University of Liverpool

Introduction

The Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool is a partnership between the University of Liverpool and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, funded by Health Education England. Trainees are both full-time students at the University of Liverpool and employees of Mersey Care. 

Programme Location and Organisation

The programme leads to the award of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology, conferring eligibility to apply for registration as a Clinical Psychologist with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and for Chartered status with the British Psychological Society (BPS). We are based in the Department for Primary Care and Mental Health, in the Institute of Population Health, which is part of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (one of three Faculties within the University of Liverpool).

The Institute of Population Health is dedicated to globally important and locally impactful population health scholarship, through scientific programmes and civic partnerships infused with education, learning and research in health data science, primary care and mental health, psychology, public health, policies, professions and systems.

The Department of Primary Care and Mental Health’s (PCMH) goal is to enhance mental health and wellbeing support, and primary healthcare provision. PCMH engages in scholarly activity to develop theories, models and interventions for primary healthcare and to promote mental health and wellbeing. Our research and teaching activities aim to enhance excellence in primary, community, mental health and social care at a local and global level.

The DClinPsychol programme is housed in a modernised and refurbished University building on the main campus (the Eleanor Rathbone Building (ERB), shared with the School of Psychology), with a large reception area, seminar rooms, large lecture theatres and offices all used by the training programme.

The University of Liverpool has two main libraries: the Sydney Jones Library (mainly for arts and social sciences) and the Harold Cohen Library, which holds the science, engineering, medical and related subject collections. A specialist subject librarian provides support for trainees on the DClinPsychol programme.

Academic, clinical and research staff on the DClinPsychol programme have particular areas of research interest and activity, and all programme staff supervise clinical psychology trainees on their major research project.

Trainees are registered postgraduate research students PG(R) in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. All members of staff are committed to ensuring that theory and practice elements are fully integrated within a programme structure responsive to both academic and service developments.

There is a PCMH Board of Studies consisting of representatives of University Staff, trainees and stakeholders from the NHS and experts by experience. There are five sub-groups responsible for the clinical, academic, and research activities within the programme, selection and engagement-participation (LExE).

A large number of NHS clinical psychologists across the North-West region contribute to the delivery of the programme through direct teaching, clinical placement supervision, research supervision, mentoring, or participation in intake/selection processes.

There are links with British Psychological Society Special Interest Groups / regional Division of Clinical Psychology faculties and other pre- and post-qualification activities throughout the North West. Communication with these various sources of support is maintained through a number of channels, including committees, working groups, training events, seminars, the programme's Annual Review Day and the programme newsletter.

Programme Values

The programme is delivered within a strong values base consistent with those enshrined in the NHS Constitution. This includes a commitment to Human Rights Based Approaches to health care.

We recognise that clinical psychology as a profession needs to be strengthened by having a more diverse workforce, and that it needs to work to match the richness and diversity of our society as a whole.

We are keen to attract suitably qualified and experienced applicants from ethnic minority backgrounds and we want to encourage individuals representing diversity of experience, ethnicity, culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social class, disability or age to consider applying to Liverpool.

The "Liverpool Experts by Experience" (LExE) group is a well-established, active strategic stakeholder group. The group provides a framework for Expert-by-Experience (EbE) involvement across all aspects of programme delivery, including selection, teaching, assessment, clinical training, and research, using a co-production approach where appropriate. A broad range of other service user, EbE individuals and groups contribute to the curriculum.

Training Orientation

The essential aims of the programme are to equip trainees with a theoretical understanding of a wide range of clinical problems, models and approaches, together with essential clinical competencies and a variety of practical experiences and the acquisition of research and communication skills. There is also a focus on the professional aspects of the clinical psychologist's role and ensuring trainees are ready to enter the workforce as a Band 7 clinical psychologist, a junior lecturer in clinical psychology, or a clinical psychology research associate.

The overriding theme is the application of theoretical concepts to clinical problems on an evidential basis, within a problem-solving, reflective approach. In accordance with the BPS accreditation standards, the specific therapeutic competencies identified by the programme are Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), and Systemic Therapy. Teaching in neuropsychological competencies represents another strength of the programme. Other therapeutic approaches are also valued and teaching is provided across the programme on a range of modalities A strong emphasis is placed on the collaborative development of clinical case formulations, which are capable of informing subsequent interventions. Concern for empirically demonstrated effectiveness is emphasised alongside a broad conceptualisation of what constitutes evidence, and an appreciation of the complexity of understanding individuals' difficulties, together with their aspirations and achievements.
 

Academic Curriculum

The academic content of the programme is organised within a series of teaching modules which provide detailed coverage of the theoretical and research bases of clinical psychology. Programme teaching units can be grouped into five sets as follows:

1. Foundation Clinical Skills: This theme includes clinical interviewing, assessment and risk management, formulation, neuropsychology, trauma and EDI. It also incorporates core therapeutic skills across the lifespan, in physical health and neuropsychology
2. Therapeutic Modalities: This theme comprises the specific intervention skills across CBT, CAT, and Systemic Practice; as well as interventions related to specific conditions such as OCD, eating disorders and PTSD.
3. Research: The research curriculum aims to build knowledge of, and evaluation skills for the critical development and application of research. It covers research proposals and application for ethics; qualitative and quantitative methodologies; carrying out systematic literature reviews and writing a thesis. 
4.  Reflective, Professional and Leadership: The theme here is about developing reflective thinking skills, consultation and supervision, personal and professional development, and leadership. 
5. Advanced Clinical Skills: The teaching units for this theme sit predominantly in third year and cover complex neuropsychology, psychosis, forensic clinical psychology, eating disorders, complex physical health and perinatal provision. 

Each trainee is allocated an Academic Advisor from amongst the staff team, who will support their learning and development for the duration of their training. The trainee-centred interim and annual review process provides a further opportunity for reflection on general progress and personal achievement across all aspects of the training programme.

The programme begins with an introductory academic block of five weeks' duration, designed to equip trainees with the basic skills necessary for their first placement experience. Academic teaching continues on two days a week (Mondays and Tuesdays) during the university terms of the first year, reducing to one day (Mondays) in the second and third years. Terms are approximately 10 weeks long. At the beginning of each six-month placement, there will be a two-week teaching block, during which preparatory work, including coverage of relevant teaching areas, is undertaken for the forthcoming placement. Teaching is predominantly 09:30-16:30 (with one hour for lunch and breaks mid-morning/mid-afternoon) but trainees are expected to be available at the University from 09:00-17:00 for any additional meetings and to complete registration and feedback.

There is no accreditation of prior learning or experience: all trainees must complete the full programme of training to qualify. Attendance throughout the course is mandatory, including the induction period.

Clinical Placement Experience

In accordance with the regional arrangements described earlier, there are six clinical placements in the programme. The sequence of placements for trainees usually follows the order shown in the following table, although this is currently under review due to the expansion of clinical psychology training in the region. Trainees will usually be expected to complete either a placement working with older adults or a placement working with people with learning disabilities. There may be occasional changes to this for a small number of trainees.

NHS clinical psychology services in the North West region offer a particularly rich variety of placements. Trainees may also gain experience within the various regional specialist facilities on Merseyside, such as Ashworth High Secure Hospital, or the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, as well as develop expertise in other areas, for example family therapy, consultation, adult mental health complex cases, psychological child health, brain injury rehabilitation, early intervention for psychosis, clinical health, and eating disorders. Trainees have the option to undertake two 6-month or one 12-month specialist placement in Year 3. Novel and innovative specialist placements, mainly in community settings with limited access to clinical psychology provision, are being increasingly developed (for instance, a specialist homeless team placement based within a homeless hostel, or with MENCAP).

Applicants should note that we are not able to offer "out of area" placements, falling outside of the North-West Region.

Research

The Research Training Curriculum in Year 1 introduces trainees to a range of methods and issues arising in the conduct of clinical research. There is in-depth coverage of research design, both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, guidance on the use of statistics, the process of planning research projects, and on preparing ethical applications.

In Year 2 the Research Training Curriculum aims to develop research skills and knowledge in conducting empirical studies and literature reviews, critiquing research, and understanding recruitment and ethical issues in the conduct of clinical research applications.

In Year 3 the Research Training Curriculum supports the ongoing development of research knowledge and critical appraisal skills, and the development of appropriate skills to effectively disseminate research in various contexts (e.g. publications, reports, conference presentations). Trainees are also encouraged to identify topics and themes that they would find beneficial for their development. 

Trainees undertake a major research dissertation which commences in Year 1, when a full research proposal is submitted. Each trainee proposal is independently reviewed and must be approved (firstly) by the programme's Research Review Committee and (subsequently) by the appropriate NHS or University ethical committee. In Year 2, the trainees commence work on their ethics application and literature review. The completed dissertation is submitted in Year 3 and this is followed by a viva voce examination. In Year 3, trainees showcase their research at an Annual Research Conference.

Assessment

The assessment framework is under review to reduce the amount of written work completed and will incorporate some formal examinations from September 2024 entry. We envisage that the three, 5,000 word, assignments would be removed from the assessment framework across the three years.

Clinical Case Reports: Four clinical case reports are completed across the first two years, aligned with each clinical placement. Of these, one may be an oral presentation and three are written. Of the written reports, one must be a CBT Clinical Case Report Investigation and one must be a Clinical Service Related Investigation; the third can be generic clinical case, a complex assessment, brief intervention, Systemic, CBT or CAT specific intervention. 

Examinations: These will take place at the end of the Summer term in year 1 and 2.

A marked assignment that has failed can be re-submitted on one occasion. Failing the same assignment twice constitutes programme failure, unless there are extenuating circumstances which are upheld in accordance with the University's Code of Practice on Assessment. Assessed work is marked by internal programme staff and a robust system of moderation is in place to ensure consistency in the quality of marking and feedback.

Exams will have one opportunity for a resit in late Summer and the same rules around programme failure apply.

The research dissertation must be submitted in the third term of the third year, for examination by one Internal Examiner and by one of the programme's External Examiners in a viva voce examination in the summer of the third year. Failure to do so will delay successful completion of the programme, award of the academic degree and professional qualification, and HCPC registration.

All documentation related to the programme as a whole, including an outline of the programme philosophy, information concerning the wider university context, details of syllabus teaching units, assessment and marking systems, and copies of relevant programme policy documents, are contained in the Programme Handbook, made available to trainees within their introductory five-week teaching block, and updated on an annual basis.

As a result of HEE funding, the programme has a CBT pathway whereby a number of trainees are able to complete additional portfolios and specific placements that enable them to meet accreditation standards with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP). Eligibility and requirements for this will be discussed with all applicants who accept an offer following interview on commencing the programme. Trainees who do not follow the specific BABCP pathway will still meet the minimum training standards with respect to the teaching requirement for the BABCP.

The programme is also working towards an accreditation pathway for CAT.