy is available at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment/appendix_L_cop_assess.pdf
The University of Liverpool's Academic Integrity Policy: Guidelines for Students and Staff are available at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment/appendix_L_cop_assess_annex1.pdf
Assessment Appeals
The University can consider an appeal from a student against the decision of a Board of Examiners,
provided that the appeal is submitted on appropriate grounds. Appeals can be made against individual
assessment marks/grades or against the decision on completion of the programme. Full details of the
procedures for dealing with these appeals are provided in the following documents:
Assessment Appeals Procedure (Academic and Clinical) at:
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-
assessment/appendix_F_cop_assess.pdf
Research Degree Appeals Procedure (Research) at
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/student-administration/research/pgr-code-of-practice/
Fitness to Practise
Trainees are subject to the usual University procedures regarding discipline. In addition, clinical
psychology trainees are subject to the Fitness to Practise Procedures. These procedures are set out in
the "Suitability of Students for Professional Practice: Fitness to Practise Procedure",
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/student-administration/student-administration-centre/policies-
procedures/fitness-to-practise/.
These procedures operate if concerns have been raised about a trainee’s health, behavioural patterns, or
professional conduct that gives rise to serious concern that he or she is not fit to practise. In all cases the
chief concern is the welfare and safety of actual or potential patients/clients. Any behaviour that places the
patient/client at risk or gives rise for concern about the trainee’s future commitment to the protection and
safety of patients/client will be considered under these procedures.
As a health professional the University expects trainees to abide by the Code of Conduct of the Health
and Care Professions Council and the Code of Professional Practice/Conduct and Ethics of the British
Psychological Society. As such they are expected to behave in a professional, ethical and moral manner.
Student Complaints
The University operates a Student Complaints Procedure to be used when students have a complaint
against the University. This procedure provides for complaints to be dealt with, as far as possible, on an
informal basis. It also sets out the formal route for the consideration of complaints should informal
procedures fail to resolve a complaint satisfactorily. The Student Complaints Procedure can be accessed
at www.liv.ac.uk/student-administration/student-administration-centre/policies-procedures/complaints/.