Training Handbook - (Printable Version)

Section 1 - The Course In Context

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

CORE PURPOSE, VALUES AND PHILOSOPHY

Core purpose

The core purpose of the training course is to produce clinical psychologists trained to a high standard in academic, clinical and research domains, enabling them to meet the standards described by the HCPC Standards of Education and Training and Standards of Proficiency and the accreditation criteria of the British Psychological Society for Chartered status, and to qualify them for work within the National Health Service (NHS).

Values

The values of the Course are aligned with those set out in the following codes, all of which can be found on the Course website:

· the HCPC Standards of Conduct

· the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct

· UCL Student Disciplinary Code

· the NHS Constitution

The values embodied in these codes are reflected at all stages and in all domains of the programme - in its application processes, in the content and delivery of the teaching programme, in clinical placements and in the professional and personal support offered to trainees.

The NHS constitution sets out some core values which can be summarised as follows:

· putting clients first and involving everyone who is relevant to their care

· speaking up in the client's interests when things go wrong

· affording respect and dignity to clients, their families and fellow professionals, valuing them as individuals and respecting their aspirations and commitments

· offering resources to the benefit of the whole community and ensuring that people are not excluded or discriminated against

· offering high-quality, safe and effective care

· offering care that is compassionate and responsive to the needs of clients, their families and carers

· improving health and well-being and people's experience of the NHS

Philosophy

1. The Course has a pluralistic ethos: it aims to expose trainees to a variety of approaches within clinical psychology rather than just one. This is designed to ensure that trainees can respond flexibly to the demands that will be made of them in a rapidly changing NHS.

2. The Course aims to promote strong links between theory and practice and is organised to ensure that the clinical, academic and research components of training are well integrated. Reflecting this concern:

a) Diversity in teaching methods is encouraged, matching the method to the material to be taught.

b) Skills teaching is integrated within the academic programme, along with the use of experiential teaching methods.

c) Trainees are encouraged to adopt a hypothesis-testing approach to their work and to adopt a thoughtful and critical approach to the use of research evidence concerning the effectiveness of therapeutic techniques.

3. The Course endeavors to enable trainees to achieve high standards of clinical competence. To ensure high quality and relevance to the field, teaching is organised by a mixture of academic staff and clinical psychologist practitioners, many of whom have a national reputation in their fields.

4. The Course aims to promote good practice in teaching and research across a wide range of specialties, and to ensure that teaching of specialities with recruitment difficulties is of the highest quality.

5. The Course tries to ensure that trainees can practice effectively and equitably in the context of the diversity that characterises clinical populations in London. The promotion of equal opportunities in the selection of trainees and in teaching is an important feature of the Course philosophy, and a theme of the programme.

6. The Course aims to ensure that trainees develop a professional role that is both active and collegial, and hence a capacity to understand the roles and approaches of professional colleagues, and an ability to maintain good working relationships which promote the psychological well-being of clients.

7. The Course aims to foster an awareness of, and a responsiveness to, the needs of service users and carers, both through its teaching and by encouraging trainees routinely to consult with service users in order to understand their perspectives and needs.

8. As is consistent with the learner-led model of teaching appropriate for students at this level of training, the Course aims to be responsive to feedback at all levels of its organisation. The Course aims to ensure that its systems of assessment and evaluation of trainees also accord with best practice in this area and that trainees are involved in the assessment process.

9. The Course aims to foster an enthusiasm for learning and an openness to questioning, in teaching, in clinical practice and in research. Trainees are encouraged to follow up their interests and to develop personally over the three years of training.

10. The Course aims to make research an integral part of training by developing trainees' capacity actively to make use of available research, and equipping them with

the skills to contribute to the evidence-base of the profession. The Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology has an internationally recognised research programme and trainees are encouraged to work with members of staff to maintain the same high standards for their own research

12. The Course aims to be responsive to its purchasers (Health Education North Central and East London) and to Clinical Psychology services in the London region who offer supervision to trainees and employment to graduates from the course.

13. It is widely recognised that clinical psychology training can be stressful and the course endeavours to ensure that good sources of support are available to trainees. As is consistent with the general course philosophy, no one approach is favoured, but rather a variety of systems (including access to personal therapy) are offered.

The standards set out above are those by which the Course wishes to be judged. The measure of our success is our capacity to enable trainees to develop personal and professional competences congruent with our aspirations, and to become effective practitioners who can apply their skills for the benefit of service users and carers and go on to shape clinical practice and research in the future.

Section 2 - Clinical Psychology Staff

Section 3 - Computing and Library Resources 

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

COMPUTING RESOURCES, LIBRARIES, ELECTRONIC RESOURCES, DCLINPSY LIBRARIES

COMPUTING FACILITIES

Extensive computing facilities are available in the "cluster rooms", of which there are many across the University campus, including one on the first floor of 1-19 Torrington Place (up the first set of stairs in the East lobby). Information about other locations can be found at: www.ucl.ac.uk/is/clusters/index.htm. Information about the "live" availability of PCs across campus can be found at www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/students/workrooms/pc-availability

Computing facilities are managed by UCL rather than by the Department, and are accessed by students of all disciplines. Access can be limited it is sometimes a good idea to book a computer in advance.

Training courses offered by Information Systems

Although many trainees are computer literate, not all are, and some could benefit from learning how to make more efficient use of software. UCL offers a number of on-site and e-learning introductory and advanced courses that are open to postgraduate students there are free). More information, is available at the UCL Information Systems website: www.ucl.ac.uk/is/training/student/index.htm or e‑mail Information Systems: is-student-courses@ucl.ac.uk

LIBRARY RESOURCES

The UCL Library holds around 1.5 million volumes covering all subjects taught at UCL. About half of the stock is available on the open shelves. Holdings relevant to Clinical Psychology can be found at:

· DMS Watson library; also known as the Science Library (where most holdings can be found)

· UCL Medical School library (located in the medical school - Cruciform Building)

There is extensive information about the Library, its services, sites and opening hours at www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/index.shtml. The psychology subject librarian (Kate Cheney) is available to help trainees with their literature searches for the thesis.

University of London Library (Senate House)

UCL students have access to the University Library (entrance on the fourth floor of Senate House, Malet Street). Tickets can be obtained by showing a UCL ID card. This library holds about 1.4 million volumes and over 5,500 current periodicals. The BPS library is based in Senate House, and holdings include a number of psychology journals unavailable in hard copy at UCL. The University of London library catalogue can be accessed via the UCL library website.

ELECTRONIC JOURNALS AND DATABASES

Journals

A very large number of journals can be accessed electronically, via the UCL library website. E-journals can be accessed from a UCL-managed computer (for example, a machine in one of the cluster rooms) . They can also be accessed off-site (and therefore at home or on placement) using a UCL ID and password.

Databases

The library subscribes to a large number of on-line databases (including PsychInfo, Medline, and Embase) and citation databases. As above, these are available both on- and off-site.

COURSE MOODLE SITE

The course uses the UCL 'Moodle' site (https://moodle.ucl.ac.uk/) as a platform for posting information about the academic programme. The site contains:

• details of upcoming lectures, including powerpoints, references and relevant resources
• teaching and training resources, including a suite of videos demonstrating CBT therapy competences

DCLINPSY TEST LIBRARY

Test Library

The psychological test reference library contains an extensive range of psychological tests, measures and questionnaires, providing invaluable tools for research, both for our trainees and for the wider UCL body. For Test Library enquiries, see the Research and Finance Administrator in the General Office.

Dissertation Collection

The dissertation collection (which includes dissertations of all past trainees) is available for trainee reference. Keys to the dissertation cabinets are held in the General Office. Theses from 2012 onwards are also available in electronic format via the library website.

Section 4 - Course Committee Structure

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section gives details of the committee structure of the programme, including:

• details of each committee and the area of the programme it oversees
• details of trainee representation on each committee
• a chart showing how the committees fit together to give oversight over the whole programme

Section 5 - Aims and Objectives of the Teaching Programme

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section sets out the aims and objectives of the teaching programme for the DClinPsy. 

Section 33 - The Role of the Course Tutor

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

Each trainee is assigned a Course Tutor. The tutor's role is holistic: to support trainees across all the domains of the course - on academic, clinical and research matters, and to monitor and support their personal and professional development.

This section helps trainees identify the duties of their tutor and the areas for which they are responsible. 

Section 20 - Examinations

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

Unseen examinations are used to assess both the academic course component, and competence in research methods and statistics. This section details the structure and coverage of the examination papers. 

Section 21 - Case Report Guidelines

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

Case reports are intended to assess trainees':

• developing clinical competence across a range of different types of work and setting, in the context of a range of theoretical perspectives
• ability to integrate academic and theoretical ideas with their clinical experience
• ability to reflect on the way in which clinical, professional and ethical issues interact and impact on their work

Trainees submit four case reports; this section describes the structure and expected content of the reports.

There is one appendix for this section: 

Section 21, Appendix 1 : Client consent form for case report

Section 7 - Placement Schedule

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section contains information about:

• the days that trainees are on placement, both during and outside academic terms
• the clinical study time that trainees are entitled to take while on placement  and how this is managed
• the minimum number of required placement days in any one placement

Section 8 - Clinical Placement Guidelines and Contracts

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section contains detailed guidance on:

• setting up placements
• drawing-up placement contacts
• placement structure and content

It includes:

• an overview of the clinical competences trainees need to acquire during training
• an outline of the expectations of content and structure that apply to all placements
• outlines of the expected content and structure for:
• the first placement
• placements with specific client groups and settings (children and adolescents, people with learning disabilities, older adults and individuals with severe and enduring mental health problems 

There are 11 appendices to this section which relate to various aspects of placement organisation:

The first set of appendices set out BPS/ DCP guidance on supervision:

The next set of appendices set out guidance related to record keeping:

The final set of appendices offer guidance on professional practice while on placement:

Section 9 - Basic Template For All Placement Contracts

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section sets out the 'headers' that should be included in all placement contracts, including: 

• supervision arrangements
• expected caseload
• induction
• areas of clinical and professional activity
• procedures for ending the placement

Section 11 - Assessing Progression on Placement Over the Three Years of Training

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

Expectations of a trainee's performance change as they progress through training, gaining more direct experience of clinical casework and growing into their professional role.

Benchmarking these expectations is a challenge both for the Course and for supervisors. This section sets out how these benchmarks change over the three years of training.

Section 12 - Overview of Procedures for Monitoring Placements

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

For the purposes of the Examination Board, training is divided into 6 six-month placement periods over three years. The Course formally monitors progress in each placement period through the Mid-Placement Review (MPR) and the End of Placement Review (EPR).

This section:

a) describes the ways in which the MPR and the EPR should be conducted.

b) offers guidance on the ways in which summative and formative feedback should be offered during supervision, and at the MPR and the EPR

Section 13 - MPR Interview Format for Trainees and Supervisors

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section describes the sort of questions and issues which will be raised by the college visitor. Because the visitor follows a set structure and is guided by a semi-structured interview it will be helpful for supervisors and trainees to have a sense of the format and content of the visit.

Section 14 - Quick Guide to Forms Used to Evaluate Placements

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section gives an overview of the forms used by supervisors:

• at various points in the placement cycle
• when they are not the main supervisor

Section 15 - End of Placement Review: Guide to the content of the Supervisor and Trainee Feedback Forms

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section is a guide to content of the supervisor and trainee feedback forms used at the end of each placement period.

Section 16 - Clinical Portfolio

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

Trainees maintain a portfolio of clinical experience that identifies the work they carry out in each placement. There are four sections to the portfolio:

This section describes the portfolio; the record forms are downloadable from the placement section of this website, and from the 'useful forms' section.

Section 17 - The Research Component: Overview

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

The research component of the DClinPsy has two parts: formal teaching and practical experience. This section gives an overview of each of these parts, and describes how they fit together over the three years of training.

Section 18 - The Service Related Research Project

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section details the procedures for conducting and documenting the service related research project (applied research that is a) relevant to service provision and b) undertaken within a clinical setting).

Conducting practically oriented research is an important part of the clinical psychologist's professional role, and the aim of the service‑related research project is to help trainees develop their research skills, including the ability to communicate research findings to clinical colleagues, and to give them experience in integrating research with clinical practice. 

Section 19 - The Major Research Project

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section details the procedures for conducting the major research project and for documenting this work in the research thesis.

The thesis should be an original piece of empirical work of publishable quality, relevant to clinical psychology and which demonstrates a trainee's ability to apply scientific principles and undertake rigorous investigation. 

Section 22 - Programme Regulations

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section gives an overview of the programme regulations and assessment procedures for the course, and the role of the Board of Examiners in overseeing these procedures.

It includes information about:

• entrance qualifications for the Course
• the structure of the Course
• the ways in which academic, clinical and research competences are assessed
• the number of times failed course components can be retaken
• how the Board of Examiners is constituted and how it carries out its functions
• procedures for appealing against a decision of the Board of Examiners

Section 23 - Plagiarism

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

Plagiarism refers to passing off someone else's work as your own. It is a serious academic offence with potentially serious consequences.

Plagiarism can be intentional, but is sometimes unintentional (where students do not understand what does and doesn't constitute plagiarism). For this reason it is important to read the detailed guidance contained in this section. 

Section 24 - Procedures for Passing and Failing Examinations

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section sets out the marking criteria for examinations, along with the procedure for candidates who receive an overall mark of 'fail' in these examinations.

Section 25 - Procedures Relating To Passing and Failing: Case Reports and Service Related Research Report

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section includes information about:

• submission deadlines
• procedure for requesting an extension to a submission deadline
• marking categories and marking criteria for case reports
• procedures for resubmission of a report
• marking criteria for resubmitted work

Section 26 - Procedures Relating To Passing and Failing: Passing and Failing Research Thesis

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section includes information about the marking procedure and marking criteria for the research dissertation.

Section 27 - Procedures Relating To Passing and Failing: Placements

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section includes information about the procedures used to pass or fail a placement period. It includes information on:

• the criteria used to judge the significance of poor placement performance
• how concerns about placement performance are signalled
• the criteria for placement failure
• procedures for the clinical viva and the possible outcomes
• the consequences of placement failure
• the procedure for appeals

There is one appendix to this section:

Section 27, Appendix 1:  Form for registering concern about trainee progression on placement 

Section 30 - Complaints in relation to course procedure and complaints in relation to discrimination or harassment.

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

There are a number of procedures open to trainees who have serious concerns about their training and who wish to raise these with the course or the University.

This section identifies the "informal" routes open to trainees, as well giving detailed advice about the procedures for initiating an appeal against decisions taken by the course, for taking out a grievances or for making a complaint (for example, about sexual harassment or bullying).  

Appendix

Bullying Discrimination Policy Procedure for C&I (2015)

Section 31 - Implementation of Equality and Diversity Policies at UCL and in the NHS

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

As a student of UCL and as an employee of the NHS, trainees should be aware of the equality and diversity policies that apply both in college and while on placement. A first - and obvious - step in making these meaningful is to ensure that trainees know that such policies exist and to whom they apply, and also know how to access full information about them.

This section details the equality and diversity policies that apply both to UCL and the NHS.

Section 32 - Sources of Personal and Professional Support

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

While training is usually an exciting and stimulating experience, it can also be challenging and sometimes stressful.

This section details:

• sources of support offered by the course
• sources of support offered by UCL

       - support for trainees with disabilities

       - student counselling service

• the 'Personal Advisor Scheme'
• specific support systems for:

      - LGBT trainees

      - Black and Ethnic Minority trainees

      - Trainees who are parents or carers

• potential sources of psychological therapy for trainee

Section 35 - Service User and Carer Involvement with the Course 

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section details the ways in which the course integrates the views of service users and carers into the programme. It includes a description of:

• the role and function of the service user and carer committee
• service user input to teaching
• service user input to selection
• service user input to research
• the trainee consultation with service-users and carers while on placement

Section 10 - Consulting with service-user/carer representatives and Interprofessional learning on placement

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

In at least two of their six placements trainees should organise contact with service user organisations, or service users/carers. There are two primary objectives:

a) to develop a clearer sense of service-user issues, concerns, experiences and perspectives, and to discuss what is learned from this within supervision.

b) to gain experience of initiating this sort of contact (with guidance on how this is best done from the supervisor or the Course). In itself, learning how to initiate such contacts is an important area of skill development.

This section gives details of how to set about undertaking this consultation.

Section 36 - Health and Care Professions Council

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) regulates the use of the title 'Clinical Psychologist'. This means that the use of this title is legally restricted to individuals who are on the HPC register of practitioner psychologists.

This section outlines the role of HCPC in regulating and accrediting courses, and the process of registration.

Section 37 - BPS Accreditation Criteria

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

Although responsibility for statutory registration and regulation lies with the Health and Care Professions Council, the BPS (as our professional body) sets out training criteria that courses need to meet if trainees are to be eligible for chartering as a Clinical Psychologist.

This Section is an extract from the BPS accreditation criteria, and focuses on expected learning outcomes and the structure of training.

Section 40 - Terms and Conditions

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section sets out terms and conditions of employment for trainees who are funded and employed through the NHS. As such it includes information about arrangements for:

• annual leave
• sick leave
• maternity leave
• leave for special circumstances
• attendance requirements at college and placement

Although this section applies only to trainees who are employed through the NHS, it is assumed that all trainees will follow the guidance on attendance requirements outlined below

Section 38 - Trainee Record Keeping

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

This section identifies the records that trainees need to maintain throughout the course. As such it covers:

• placement records- what paperwork is required, who submits it, and when
• maintaining records with the course and with UCL Registry
• information held about trainees, either in the form of their file, or on databases

Section 39 - Travel

(To download please click the PDF icon above)

Trainees who are funded and employed through the NHS are able to claim travel expenses; this section describes the procedures for making these claims.