University of Surrey

Training commences with a mandatory six-week teaching block that offers induction into the Trust and the profession, and experiential therapy skills training in preparation for the first placement. All trainees need to attend this teaching block and annual leave is not permitted during this time.

The three main components of the course are:

• clinical placements
• teaching units
• research

Clinical placements

Our placements focus on developing the full breadth of clinical competencies in a variety of settings, including inpatient services, community and recovery teams, schools and forensic services.

The placements focus on development of clinical competencies working with people across the lifespan, including adults, children and families, older people and people with learning disabilities. Trainees also undertake a final year specialist placement. 

In addition to development of competencies working across these clinical settings, trainees are provided with placement opportunities which encourage development of a broader range of competencies to equip them to work as Clinical Psychologists, including working within multidisciplinary teams, leadership skills and supervision.

Throughout the three years of training, trainees have regular opportunities to link theory and practice through placement supervision, discussions within small personal and professional development groups, problem-based learning exercises and regular meetings with their tutors and mentor. These discussions also provide important opportunities for reflection, personal and professional learning, exploration of difference and diversity, and the transferability of clinical competencies across placements. 

Placement days are scheduled on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Study time relating to academic work and clinical work is allocated within the timetable. 

Assessment of clinical competence is completed via written and oral reports of clinical activity, supervisor evaluation on placement, and placement log-books.

Teaching Units

Academic content comprises four core competence domains that run across all three years of training. 

1) Clinical applications:

• adult presentations and neuropsychology (all three years)
• children, young people, and families
• people with learning disabilities
• adults in later life
• long-term health conditions
• addictions, personality disorders, asylum-seekers and refugees 

2) Clinical skills and interventions:

• CBT and introduction to analytic ideas (Year 1)
• systemic (Years 2 and 3)
• a choice of focus in year 3 which is still to be decided but may include options on CAT, health psychology, forensic, and community interventions (Year 3)

3) Personal and professional development:

• critical social issues in clinical psychology (Year 1)
• professionalism and leadership (all three years)
• specialist topics in critical and community psychology (Years 2 and 3)
• PPD groups run regularly throughout the three years of training 

4) Clinical Research:

focuses on developing skills to design, conduct and critique different types of research and is delivered through a combination of online learning and self-assessment as well as tutorial groups and monthly research supervision. There are also dissemination workshops and a trainee research conference.

Assessment

Assessment is undertaken through both formative and summative assignments in a variety of formats including clinical skills assessments, problem-based learning exercises, reflective accounts, and oral presentations of clinical work (summarised below).

The emphasis on formative feedback is to support trainees to gain the appropriate level of engagement with the material as there is a recognition that moving from an undergraduate or masters to doctorate level requires some adjustment. 

We do not use exams to evaluate performance.

All assignments should demonstrate ability for critical and reflexive thinking, knowledge of psychological theories and their application to practice, as well as an understanding of clinical and professional issues.

Secondary Accreditation

All trainees will complete an academic course as part of the Doctorate that will confer Foundation accreditation with the Association of Family Therapy.

Optional Pathways

Cognitive behavioural therapy:

leading to a secondary accreditation with the British Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Psychotherapy.

Clinical Neuropsychology:

which can provide up to a year dispensation from the Postgraduate Diploma In Clinical Neuropsychology at Bristol, which on qualification supports the graduate to join the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists.

Assignments

Across the three years of training, Trainees will undertake a variety of assignments, both formatively and summatively assessed. Whilst details change, these broadly span reports of clinical activity, psychometric practice/interpretation/write-up, awareness of research methodologies, service evaluation/audit, presentations, literature reviews and empirical studies.

Research

The clinical psychology team have a diverse range of research interests, theoretical expertise and methodological innovations which are located within our two research groups:

Applied Clinical and Health Research

Our research group brings together psychologists investigating a range of areas related to health, clinical and behavioural psychology.

We broadly focus on the application of psychological theory to promote wellbeing, healthy attitudes and behaviours. This involves developing and evaluating interventions for those who are at risk of, or are experiencing, mental health difficulties related to physical health conditions, and their families.

Co-design of interventions with lived experience advisors and NHS colleagues are integral to our approach to ensure interventions are relevant and can be implemented into routine clinical practice. We have close ties with NHS Trusts, schools, third sector organisations and commercial partners.

In addition to trial and experimental design utilising mixed methodology, the research group has expertise in longitudinal surveys, evidence synthesis, as well as the design, development and psychometric evaluation of patient reported outcome measures.

Social Justice and Inequalities in Mental Health

Our research group brings together scholar-activists, practitioners, artists and those with lived experience of mental health difficulties to tackle disadvantage and to bring about change in knowledge, practice and public understanding of mental health.

Influenced by critical social theory (including critical psychology, community psychology, feminism, queer theory, critical race theory and critical disability studies) we strive to promote a psychosocial understanding of mental distress as a meaningful response to adversity (such as poverty, war/conflict, violence, trauma, abuse, and discrimination) and shaped by social inequality (in relation to race, class, sexuality, gender, disability, etc).

Drawing on our strengths in, and innovative approaches to, qualitative methods, our research brings to the fore the lived experiences and voices of those who experience mental distress, their families and carers, and the professionals who seek to deliver effective and compassionate services under adverse conditions (limited and re-prioritising of funding, staff shortages, institutional restraints and hostile work cultures).

We work in partnership with "experts by experience", NHS service providers, mental health professionals, third sector organisations, schools and arts organisations, to raise awareness of mental health discrimination through effective public engagement that promotes a holistic view of the individual/community in context, and enables sustainable and effective change in service provision.

Assessment of research competencies is summarised above. The research portfolio includes either a literature or theoretical review and an empirical paper, or two empirical papers. All are examined at viva at the end of the three years.

This body of work should demonstrate research skills at doctoral level showing the required level of competency and innovation. The Major Research Project must include original work judged to constitute a contribution to knowledge or practice, demonstrated by the discovery of new facts or by the exercise of independent critical judgment.

Progress for research is assessed at the six-month research reviews.