Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Welcome to the UK’s oldest Clinical Psychology training programme. The three year Doctorate in Clinical Psychology is based within the Department of Psychology. Trainees spend three days a week on supervised clinical practice placements within King’s Health Partners world-famous NHS Trusts – South London and Maudsley, King’s College Hospital and Guys and St. Thomas’. Two days a week are for teaching, study and research.

• Practice placements within world famous teaching hospitals.
• Opportunities for study and research with world leaders.
• Eligibility to apply to the Health Professions Council Register of Applied Psychologists.
• College-wide information and support system including the renowned library at the Institute of Psychiatry and access to a widely varied academic programme.
• Located in the heart of London.

Student destinations Programme leader/s Accreditation Awarding Institution Credit value (UK/ECTS equivalent) Duration Location Year of entry 2013
Offered by Closing date Intake Fees Contact information Email Website

To benefit patients, carers and wider society through training clinical psychologists who are skilled in evidence-based psychological assessment and intervention, who produce applied research of the highest quality and impact, and who will become leaders within the NHS.

Programme Philosophy & Aims
The programme values the scientist-practitioner model for clinical psychology, first developed here at the Institute of Psychiatry. In all aspects of the programme there is an emphasis on integration of theory, research and practice. This integration is embodied in the way the programme team and clinical academics within the Department of Psychology all provide clinical sessions within the NHS; it is embodied in the many practice placement supervisors who teach on the programme and undertake research; and it is embodied in the way the curriculum is developed and kept up-to-date through partnership with local NHS colleagues with relevant clinical expertise.

The programme takes cognitive-behavioural therapy as its main modality, reflecting both the world-leading expertise within the department and wider Institute, and its strong evidence-base. The programme also has particular strengths in family therapy and mindfulness-based interventions, and in neuropsychology.

Trainees' contributions to their own training and to developing the programme are valued highly and they are expected to take an active, mature and professional approach to becoming a clinical psychologist.

The programme aims in partnership with stakeholders to train clinical psychologists who:

• Embody the scientist-practitioner ideal.
• Are skilled in evidence-based psychological assessment, formulation and therapy.
• Will become leaders within the NHS.
• Conduct high quality applied research to advance psychological knowledge and therapy.
• Are self-reflective and self-aware.
• Use their overarching meta-competencies in a wide range of settings to respond creatively and flexibly to new challenges and to create positive change.
• Take responsibility for meeting all standards of professional proficiency and ethical conduct set out by the Health Professions Council and British Psychological Society.

Most trainees are both full-time paid employees of the National Health Service, and registered students on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at King's College. Trainees are key stakeholders in the programme, helping shape its development and evolution. Trainees are represented on key programme training committees, have meetings with senior programme staff, and chair an annual general meeting for all trainees and programme staff. Trainees are encouraged to use feedback systems to share their views on all aspects of the programme. As well as enhancing the quality of the programme, these experiences also provide opportunities to develop skills in leadership and systemic working.

There are a number of systems in place to support trainees. Before joining the programme each new trainee is contacted by their 'buddy' who is one of the current first year trainees. Hopefully, this initial contact helps to familiarise the trainee with aspects of the programme before s/he actually arrives. All trainees are allocated a personal support tutor - a qualified clinical psychologist available for confidential advice and support. The Student Services Department of King's College London offers counselling, welfare and medical services. Besides these supports. There is also a reciprocal arrangement with a neighbouring clinical psychology programme, whereby any trainee may access confidential support. Reflective practice is a key part of professional development as a clinical psychologist, and a further source of support. It provides an opportunity for trainees to reflect on training and the impact of clinical work. Reflective practice groups run throughout the programme.

Core programme content

Structure
The programme is intensive, running for 36 months full-time. The programme has academic and clinical components, and trainees are required to pass in both areas. Most of the academic teaching, research supervision and clinical supervision are carried out either by members of the Department of Psychology or clinical psychologists working within King's Health Partners (South London and Maudsley, King's College Hospital, Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospitals). Specialist contributions to academic teaching are also made by experts from several other departments within the Institute of Psychiatry and by invited outside speakers. For research interests of departmental and Institute staff see www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/apps/supervisors/?l=A&mode=staff.

Attendance at all course components is mandatory, including during the induction period. The length of the Programme cannot be reduced through the accreditation of prior learning or experience. All trainees are required to complete the full programme of training in order to qualify.

While on the Programme, all trainees take annual holiday entitlement within set time periods to fit in with teaching and placements.


Academic Curriculum
The content of the academic  curriculum covers the broad topics of:

• Adult mental health (including anxiety, depression & psychosis);
• Psychology and psychiatry of childhood and adolescence;
• Neuropsychological theory and practice;
• Clinical psychology as applied to intellectual disability;
• Mental health of older adults;
• Clinical health psychology;
• Forensic psychology;
• Psychological therapy (with strong emphasis on CBT and also family therapy and mindfulness-based therapies);
• Research methods;
• Professional, legal and ethical issues;
• Race, equality and diversity.

The curriculum is delivered through lectures, seminars, workshops, reflective practice meetings and small group tutorials. Curriculum delivery reflects the sequence of practice placements, to enhance theory-practice links, and builds core competencies in theory, practice and research developmentally across the three years.

Practice Placements
There are six 6-month placements, the four "core" areas of Adult mental health, Child and adolescent mental health, Mental health of older adults, and Intellectual disability, and two elective or specialist placements of the trainee's choosing. The placements are sequenced so that the first year of training is in child and adult mental health, the second year incorporates placements in older adults and intellectual disability, and the electives are in the third year.

Trainees spend three days per week on placement. The programme offers a core competency model within the traditional 6 x 6 months placement experience. This means that a developmental, competency based approach is taken to the assessment of clinical skills throughout an individual's training.

Research
By May of the final year trainees submit a research thesis comprising: a major research project (about 25-30,000 words), one  smaller (9,000 words) service-evaluation project (usually conducted in the first or second year) and four case studies (4,000 words each).

The department and Institute offer research expertise and supervision in a wide range of topics. The major research project has a main and second supervisor; the Service-Evaluation Project and all case studies will have a clinical supervisor.

Academic curriculum and theory-practice links are assessed via qualifying examinations in summer of the first and second years; all practice placements are assessed by placement supervisors; research (main research project, service-evaluation project & four case studies) is assessed through thesis and viva by external examiners in summer of the third year.


General entry advice

All applications for those eligible for NHS-funded places should be made via the Clearing House for Postgraduate Courses in Clinical Psychology. Interviews will be in April 2013.

All applications for those with overseas fee status should be made via the King's College London applications portal between 3 December 2012 and 28 February 2013.

Please see the Entry Requirements section of this prospectus for further information. No research proposal is required for applications.

Students who take up places via the Clearing House are funded by and employed within the NHS. Students with Overseas fee status are not employed by the NHS and the current annual fee is £26,500.