University of Edinburgh

Introduction

Please note that candidates should re-check details on our University of Edinburgh website nearer to the time of application, as any revisions or updates to information will be placed on our University of Edinburgh website.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this entry is correct at the time of writing. However, it does not form part of any contract between the University and a student or applicant and must be read in conjunction with the Terms and Conditions of Admission set out in the Postgraduate Guide of the University of Edinburgh. 

Programme Overview

The programme is taught in blocks, rather than semesters, throughout the years of training in conjunction with single teaching days (which are delivered online) that are interspersed with six NHS placements in linked areas.  Trainees undertake two taught courses in each of the first two years of training. In the final year, trainees attend Professionalism and Practice teaching, Advanced Practice Seminars and complete work on their thesis.

For many years now, we have developed distance participation pedagogy and use this mode of delivery for some teaching in order to reduce travel and disruption for trainees in NHS Boards that are further from Edinburgh.  This also enables us to offer input from teaching contributors based in the more distant boards.

The programme is full-time for three years (except when RPL applies), and both teaching and placement components have attendance requirements. Trainees are required to attend all teaching, although may take annual leave for a maximum of two teaching days per year. Trainees also have private study time as well as research time allocated across all three years.

Summary of Programme Structure:

Year 1

• Clinical Psychology 1
• Research 1
• Placements 1 and 2 - Adult Mental Health/ Intellectual Disabilities (in either order)

Year 2

• Clinical Psychology 2
• Research 2
• Placements 3 and 4 - Older Adults/Children and Families (in either order)

Year 3

• Advanced Practice Seminars plus Professionalism and Practice
• Thesis
• Placements 5 and 6 – Specialist placements (chosen by trainee or according to alignment)

Clinical placements

In the six placements, which are whenever possible synchronised with academic teaching, the trainee learns to work with people over the life span, including children, people with intellectual disability, adults of working age and older adults, to assess, formulate, intervene and evaluate across a wide range of difficulties including mental health, physical health and neuropsychological.
 
Clinical placements cover a wide range of work in primary care, community and hospital settings. Over 300 clinical supervisors throughout Scotland contribute to the programme. Placements in the first two years are mostly four days per week and one study day, apart from weeks when there is teaching. In third year, an additional research study day is provided for some of the time and placements are consequently three days per week. Placements are of five to six months’ duration and trainees are now strongly encouraged to remain in the same placement for the whole of third year in their employing NHS Board area.

Trainees’ development and demonstration of competences across their clinical placements is monitored by the Clinical Tutor team to ensure that trainees have sufficient learning opportunities and supervision to fulfil the BPS required learning outcomes and the HCPC Standards of Proficiency by the time of completing the programme. The quality and variety of placements placement along with the opportunity to be based in a single Health Board for the full training duration are strengths of the clinical aspects of the programme.

Teaching

The taught component of the programme is structured around several overarching psychological and practice themes that run through each of the years, a life span approach that is balanced with the need for population specific teaching to orient and to prepare trainees for clinical work on placement.

Year 1

• Fundamentals of Clinical Psychology
• Professionalism and Practice
• Assessment & Measurement
• Interventions
• Applications with Adults of Working Age
• Applications with People with Intellectual Disabilities
• Other applications e.g. Health, Beliefs & Behaviour; Neuropsychology; Forensic
• Research 1

Year 2

• Fundamentals of Clinical Psychology
• Professionalism and Practice
• Interventions
• Applications with Older People
• Applications with Children and Families
• Other applications e.g. Forensic
• Research 2

Year 3

• Professionalism and Practice
• Thesis and Viva preparation
• Advanced Practice Seminars

3rd year trainee - "A real strength of the academic teaching is that most lecturers are practising NHS clinical psychologists so there is a practical, real-life basis to what they're saying."

The Professionalism and Practice vertical stream of teaching provides an introduction to the wider professional/regulatory context; developing ethical and reflective practice; skills in supervision, consultancy, teaching/training others, teamwork and leadership; considering practice through the lenses of diversity, inclusivity and lived experience.

Research teaching and supervision

Research methods teaching is provided via two courses: Research 1 and Research 2. These courses both cover qualitative and quantitative methods, and encourage trainees to think creatively and reflect critically about research methods used in clinical psychology. Alongside this teaching, trainees are expected to engage in self-directed study, particularly as relevant to their chosen thesis topics. To support a deeper engagement with the thesis, trainees start their own major research project in the first year. Each trainee is allocated an academic thesis supervisor to assist in developing ideas for the thesis project. Trainees will also have a clinical thesis supervisor, who is normally a practitioner psychologist working in the area of the project.

Trainees submit a research idea for the thesis by January of the first year and a finalised proposal by May of the first year. Our website has information about members of our department, including those who can supervise thesis projects. Our School has an overview of research available, and staff research interests are listed on their individual pages. During December of the first year trainees have the opportunity to meet with potential supervisors before submitting their research ideas to enable academic supervisor allocation.

We have a thesis portfolio model, which includes two journal articles: a systematic review and an original research paper. We believe that this portfolio model facilitates the publication process and equips trainees with valuable appraisal skills and experience of writing for an academic and practitioner audience. Many of our trainees publish their thesis research.

Assessments

At the end of each of the first two years, trainees submit a case conceptualisation for examination. The case conceptualisations combine a pragmatic literature review and an outline of the theoretical and conceptual context of the case integrated with the clinical case report.

Two research assignments are submitted for examination during training; one research proposal and one small scale research project, usually based on a service evaluation or service audit. These assignments facilitate the development of research competencies in preparation for the larger thesis project.
 
The thesis offers trainees the opportunity to engage in a significant piece of service-related research, supported by both an academic and a clinical supervisor.

Advisory Panel of Experts by Experience (APEX)

APEX is a programme committee which represents the perspective of those with lived experience of using health & social care services, including parents and carers.  APEX support the training of clinical psychologists on the programme, ensuring that the voice of lived experience is recognised and valued as part of the training experience.

APEX members are involved in various ways in a wide range of different activities including:

• Selection of trainees
• Induction of trainees
• Teaching trainees
• Reviewing the curriculum
• Supporting research
• Attending and presenting at the training conference 
• Representing APEX on range of other programme committees: Selection sub-committee/Joint Training Committee

For further information, please visit the APEX webpage

Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion

Psychological and other forms of research already demonstrate that diverse social inequalities increase the risk for psychological distress and a broad range of poorer mental and physical health outcomes via experiences such as humiliation and shame, fear and distrust, instability and insecurity, isolation and loneliness, being trapped and powerless.  The debate should not be about whether or not marginalisation occurs or about the impact of such marginalisation, but about how steps can be taken to bring about change.  Please visit this web-link to see the programme’s action plan.

Aligned training places

In recent years, the programme has responded to Scottish Government priorities by introducing training places aligned to a specific clinical population such as Older Adults, Forensic, Learning Disabilities or Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). In these aligned training places, placements in years 1 and 2 remain the same as for non-aligned places, however specialist placements and theses are expected to be completed within the designated aligned areas where possible. The principle underlying aligned training pathways is one of increasing experience with a defined clinical population whilst ensuring that the trainees on aligned pathways have the opportunity to develop the same core competences and hold the equivalent workload to trainees on the non-aligned pathway. The aim is to help expand workforce capacity in high priority clinical areas and contribute to the delivery of NHS services in areas of need. All trainees undergo the same selection procedure.

Completion of an aligned training route offers an opportunity for in-depth experience with a specific client group whilst gaining the same qualification with the same career choices post-qualification. As the training is based on core competencies and transferrable skills, trainees will be eligible to apply for jobs in other clinical areas and all successful trainees qualify with the same Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, conferring eligibility to apply for registration with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and to apply to the British Psychological Society for Chartered Clinical Psychologist status.