BSc Applied Psychology (Clinical)Dr Paul FarrandProgramme Director

What can I

do after the

degree?

How do I get a place?

Questions?

What’s so

special about

the programme?

Context for the

BSc Applied

Psychology

(Clinical)

BSc Applied Psychology (Clinical) at Exeter

• 10th in the UK for Psychology• Excellent teaching quality

– 90% for Overall Satisfaction in National Student Survey 2011

• Internationally rated research (RAE 2008)– 11th in UK for world leading research

Teaching Facilities

• Resources of specialist clinical training group (CEDAR) with national reputation

• Clinical skills training suites with full audio/visual recording capacity

• State-of-the-art computer laboratories

• Specialist practical laboratories

Teaching Expertise• International expertise in translating research evidence

into training and intervention development– CBT Mindfulness (Professor Kuyken)– Rumination (Professor Watkins)– Low Intensity CBT (Professor Richards, Dr Farrand)

• Nationally recognised clinical training expertise– Dr Farrand nominated for National Teaching

Fellowship

• Clinically active staff

• Research on clinical training methods incorporated into programmes

Teaching Delivery

• Full range of teaching and assessment methods used:• Simulated competency assessments with actors

(Richards, D & Whyte, M., 2008).

• Problem Based Learning (Stedman, J., Wood, J., Curle, C. & Haslam, C, 2005).

• Self-Practice/Self-Reflection to support training in CBT (Haarhoff, B. & Farrand, P., 2012).

• Reflective blogs to support Self-Practice/Self-Reflection (Farrand, P., Perry, J., Linsley, S., 2010). 

Teaching Delivery• Nationally recognised centre of excellence for training

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners.

• Dedicated Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner Clinical Educator team.

Research Facilities

• Mood Disorders Centre: internationally recognised specialist research group

• Specialist facilities including:– access to fMRI imaging and psychophysiological

labs– group research treatment rooms– clinical labs

Clinical Facilities

• AccEPT Clinic: psychological therapies service offering access to psychological treatments under development

• Provides research placement opportunities

• Enables academic staff to retain clinical practice

• Offers a broad foundation in the core areas of psychology

• Provides a specific focus on the clinical applications of psychology

• Develops clinical competency in low intensity cognitive behavioural therapy

• Provides a range of academic, clinical, research and transferable skills to prepare you confidently for employment or future study

What’s so

special about

the BSc

Applied

Psychology

(Clinical)?

Professional and National Recognition

“The BSc Applied Psychology (Clinical) has been developed in line with The Future of Undergraduate Psychology in the United Kingdom, a joint paper between the BPS, the Higher Education Academy, Psychology Network and the Associated Heads of Psychology Departments aimed at considering how to provide students with an undergraduate learning experience that will enable them to apply their psychological literacy throughout their lives. The programme has been designed to improve employability following graduation, whether they decide to go into a clinical psychology role or move into a different career and reduce stigma of mental health sufferers through increased public understanding”.  ‘The Psychologist’ (March, 2012;p224)

Programme

structure

• Core psychology modules shared in years 1 and 2 withBSc Psychology

• Increasing focus on clinical applications of psychology

• Four modules making up clinical training50% 62.5% 100%

Year 1

Term 1 Term 1 & 2 Term 2

Professional Issues and

Development

Historical & Conceptual

Issues in Psychology and Clinical Psychology

Introduction to Clinical

Psychology

Introduction to Statistics

Introduction to Research Methods

Introduction to Social

Psychology

Introduciton to Cognition, Cognitive

Development & Emotion

Evidence Based

Psychological Therapy Practice

Year 2

Term 1 Term 1 & 2 Term 2

Personality, Individual

Differences & Mental Health

Cognition & Emotion

Biological Basis of

Behaviour

Developmental Psychology & Psychopatholo

gy

Methods & Statistics in

Psychology II

Social Psychology II

Engagement & Assessment of Patients with

Common Mental Health

Problems

Evidence Based Low

Intensity Treatment for

Common Mental Health

Problems

Final year

Term 1 Term 1 & 2 Term 1 or 2 Term 2

Clinical Practice

Placement

Clinical Research Project

Methodological & Statistical Approaches in

Clinical Psychology & Health Services

Research

One from:

Improving Access to

Psychological Therapies

Cognitive-Behavioural Approaches to Mood Disorders

Applied Positive Psychology

Parental Psychiatric Disorders

Compulsive Behaviour

Interpersonal Processes in Psychopathology

Innovative featuresDual Accreditation

• BPS accreditation to confer eligibility for:– Graduate basis for

chartered membership– Clinical training component

• Practitioner accreditation with BABCP as NHS role as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner following brief period of employment

Innovative featuresClinical Practice Placement

• Located within an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service or equivalent

• Organised by Exeter Clinical Training Centre (CEDAR)• Two days per week between September and December of

Year 3– Competency developed and assessed in previous term

on IAPT modules

• Undertake role of Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner– Have own caseload– Receive supervision

Clinical Research Project

• Undertaken in final year• Supervision provided within Mood Disorders Centre

– Opportunity for research placements from year 2– Opportunity to link topic to current/proposed

research projects

• Supported by clinically focused statistics and methodology modules in years 2 and 3

Innovative features

Examples of Clinical Research Projects

Do individuals with a

repressive coping style

report personal events

with reduced levels of

specificity?

Does learning style predict choice of

psychological intervention?

Does facial appearance of author influence effectiveness of CBT self-help?

Vantage point of

autobiographical

memories: the role of

body image

Differences in perfectionism between British and Chinese students

Attitudes to physical activity amongst people with depression

Innovative features

Personal and Professional Development

• Establish an ongoing Personal and Professional Development (PPD) Planning Portfolio

• Supported through personal tutor system with clinical practitioners– Individual monthly PPD meetings– Monthly PPD tutorials

• Supports continued reflection on learning and development of transferable skills

• Bridges theory-practice divide• Identifies ongoing development opportunities

• Improved general employment prospects• Excellent experience contributing to clinical psychology training in

the future• Examples of clinically related posts

– Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner– Psychology Assistant– Mental Health Support Work– Clinical Research Assistant

What can I do

after the

degree?

What is a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner?

• Patient-facing mental health professional role• Undertakes all mental health roles

– Assessment and informal diagnosis– Psychological intervention– Signposting– Supporting medication management– Collaborative care

• Spearheads new ways of working– Face-to-face, telephone, email support– Range of evidence-based interventions

What Interventions are Supported?

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) self-help based on books, manuals, computerised CBT, moving into mobile phone apps

• Support for specific evidence-based low intensity CBT interventions including:– Behavioural activation– Exposure therapy– Problem solving– Cognitive restructuring– Behavioural experiments

Development of skills not just linked to employment Development of skills not just linked to employment

in clinical settings however – skills are more generic in clinical settings however – skills are more generic

and therefore increase employability across wide and therefore increase employability across wide

range of professionsrange of professions

Improved Employability

Meeting BPS Recommendations

How do I get a place?

Personal Statement

• Highlight any experience you already have related to mental health– Work experience– Personal knowledge– Project work

• Mention any work experience you have (of whatever type)

• Express your passion for this programme• Convey what you learnt from all of these experiences

Rolling Interview Process

• Small group discussion about mental health with members of the Mood Disorders Centre ‘Lived Experience Group’

• Brief individual interview– Aim to identify potential for development– Acknowledged that applicants often will not

demonstrate at this stage the range of qualities desired by the end of the programme

Still interested?

Additional presentation on the Mood Disorders Centre, Clinical Training (CEDAR), and Career

Development.

www.exeter.ac.uk/bscappliedpsychology