Individual Placement - Core

Code School Level Credits Semesters
MEDS4083 School of Medicine 4 30 Full Year UK
Code
MEDS4083
School
School of Medicine
Level
4
Credits
30
Semesters
Full Year UK

Summary

This module introduces students to the theoretical foundations and key skills that will be needed for their first clinical placement. There is a particular emphasis on establishing understanding of, and competences in, assessing and formulating clinical casework from a Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) perspective and introducing students to alternative Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) models.

Relationship to External Bodies Approved by Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Accredited by British Psychological Society (BPS).

Target Students

Students registered on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

Classes

Assessment

Assessed by end of summer vacation

Educational Aims

The aim of the placement is to familiarise students with the practice of clinical psychology and delivery of CBT inthe NHS, where high standards of professional behaviour need to be demonstrated. The placement helps them tobe conversant with the context of clinical psychology delivery and to become skilled in recognising the types ofproblems presenting to services, proficient at forming and maintaining therapeutic relationships with individuals,adept at identifying the nature of problems presented by specific individual clients, able to formulate assessmentand intervention strategies for individual clients and capable of evaluating the effect of psychologicalinterventions. Students learn how to make effective use of supervision thereby enhancing their ability to reflectcritically, consequently improving their practice on the basis of feedback.Students learn to recognise types of problems that CBT could be effective for and develop the skill of designing,delivering and evaluating CBT interventions based on their own individual formulations. Students establishcollaborative therapeutic alliances, deliver CBT formulations, negotiate therapy contracts and motivate clients toengage in change processes. Students begin to develop competence in communicating formulations to otherprofessionals and enlisting their cooperation in delivering a consistent and effective psychological care plan.Students have opportunities to practice their teaching skills by giving presentations to audiences as negotiatedwith supervisors.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

· the organisation of NHS services providing placements and of parameters and limitations of service delivery;

· the professional and legislative framework for the service, and of its impact on practitioners in respect of individual client interventions;

· the position of users and carers in relation to the service, respecting the influence of difference and diversity and its impact on delivering interventions;;

· the application of CBT theory to the assessment, formulation of a range of clinical problems and the link of these to intervention and evaluation.

Intellectual skills - the ability to:

· organise complex information for use in assessment, formulation, intervention and evaluation in relation to individual clients;

· draw on CBT and other sources of knowledge and evidence in developing, delivering and evaluating
interventions;

· critically consider the ethics of psychological practice in relation to the feasibility and limits of
psychological intervention.

Professional and Practical skills – the ability to:

· to build and maintain working alliances and appropriate boundaries with individuals whilst motivating them to work on mutually agreed therapeutic goals;

· carry out an assessment and develop a coherent formulation from a CBT perspective that can be revised and modified on the basis of feedback from clients and supervision and through personal reflection;

· with reference to supervisors, act to the highest professional standards consistent with guidelines and codes of practice set by the HCPC, BPS and employing Trusts.

· communicate effectively with clients, carers, and professionals.

· deliver an intervention based on an assessment and a coherent formulation from a CBT perspective that can be communicated to the client and revised and modified on the basis of clients' response to

treatment;

· evaluate treatment efficacy and reflect on why changes may or may not have occurred and alter practice accordingly;

· act to the highest professional standards consistent with guidelines and codes of practice set by the HCPC,

BPS and employing Trusts whilst delivering interventions;

· communicate treatment care plans effectively to clients, carers, and professionals.

Transferable skills – the ability to:

· make use of supervision, demonstrating self-awareness and a capacity for reflection;

· maintain self-care skills in relation to personal resources, professional development, and workload;

· learn from a range of evidential sources such as observation, feedback and reflection on experience to guide interventions;

· critically evaluate CBT formulations and interventions and reinterpret change and obstacles to change using alternative evidence-based perspectives;

· inform treatment planning and delivery by making use of supervision, self-awareness and a capacity for reflection;

· maintain self-care skills and motivation when faced with difficulties in the change process, drawing on personal and professional resources;

· balance previous experience with reliance on - and accountability to - others, appropriate to the stage of training.

Conveners

View in Curriculum Catalogue
Last updated 07/01/2025.