Oxford

Professional accreditation.

The Oxford Course is accredited by:

• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• British Psychological Society (BPS)
• British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) Level 2 course accreditation
• Association of Family Therapy (AFT) - Foundation and Intermediate Level course accreditation
• Neuropsychology Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)

The length of the course cannot be reduced through the accreditation of prior learning or experience: all trainees are required to complete the full programme of training in order to qualify.

Approach and theories

The Course supports trainees in the process of becoming highly competent and flexible scientist-practitioners, who are confident in their ability to meet a range of needs in health and social care contexts. This is achieved through a research-led academic and skills training programme; high quality placements in a broad range of specialty areas; and excellent research support and supervision. The philosophy of the Course stems from the reflective scientist-practitioner model, and the Course is committed to drawing on a range of empirically supported and grounded theoretical orientations including Cognitive-Behavioural Therapies and Systemic (Family) Therapy. Graduates from the Course will be equipped to practice at a high level of research and clinical competence, and within an empirically grounded reflective and ethical framework which will provide a foundation for further learning and development. The Course also prepares trainees to take leadership roles and enables them to develop the skills, competencies and meta-competencies needed to contribute to and influence services in which they work. This broad range of skills is attractive to future employers, and past graduates from the Oxford Course have gone on to occupy senior positions in clinical, academic and research settings. Course team members are all clinically and/or research active and use this experience to enhance the provision of clinical psychology training at Oxford. Course staff are engaged in research including but not confined to anxiety disorders, CBT, clinical health psychology, eating disorders, intellectual disabilities, neuropsychology/neuroscience, older adults, psychosis, stigma, Systemic/Family therapy, transdiagnostic psychological processes, and working with children.

The Course is part of the Oxford Centre for Psychological Health, which also includes and integrates the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre (OCTC) and the Oxford Health Specialist Psychological Intervention Clinic (OHSPIC). The course also has close links with specialist mindfulness, neuropsychology and spinal cord injuries units. Trainees are given the opportunity to develop competencies in most areas of clinical psychology practice. Training takes a life-span developmental perspective. As training progresses trainees are supported in developing their own personal styles of working.

The Oxford Course frequently updates the way in which training is delivered. This reflects our commitment to work at the cutting edge of clinical psychology training and research and to fully meet the requirements for approval by the Health & Care Professions Council. We have achieved intermediate level accreditation of the programme with the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT), and the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) - level two. We are committed to the meaningful involvement of Experts by Experience within all strands of the training programme including within Admissions. 

Placement locations

Clinical placements are located throughout the Thames Valley region of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and parts of the South Midlands including Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, and potentially beyond as required. These are allocated primarily on the basis of training needs. Therefore, trainees must be prepared to travel within this area, and potentially beyond as required.

All Trainee Clinical Psychologists on the Oxford Course must be able to drive and have access to a car for the duration of the three-year training course. This forms part of your training contract and is an essential criterion for the post. Candidates must have a full UK valid driving licence by the point of interview (April 2025). Candidates unable to drive due to disability will be required to provide evidence accordingly.  

This is a community-based role. All trainees are required to travel to their placements, and within their placements, in order to see clients, carers, other services, to attend meetings, and to undertake key placement activities.

In line with the Equality Act 2010 and ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) guidance, the Oxford Course will try to accommodate occupational health recommended reasonable adjustments where practical. However, due to the available placement providers there can be no guarantee of a placement close to where trainees live, or within Oxford city.  

Any such reasonable adjustments will not preclude travel to / within placements. Adjustments are "reasonable" within the parameters and context of training, with the awareness that clinical placements are spread out across the Thames Valley and South Midlands area. For those candidates with such reasonable adjustments, travel will be via public transport typically.

Trainees on the course are eligible for the Trust’s car leasing scheme.

Travel expenses are given for trainees’ journeys to clinical placements where that journey distance exceeds the distance from trainees’ home to base. Expenses are also provided for required travel within placements (e.g., community visit to a client’s home). NHS travel expenses policy does not reimburse travel from home to base, however travel to placements is currently reimbursed subject to the NHS policy for mileage in excess of the usual home to base journey.

Trainees will be allocated a base: either Aylesbury (with placements across the Buckinghamshire region), Brackley (with placements across the South Midlands region), Bracknell (with placements across the Berkshire region) or Oxford (with placements across the Oxfordshire region). Allocation of base is dependent upon a number of factors including Training Needs and Aspirations, reasonable adjustments, and trainee preference. Please note - individuals are not guaranteed their preferred choice of training area / base. There are limited placement opportunities within Oxfordshire. Most trainees will not be allocated the Oxford base.

Location of Teaching, and Residential Requirements

The Course has new purpose-built teaching spaces in Cowley, just south of Oxford city central. The course hub is the Isis Education Centre, located in the grounds of the Warneford Hospital, Oxford. This has well-equipped teaching rooms, seminar rooms, offices, computer facilities, kitchen and a common room.  Teaching may also take place in other Trust locations and within the Thames Valley footprint, as well as on-line as required.

Clinical placements are located throughout the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire, and can extend beyond these given placement availability. This should be borne in mind in organising living arrangements whilst on the course.

University of Oxford regulations specify that students should live within 25 miles of the centre of Oxford unless permission is granted to reside further afield. Requests to live within the wider Thames Valley Region and South Midlands area will be considered on a case by case basis by the Programme Director.