University of Leeds

Executive Summary

The University of Leeds, DClinpsy course team recognise that we have a responsibility to highlight and address issues which disproportionately impact individuals from marginalised and disfranchised communities. As part of our ongoing efforts to support and increase equality, diversity, and inclusivity across our training programme, we are committed to drawing on the University of Leeds values. We strive towards a more equitable and just future for all and aim to draw on the following:

• Collaboration – We are committed to engaging in outreach work, to building partnerships with individuals, groups, and communities irrespective of this identity and amplifying the voices of the unheard. We also aim to provide additional access to resources, opportunities, and clinicians to address some of the barriers people from minoritized communities face. Our ‘Everybody’s Voice’ group provides us with consultation from experts by experience, carers, and service users to consult.
• Compassion – In order to truly engage in EDI work, we recognise the need to do something differently and this requires dedicated, conscious, and deliberate action as well as compassion. We hope to support individuals on their journey by being kind and respectful of difference as well as promoting allyship. We recognise that every person has their own battles to face, and we are committed to demonstrating compassion towards our trainees, staff, services users, clinicians and each other.
• Inclusivity – We want to create a safe, supportive, and protected environment, for all trainees to shine, be their best selves and ultimately feel comfortable. We will not tolerate micro-aggressions, bullying, racism, or discrimination against any of our students and we are committed to ensuring this is extended to all regardless of a person’s social identity.  
• Integrity - We don’t believe hiding from social and systemic injustice is an option and so we are committed to shining a light on issues which disproportionately impact certain groups more than others. We aim to confront these issues when we see them in ourselves, our team, our programme, and our profession. Integrity is important to us, and we are transparent in our efforts to promote social equality within and outside of our programme.

In all aspects of our programme, we aspire to ensuring collaboration and coproduction with Everybody’s Voice and respect and honour their invaluable support, advice and consultation that is given to the programme. Below is the Everybody’s Voice position statement.

Position Statement in relation to Supporting and Valuing Lived Experience

We aim to engender a safe, open, welcoming culture without judgement.  We actively encourage everyone (staff, trainees, service users) to talk about their own mental health, recognizing that mental health has a continuum that we are all on.  We are all human and we all experience stress and distress.  We believe “it’s OK not to be OK”.  We value the sharing of experience: it’s how we support each other and learn together.

EVERYBODY’S VOICE…EVERYBODY BENEFITS

You can find a link to our extended equality, diversity and inclusion and anti-racism position statement on our extranet page. This provides a longer statement, context, and elaboration on our stance on racial injustice, and illustrates some of our attempts to work towards equality.

The Leeds Programme

The Leeds Programme was established in 1965 and is one of the longest running clinical psychology courses in the UK. It is based in the Division of Psychological and Social Medicine which forms part of the Leeds Institute of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health. It has close links with colleagues in the faculty, particularly the School of Psychology. The programme also has close links with the clinical psychologists in local NHS Trusts.

This is a three-year full-time Programme, successful completion of which leads to the award of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology (DClinPsychol) which confers eligibility to apply for registration as a practitioner psychologist with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC). Attendance at all course components is mandatory, including the induction period. Applicants should note that the University does not accredit prior learning or award an aegrotat degree for this scheme of study (DClinPsychol). All trainees are required to complete the full programme of training in order to qualify.

The Programme aims to foster the scientist-practitioner approach to clinical problems in clinicians who are also reflective-practitioners. Above all we wish to engender curiosity and enthusiasm in trainees and to provide them with the clinical skills, and the intellectual and professional frameworks which will enable them to continue learning on completion of the Programme. The Programme aims to train curious clinicians, clinical psychologists who can practise with a high level of therapeutic and research competence in the context of the changing NHS. The Programme strongly promotes the application of psychological theory in all aspects of the clinical psychologist's role, and its teaching covers a broad range of approaches including cognitive-behavioural (including "third wave" models), family systems and psychodynamic theory. The Programme encourages trainees to evaluate critically all forms of psychotherapy and other clinical activities. The academic teaching is organised around a framework of clinical competencies.

There are three major strands to the programme: clinical competence, research competence, and personal and professional development. Throughout the three years the academic base provides research supervision, provides opportunities for personal and professional development, organises and monitors trainee performance in clinical settings, and offers teaching to support learning in these domains. Teaching is provided by a combination of blocks and weekly day release. Periods for private study are scheduled in the formal teaching programme. Most placements are located in West Yorkshire. Decisions about clinical placements are made by the Clinical Tutors and trainees may expect to be placed in any of the services traditionally linked with the programme. It is often an advantage if trainees have their own transport as the use of public transport can be difficult and time consuming. Personal circumstances, such as health conditions and carer responsibilities, are taken into account as much as possible when allocating placements.

Trainees are expected to live within the geographical boundaries of West Yorkshire. West Yorkshire is a diverse county and has a wide variety of cultural, commercial and sporting activities and attractions. The centres of habitation are surrounded by easily accessible, beautiful countryside including the Dales, North York Moors and Pennines.