Our PGDip Psychological Intervention programme is a well-established course offering high-quality training to individuals working within psychological therapy services.
The programme addresses real-world challenges with teaching on relevant service issues, clinical presentations and input from service users themselves.
Master-classes from leaders in the field of cognitive behavioural therapy form a key component of the training curriculum, and are complemented with lectures, workshops, video role-plays, debates, trainee presentations, experiential and self-reflective sessions.
After completion of the programme, students will be qualified to deliver high-quality and NICE-compliant cognitive behavioural therapy to adults with common mental health problems, including depression and anxiety disorders.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year.
The trainees will spend two days a week at the University, the remaining three days a week occur at their place of work where they undertake supervised clinical practice. Six block weeks will be provided across the year, at the start of each module.
On successful completion of the programme trainees may apply for BABCP accreditation as a practitioner.
Example module listing
The course modules are delivered across two academic semesters with attendance at the University of Surrey required on Thursday and Friday.
There are also five week-long blocks of intensive workshops during the year. In addition to regular lectures, skills-based competencies will be developed through an innovative range of learning methods including experiential workshops, debates, presentations and video role-plays.
Weekly clinical group supervision for training cases will also be provided by members of the course team. Trainees will be expected to undertake self-directed study and will have access to the University Library and online resources.
To become a High Intensity CBT Trainee you will need to have had a minimum of two years’ post qualification mental health experience and a relevant Core Professional Training in applied psychology, psychiatry, nursing, counselling, psychotherapy, occupational therapy or social work. You will be registered with a professional, regulatory body.
The minimum eligibility criteria are outlined on the BABCP website.
Applicants who do not have a core profession can meet eligibility criteria through the BABCP Knowledge, Skills and Attitude (KSA) pathway. Please see the BABCP website. These applicants will be required at interview to produce a KSA portfolio to demonstrate that they meet the BABCP eligibility criteria for sufficient knowledge, skills and attitude that demonstrate equivalence to a Core Professional Training.
The KSA portfolio can be completed using the template sheets below:
At the University of Surrey we are committed to equality of opportunity in access to training. The University welcomes and provides support as needed for trainees with special needs.
We have a values-based recruitment approach. The High Intensity IAPT training programme at Surrey promotes the NHS values which are enshrined within the NHS constitution. The programme team is dedicated to recruiting graduates whose individual values and behaviours align to those of the NHS.
The course is BABCP accredited and part of the Department of Health ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ programme (IAPT), which aims to improve access to evidence-based talking therapies in the NHS and any other qualified healthcare providers (AQP) through an expansion of the psychological therapy workforce and services.
Our School of Psychology has a reputation for providing high quality IPT training to therapists who are already in practice and want to add this model to their repertoire.
This Psychological Therapy programme has been designed to be responsive to the needs of people who do not already have a therapy qualification. The first year of this programme will enable professionals to develop core counselling skills and IPC intervention skills to enhance their effectiveness with clients, further their psychological skills and increase their understanding of mental health issues.
Many roles in the workforce today require people to have enhanced their psychological and therapeutic skills. At present, our programme is the only one in the UK that offers the opportunity for individuals to undertake IPC training.
Successful completion of this year will enable individuals to undertake the Diploma in IPT, a full therapy qualification.
This one year programme can be undertaken on its own or as part of a flexible training of up to three years. Successful completion of all modules in this first Certificate year gives the option of progressing into year two, the Diploma in IPT, which confers a full therapy qualification which allows individuals to practice in the NHS or elsewhere. There is also the option to complete a third research year to obtain an MSc.
The first year comprises of four modules of 15 credits each. Each module comprises of 150 hours of learning, including student contact, private study, skills practice either on placement or in the classroom and assessment. In order to achieve the Postgraduate Certificate in Psychological Intervention: IPC (Interpersonal Counselling) students must complete all four modules and complete 60 credits at FHEQ Level 7.
Example module listing
Specialist knowledge relevant to the subject area will be delivered using a variety of methods, including lectures, experiential workshops, micro skills teaching, audio-recording reviews, clinical supervision, group discussions, and through the interaction of the student with coursework assignments.
Clinical practice with application of their learning to client work will be supervised closely and students will be required to keep a log of their clinical activity as well as supervisory activity and will be evaluated on their clinical competence.
The strength of this programme lies in the integration of classroom learning and clinical practice learning and development. The personal impact of working with clients presenting with distress will be explored as well as ethical issues. Students will develop their skills in applying theory and technique to real life client situations in supervision sessions at the University via discussion and micro-teaching.
The feedback process is designed to be ongoing, in that comments and reflections from these sessions will provide an escalator of personal learning for the student. At critical points there will be summative learning points to provide a marker for the student as to their progress against the benchmark standards being expected. Formative and summative feedback will be provided as appropriate to help students develop their skills in these areas of practice.
The associated research evidence bases will be integrated into all aspects of the teaching.
Students who have access to clients in their ongoing job role whilst studying may incorporate part of this work as their practice placement, subject to agreement with their manager and the University. Otherwise students will be supported to obtain a suitable practice placement.
This programme will enable professionals to develop core counselling skills in IPC (Interpersonal counselling) to enhance their effectiveness with clients, further their psychological skills and increase their understanding of mental health issues without undertaking a full therapy qualification.
Interpersonal counselling is a brief intervention, based on the principles of Interpersonal Psychotherapy, for people suffering from stress or mild depression. It is designed to be delivered by individuals after a relatively brief training course, and does not require them to have previous mental health qualifications.
Knowledge and understanding
Intellectual / cognitive skills
Professional practical skills
Key / transferable skills
To reflect on their development as a psychological practitioner
Recognition is being sought from IPT-UK, the organisation that accredits therapists in this particular model of therapy.
Our stimulating MSc in Psychological Intervention: IPT (Interpersonal Psychotherapy) offers flexible training for individuals who want to become qualified Interpersonal Psychotherapists.
Our programme will develop your theoretical understanding of mental health issues, equip you with skills in working with the IPT model, enable you to work effectively with clients, and give you the opportunity to conduct research in the theory or practice of IPT.
This is delivered through a rich range of learning experiences, including the opportunity to integrate theory with practice. This ensures that, as a graduate of this programme, you are able to provide a high quality therapy to service users.
Our School of Psychology has a reputation for providing high quality IPT training to therapists who are already in practice and want to add this model to their repertoire.
This Psychological Intervention MSc programme has been designed to be responsive to the needs of people who do not already have a therapy qualification who aspire to become qualified practitioner in a NICE-recommended psychological therapy.
The programme meets an identified training need for therapists in this specific approach. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend IPT as a treatment for depression and eating disorders and IPT has also been part of the Government’s provision to increase the availability of talking therapies through the Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT provision).
At present, our programme is the only programme in the UK that offers the opportunity for appropriately experienced individuals with no previous therapy qualification to undertake IPT training.
This programme is studied part-time over three academic years. Students with equivalent/sufficient qualifications/credits will be able to join the programme at year two or three.
The full MSc three year (part-time) programme comprises of nine modules with a total of 180 credits.
The first year comprises of four modules of 15 credits each. Each module comprises of 150 hours of learning, including student contact, private study, skills practice either on placement or in the classroom and assessment. In order to achieve the Postgraduate Certificate in Psychological Intervention: IPC (Interpersonal Counselling) students must complete all four modules and complete 60 credits at FHEQ Level 7.
In order to achieve the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychological Intervention: IPT (Interpersonal Psychotherapy) students must complete 120 credits at FHEQ Level 7. The second year comprises of three modules, two of 15 credits each and one of 30 credits. The 30 credit module includes a substantial allocation of student learning time to placement activities.
In order to achieve the Masters in Psychological Intervention: IPT (Interpersonal Psychotherapy), students must complete 180 credits at FHEQ Level 7. The third year comprises of two modules, a 15 credit module in Research methods and a dissertation module of 45 credits.
In order for students to progress they must achieve a minimum average of 50 per cent.
Example module listing
Year one
Year two
Year three
Specialist knowledge relevant to the subject area will be delivered using a variety of methods, including lectures, experiential workshops, micro skills teaching, audio-recording reviews, clinical supervision, group discussions, and through the interaction of the student with coursework assignments.
Clinical practice with application of their learning to client work will be supervised closely and students will be required to keep a log of their clinical activity as well as supervisory activity and will be evaluated on their clinical competence.
Students who have access to clients in their ongoing job role whilst studying may incorporate part of this work as their practice placement, subject to agreement with their manager and the University. Otherwise students will be supported to obtain a suitable practice placement.
The strength of this programme lies in the integration of classroom learning and clinical practice learning and development. The personal impact of working with clients presenting with distress will be explored as well as ethical issues. Students will develop their skills in applying theory and technique to real life client situations in supervision sessions at the University via discussion and micro-teaching.
The feedback process is designed to be ongoing, in that comments and reflections from these sessions will provide an escalator of personal learning for the student. At critical points there will be summative learning points to provide a marker for the student as to their progress against the benchmark standards being expected. Formative and summative feedback will be provided as appropriate to help students develop their skills in these areas of practice.
The associated research evidence bases will be integrated into all aspects of the teaching.
In the final year, students will receive individual supervision for the research project during which they will receive one-to one support and guidance in the development of their research skills.
The first year of this programme will enable professionals to develop core counselling skills in IPT (IPC) to enhance their effectiveness with clients, further their psychological skills and increase their understanding of mental health issues. The second year (PGDip) leads to a full therapy qualification. The third and final year (MSc) is a research year which results in a Master’s qualification
The course is designed in order to meet the accreditation requirements of a well-known professional counselling body. Because this is a new programme, the accreditation process will take place after the first cohort has completed. If successful, accreditation is awarded retrospectively thus allowing the first cohort of students to become a registered with this professional body.
Recognition is also being sought from IPT-UK, the organisation that accredits therapists in this particular model of therapy.
Our stimulating postgraduate diploma in Psychological Intervention: IPT (Interpersonal Psychotherapy) offers flexible training for individuals who want develop core counselling skills and gain a full therapy qualification.
Our programme will develop your theoretical understanding of mental health issues, equip you with skills in working with the IPT model and enable you to work effectively with clients.
This is delivered through a rich range of learning experiences, including the opportunity to integrate theory with practice. This ensures that, as a graduate of this programme, you are able to provide a high quality therapy to service users.
Our School of Psychology has a reputation for providing high quality IPT training to therapists who are already in practice and want to add this model to their repertoire.
This Psychological Intervention programme has been designed to be responsive to the needs of people who do not already have a therapy qualification who aspire to become qualified practitioner in a NICE-recommended psychological therapy.
The programme meets an identified training need for therapists in this specific approach. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend IPT as a treatment for depression and eating disorders and IPT has also been part of the Government’s provision to increase the availability of talking therapies through the Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT provision).
At present, our programme is the only programme in the UK that offers the opportunity for appropriately experienced individuals with no previous therapy qualification to undertake IPT training.
This programme takes place over one or two academic years, depending on the level of qualification. A third and final research year can be added to result in an MSc qualification.
The first year comprises of four modules of 15 credits each. Each module comprises of 150 hours of learning, including student contact, private study, skills practice either on placement or in the classroom and assessment. In order to achieve the Postgraduate Certificate in Psychological Intervention: IPC (Interpersonal Counselling) students must complete all four modules and complete 60 credits at FHEQ Level 7.
In order to achieve the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychological Intervention: IPT (Interpersonal Psychotherapy) students must complete 120 credits at FHEQ Level 7. The second year comprises of three modules, two of 15 credits each and one of 30 credits. The 30 credit module includes a substantial allocation of student learning time to placement activities.
In order for students to progress they must achieve a minimum average of 50 per cent.
Example module listing
Year one
Year two
Specialist knowledge relevant to the subject area will be delivered using a variety of methods, including lectures, experiential workshops, micro skills teaching, audio-recording reviews, clinical supervision, group discussions, and through the interaction of the student with coursework assignments.
Clinical practice with application of their learning to client work will be supervised closely and students will be required to keep a log of their clinical activity as well as supervisory activity and will be evaluated on their clinical competence.
Students who have access to clients in their ongoing job role whilst studying may incorporate part of this work as their practice placement, subject to agreement with their manager and the University. Otherwise students will be supported to obtain a suitable practice placement.
The strength of this programme lies in the integration of classroom learning and clinical practice learning and development. The personal impact of working with clients presenting with distress will be explored as well as ethical issues. Students will develop their skills in applying theory and technique to real life client situations in supervision sessions at the University via discussion and micro-teaching.
The feedback process is designed to be ongoing, in that comments and reflections from these sessions will provide an escalator of personal learning for the student. At critical points there will be summative learning points to provide a marker for the student as to their progress against the benchmark standards being expected. Formative and summative feedback will be provided as appropriate to help students develop their skills in these areas of practice.
The associated research evidence bases will be integrated into all aspects of the teaching.
The first year of this programme will enable professionals to develop core counselling skills in IPT (IPC) to enhance their effectiveness with clients, further their psychological skills and increase their understanding of mental health issues. The second year (PGDip) leads to a full therapy qualification.
The course is designed in order to meet the accreditation requirements of a well-known professional counselling body. Because this is a new programme, the accreditation process will take place after the first cohort has completed. If successful, accreditation is awarded retrospectively thus allowing the first cohort of students to become a registered with this professional body.
Recognition is also being sought from IPT-UK, the organisation that accredits therapists in this particular model of therapy.
CBT is an increasingly popular form of psychological therapy.
Many people who have learned about the methods find that it helps them a great deal in doing their job - if their job involves helping people in distress to experience less distress (eg. as in health care work), or perhaps helping people learn how to manage their life more effectively (eg. also health care - but also education, the prison service, etc). CBT is also recommended by NICE as a first line intervention for many psychological disorders.
This course is designed to enable students to practice CBT. The course is structured around teaching, skills practice, experiential learning, supervision support groups, and academic assignments. The academic assignments include essays, case reports, and recordings of live sessions with clients. Students will also be encouraged to discuss their own views on CBT as well as on mental health and psychological therapy in general. The core feature of the course is the facilitation of reflective practice.
There are two routes of entry to this course:
The key features of the course are:
Assessment methods
A list of modules with accompanying assignments / submissions detailed below. All due dates are outlined on the timetable when you begin the course.
Module 1:
Module 2:
Module 3
Module 4-7
Professional accreditation
All of the tutors and clinical supervisors on this Diploma course are BABCP accredited therapists. The course is structured to meet many of the requirements of the BABCP for accreditation as a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist.
The programme provides an opportunity for students to enhance their skills and knowledge in areas of applied psychology related to mental health practice and research. It trains and equips students wishing to:
In addition, the course has gained full AFT accreditation for Foundation Level training in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice, and full BPS accreditation for Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner training. These can be taken as routes within the MSc programme.
This course is undergoing academic revalidation during 2016/17, and course content/modules are subject to change.
To complete the Masters programme, students are required to successfully complete 180 university credits. Programme Routes: There are three different ‘routes’ that students can take during their time on the programme, depending on their interest or the experience they would like to gain from their training. These routes have been designed because feedback from students suggests that some people like to maintain a broad range of skills and experience, whereas others prefer to focus on a particular area of practice. The route students choose may depend on the kind of work or further training that they want to pursue beyond the MSc course itself (note that all 3 routes include the carrying out of an MSc Research Project):
British Psychological Society (BPS)
Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) against the requirements for qualification as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner.
The programme has a number of opportunities to connect clinical placement experiences with studies on campus. The BPS-accredited Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner Training (which composes part of one of the course routes), includes a 9-month clinical placement in low-intensity psychological therapies services, arranged by the course team. The AFT-accredited Foundation Level Training in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (which composes part of another course route), includes a module that explores and assesses students' clinical experiences in this area of practice - placement for this module is arranged by students themselves. Finally, the MSc presents a further placement opportunity for students who have completed the course, in the form of a 15-credit standalone placement module ('Clinical Placement in Applied Psychology'). A selection of clinical placements have been secured in Psychology Services in the Western Health and Social Care Trust, in specialisms including Adult Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Paediatric Psychology, Older Adults, Personality Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder Services. This post-MSc module is only open to those students who have completed the MSc at Ulster, and students who enrol on this module will be working as the equivalent of Assistant Psychologists on a voluntary basis in these services (length of placements are typically between 6 months and one year).
Currently, our graduating students are successful in acquiring Assistant Psychologist positions, which with experience is allowing people to apply for Associate Psychologist positions. Others are successful in gaining entry onto Professional Doctorate programmes in Clinical, Counselling and Educational Psychology, or PhD scholarships in Psychology across UK and Ireland. In addition, students who undertake the accredited Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) training strand within the course will be able to seek accreditation with the BPS for working as a PWP. Finally, students who undertake AFT Foundation Level Training will have completed Stage 1 of 3 in their training to become a qualified Systemic Psychotherapist.
UCLan’s Advanced Certificate in Counselling for Depression offers professional development for counsellors who are already trained in Person-centred or Humanistic approaches and who have significant clinical experience. Hence Counselling for Depression (CfD) training intends to both build upon existing knowledge and, more particularly, to align counsellors’ practice with a competence framework which has strong links to research evidence and follows the Curriculum for Counselling for Depression produced by the National IAPT Team. In sum, this course provides you with a thorough grounding in the theory, evidence base and practice of CfD, allowing you to develop your knowledge and competence in psychological clinical assessment and CfD interventions in accordance with national guidelines.
CfD is a manualised form of psychological therapy as recommended by NICE (NICE, 20094) for the treatment of depression. It is a form of psychological therapy derived from the Skills for Health humanistic competence framework devised by Roth, Hill and Pilling (2009), which provided the basis for the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for psychological therapists. This modality targets the emotional problems underlying depression along with the intrapersonal processes, such as low self-esteem and excessive self-criticism, which often maintain depressed mood. The therapy aims to help patients contact underlying feelings, make sense of them and reflect on the new meanings which emerge. This, in turn, provides a basis for psychological and behavioural change. You will attend for 7 taught days at the university, complete 80 hours supervised clinical practice, and attend for a minimum of 6 hours of clinical supervision.
We are committed to delivering academic learning of the highest quality, helping you to stretch your mind and fulfil your university ambitions.
We aim to create the perfect blend of knowledge, practical experience and relevance to equip UCLan graduates with the confidence and skills they need to get ahead in the world of work.
At UCLan we work with a range of businesses and organisations, many of which provide work experience opportunities and project briefs to enable to you gain real work experience whilst you undertake your postgraduate programme. Your course tutor will advise on opportunities available within your course and the UCLan Careers Team can provide help, advice and guidance on how to apply for them and how to make the most of these opportunities.
The UCLan Careers Team offer ongoing supportive careers advice and guidance throughout your course and after graduation, along with a range of modules, work experience opportunities and events to help you acquire the skills to make you stand out to potential employers in today’s competitive market.
The PG Dip programme equips students with a critical understanding of psychological models of psychosis and the skills to deliver high quality and creative cognitive behavioural interventions. The shorter PG Cert programmes focus on clinical skills, for clinicians, or on theoretical background for researchers, academics and non-practitioners.
The courses have been developed with the South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) and designed in accordance with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence Schizophrenia Guideline psychological therapy recommendations (NICE, 2003, 2014).
The purpose of the courses is to improve the delivery of cognitive behavioural interventions for people with psychosis. CBTp is a complex therapeutic intervention and requires of independent practitioners an advanced theoretical understanding of cognitive models of psychosis and specialist post-qualification skills in relationship building, assessment, formulation and intervention. Our courses train students in each of these requirements, enabling them to develop competence then mastery in therapy delivery, and to provide consultancy, training and supervision to others.
The courses are modular, following a credit framework. Two clinical skills modules build from early therapy activities (Engagement, Assessment & Formulation – Module 1) through to intervention and specialised applications (Intervention & Supervised Practice; Module 2). Two academic modules develop students’ critical appraisal of the theory underlying psychological models of psychosis (Theoretical background I: Psychological Models, Module 3) and the evidence base for interventions (Theoretical Background II: Interventions, efficacy & future directions, Module 4). Diploma students complete all four modules; clinical skills certificate students complete Module 1 and Module 2 only; theoretical background certificate students complete Modules 3 and Module 4 only.
Case supervision is strongly emphasised on the clinical programmes. Weekly morning supervision sessions take place in small groups (four to five) on the teaching day with all supervision carried out by the programme team. Additional close supervision (listening to audiorecordings of therapy sessions) is a course requirement.
The programmes deliver the clinical skills and theoretical background to work creatively and effectively with people with a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis.
The Postgraduate Diploma in CBT for psychosis (CBTp) is designed for qualified mental health practitioners and covers both the clinical skills and theoretical background required to become an innovative and successful practitioner of CBTp. We recommend completion of the programme on a part-time basis, over two years. A fast-track one year full time option is available for students with previous experience of relevant clinical work and masters level study.
The Postgraduate Certificate in Therapy Skills emphasises the clinical skills component of the programme, for mental health practitioners who are primarily concerned with clinical practice, rather than academic development. The Postgraduate Certificate in Theoretical Background is designed for people without a mental health qualification, for researchers or academics, or as an introduction to CBTp. Students attend seminars and workshop teaching in order to acquire a detailed understanding of psychological models and interventions, together with their evidence base, but clinical supervision is not usually provided. Certificate programmes are offered on a part-time basis over a calendar year.
The course begins with three introductory intensive one-day workshops, which aim to provide students with an overview of the model, therapeutic style and content of initial sessions. This is usually a refresher for more experienced students and sets the scene for identifying students' individual learning targets and goals. Teaching modules are examined by assignments – audio recordings, case reports and practice portfolios for the clinical modules; essays and research presentations for the academic modules. Clinical students will be required to work with at least four clients for at least 16 sessions from assessment to completion or termination of therapy over the duration of the programme.
You will be assessed through a combination of coursework and examinations.
Examination (50%) | Coursework (30%) | Practical (20%)
Regulating body
King’s College is regulated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England
In 2008 the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies project began in order to improve the capacity of psychological therapy services for people with common mental health problems (depression and anxiety) in the UK. The psychological wellbeing practitioner role was created as part of this project in order to support the delivery of psychological therapies within a stepped care system.
The stepped care system is promoted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) which works on the principle of offering the least intrusive and most effective treatment (low intensity interventions) in the first instance and increasing the intensity of treatment as required.
This programme provides education and training that meets the requirements of the Department of Health (2011) curriculum for psychological well-being practitioners by:
There are eight core themes that run through the award via three modules. They help you to make clear links between theory and practice and include:
Course structure
Core modules
Modules offered may vary.
Where you study
Teesside University campus. There is also a practical element to the programme and so you must have a clinical placement with access to a practice supervisor qualified and experienced to deliver low intensity interventions underpinned by cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Assistance will be given to find a suitable placement.
How you learn
Learning is through a combination of presentations, group discussion and role-play activities as well as self-directed study and supervised practice in the workplace.
How you are assessed
Assessment is through role-play and real patient activities, an examination and practice competencies. All written academic work is marked at master’s level.
This award prepares you for your role as a psychological wellbeing practitioner. You are eligible to apply for accreditation with the British Psychological Society.
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