University of East Anglia

Professional accreditation

This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) with the most recent accreditation visit occurring in June 2021. The programme received two formal commendations from this visit, with the visiting team noting ‘[t]he culture of compassionate academic rigour, clearly fostered by the programme team, resonates across other departments within the University and out into the local NHS community’, and that ‘trainees are fully prepared with regard to professional attitudes, clinical skills and leadership competencies and are capable of making a sustained contribution to their local services immediately on qualifying’. 

The programme is delighted to share that as of June 2024, our BABCP Secondary Accreditation pathway is now formally accredited with BABCP. This means that any trainees on this pathway who complete all of the relevant BABCP requirements across training, are eligible to apply for accreditation with the BABCP as well as the HCPC after qualification. We are only able to offer a small number (approximately 9 for the 2025 cohort) of places on the BABCP pathway and these will be offered based on stated interest and ranked interview place. Gaining a place on the BABCP pathway means that we will endeavour to configure your training such that you receive placement opportunities and supervision in line with BABCP standards. There will also be a need for you to configure some of your academic pieces of work in line with BABCP expectations also.

For all trainees, including those not on the pathway, the accreditation status means that the teaching you receive from us is considered by BABCP to meet the core accreditation requirements. This should make it easier for you to apply, after qualifying as a Clinical Psychologist, for registration with the BABCP, provided you also obtain suitable evidence of supervision, practice and academic requirements.

The programme does not provide any APEL (Accreditation of Prior Learning). The Programme is full-time for 3 years and attendance at all programme components is mandatory over that time, including the induction period. All trainees are required to complete all elements of the programme in order to qualify.

Approach and theories

The primary clinical models on the programme are CBT and Systemic. Some introductory teaching considering other models is included but we do not seek to develop competency in these models. We additionally have strengths in neuropsychology teaching and a strong research element. 

Our CBT teaching encompasses the broad range of CBT approaches including second and third-wave CBT approaches. Our curriculum also reflects our strengths in both neuropsychology and leadership. Overall, we emphasise an approach that places importance on clinical practice being rooted in the meaningful application of clinical theory and research. Our programme has a secondary accreditation BABCP pathway, which means that the majority of our CBT teaching is delivered via BABCP accredited or accreditable speakers (see ‘Professional Accreditation’ section)

Placement locations

The cities of Cambridge, Norwich and Peterborough, and the town of Ipswich, are the largest population centres within our commissioned region. UEA is based in the “fine city” of Norwich. 

East Anglia is a large, predominantly rural region, and a wonderful place to live and train. Our placement area encompasses the counties of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk. We have a range of NHS partners in the region including the key mental health trusts (CPFT and NSFT) as well as acute hospital trusts and community trusts. 

Trainees are allocated a placement base, which is part of their offer of a place on the programme. Once accepted, this base cannot subsequently be changed. Currently, trainees are offered one of four placement bases:

• South Cambridgeshire (including services based in Cambridge, Ely and Newmarket)
• North Cambridgeshire (including services based in Huntingdon, Peterborough and Fenland)
• Norfolk and Waveney (including services based in Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and King’s Lynn)
• Suffolk (including services based in Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket and Ipswich)

Although trainees may be asked to complete placements outside their base area, this is unusual. 

We ask all candidates who are offered an interview to tell us their base preferences including advising us which locations might be particularly difficult. Successful applicants who present reasonable adjustments or relevant personal circumstances will be given priority for their preferred placement base. The decision to offer a place on the programme is not affected by your choices on this form. For successful candidates, the base you are offered will depend on your expressed preferences, any reasonable adjustments for a declared disability or significant personal circumstances, and your ranked interview score. 

Trainees are expected to be able to easily travel between placement locations within their base area. This means that ordinarily trainees will need to have use of a car and be able to drive. You will be asked to confirm your driving licence status and whether you can access a car. If a disability precludes you from driving, please advise us of this at the relevant point, providing as much information as possible to help us understand and assess how travel within the base area could be practically managed. 

It is strongly recommended that trainees live within their base area, as clinical placements may involve considerable amounts of travel and trainees are expected to follow the normal working pattern followed at the placement. This includes the balance of face-to-face vs remote working offered by the placement service. Living in the base location enables contact with and support from other trainees. If trainees choose to live outside of their base area, they must be prepared to travel across the whole base area they are allocated. We also cannot allocate virtual placements on the basis of preference. 

Many trainees live in either Cambridge or Norwich, but also in other towns around the region. Peterborough, Ely, Ipswich, and Bury St Edmunds are popular locations. 

Trainees will also need to attend UEA in Norwich for teaching. Given the large geographic area of our region, much of our teaching occurs during ‘blocks’. Trainees who live the furthest away from Norwich will be offered local accommodation for the first teaching block.  We intend to continue to deliver some teaching using online/remote technologies, but the relative balance of teaching at UEA vs online teaching will be kept under review.  Please note, all teaching is scheduled as either face to face or online (i.e. it is not possible to attend face to face teaching via an online platform).

The process of placement allocation is based on several factors including competency need, organisational priorities, and supervisor availability. Trainees cannot express preferences for placements in Year 1 and 2. 

Subject to competency development and constraints on availability, trainees can choose specialist placements in the third year from across the whole region. There is an extensive range of specialist placements covering virtually all clinical psychology specialisms and a number of exciting leadership placements. Since 2015 we have been offering an international placement opportunity for placement 6 for a small number of trainees, subject to suitable progression. These placements have been with partners in Malaysia and more recently Australia. New International placements are in development for 2024.