MSc Clinical and Health Psychology / Course details

This unit addresses key professional and career development issues for working in clinical and health psychology. Topics covered include reflective practice and personal development, ethical and statutory obligations, career routes in health and clinical psychology practice and research, development of job applications and interview practice, and multidisciplinary working.

This unit aims to:

• Consider the importance of reflection in academic activities and professional practice
• Discuss issues related to professional working in research and practice settings, including ethical and statutory obligations.
• Provide an understanding of potential career routes and provide opportunities for students to interact with people working or training in clinical, health, and research-related roles.
• Enable students to develop skills in writing job/training applications and in interview technique.
• Understand goals of other disciplines, and the value of working in collaboration with other disciplines for example health economics.

By the end of the course unit, students will be able to;

• Understand the importance of reflection on studying, practice, and personal development
• Critically evaluate the material presented across sessions, and demonstrate this evaluation in the reflective log.
• Critically reflect on one’s own learning and practice
• Understand a range of potential career routes, and the pathways required for those career options
• Understand the legal and ethical frameworks relevant to research and practice in clinical and health psychology (in particular, BPS and HCPC).
• Understand the roles undertaken by people in other disciplines and the value of multidisciplinary working.
• Understand key aspects of the focus of other disciplines, e.g. health economics
• Integrate other disciplines’ perspectives with existing view on research and practice.
• Develop skills in CV writing, job application writing and being interviewed.
• Be able to present oneself confidently and positively in writing and in person

Teaching will be delivered both online and on campus with synchronous (live) sessions and asynchronous teaching materials to enable students to prepare for live sessions. Blackboard will be used to provide learning materials, podcasts, links to relevant materials and reading lists.

Blackboard will also host a discussion board for students to raise any questions they might have and to gain feedback from staff and other students.

1. Reflective log (maximum 2000 words; worth 60%). Students will be expected to keep a log throughout the semester wherein they critically reflect on their learning across taught courses and on their own development. Students will receive formative feedback early in the first semester. A selection of entries (maximum word count 2000) will be submitted for a grade at the end of the first semester.
2. Job application personal statement (maximum 1500 words; worth 40%). Students will be presented with a selection of job opportunities (job descriptions and person specifications) that would be suitable for someone with an MSc in Clinical & Health Psychology or Health Psychology. Students will choose one of these jobs and write an application personal statement for the selected job. For students on the MSc Health Psychology programme who take a placement – they can submit the personal statement that they submit for this post.