module specification

This practice-based module focuses on developing advanced clinical skills in psychodynamic formulation and, later in the year, integrative practice. Working primarily with your own and peers’ case study material, you will learn to think psychodynamically about clients’ lived experience, presentation and relational patterns, and to translate this into coherent formulations that inform therapeutic focus and intervention. You will be able to reflect on therapeutic processes and relational patterns which impact the client’s experience and progress. Teaching takes place in small, student-led case discussion groups, facilitated by a staff member who holds and structures the reflective space.

The module places strong emphasis on the therapeutic relationship and the use of self. You will deepen your understanding of inter- and intrapsychic processes, including transference and countertransference, and consider how these processes are shaped by social, cultural and organisational contexts. Attention is given to issues of power, difference and marginalisation, and to how these manifest in clinical encounters.

As the module progresses, you will be supported to move from a predominantly psychodynamic frame to a more integrative stance, drawing on other therapeutic models covered in Year 1,  in a theoretically coherent and clinically sensitive way. 

Risk, safeguarding, ethical practice and professional responsibility are addressed through students' live case material w. Case presentations form a central learning vehicle, enabling you to link theory, personal reflection and clinical practice in real time. By the end of the module you will have strengthened your capacity to formulate complex cases, work reflexively with relational processes, think critically about context and power, and manage clinical risk within an ethical, supervisory and organisational framework.

PY7237

Available for Study Abroad? /NO

You will explore topics drawn from psychodynamic formulations, including their key components, structure, and purpose; working with clients’ lived experience through narrative, affect, meaning, and context in formulation; transference, countertransference, and enactment in individual and group settings; and the therapeutic relationship and use of self, including boundaries, immediacy, and relational depth. You will also explore ethical practice in counselling and psychotherapy by applying professional codes to complex clinical situations, presenting cases, negotiating therapeutic focus, and working with challenge and difference. In addition, you will explore small-group case presentation skills, including structure, focus, feedback, and reflective dialogue, and develop an ongoing reflective practice through journals, process notes, and integrating feedback into clinical work.

This module will continue to support you in meeting the PSRB Fitness to Practise requirements through the teaching and development of therapeutic skills, professional behaviours, and reflective practice required for safe and effective professional practice.

The learning objectives will be achieved through a student led case presentation in small practice based groups . You will be encouraged to manage and take responsibility for your own learning and professional development and to use feedback from multiple sources to enhance your practice. Teaching will be largely delivered in room with some synchronous online session inputs.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

1.Critically apply inter and intrapsychic concepts, including transference, countertransference, and relational dynamics, to develop sophisticated clinical formulations and inform ethically attuned, reflective, and responsive therapeutic interventions.

2. Critically integrate psychodynamic, person-centred, CBT, and relational perspectives, synthesising theory, research, and practice experience to develop a coherent, contextually responsive, and ethically informed relational therapeutic framework.

3. Demonstrate advanced reflexivity and self-awareness in the use of self, critically reflecting on positionality, power, privilege, difference, and cultural context, and evaluating how these factors shape therapeutic relationships, decision-making, and case conceptualisation.

4. Critically identify, assess, and respond to risk, safeguarding, and ethical dilemmas, exercising professional judgement, accountability, and the informed use of supervision, organisational policies, and professional/legal frameworks.

5. Engage constructively with feedback from peers, tutors, and supervisors, demonstrating openness, self-directed learning, and professional responsibility to support skill development, self-care, and readiness for safe and ethical practice.

6. Engage collaboratively and critically in small-group, case-based learning, offering and receiving feedback in a reflective, ethical, and professionally responsible manner that enhances clinical insight, supports peer learning, and contributes to the development of safe and effective therapeutic practice.