RPPPFCOU - Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology

The Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology is a 3-year full-time or 4-year part-time programme designed to enable graduates to meet all of the criteria necessary to be eligible to apply for chartered psychologist status with the BPS and registration with the HPC as a counselling psychologist. The programme emphasises the development of academic and clinical skills that will enable students to make a valuable professional contribution to knowledge and practice in a variety of settings.

The main clinical focus of the training is on the development of advanced competency in the theory and practice of cognitive-behavioural therapy. This is underpinned by humanistic values, which emphasise the therapeutic relationship and uniqueness of the client, and a psychodynamic understanding of the interpersonal processes that underpin the therapeutic process. This approach enables students to develop a range of intellectual and practical skills and knowledge that draw on the strengths of these different models, and means that they emerge as sophisticated and marketable practitioners of counselling psychology. Students are also expected to develop an advanced level of knowledge and skill in a range of psychological research methods, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, and a capacity to undertake and write up a piece of research at doctoral level that makes an original contribution in a relevant area of professional practice. The humanistic philosophy underpinning the programme means that the course team seek to harness and develop the existing potential of each student throughout their time at the University; and in turn expect students to take a high degree of personal responsibility for their learning. The structure of the programme explicitly reflects the maturational tasks and processes involved in professional training and development. It builds up from a basic grounding in theory, skills, research, personal development and counselling psychology practice in Year 1, towards a more sophisticated appreciation of the philosophical, theoretical, ethical, personal, relational and contextual issues that influence and inform counselling psychology practice in Years 2 and 3. Throughout the programme there is an emphasis on experiential learning, skills practice and case discussion to promote students’ abilities to the translate theory into practice.

The doctoral programme is made up of 9 core modules and takes a minimum of 3 years to complete. Seven smaller modules are completed at Masters level in Year 1, and two larger modules are then completed at Doctoral level over Years 2 and 3 of the programme. To enhance the accessibility of the training, it can be taken in full-time (3 years) or part-time mode (4 years), where students complete the modules from Year 1 over 2 calendar years. The programme comprises a number of training pathways and options, as described below.

The principle aims of the course are to produce graduates who are:

1. Competent, informed, reflective, ethical and professionally sound practitioners of counselling psychology; who are able to work in a range of settings, and committed to their own personal and professional development.

2. Able to understand, develop and apply models of advanced psychological inquiry and research that enable the creation of new knowledge and which recognise the complex nature of human experience and relationships

3. Able to adopt a questioning and evaluative approach to the philosophy, practice, research and theory that constitutes counselling psychology; and aware of the wider social, cultural and political domains within which counselling psychology operates.

4. Possess a set of skills and competencies that are transferable to a variety of professional contexts and which enhance employability

5. Able to demonstrate the range of counselling psychology competencies needed to be eligible to apply for chartered status with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and registration with the Health Professions Council (HPC).

Knowledge and understanding

On successful completion of the programme students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the various philosophical, psychological and research knowledge bases that underpin the discipline of counselling psychology.

2. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the theory and practice of cognitive-behavioural therapy, and a sound working knowledge of psychodynamic approaches to counselling psychology.

3. Demonstrate awareness of the ethical, contextual, power and discourse issues inherent in therapeutic relationships and practice, and an ability to work effectively with these from a counselling psychology perspective.

4. Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of psychological research methods; and an ability to use at least one form of data collection and analysis to an advanced level, with a critical understanding of the method and application of the data set chosen.

5. Demonstrate an awareness of the relevance of self and personal development issues in clinical and academic contexts, and an understanding of how to work effectively with these issues in practice.

Cognitive intellectual skills

On completing the programme, students will be able to demonstrate higher order cognitive and intellectual skills, as reflected in their ability to:

1. Critically evaluate a range of philosophical, theoretical, practice and research perspectives; and integrate these effectively in their practice.

2. Appraise the status of knowledge in a topic area of relevance to counselling psychology; and develop, present and defend original research that extends the forefront of the discipline and makes a contribution to knowledge.

3. Reflect on the subjective processes inherent in therapeutic and professional relationships, working with difference and diversity, the production of psychological research and knowledge, and their own learning and development.

Practical skills.

By the end of the programme, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a range of practical and professional skills that support the provision of counselling psychology services across a variety of organisational contexts, client groups, modalities and time frames.

2. Practice safely and competently within a cognitive behavioural model of therapy, while using an awareness of other theoretical perspectives, including psychodynamic, to enhance practice, reflection and evaluation

3. Use and critically evaluate a range of types of research relevant to counselling psychology in a way that informs and develops professional practice

Transferable skills, including those of employability and professional practice.
By the end of the programme, students are expected to have developed a set of transferable skills that enhance employability by enabling them to:

1. Work effectively and productively as a member of a service team, as well as autonomously, in a variety of contexts; including the capacity to work within consultative, supervisory or managerial roles.

2. Communicate and present information, ideas and conclusions, in written and oral forms, to a high professional standard.

3. Evaluate and offer observations about psychological theory, research and practice that contribute to professional knowledge and activity, and enable informed judgements on complex issues

4. Reflect on subjective, interpersonal, therapeutic, organisational and social processes in a sophisticated manner that support effective professional thinking and decision making

5. Conduct original research that is able to make a valued contribution to psychological theory, practice, service evaluation and development in a variety of professional contexts

6. Demonstrate high standards of professionalism, integrity and self-management; and a commitment to ongoing personal development in the service of best practice.

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the various philosophical, psychological and research knowledge bases that underpin the discipline of counselling psychology:

Year 1
• Psychological Knowledge and Models of Therapy
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development
• Advanced Research Design and Analysis for Psychology
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

2. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the theory and practice of cognitive-behavioural therapy, and a sound working knowledge of psychodynamic approaches to counselling psychology:

Year 1
• Psychological Knowledge and Models of Therapy
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice

3. Demonstrate awareness of the ethical, contextual, power and discourse issues inherent in therapeutic relationships and practice, and an ability to work effectively with these from a counselling psychology perspective:

Year 1
• Working with Difference and Diversity
• Professional and Ethical Issues
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice

4. Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of psychological research methods; and an ability to use at least one form of data collection and analysis to an advanced level, with a critical understanding of the method and application of the data set chosen:

Year 1
• Advanced Research Design and Analysis for Psychology
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Research

5. Demonstrate an awareness of the relevance of self and personal development issues in clinical and academic contexts, and an understanding of how to work effectively with these issues in practice:

Year 1
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development
• Advanced Research Design and Analysis for Psychology
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

Cognitive intellectual skills

1. Critically evaluate a range of philosophical, theoretical, practice and research perspectives; and integrate these effectively in their practice:

Year 1
• Psychological Knowledge and Models of Therapy
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development
• Advanced Research Design and Analysis for Psychology
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

2. Appraise the status of knowledge in an area of relevance to counselling psychology; and develop, present and defend original research that extends the forefront of the discipline and makes a contribution to knowledge:

Year 1
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

3. Reflect on the subjective processes inherent in therapeutic and professional relationships, working with difference and diversity, the production of psychological research and knowledge, and their own learning and development:

Year 1
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Working with Difference and Diversity
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development
• Advanced Research Design and Analysis for Psychology
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

Practical Skills

1. Demonstrate a range of practical and professional skills that support the provision of counselling psychology services across a variety of organisational contexts, client groups, modalities and time frames:

Year 1
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Working with Difference and Diversity
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice

2. Practice safely and competently within a cognitive behavioural model of therapy, while using an awareness of other theoretical perspectives, including psychodynamic, to enhance practice, reflection and evaluation:

Year 1
• Psychological Knowledge and Models of Therapy
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice

3. Use and critically evaluate a range of types of research relevant to counselling psychology in a way that informs and develops professional practice:

Year 1
• Advanced Research Design and Analysis for Psychology
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

Transferable skills, including those of employability and professional practice.

1. Work effectively and productively as a member of a service team, as well as autonomously, in a variety of contexts; including the capacity to work within consultative, supervisory or managerial roles:

Year 1
• Professional and Ethical Issues
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice

2. Communicate and present information, ideas and conclusions, in written and oral forms, to a high professional standard:

Year 1
• Psychological Knowledge and Models of Therapy
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Professional and Ethical Issues
• Working with Difference and Diversity
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development
• Advanced Research Design and Analysis for Psychology
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

3. Evaluate and offer observations about psychological theory, research and practice that contribute to professional knowledge and activity, and enable informed judgements on complex issues:

Year 1
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Professional and Ethical Issues
• Working with Difference and Diversity
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

4. Reflect on subjective, interpersonal, therapeutic, organisational and social processes in a sophisticated manner that support effective professional thinking and decision making:

Year 1
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Professional and Ethical Issues
• Working with Difference and Diversity
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

5. Conduct original research that is able to make a valued contribution to psychological theory, practice, service evaluation and development in a variety of professional contexts:

Year 1
• Research Project and Critical Skills

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice
• Advanced Psychological Research

6. Demonstrate high standards of professionalism, integrity and self-management; and a commitment to ongoing personal development in the service of best practice:

Year 1
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Professional and Ethical Issues
• Working with Difference and Diversity
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development

Years 2 and 3
• Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice

QAA descriptors, Levels 7 and 8

The assessment strategy used on the course combines a variety of methods that reflect the range of professional competencies and experience that students develop on the programme. This includes:
• case studies and process reports to assess students’ ability to effectively plan, implement, reflect on, evaluate and make recommendations regarding psychological interventions, within a recognised model of therapy and service context;
• essays and examinations to assess areas of professional knowledge and understanding;
• practice placement competency evaluations to rate the level of proficiency attained by students in their placement work;
• mid-year reviews and end-of-year appraisals to monitor students’ performance across the programme and their accrual of the necessary experience;
• research assignments to assess knowledge and understanding of a range psychological research methods;
• a reflexive critical literature and proposal to assess students’ ability to appraise the state of knowledge in a professionally relevant topic area and design a coherent research study for the generation of new knowledge;
• a research thesis to assess the student’s ability to conduct and write up a piece of doctoral level research that extends the forefront of the discipline and makes an original contribution; and
• attendance monitoring to ensure that students demonstrate adequate engagement with the taught curriculum.

Counselling psychology practice placements are central to the training programme, providing the key context in which students learning to translate theory into practice and develop proficiency in the range of competencies needed for independent practice. Specifically, over the three years of the (full time) programme, students must:

• Complete a minimum of 450 hours of supervised counselling psychology practice in at least two different placements, to be approved and supported by the Placement Coordinator, with at least 100 of the 450 hours completed in a non-specialist placement
• Gain a range of practice placement experience including work in more than modality of therapy, i.e. individual, couple, family or group work
• Undertake placements that will normally last for at least 6 months
• Complete a minimum of 60 hours of personal psychological therapy during the period of enrolment, of which at least 20 must be accrued by the end of year 1
• Receive a minimum of 64 hours of clinical supervision, of which at least 40 must be provided by a counselling psychologist.

i) Practice placement requirements
Students on the doctoral programme are required to complete 450 hours of supervised client-contact hours by the time they complete the course in order to meet BPS requirements. Practice placement work may only be undertaken whilst a student is enrolled on the course.

To meet Year 1 course requirements students must complete a minimum of 80 (and maximum of 100) hours of supervised client hours, at a ratio of one hour of supervision to every five hours of client contact time. Accordingly, Year 1 students will require a minimum of 16 hours of supervision. Client and supervision hours during Year 1 can be obtained at one placement or across multiple placements. If adequate supervision is not provided by the placement provider, the student will need to obtain additional external supervision. Year 1 students on the part-time pathway can take two years to accumulate the required 80 client and 16 supervision hours. By the end of Year 2, students on the doctoral programme must have accrued a minimum of 250 client hours (maximum of 275) and, by the end of Year 3, the total of 450 must be secured. Once 100 client-contact hours have been accrued, the required supervision ratio for students on the doctoral programme becomes one hour of supervision to every eight hours of client contact time. This equates to a minimum of 64 hours of supervision over the duration of the programme.

It is expected that students will undertake the majority of their client-contact hours engaged in individual work with adults (persons aged 17 years or more). However, students are able to count the following alternative forms and amounts of client-contact towards the course requirements:

a) A maximum of 50 hours of appropriately supervised child and/or adolescent work, comprising a maximum of 20 hours in Year 1 and 30 hours over Years 2 and 3.
b) A maximum of 50 hours of appropriately supervised couples, family or group work, comprising a maximum of 20 hours in Year 1 and 30 hours over Years 2 and 3.

It is further required that students on the doctoral programme:

• Successfully complete a minimum of two different practice placements during the programme, including 100 hours within a non-specialist setting.
• Undertake placements that will normally last for at least 6 months
• Gain placement experience during the programme of providing psychological intervention in more than one modality, i.e. individual, couple, family or group work
• Have received at least 40 of the total 64 hours of required clinical supervision from an HPC registered counselling psychologist or chartered psychologists with full membership of the BPS Division of Counselling Psychology

Additional requirements regarding the accumulation of client and supervision hours for all students:

• In order to count client-contact hours towards course requirements, students must be in the role of therapist/facilitator, not observer
• Where only group supervision is provided within a placement, students may need to obtain additional individual supervision to ensure the required supervision – client hours ratio is met
• When a student receives supervision in a group, each supervisee will be deemed to have received a pro rata portion of the supervision time that was provided within the session. For example, in a two hour supervision session involving a group of 4 supervisees, each individual supervisee would be able to count having had 30 minutes of supervision.
• No time can be counted towards course requirements where clients do not attend (DNA) sessions.
• Client and supervision hours must be face to face only.

Supervisor approval requirements
All practice placement supervisors need to be formally approved by the programme’s placement co-ordinator via completion of a Supervisor Agreement form before the placement arrangements can be approved and the trainee can begin to count client hours accrued in the setting. The criteria for approving practice placement supervisors are as follows.

• It is a BPS requirement that trainees on accredited counselling psychology programmes to receive the majority of their practice supervision during the three year programme with a counselling psychologist (for London Met trainees this is a minimum of 30 hours over the 3 years), other kinds of therapeutic practitioners can be approved as practice placement supervisors, where they are registered with a professional or statutory body which has a code of ethics, and accreditation and disciplinary/complaints procedures. Examples of forms of therapist accreditation that are normally considered acceptable include:
o HPC registered Counselling Psychologist or Clinical Psychologist and/or full members of the BPS Division of Counselling and/or Clinical Psychology
o BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) fully accredited counsellor or psychotherapist
o BABCP (British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists) fully accredited psychotherapist
o UKCP (United Kingdom of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) registered psychotherapist
• Supervisors should be appropriately experienced and have a minimum of two years post-qualification clinical experience, ideally with prior training and/or experience in providing supervision.
• Supervisors must be engaged in their own supervision.
• Supervisors must have a clear understanding of the terms and conditions of the supervision agreement
If a supervisor is participating in the programme for the first time, a brief CV will need to be attached to the supervision agreement form along with a photocopy of their current practising certificate. It is the trainee’s responsibility to ensure these documents are supplied. Supervisor approval cannot be given without this documentation.

Any proposed change of supervisor during a placement is subject to the Placement Coordinator’s approval and this possibility should be discussed with the Placement Coordinator at the earliest opportunity. In this instance, a new supervision agreement will need to be completed.

Placement approval requirements
Approval of placements is formalised via completion of a Placement Agreement form. Students cannot start counting clinical hours completed in a placement setting until the Placement Co-ordinator has received and signed off the following documents:

• A Placement Agreement Form
• A Supervision Agreement Form
Although it is the trainee’s responsibility to ensure that these forms are completed and approved prior to commencing client work, placement providers should oversee the completion of these forms, particularly the Placement Agreement form, which includes sections that refer to placement policies and procedures, as well as health and safety. The basic procedure for gaining approval for the placement and supervisor is as follows:

1. The Placement Line Manager signs the Placement Agreement Form and the clinical supervisor the Supervision Agreement Form
2. The trainee ensures that all sections of the Placement Agreement Form and Supervision Agreement Form are completed, and then returns them to the Placement Coordinator at London Metropolitan University for approval. Forms not fully completed will be returned to trainees without approval.
3. Trainees will be notified of approval status and given completed documentation with signed approval. From this point they can begin counting clinical hours in the placement.

Psychological models of therapy requirements
Trainees are able to gain experience of practicing within a range of psychological models of therapy in their placements and this is regarded as beneficial to their clinical development, as well as to the range of clients they may work with. However, given the programme’s emphasis on the development of competence in cognitive behavioural therapy, and the increased focus on this in the second and third year of the programme, trainees on the doctoral programme will at some point need to gain placement of working and receiving supervision within this model. The two integrated case studies and process reports on the Advanced Psychological Theory and Practice module require students to present cases in which they can demonstrate competence in the theory and practice of cognitive behavioural therapy, as well as a working knowledge of a psychodynamic model.

Coursework requirements
Coursework will fail if the appropriate consent forms are not submitted with the assessment or the submission is not within the specified word limits. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all audio tapes and CDs submitted are clearly audible, CDs must be playable on university computers. If they are not, the coursework will not be marked and automatically fail. When submitting hard copies of coursework students must also send electronic copies to the course administrator on or before the deadline date. Students must obtain consent from clients to use material for coursework purposes.

Insurance and CRB requirements
All students must ensure they have appropriate professional indemnity insurance cover in place before they undertake a practice placement, and have an up to date CRB check. Where a student is completing a practice placement within an organisation in which they are formally employed, individual professional indemnity insurance is still required, as some of their practice may take place outside of normal working hours. No client or supervision hours can

All of the course modules at Level 7 and 8 are core-compulsory and required for the award of Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. Students who do not complete the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology may be eligible for the following awards:

MSc in Psychological Therapy
Students who pass all seven modules at Level 7 attaining 180 credits, but who do not go onto complete the doctoral programme, will be eligible for the award of MSc in Psychological Therapy.

Postgraduate Diploma in Psychological Therapy
Students who pass six core modules at Level 7 and accrue 120 credits, but who do not successfully complete either the Research Project and Critical Skills or Advanced Research Design and Analysis for Psychology modules, will be eligible for a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychological Therapy

Postgraduate Certificate in Psychological Therapy
Students who successfully complete the following three core modules at Level 7 accruing 60 credits will be eligible for a Postgraduate Certificate in Psychological Therapy:

• Psychological Knowledge and Models of Therapy
• Therapeutic and Reflective Skills
• Counselling Psychology Practice and Development

Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Psychology Studies
Students who accrue 60 credits at Level 7 involving a combination of modules that differs from the above will be eligible for a Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Psychology Studies.