The DClinPsy Psychology at Lincoln is referred to as the Trent Programme, a multi-agency collaboration between Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation NHS Trust, Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation NHS Trust, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, and the Universities of Lincoln and Nottingham.
The programme is designed to train students from diverse backgrounds to become resourceful clinicians capable of drawing on a broad range of psychological models and theories, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), to inform their practice as Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered and British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered clinical psychologists. Upon successful completion, the programme leads to the award of a DClinPsy doctoral degree.
The programme aims to develop the strengths of both scientist-practitioner and reflective-practitioner stances; skills in a variety of assessment, formulation, and intervention techniques; confidence in using research methods to answer clinical questions; organisational and service evaluation skills; and awareness of priority groups within the NHS. Students can develop the confidence required to perform as highly effective individual clinicians, and in the leadership and consultancy roles expected of the clinical psychologists of the future.
Accredited by the British Psychological Society
Opportunities to contextualise learning through a variety of placements
Supervision and support from expert academic staff
Present at talks and seminars to showcase your work
Get and provide peer support through mentor schemes
The overall purpose and philosophy of the programme is designed to meet the changing clinical, organisational, and training needs of the NHS.
The course begins with a focus on working with individuals, progresses to working with groups and families, before finally focusing on working at a societal level and on systems and in organisations.
In accordance with the current Health and Care Professions Council Standards for Education and Training, and with current British Psychological Society accreditation criteria, teaching is based on HCPC Standards of Proficiency and BPS core competences. The academic programme has been designed to mirror the planned acquisition of competences on placements.
Year One
During the first year, the emphasis is on acquiring basic clinical skills and practising them in one-to-one settings.
During the second term, the Individual Client Interventions module is taught at the University of Nottingham on a day release basis, alongside the second research module in which trainees produce a systematic literature review. Throughout most of the programme trainees have one day per week for independent study, and during certain parts of the programme students also have a day per week for research.
Year Two
In the second year, students can consolidate their skills and begin to develop the competences required to work with people with disabilities, children and adolescents, and older adults. During the second year, trainees also work towards completion of a research portfolio for submission early in the third year.
Year Three
The final year of the programme focuses on developing the skills needed to work with small groups and families, before shifting towards working with systems and at an organisational level.
Students also undertake two more placements and may have the opportunity to choose one of these placements in a specialised area. The main purpose of theses placements is to ensure that any client groups, areas of work, standards of proficiency, and competences not addressed by the previous placements, but required by the HCPC and the BPS, have been achieved.
On Placement:
While on a placement, students receive one and a half hours per week of formal supervision and one and a half hours of informal contact with a supervisor. There is also a minimum of three meetings per placement with a clinical tutor. More meetings are available depending on individual student needs.
Academic:
There is a thirteen-week intense block of teaching at start of the course, followed by teaching one day per week for most of the first six months of the academic year. There is also a minimum of two meetings per term with a personal tutor (one individual and one group).
Research:
Students are able to meet with their research tutor a minimum of ten times per year. More meetings are available depending on individual student needs.
Independent Study:
Students are generally expected to spend one day per week in independent study. Larger blocks of independent study and 'study days' are expected around the thesis and other submissions. The amount of independent study required will vary depending on the individual needs of each student.
This programme is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), and leads to a professional qualification in Clinical Psychology (Doctor of Clinical Psychology - DClinPsy).
This module provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities to conduct and report on a doctoral level research project which makes an original contribution to knowledge in the field of clinical psychology.
Students are expected to learn to scrutinise data appropriate to their enquiry, analyse the data using suitable quantitative and/or qualitative methods, discuss and present their findings in a scholarly style, reflect on their research experience in a structured format, and condense their research into an academic paper intended for submission to a named peer-reviewed journal. Trainees also develop broader dissemination skills and are required to create a conference style poster.
This module is designed to introduce students to the theoretical foundations and key skills that will be needed for the first clinical placement. There is a particular emphasis on establishing an understanding of, and competences in, assessing and formulating clinical casework from a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) perspective and introducing students to alternative Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) models.
This module is designed to consolidate the transferable skill of forging close theory-practice links and adding the core competence of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) intervention to those of assessment, formulation and communication. The module is closely linked to CPS and TWI with the emphasis shifting from assessment and formulation to applying their results to individual client interventions as the placement progresses and the trainee's skills develop.
This module introduces a developmental perspective that tracks an individual across the lifespan, taking account of the diversity of different developmental trajectories, and looks to consolidate knowledge and skills acquired in previous modules by framing these within the evolving challenges faced by individuals as they progress from birth to old age. The module is designed to complement the adult focus of CPS and TWI by emphasising common clinical problem presentations of infants, children, adolescents and older adults.
The focus of this module is the development of skills and applying clinical psychology expertise across the human life span and spectrum of diversity, thereby complementing the taught LPD module.
During second year placements trainees normally work in two different service settings and have the chance to extend the knowledge and competences acquired in the Foundation Placement module (IPA/B) through work with services dedicated to different age groups, clients with divergent developmental pathways and those with disabilities. In addition, students can develop competences in relation to people who present with more complex clinical problems and/or circumstances where greater consideration has to be given to intervening with couples, families, groups and indirectly through others.
This module aims to provide students with opportunities to work in the NHS and in other complex organisations, such as schools, social services, residential care and institutions to develop proficient knowledge of specialised interventions for targeted client groups.
This module looks to complement the taught Integration and SIM module in the second year with an emphasis on acquiring skill in an evidence-based approach other than generic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The aim is for students to select a specialist area in which to further their skills, knowledge, and experience.
Students on this placement have the chance to develop expertise either in a specialised approach and/or a new area, or with a specialised client group or service setting that they intend to work with once qualified. In addition, this module aims to ensure that students have acquired all the skills and competences needed to complete the requirements for registration with the HPC and eligibility to be a Chartered Clinical Psychologist.
This module looks to complement the taught Integration and SIM module in the second year with an emphasis on acquiring skill in an evidence-based approach other than generic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The aim is for students to select a specialist area in which to further their skills, knowledge, and experience.
Students on this placement have the chance to develop expertise either in a specialised approach and/or a new area, or with a specialised client group or service setting that they intend to work with once qualified. In addition, this module aims to ensure that students have acquired all the skills and competences needed to complete the requirements for registration with the HPC and eligibility to be a Chartered Clinical Psychologist.
This module looks to complement the taught Integration and SIM module in the second year with an emphasis on acquiring skill in an evidence-based approach other than generic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The aim is for students to select a specialist area in which to further their skills, knowledge, and experience.
Students on this placement have the chance to develop expertise either in a specialised approach and/or a new area, or with a specialised client group or service setting that they intend to work with once qualified. In addition, this module aims to ensure that students have acquired all the skills and competences needed to complete the requirements for registration with the HPC and eligibility to be a Chartered Clinical Psychologist.
In this module students undertake a small-scale research project (SSRP), such as a service evaluation, audit, single-case design report, or other small-scale research project related to clinical psychology research and practice. Trainees demonstrate their ability to effectively disseminate their findings by creating and presenting a research poster based on their SSRP. Trainees will gain the experience of disseminating research at a knowledge-exchange event, to an audience of invited professionals, peers, and members of the public. The SSRP poster is subsequently included as an appendix in the main research project portfolio (RAP ).
This module aims to lay the foundation for the research component of the programme by introducing students to: the most influential study designs used in clinical psychology, theoretical and practical aspects of systematically searching relevant literature to answer specific clinical and research questions, and conducting applied research in healthcare settings.
In the first part of the module, students develop a defensible plan for a doctoral-level research project, acquire the skill of writing formal research proposals for university and/or NHS ethics committees (taking due account of the principles of ethical research and the requirements of the HCPC, BPS and other bodies as appropriate) and develop their literature searching and synthesis skills.
In the second part of the module, students further their research project by undertaking a systematic review of the literature in their chosen area of interest. Successful completion is designed to result in a publication-ready paper which becomes a component of the final research project portfolio (RAP).
This module is the first step students take toward the completion of their research project portfolio and submission-ready journal papers.
Knowledge and understanding of: • Different models of integration. • Change mechanisms: why people change or do not respond to intervention • Trans-theoretical and common factors in assessment, formulation and intervention. • Specialist application of an alternative therapeutic model (non-mainstream CBT). • Generic, model-specific, problem-specific and meta competences in therapeutic practice.
Intellectual skills – the ability to: • Use a doctoral level understanding of the core principles of clinical psychology to integrate theory and practice. • Create new knowledge out of this integration which can be effectively communicated to other professionals. • The ability to reflect critically on the new knowledge generated so combining the skills of the reflective practitioner and the scientist-practitioner.
Professional and Practical skills – the ability to: • Apply a theoretical approach alternative to mainstream CBT in all aspects of clinical practice. • Shape practice combining CBT, alternative, integrative and trans-theoretical models to extend the range of services to people hitherto excluded. • Approach novel situations creatively so moving beyond specific guidelines and protocols. • Develop new assessment, formulation and intervention skills.
Transferable skills – the ability to: • Use doctoral level written skills to communicate complex alternative, integrative and trans-theoretical models effectively to colleagues and other professionals. • The ability to discern the active ingredients and common factors in models of change. • Critique, synthesise and generate alternative, integrative and trans-theoretical models which can be applied across settings and client groups.
This module changes focus from the individual to the individual within a couple, family or other small group system and aims to introduce students to the theoretical foundations of working with larger modules, such as families, couples and groups.
Students develop advanced skills in assessing, formulating and intervening using secondary and indirect resources i.e. family members, care staff and multi-disciplinary teams. The main problems for which such interventions may be carried out will be considered. Students consolidate and develop their ability to critically apply the integrative and trans-theoretical frameworks acquired in previous modules to work with clients in more complex contexts (such as multi agency work) in order to shape practice and provide services to people hitherto excluded because direct or individual interventions are less effective or make less efficient use of resources.
By building on skills developed over the course of the programme so far students further strengthen their skills as reflective scientist-practitioners grappling with the challenges offered by a range of learning methods / ways of working. Students are encouraged to draw on their own experiences of working in small groups and in clinical practice to enhance their critical and reflective thinking.
This module changes focus from the individual to the individual within a couple, family or other small group system and introduces students to the theoretical foundations of working with larger modules, such as families, couples and groups. Students consider the nature of problems for which multi-person interventions are most appropriate. The module progresses to the application of clinical psychology theory and practice to develop the skills of assessing, formulating and intervening indirectly through third parties such as other family members, care staff, and multi-disciplinary teams.
This module is designed to provides students with the theoretical foundations to understand the phenomenology of problems commonly referred to clinical psychology services. In this module students develop the key skills for planning and delivering Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) interventions with individual clients, based specifically on models of engagement and change of CBT and other psychological Evidence-Based Practice models.
† Some courses may offer optional modules. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by staff availability.
These one-year placements aim to help students feel part of a team, establish a secure base, identify with a service, develop effective working relationships, and work with longer-term cases. Foundation placements are usually in adult mental health services with an emphasis on cognitive behavioural therapy based formulations and interventions. Other evidence-based practice models are also introduced to encourage students to make critical comparisons and develop expertise in their preferred approaches.
The programme operates buddy and mentor schemes to support trainees. The buddy scheme aims to pair up first year students with those who have already progressed on the course to provide informal support and help build relationships between different year groups. The mentor scheme is designed to enable trainees to make contact with a qualified clinical psychologist in the Trent region for support throughout the programme.
As BPS-accredited training, this programme offers experience in cognitive behavioural therapy and other evidence-based practice models. During the first term of the second year, there are flexible options which allow students to study complementary and alternative evidence-based practice approaches. During the third year, there is the opportunity to consolidate special interest through the choice of the third year specialist placement.
We conduct a wide range of research across the School of Psychology, and encourage our postgraduate students to engage with the number of research groups which are running.
The programme makes use of practice-based learning and associated assessments during the first and third years. Students are assessed using a combination of assessed role-play interviews and presentations, as well as written exercises. The programme also uses case studies, essays, oral presentations, and vivas to assess progress throughout the programme.
Assessment Feedback
Students will receive assignment feedback via email consisting of a provisional grade, detailed formative feedback (containing the comments of at least two markers), and a summary statement.
First Submissions
For anything other than the thesis, we aim to return marks and feedback on the Friday morning six weeks post-submission. If delayed, feedback will be returned the following Friday.
Extensions and Resubmissions
Normal turnaround time cannot be guaranteed for students who receive extensions or resubmissions of work.
Postgraduate Research Application Support
Find out more about the application process for research degrees and what you'll need to complete on our How to Apply page, which also features contact details for dedicated support with your application.
First or upper second class honours degree (or international equivalent) in Psychology recognised by the British Psychological Society as conferring Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, and a minimum of one year of relevant experience. Candidates with a lower second class degree (or international equivalent) may be considered if they EITHER have a postgraduate degree at masters level or higher OR meet specific contextual admissions indicators. Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the contextual admissions questionnaire.
Applicants should have previous supervised practical experience relevant to clinical training which demonstrates that they have the personal and intellectual ability, including writing skills, to pursue a challenging and demanding postgraduate training course.
Postgraduate research experience can be an advantage, and the capacity to be critical and analytical, to work in a self-motivated independent way, and to set personal priorities is essential. Innovative and entrepreneurial potential is also highly desirable. Candidates should have a long-standing interest in clinical psychology and a strong understanding and commitment to the positive and unique contribution psychologists can make to the NHS.
Excellent interpersonal skills at a level appropriate for dealing with people in distress and the ability to collaborate with colleagues from other disciplines are expected. Candidates should note that with the Clearing House application the Relevant Experience Reference must be from your current employer.
The programme covers a large geographical area and teaching is provided at both the University of Lincoln and the University of Nottingham. A current driving licence or other means of being independently mobile is essential. Trainees should expect to travel for at least two and a half hours per day (between both universities and from base to placement).
Trainees whose first language is not English will be required to have a recognised English language qualification achieved no more than two years prior to admission:
- A British Council IELTS overall minimum score of 7.5 with no element below 7.0, achieved no more than two years prior to admission.
- Pearson Test of English Academic: 73 (minimum 67).
- Centre for English Language Education pre-sessional course final assessment of "Pass with High Distinction".
The selection procedure operates within the equal opportunities policies of the two universities and the NHS partners, and no applicant will be discriminated against on grounds of race, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation. Groups currently under-represented in clinical psychology are encouraged to apply, including individuals from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
The programme currently only accepts trainees who are funded through NHS training commissions, and successful candidates will be employed by one of the three partner trusts. All applicants are subject to the same selection process and criteria regardless of which NHS Trust employs them.
Entry to the programme is through the Clearing House application and subsequent selection procedure. All trainees must undertake the full programme. APL or APEL does not apply.
This programme currently only accepts trainees who are funded through NHS training commissions, and successful candidates will be employed by one of the three partner trusts. All applicants are subject to the same selection process and criteria regardless of which NHS Trust employs them.
For more information about this course, please contact the Programme Leader.
Mark Gresswell
mgresswell@lincoln.ac.uk
Through our research, we are striving to change society for the better. Working with regional, national, and international partners, our academics are engaged in groundbreaking studies that are challenging the status quo. We also understand the importance of providing the best possible environment for pursuing research that can support our communities and make a tangible difference to the world around us.
