MSc Health Psychology

This additional unit is designed to show students what it is like to be a Health Psychology Trainee by placing them in a work environment where Health Psychologists may work. Students will apply their course content to activities in a variety of different settings, including schools, hospitals, and research placements. For example, students may help to design outreach programmes, design and present behaviour change workshops or training for different groups of clients and engage in research activities such as data collection, translating research findings into usable content for non-academics. This unit is designed to not only give students some insight as to what it is like to be a Health Psychologist, but also to help them learn valuable skills for the workplace such as interpersonal interaction and team work.

The unit aims to:

• Enhance the taught component of the MSc Health Psychology by introducing experience of working with a Health Psychologist, or similar professional, in the community or clinical setting
• Provide students with transformational learning opportunities to enhance their learning experience
• Help students gain valuable careers experience to help them make future decisions about potential careers in Health Psychology
• Enhance students’ employability through skill acquisition and experience in the workplace and feedback from supervisors.

By the end of the placement students will be able to:

• Consider the key roles, skills and competencies of a health psychologist and be able to reflect on their own professional development.
• Critically evaluate key elements of health psychology within the workplace, including leadership, managing change, inter and intra-professional relations, communication, and decision-making.
• Apply a comprehensive knowledge of ethics in health context, including legal issues, statutory obligations, reflection and continuing professional development.
• Demonstrate interpersonal skills needed for work within a team environment or health psychology setting
• Use the supervisor feedback to continue their personal and professional development.

Students may also be able to do several of the following depending on their placement:

• Design and implement behaviour change workshops or training
• Engage in outreach about clinical and health services available
• Translate health related research findings for non-academic audiences
• Publicly present important health related information
• Conduct focus groups or interviews to collect research data.

Before placement: The Placement unit will begin with an introduction to the placements and a presentation of the placement options in semester one. A training session on the topic of ‘professional practice in applied settings’ will be delivered.

During placement: There will be a placement meeting at the end of Semester one to check in on students’ progress. The Placement Coordinator will be available via email to answer questions and will keep in touch with placement providers.

End of placement: There will be a meeting for all students with the placement unit lead at the end of the year to discuss their placement experience. Students will complete an end of placement report (this is optional and for development purposes only) and placement supervisors will provide feedback.

There will be a Placement Report completed by the student and a Placement Evaluation completed by the supervisor after semester 1 (where relevant) and at the end of the placement.  These are optional and for informational purposes only and will not count towards the marks for the student or affect their course performance in any way.

There will be a Placement Report completed by the student and a Placement Evaluation completed by the supervisor after semester 1 (where relevant) and at the end of the placement.  These are optional and for informational purposes only and will not count towards the marks for the student or affect their course performance in any way.

These are key readings for the course. Additional references will be provided with individual sessions.

 Forshaw, M. and Sheffield, D. eds., 2012. Health psychology in action. John Wiley & Sons. 

Marks, D., Murray, M., Evans, B., & Estacio, E. V. (2015). Health psychology: Theory, research and practice (Fourth ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE. 

BPS (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct 

HCPC (2016) Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics