University of Southampton

Support

As a Programme we pride ourselves on supporting our trainees in a variety of ways.  All trainees have a Personal/Clinical Tutor who is a member of the Programme Team, who monitors their progress throughout training and provides pastoral support.

The University also offers a range of personal and academic support services to all students.  Further information about this can be found at The Student Hub.

Additionally, all trainees are allocated a Mentor, normally an NHS Clinical Psychologist who is independent of the Programme Team, to act in a confidential support capacity over the three years. Trainees are encouraged to meet their Mentor regularly throughout training and can take time during placement to do this.

There is also a buddy system where the incoming cohort are allocated a trainee from the year above who will be their buddy. This provides an additional informal support opportunity for the trainee.

Within the timetable, trainees have structured time for peer group support meetings and Staff, Student Liaison meetings built into the academic timetable and participate in reflective groups as part of their training experience. For trainees who come from Black, Asian and other underrepresented cultural groups within Clinical Psychology, we also have a "safe space" reflective group to enable the opportunity to discuss issues that may arise across training within a supportive environment. We also have groups to offer support to parents and carers, long term health conditions, neurodivergence and males.
 

Why train at Southampton?

The Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programme at the University of Southampton is committed to the scientist-practitioner model and aims for excellence across all areas of Clinical Psychology. The programme is firmly rooted in the core values of the NHS Constitution and has over 30 years' experience in clinical training in partnership with our local NHS Trusts and related organisations. Our graduates make a real difference to people's lives with a variety of careers in Clinical Psychology. 

The programme is full-time for three years and fulfils the standards of education and training required by the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC). It is also accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). You will graduate with a D.Clin.Psychol and be eligible to apply for registration as a practitioner psychologist with the HCPC, and you will be able to apply for Chartered Status with the BPS. The programme is in the process of applying for accreditation from the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT) and BABCP Level 1 course accreditation. 

The programme is run in close partnership with colleagues from local NHS Trusts who provide clinical placements across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, contribute substantially to teaching, and also to the management of the Programme.

The Programme is based in a thriving and dynamic Psychology Department that hosts a suite of postgraduate CBT programmes, as well as doctoral training programmes in Educational Psychology and Health Psychology. Psychology at Southampton has a tradition of world-class research. Academics within our department work at the forefront of their fields, committed to the highest-quality scientific investigation on a range of social, educational and health-related issues that together make a real impact.

The department comprises four research centres: 

1. Centre for Clinical and Community Applications of Health Psychology, 
2. Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, 
3. Centre for Perception and Cognition, 
4. Centre for Research on Self and Identity.

Within each of these centres, staff conduct research relevant to abnormal or Clinical Psychology.

Aims and Core Philosophy

The Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programme at the University of Southampton aims to develop Clinical Psychologists from a range of backgrounds with excellent knowledge and flexible skills who will deliver a first-class clinical service, conduct innovative clinical research, and lead the profession in future decades.

We believe in putting the scientist-practitioner model into practice across all aspects of the Programme. The primary theoretical orientation of the Programme is the Cognitive Behavioural approach, and the secondary model is Systemic Theory. We expect you to learn to master the evidence base, critique it, and be able to competently deliver evidence-based therapies in a range of clinical settings. However, we recognise that Clinical Psychologists are often working with people or problems where evidence is weak or absent, and we teach you how to approach formulation and intervention in a scientific manner by drawing more widely on your knowledge of psychological theories and processes. You will also develop your leadership skills across the course of training in clinical practice placements and also through dedicated teaching sessions.

Our Programme has a strong emphasis on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) meaningfully embedded throughout all aspects of the learning experience. We are passionate about ensuring EDI initiatives are present, and active, throughout the training experience. We are working hard to ensure our admission process is fair and inclusive and we actively welcome applications from people with diverse cultural and personal contexts.