University of Bath

Support

Training is a life-changing process, which can be life-enhancing, but which can also be challenging at times. At Bath, we are committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of our trainees and we help trainees to develop resilience and a healthy work-life balance. A range of support options will be available for trainees in recognition of individual differences and preferences.

Support systems include:

• Buddies (other Bath trainees)
• South West Trainee Mentor Scheme for trainees from the global majority
• Clinical tutors (a member of the programme academic team)
• Research Supervisor (a member of the programme academic team or wider Psychology department)
• Externally facilitated reflective practice sessions
• Experiential Mindfulness course 

The University also provides a range of support services and activities for postgraduate students including support for students with disabilities and access to well-being support. 

Trainee representation

Receiving feedback from our trainees is important to us and trainees are able to represent their cohort’s views and/or give direct feedback to the programme through the following routes:  

• Trainee representation on all programme committees
• Regular contact with their clinical tutor
• Regular contact with their research supervisor
• Contacting one of the directors on the programme
• Regular teaching surveys
• Anonymous surveys at the end of each placement
• Task specific surveys or one off meetings for consultation

More information about the programme

Our programme at the University of Bath started in October 2011. Our programme reflects recent advances in Clinical Psychology, adult learning strategies, supervision and inclusive processes. Our programme is well supported in this by the University of Bath and by local NHS Trusts.
Key features of the Bath course include:

• High quality taught programme incorporating people with personal experience and problem-based learning.
• A dedicated clinical psychology trainee base.
• Programme Advisory Group of people with personal experience (PPE)
• Commitment to inclusivity and equity.
• Teaching consistent with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and Level 2 accreditation
• Foundation Level accreditation with the Association for Family Therapy.
• Enhanced individualisation of training from the outset and supported specialisation through Personal Planning and Training Needs Assessment (PPTNA).
• Excellent clinical placements in the region with access to regional and national specialist clinical services.
• Trainees can choose their final year, elective placements in areas of most interest to them (provided core competencies have been met)  
• Interesting range of research projects 

Our Programme ethos

We place a strong emphasis on recognising the importance of inclusivity in clinical psychology.

The Bath programme ethos reflects the core values of the NHS Constitution and we recruit individuals with the right attitudes and values who can work in a professional, respectful and compassionate way with a diverse range of people presenting with distressing psychological difficulties.

We are committed to improving lives through promoting quality interventions. Trainees learn the importance of theory-practice links and how psychological theory informs clinical practice. Training draws on the full range of empirically grounded psychological theory, including psychopathology alongside other areas of psychology such as social and developmental psychology. The programme training and placements are based on an understanding of the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion.

Our programme is designed to foster enthusiasm for life-long learning, personal development, reflective practice and research. Trainees, supported by their course tutor and clinical supervisors, use a Personal Planning and Training Needs Assessment (PPTNA) from pre-training and throughout the programme to work towards the acquisition of skills and goals that are meaningful for them as individuals.

Specialisation in the third year allows trainees the opportunity to shape their career pathway to suit their interests and the evolving NHS. Accreditations with BABCP and AFT put our graduates in a particularly strong position in terms of employment opportunities.

Our programme also has strong links with Bristol University Clinical Neuropsychology courses and the programme's neuropsychology curriculum has been aligned with some of the taught content for the Bristol Diploma in Theoretical and Practical Neuropsychology. This provides the opportunity for our graduates to reduce the time and cost of specialist Neuropsychology training post qualification.

BABCP and AFT Accreditation

On the Bath programme we offer both Level 2 accreditation with the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and Foundation level accreditation with the Association of Family Therapy (AFT). Both accreditations are highly prized additions on our programme. However, eligibility for BABCP and AFT accreditations are not requirements for passing the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

A trainee who passed all DClinPsy programme assessments yet did not meet all the requirements for BABCP Level 2 and/or AFT Foundation level accreditations, would still pass the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

In such rare circumstances the trainee would be included in the DClinPsy pass list sent to HCPC but would not be included in the pass list sent to BABCP nor issued with a Foundation in Systemic Family Therapy Training certificate.

Training at the University of Bath

The Psychology Department at the University of Bath is an active and dynamic department that promotes inclusion and academic excllence. Our Doctorate in Clinical Psychology is well regarded in the department and is one of a number of other postgraduate programmes offered by the Department of Psychology at Bath. Other programmes here include MSc programmes in Applied Clinical Psychology; Health Psychology; Forensic Psychology and an MSc in Research Methods.

The undergraduate degree in Psychology is well subscribed with high entry requirements and excellent ranking in UK league tables. The Psychology Department has a very strong record in academic achievement with excellent performance in the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021).  You can find out more about the Department of Psychology

Further information about the University’s rankings and reputation can be found here. The University itself is a combination of modern buildings and facilities, surrounded by trees and a duck pond that provides a useful central point and enjoyable outdoor space for lunch. Our modest size as a campus university, and Olympic standard sports village, means that trainees can truly feel part of the wider institution and make the most of the benefits that this offers.

Personal development, reflective practice and inclusivity

A core part of our programme focuses on enabling every trainee to become the type of clinical psychologist they want to be. Everyone comes on to training with different life experiences, interests and aspirations and we aim to support the flourishing of each individual. It is also very clear in the evolving NHS that the role of the clinical psychologist is becoming ever more diverse and, to be fit-for-purpose, programmes need to have the capacity to support a degree of specialisation.

Throughout all three years of training the Personal and Professional Development Unit supports trainees in developing:

• reflective practice,
• leadership skills,
• practice in inclusivity and understanding of professional practice 

This unit includes a six week mindfulness course, not to qualify trainees in delivering mindfulness but, to provide a first stage in working towards such competencies.

We have developed a Personal Planning and Training Needs Assessment (PPTNA) to enable our programme to work collaboratively with trainees, from pre-training through their entire training experience, to shape their clinical experience to meet their specific needs, career plans and aspirations.

The PPTNA includes sections on skills and experiences prior to training, a personal development plan to meet future aspirations, core and advanced skills self-evaluation, and also professional practice. The PPTNA is cumulative and will be an important tool in identifying trainee developmental priorities withing clinical and academic aspects of the programme.

Studying, working and living  in Bath and the wider region

The Doctorate in Clinical Psychology is embedded in the highly rated Psychology Department situated on  the University of Bath main campus. Research and teaching in the department occurs across major subdisciplines in psychology, including clinical, cognitive, developmental, environmental, health, and social.  We are based in a £30m purpose-built facility, containing two floors of state-of-the-art labs for interview, group observation, EEG/ERP, virtual reality, psychobiology, eye-tracking, pain, cross-modal and computerised testing. Doctorate in Clinical Psychology students have a dedicated work space as well as access to the departmental facilities.

Students on the doctorate are encouraged to engage with the full range of psychology department activities.  In addition to departmental research groups with seminars on focused topics, doctorate in clinical psychology students can avail of the excellent infrastructure to support their own research endeavours. This can include research supervision from non-clinical disciplines in psychology.  There is also a  departmental research apprentice scheme which organises research training placements for undergraduate and masters level students which can offer invaluable help and supervision experience to Doctorate in Clinical Psychology students.

As a student at the University of Bath, you will have access to excellent campus facilities including  the excellent Sports Training Village with well-equipped gyms, an Olympic size swimming pool and track, pitch and court facilities. There are many sport clubs and societies for students.

The University of Bath campus is situated about one mile from Bath city centre, with regular buses to and from the University and adequate car parking facilities. Greener travel policies are implemented through an electric cycle to work scheme, and the walk uphill to the campus from town is a free and scenic alternative to a gym subscription. 
Students joining the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology choose to live in Bath and the wider region. Bath is a UNESCO heritage city, which is popular with tourists as well as offering vibrant student living.  There is easy access to beautiful countryside and getting out of the city to be in nature can be achieved with a short walk along the canal or across the fields of Bathwick. Bristol, is approximately 10 minutes from Bath by train  and is a city renowned for its cultural diversity and inclusivity as well as a thriving art, music and social scene. Bath and Bristol are both surrounded by beautiful countryside with the Cotswolds to the north, the Mendips to the south-west and, just across the Severn Bridge, the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean. The coast at Weston-super-Mare or South Wales is also within easy reach as is London which is only an hour and a half by train.

Further information about the city of Bath and the university can be found at the University of Bath website.