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UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH / NHS SCOTLAND

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAMME

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Academic Handbook

2016 / 2017

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If you require this document or any of the internal University of

Edinburgh online resources mentioned in this document in an

alternative format please contact Kirsty Gardner on

Kirsty.Gardner@ed.ac.uk or 0131 650 3889.

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Contents

A.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 4

A.2 Academic Regulations, Codes of Practice and Guidance ................................... 4

A2.1 Academic Appeals .............................................................................................. 5 A2.2 Student Complaints Procedures ......................................................................... 5 A2.3 Disciplinary Procedures ....................................................................................... 5 A2.4 Guidance on Academic Misconduct (including Plagiarism) ................................. 5 A2.5 Fitness to Practise ................................................................................................ 6

A.3 Overview of Academic Teaching ............................................................................... 6

A3.1 Academic Teaching Structure .................................................................................. 7 A3.2 Professional Issues Teaching .................................................................................. 9 A3.3 Study Time during Teaching Weeks ...................................................................... 10 A3.4 Distance Participation ............................................................................................ 10 A3.5 Advanced Practice Seminars ................................................................................. 11 A3.6 Feedback ............................................................................................................... 13 A3.7 Helping and Welcoming Contributors .................................................................... 13

A.4 Academic Assessment ............................................................................................. 13

A4.1 Assistance with Academic Work ............................................................................ 14 A4.2 Approximate Submission Dates for Assessed Work ............................................. 15 A4.3 Essay Question Papers (EQPs) for those starting pre 2010 .................................. 16 A4.4 Extensions to Submitted Work .............................................................................. 16 A4.5 Special Circumstances .......................................................................................... 18 A4.6 Avoidance / Detection of Plagiarism and Declaration of Own Work ...................... 18 A4.7 Word Limits............................................................................................................ 19 A4.8 Reasonable Adjustments for Trainees with Disabilities ..................................... 19 A4.9 Portfolio of Assessed Work ................................................................................... 19 A4.10 Feedback to Supervisors ..................................................................................... 20 A4.11 Feedback and Provisional Marks ......................................................................... 20 A4.12 Submission Process for Written Work ................................................................. 20

A.5 Passing or Failing the Academic Component ........................................................ 21

A5.1 Failed Academic Work (Except Thesis) ................................................................. 21 A5.2 Criteria for Programme Discontinuation ............................................................ 22 A5.3 Special Circumstances Committee ........................................................................ 22 A5.4 Alternate Exit Awards............................................................................................. 23

A.6 Case Conceptualisation Framework ....................................................................... 23

A6.1 Confidentiality in Case Conceptualisations ............................................................ 26 A6.2 Guidelines for Marking Case Conceptualisations .................................................. 28

A.7 Information for Trainees on Awards ........................................................................ 30

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A.1 Introduction

The academic handbook gives you the information you need to know about the academic

aspects of the Programme. It provides and overview of the structure of teaching, teaching

methods, assessment, timing of assessments, guidance on submitted pieces of academic

work, sources of support, types of support available, adjustments for trainees with

disabilities and more. It also contains links to more formal regulatory documents,

frameworks, policies and codes of practice, such as the University regulations, appeals

procedures, and guidance on plagiarism and cheating.

This is an informal document; its main purpose is information giving rather than as a legal

document. Occasionally though it will refer to aspects of the Programme or University

documentation that has more formal status. These sections will be indicted by the

symbol:.

A.2 Academic Regulations, Codes of Practice and Guidance

The Programme is a taught degree and is governed by the Taught Assessment

Regulations. There is a substantial research element however that underpins the degree.

These research elements are governed by the codes of practice and policies relating to

the Postgraduate Assessment Regulations for Research Degrees. These codes of

practice relate to best practice for teaching delivery, assessment, student support,

Programme and Course information, marking and feedback, and quality assurance and

enhancement procedures. Trainees are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with all

of the documents listed below.

The Taught Assessment Regulations Academic Year 2016/2017:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/taughtassessmentregulations.pdf

The Postgraduate Assessment Regulations for Research Degrees Academic Year

2016/2017:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/pgr_assessmentregulations.pdf

In addition, there are various documents that give further guidance regarding academic

policy and practice that should be read in conjunction with the academic regulations.

These are listed here:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academic-

services/staff/assessment/assessment-regulations

The Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study, General Postgraduate Degree

Regulations and Specific Sections for the DClinPsychol Programme set out general

regulations for postgraduate degrees as well as specific regulations for the DClinPsychol

and the official structure of the Programme.

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Please visit the Student Contract website for other key University regulations such as the

student complaint procedure, academic appeals, academic misconduct (including

plagiarism), dignity and respect and special circumstances.

A2.1 Academic Appeals

An academic appeal is a request for a decision made by a Board of Examiners to be

reconsidered in relation to: marks, progression, degree classification or degree award. If

you are considering lodging an appeal, it is important that you act promptly. Detailed

guidance is given here:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/academic-services/students/appeals

A2.2 Student Complaints Procedures

The University recognises that there will be occasions when students will wish to raise

more serious concerns about issues relating to their experience at the University. The

student complaint procedure is operated by the University Secretary’s Group. Detailed

guidance is given here:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-academic-services/student-complaint-

procedure/student-complaint-procedure

A2.3 Disciplinary Procedures

Every student of the University is required to adhere at all times to those University

regulations, policies and codes of practice which relate to student behaviour, and are

expected to ensure that they are aware of these. When a student fails to observe

University rules and regulations, disciplinary action may be taken against them through

the procedures set out in the University’s Code of Conduct:

http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Discipline/StudentCodeofConduct.pdf

Code of Practice for Research Supervision

http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Codes/CoPSupervisorsResearchStude

nts.pdf

A2.4 Guidance on Academic Misconduct (including Plagiarism)

Academic misconduct is any type of cheating that occurs in relation to a formal academic

exercise.

This includes plagiarism, collusion, falsification, deceit, cheating and personation. The

University takes all reported incidences of academic misconduct seriously and seeks to

ensure that they are dealt with efficiently and appropriately. Further guidance is available

here:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/academic-services/students/conduct/academic-misconduct

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The University takes plagiarism very seriously and is committed to ensuring that so far as

possible it is detected and dealt with appropriately. Plagiarism is the act of including in

one’s work the work of another person without providing adequate acknowledgement of

having done so, either deliberately or unintentionally. At whatever stage of a student’s

course, whether discovered before or after graduation, plagiarism will be investigated and

dealt with. Further guidance on ways to ensure you avoid unwitting plagiarism is available

here:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/academic-services/staff/discipline/plagiarism

In addition, this Programme Handbook sets out many programme specific details, (e.g.

marking criteria, submission dates, confidentiality, teaching, etc.). These documents

(Regulations, Codes of Practice, Handbook and ITDP) form an agreement between you

(the postgraduate student) and the Programme. The handbook is updated each year and

posted on the Programme’s website near the beginning of October. Minor amendments

are made to the Regulations and to the handbook each year and these documents

become the new regulatory framework within which your degree operates. Trainees

should always use the online version of the handbook and regulations as they are the

most up to date.

A2.5 Fitness to Practise

The DClinPsychol is a professional practice degree and therefore is subject to the

University’s Fitness to Practise Procedure. More information about the procedure can be

found here:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/arts-humanities-soc-sci/taught-students/student-conduct/fitness-to-

practise

The HCPC also requires programmes to monitor that students are fit to practise and that

we have a fitness to practise procedure in place. As part of this we will be implementing a

new self-declaration of fitness to practise. This will be done during induction week and

then at each annual review. For more detail about the HCPC’s guidance for students, click

here:

http://www.hpc-

uk.org/assets/documents/10002D1BGuidanceonconductandethicsforstudents.pdf

Further guidance on Clinical Psychology’s implementation of the Fitness to Practice

Procedures can be found on Learn.

A.3 Overview of Academic Teaching

The DClinPsychol programme is fortunate in having its base in a large University with links

to several teaching hospitals and high-quality community services. A wide range of people

contribute to teaching, including colleagues from various NHS departments, from other

university departments and from a variety of voluntary and statutory organisations.

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The Programme Organisers believe that teaching is likely to be most clinically relevant if a

substantial proportion of it is taught by practising Clinical Psychologists. Accordingly,

many clinical supervisors participate in formal teaching as well as in the practical training

on placements.

In addition to the teaching designed specifically for the DClinPsychol, trainees have the

opportunity to participate in other academic activities within the University, such as

lunchtime and evening seminars organised by departments or courses arranged by

computing services and the Institute for Academic Development. More information about

courses can be found here: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-

development/postgraduate/doctoral/courses

The academic teaching day can be officially scheduled from 09:00 to 17:30, with breaks

mid-morning, lunch and mid-afternoon. Trainees should arrive promptly for the beginning

of sessions and not leave prior to the end of sessions, without a good reason and without

permission from the lecturer. It is discourteous to presenters and to other trainees if you

are not punctual around beginnings and returning after breaks. In practice, we tend to

schedule teaching from 09:30 – 17:15, though you should look carefully at the timetables

to make sure you are in teaching when required.

A3.1 Academic Teaching Structure

The programme has undergone a complete review for the cohort starting in 2016. In line

with the new accreditation standards from the BPS, the programme is structured to

enhance the learning of concepts and competencies that transfer between specialist

populations (e.g. child, intellectual disabilities, adults, older adults, neuropsychology,

forensic). The result is a curriculum that emphasises the common psychological

processes and skills that will be useful to you in your work as a clinical psychologist.

All trainees begin with a week-long induction in their NHS base. They then begin week two

in teaching, face to face in Edinburgh. The first six weeks of teaching (Block 1) has a

number of important functions: it orients you to the kinds of work you will be doing on

placement in first year, but more than this; orients you to the academic subject matter of

the profession. Teaching is organised around a number of cross cutting themes which will

appear again and again throughout teaching. These themes are: Fundamentals of Clinical

Psychology, Assessment, Formulation, Intervention, Professionalism and Practice, and

Research. Within the themes of Fundamentals, you will be introduced to aspects of the

history of the profession, assumptions, concepts such as balancing between theory and

humanity, science and reflection and the notion of ‘Lifespan Development’.

You will learn about theoretical lenses that underpin different approaches to treatment,

such as systemic thinking, relational and attachment based perspectives, the behavioural

paradigm, and cognitive approaches. In ‘Assessment’ you will learn about the theories

and concepts underpinning assessment practice, test standardisation, you will have the

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chance to practice the skills of interviewing, test administration etc. There are practical

sessions on formulating, on understanding different presentations and skills sessions on

practicing different ways of intervening, with both adult client and intellectual disability

clients as examples.

Professionalism and Practice covers aspects such as understanding the NHS and the

context of our work, as well as your developing identity, professional behaviour and

looking after your own needs to be able to sustain the work. These sessions also contain

details on reflection, how the training will change you, and the nuts and bolts of managing

your own education and employment.

Trainees begin their first placement in either Adult Mental Health or Learning Disabilities in

mid-November. They then return to the University on approximately three consecutive

teaching days per month through December to March. There is a further three weeks of

teaching in April / May (Block 2). This teaching block is followed by the second placement.

There is a teaching week in June, then no further teaching until year two. Block 2 teaching

covers working with adults with physical health problems, substance misuse problems and

those with forensic or criminal justice issues.

Year two teaching begins around the 3rd week in October with three weeks of Older Adult

and Child teaching. The content of year two teaching will be under review during the early

part of 2016 / 17 academic year, with a view to providing a more integrated curriculum for

the cohort that will undertake that teaching in 2017 / 18. For the year 2016/17 it will

continue be structured according to Older Adult, Neuro and Child. For pragmatic reasons,

some sessions this year may be jointly delivered to both year one and two classes

together.

Trainees in year two begin placements in Older Adult and Child around the second week

in November. They return to teaching for three consecutive days per month from Dec to

March. There is a further three weeks of Neuro and Child teaching in April / May, then a

final three days in June.

Third year teaching is self-selected, comprising of Advanced Practice seminars. Further

details about the APS are provided below in section A3.5. There are some compulsory

sessions for all third years, comprising of Professional Issue teaching, and Thesis

preparation.

The academic component of the programme combines workshops in therapy skills with

seminars, trainee-led discussions and lectures. A member of the course team attends all

trainee-led presentations/discussions. A session at the end of each module is devoted to

feedback from the trainees to the course staff on the teaching. As far as possible, the

academic blocks are synchronised with clinical placements during the first two years, i.e.

the placement with a specific clinical group follows the block. The proportion of time

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devoted to academic teaching over the three years is approximately 20%, placements

approximately 60% and private study approximately 20%.

The teaching timetable is made available online as early as possible, trainees should

always consult the timetable for up to date information, session materials and pre session

homework tasks. The timetable can be accessed through the DClinPsychol Learn page.

Up to 50% of the teaching will be delivered by distance participation. Further information

on distance participation is in section A3.4. Distance participation may mean attending a

video conferenced lecture, Q&A session, or it may mean self-directed learning,

participation in online discussion boards, or a wide variety of other activities and formats. It

is expected that trainees will have access to up to date computing facilities and internet

access. These sessions usually have a deal of flexibility about the trainees own learning,

where they undertake them etc, subject to approval by line manager.

A3.2 Professional Issues Teaching

A fundamental tenet to our programme is to support our trainees to practise in accordance

with the Health and Care Professions Council’s (HCPC) Guidance on Conduct and Ethics

for Students and British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Code of Ethics and Conduct during

training and to reach the Standards of Proficiency required for Clinical Psychologists by

the end of training. We also aim to help trainees develop competencies consistent with

the Division of Clinical Psychology’s Leadership Framework.

All teaching input implicitly helps support trainees to develop their professional practice.

NHS Placements are also crucial in supporting trainees and monitoring their progress in

this regard.

In addition the Professionalism and Practice vertical stream which is being introduced for

our new intake in 2016 has two main strands which explicitly support this process. (NB

The Professional Issues’ Module will continue to run for current second and third year

trainees)

Reflective Practice

The development of trainees’ reflective practice is supported by the provision of reflective

practice groups – these are run in groups of up to 10 trainees and facilitated by both

programme team staff and external contributors. They run approximately 10 times during

the course of training.

Influence

We encourage trainees from day 1 of training to recognise the experience and skills they

already have in terms of influence and to notice the opportunities they have throughout

training to use their influence to bring psychological mindedness to their work. We adopt

a developmental approach to this – focusing first on influences within one to one

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relationships – eg with clients and supervisors and quickly broadening this out to team

and group work and then to influence at a systemic / service / political level.

A3.3 Study Time during Teaching Weeks

When trainees attend block teaching, the allocation of study days is either indicated on the

timetable or there is no study day. When trainees return to University for the three days of

teaching (approximately monthly) they do not have a study day during those weeks.

Similarly, when trainees attend Advanced Practice Seminars, they do not receive a private

study day on that week, but keep their allocated thesis time except when an APS runs for

the whole week, in which case the study time is lost.

A3.4 Distance Participation

Since 2012 we have been providing up to 50% of teaching using Videoconferencing

technology. NHS Education for Scotland has invested in videoconferencing (VC)

equipment in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Elgin, Dundee, and Dumfries. This is to reduce

recurrent costs associated with trainee travel and to increase convenience for trainees,

particularly during the winter months. We have worked hard to help trainees and

contributors adapt to this format of teaching, and have also had to persist with

troubleshooting technical issues. The first two years of this project were hampered by

technical difficulties. Thankfully these seem to be largely resolved. The VC experience

requires adaptation from both contributors and trainees. We are encouraging course

organisers and contributors to be more creative in how they use these distance

participation sessions. The Older Adult teaching is pioneering this approach, with a

greater emphasis on self-directed learning, trainees organising themselves into small

study groups, provision of materials and tasks via eLearning and a more focussed and

time-limited use of VC for group discussion. These developments are gradually being

extended to other areas of the programme.

Trainees in remote sites need to get in to the habit of being active participants, interrupting

the speaker if they need to ask questions, asking questions and clarifications and so on. It

is not rude to take a very active approach to your own learning and engagement in this

way. Remember that you can be seen in the other teaching rooms (so don’t check your

phone!) Trainees in the room in Edinburgh: remember that being in a remote site poses

new challenges. Use the room microphone to ask questions, make comments, etc. Help

your remote site colleagues to engage and help the contributor to use the technology to

best advantage. Consider chatting with the remote sites during breaks etc.

Sessions in which VC / distance participation is to be used are clearly marked on the

timetable. Instructions are available centrally and in each of the health board areas about

how to operate the VC equipment. In addition the Programme Team have made a short

instructional video and reading materials about both VC and further guidance on creating

DP sessions that can be viewed via links on the website.

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A3.5 Advanced Practice Seminars

When trainees are not scheduled to undertake Clinical Psychology 1 and 2 they elect to

undertake a series of advanced practice seminars (APS). This happens in year 3 for full

time trainees. It can happen in any of years 2 – 5 for specialist trainees. Specialist trainees

will undertake APS across one or two years according to their ITDP. For RPL trainees this

can happen across years 2-3.

The APS cover advanced competencies in working in different specialist areas of clinical

psychology, such as with people with psychosis, eating disorders, adult ADHD and

trauma. APS also extend trainees skills and knowledge in a range of different approaches

to psychological therapy, including Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Psychodynamic

Psychotherapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Cognitive Analytic Therapy, and Schema Therapy,

Systemic Practice, to name a few. The full range of choices can be seen on Learn.

The APS are continually under development and new elements may be added each year.

At the same time, sessions that are not popular may be removed, or practitioners offering

sessions may not be able to offer them in a particular year. The Programme will

endeavour to find alternatives under such circumstances, though trainees should be

aware that the APS might be different from year to year.

Trainees choose which APS they attend, they are not all compulsory. Trainees must

choose 35 sessions of advanced practice seminars (plus or minus 3 sessions), across the

whole time that they are scheduled to do APS. Trainees splitting their attendance of these

across two years will need to remember how many they have taken. For RPL trainees the

session allowance is for 17 sessions (plus or minus 2).

Choosing APS

Trainees should expect to involve their manager in a discussion of their choices of APS.

Managers, Trainees and Personal Tutors will meet once per year for annual appraisal and

choice of teaching should be part of that conversation. This conversation should try to

arrive at choices that balance the academic and professional development needs of the

trainee, any outstanding learning objectives, the trainee’s personal interests and the

training needs of the service.

Planning Placement Activity and Study Time

Supervisors have in the past raised some concerns about knowing in advance when

trainees would be on teaching or on placement. Trainees will know well in advance when

they will be in teaching and when on placement. Trainees must communicate this to

supervisors. In addition, supervisors who have requested access to Learn can go online to

see the timetable for themselves. We spread popular sessions throughout the academic

year to try and avoid trainees taking a lot of time from placement in November and

December. Trainees should be sensitive to balancing their time on placement, teaching

and study when choosing APS and avoid choices that would have a detrimental impact on

placement timing.

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Specialist Trainees and APS that are part-week

There are some APS that are full week and some that are day or half day. Where trainees

choose APS that are part-week, the expectation is that they will resume the pattern of their

working week when they return to placement or work contribution. For instance, if a

trainee is on placement Monday and Tuesday and Specialist Work Component on

Wednesday and Thursday, with a study day on a Friday, and they attend two days of APS

on the Monday and Tuesday, they return for two days to work component on the

Wednesday, Thursday and on thesis years spend half of Friday on thesis study and half a

day on placement. On non-thesis years this would be a full day on placement. Similarly, if

that trainee were to do APS on the Thursday and Friday instead of the Monday and

Tuesday, they should try (if possible) to swap their days to do two days of work component

during the rest of the week. This arrangement is subject to local negotiation and

arrangement, but broadly trainees and managers are expected to work together to pattern

their work and placement arrangements in the way that suits the specific situation best.

Half-day Seminars

Some APS are half-day seminars. The other half of that day should be considered as

private study time. It is the trainee’s responsibility to ensure they inform the manager and

supervisor of this.

Expenses and APS

Under the older system of every trainee doing every session in Block 5 and 6, trainees

were required to be in Edinburgh on 31 days across the year. These were arranged such

that trainees from further afield would claim expenses for around 8 – 10 return trips from

base to Edinburgh and approximately 31 overnight stays. Under the APS system, trainees

will need to claim expenses for around 15 - 20 overnight stays. They may have an

increased number of return travel claims, but the APS are organised in such a way that

unnecessary travel can be minimised. The new system is therefore likely to be less costly

to services in terms of expenses than the previous system. Trainees should also consider

how best to maximise their APS to make most efficient use of travel and overnight stays,

just as a member of qualified staff would for CPD. Trainees should expect that this

element of expenses is another consideration (but not the consideration) in the

conversation between themselves, their manager and their PT in choosing APS.

APS on a Friday and Monday

The current scheduling of APS means that no APS are scheduled across a Monday and

Friday, such that both days need to be attended. There are however, separate APS, a

small number of which are on a Friday and a Monday, which trainees may choose. Under

such circumstances, it may be more prudent for the trainee to stay in Edinburgh over the

weekend, as they do for blocks earlier in the Programme. Managers will need to explicitly

approve whether to reimburse for weekend accommodation or for return travel to base

and back to Edinburgh. Again, trainees and managers are expected to work together to

balance the needs of the trainee and the service.

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Development of the APS for Non-Doctoral Students

For some APS (e.g. Interpersonal Therapy) we are combining DClinPsychol students with

other students (e.g. Masters students in Psychological Therapies) to increase efficiency of

delivery and enhance inter-professional learning. This development may extend over time

to other APS sessions (e.g. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy).

Feedback

Evaluation of the APS indicates that the sessions are well delivered and well received.

Trainees are expected to provide feedback on the APS using the online feedback form on

Learn.

If you still have questions about APS, you may contact Nuno Ferreira, Lecturer in Clinical

Psychology: Nuno.Ferreira@ed.ac.uk

A3.6 Feedback

We value your feedback on the teaching you receive. Course organisers will often arrange

a face-to-face meeting with the class in which you can give feedback. Trainees are

expected to give constructive feedback in such a session and not use it purely as a forum

for expressing dissatisfactions, particularly where these don’t relate to teaching. Trainees

must also provide individualised, anonymised feedback on each module/stream using the

links provided on Learn. Individualised feedback can be useful in minimising bias in the

views of the group and be more representative of the diversity of opinion than a general

statement. We really value the feedback we get on teaching and we use it constructively

to develop the curriculum, provide more or less of certain topics, give feedback to external

contributors to help them develop their teaching effectiveness and ensure the quality of

the content. If we do not receive sufficient volumes of feedback it is hard for us to know

whether to make changes. We therefore ask that all trainees make time to provide

feedback on all teaching, consistently throughout the programme and including the APS.

A3.7 Helping and Welcoming Contributors

The programme uses a lot of external contributors for teaching, giving you the best

available hands on expertise and special interest in particular topics. Many of our

contributors have taught with us before, but some may be new. One of the roles of Class

Reps is therefore to welcome contributors, offer assistance with technology and trouble

shoot problems. The class rep can nominate another trainee to perform this role as

needed.

A.4 Academic Assessment

Trainees must submit and pass four course assignments in order to progress through the

programme. You will get marks and feedback, these marks will go towards the overall

mark, used to award the class prizes (more information below, section A7). All assessed

work is submitted electronically via Turnitin.

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Academic Assessment:

During training, candidates are required to satisfactorily complete:

Two case conceptualisations. The first of these will be submitted during the first

year of training. The second will be submitted in second year for full time trainees

and in third year for specialist trainees. Unless there are special circumstances

that prevent you from doing so, Case Conceptualisation 1 should be based on

clinical work undertaken during placements 1 or 2, whilst Case Conceptualisation 2

should be based on clinical work undertaken during placements 3 or 4.

A detailed research proposal, submitted during first year for full time trainees or

second year for specialist trainees.

A small-scale research project based on work conducted on any of placements 1 to

4. This is submitted after the end of second year for full time trainees and after the

end of third year for specialist trainees.

A thesis, submitted in May of third year for full time trainees, March for RPL

trainees or according to the individual training plan for specialist trainees.

Further information about each of the above assessments can be found in the relevant

course handbooks.

For those who began training before 2010, remaining academic submissions will depend

on what has already been submitted and passed and varies between individuals. Please

discuss this further with your personal tutor.

A4.1 Assistance with Academic Work

Doctoral level students should be self-directing in terms of setting their own goals,

monitoring their own progress as well as identifying when they need help and asking for

this. Crucially, education at the Doctoral level is about critical thinking and scholarship,

rather than simply ‘knowing facts’. In Clinical Psychology training, it is not enough to know

the evidence base and to be able to skilfully apply evidence based treatments for

psychological disorders. You must also be able to critically analyse the theoretical

understanding(s) of psychological problems, the interventions and therapies, the theories

themselves and to critically evaluate the quality and assumptions behind the evidence

base. In these handbooks we provide the marking scheme for each assignment (e.g.

Section 6.2 Academic Handbook: Marking Scheme for Case Conceptualisations). You

should study these in detail before beginning assignments. The highest marks can be

gained by critically analysing material in depth. This may mean that drilling into a slightly

narrower range of literature in depth may get better marks than simply describing a

broader range of literature at a surface level.

At every stage of training, guidance and assistance is offered to trainees. There are a

number of sources of help and trainees are encouraged to seek support when needed. It

is considered a sign of competency to be aware of the need for help and to seek

appropriate guidance.

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Clinical supervisors are responsible for the clinical work undertaken by the trainees. They

usually offer assistance with Case Conceptualisations and Small Scale Research as part

of the normal supervision process. The final piece of work submitted by the trainee

should be primarily his/her own work and its final quality and content are his/her

responsibility. Clinical supervisors are often interested to hear how trainees get on with

their submitted work and thus trainees are encouraged to send copies of feedback they

receive from the course to the corresponding clinical supervisor.

Personal Tutors and academic staff will offer assistance as required and at a level that

would normally be expected for a postgraduate student. In all cases trainees should keep

in mind that most staff will require some time to read material given to them and

immediate or last minute help may not be possible. Trainees are responsible for ensuring

that they are aware of and meet Course and Programme requirements in terms of

submission dates, format and style of written work.

A4.2 Approximate Submission Dates for Assessed Work

The following are approximate submission dates for all assessed work. Note that several

deadlines are at the start of the following academic year. Approximate dates are given to

facilitate clarity and planning, though these are subject to change. The assessed work

calendar gives actual dates for the year ahead and this can be found on Learn.

Trainees are required to submit all work electronically by 3pm on due dates. An electronic

copy of all the assessed work (including case conceptualisations) should be submitted

through Turnitin on Learn. The due date will usually be a Thursday.

Flexible Submission Dates

It is appreciated that the recommended dates below may not be suitable for a small

number of specialist trainees due to their specific ITDPs. In these cases it will usually be

possible to submit individual pieces of work exactly a year earlier (early submission) or

later (deferred submission) than the recommended dates outlined, subject to the

agreement of the trainee’s Personal Tutor. However it is strongly recommended that

trainees complete these pieces of work as early as possible in training. If trainees wish to

submit an early or deferred assignment, they must discuss this with their Personal Tutor. If

the Personal Tutor agrees that the early or deferred assignment would be compatible with

the ITDP and in the interests of training, the Personal Tutor needs to enrol or withdraw the

student for that course on EUCLID and inform the Course Organiser to expect or not

expect a submission. These steps enable the programme to keep track of work that is

being submitted at times other than the recommended dates. Early submissions of theses

(i.e. before the final year of training) will need to be arranged at least 3 months in advance

of the proposed new submission date in order for relevant paperwork to be completed and

examiners arranged.

Submission Dates for Full Time Trainees

16

Year Approx. Submission Dates (for

actual dates see assessed work

calendar)

1st Case Study Conceptualisation 1 (CP1) 1st Year, late May

Research Project Proposal (R1) 1st year, July

2nd Case Study Conceptualisation 2 (CP2) 2nd Year, late May

Small Scale Research Project (R2) 3rd Year, late October

3rd Thesis 3rd Year, early May

3rd Year, early March (RPL Trainees)

Submission Dates for Specialist (‘1 + 4’ 5 year) Trainees

Year Approx. Submission Dates (for

actual dates see assessed work

calendar)

1st Case Study Conceptualisation 1

(CP1)

1st Year, late May

Research Project Proposal (R1) 2nd year, July (in line with ITDP)

2nd/3rd Case Study Conceptualisation 2

(CP2)

3rd year, January OR late May

Small Scale Research Project (R2) 4th Year, late October

4th/5th Thesis † 5th Year, early May

† Thesis may be submitted for earlier assessment (e.g. the preceding year or on 1st

February) by prior arrangement and subject to agreement of personal tutor, Academic &

Clinical Supervisors, Assessment Tutor and Programme Director.

A4.3 Essay Question Papers (EQPs) for those starting pre 2010

Those who started training before 2010 may still be required to complete Older

Adult/Neuropsychology essays or a Child, Adolescent and Families essay depending on

the work already completed. The programme will distribute essay titles for these essays

each January (EQP3: Child, Adolescent & Families and EQP4: Section 1: Older Adults,

Section 2: Neuropsychology). For the Child, Adolescent and Families essay paper, it is

required that the trainee select one title from five and submit a 4000 to 5000 word essay.

The Older Adults and Neuropsychology paper will be divided into two sections comprising

five questions each, with trainees selecting one question from each section (2000 to 3000

words for each). Trainees should not expect supervisors or members of the programme

team to provide feedback on drafts of essay question papers. EQP3 and EQP4 will be

distributed in the January of the academic year and should be completed only when the

trainee is completing the relevant placement (i.e. Child or Older Adults and

Neuropsychology). EQP3 and EQP4 will be submitted in early July of that year.

A4.4 Extensions to Submitted Work

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It is the responsibility of individual students to submit work on time or be available to sit

examinations. Any requests for an extension to assessment submission dates should be

made using the online extension request form in advance of the published deadline for the

coursework. The School will consider accepting a request for a late submission of up to

seven calendar days (see below for the regulations around late submission).

If there are any circumstances that may result in work not being completed in time,

then students must discuss this with their Personal Tutor at the earliest opportunity

and before requesting the extension through the online form.

Good reasons for coursework extension are unexpected short-term circumstances which

are exceptional for the individual student, beyond that students’ control, and which could

reasonably be expected to have had an adverse impact on the student’s ability to

complete the assessment on time. Please note that the following are examples of

circumstances which would not be considered good reasons:

Holidays

Circumstances which were foreseeable or preventable

Poor time-management

Proximity to other assessments

Lack of awareness of dates or time of assessment submission

Failure, loss or theft of data, a computer or other equipment

Commitments to paid or voluntary employment

For further examples of circumstances that would, and would not, be considered

good reasons for coursework extensions please see Taught Assessment

Regulation 28

(http://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/taughtassessmentregulations.pdf)

Applying for a Coursework Extension of Up to Seven Days

Further guidance on making a coursework extension request can be found at the following

website along with the form to be completed:

https://uoe.sharepoint.com/sites/hss/health/student-support/SitePages/Extension-request-

form.aspx

The form and guidance can also be accessed from the School’s Student Support

webpage:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/health/student-support

Access to the form is through EASE login and password.

Extension Requests of More Than Seven Days

Where a student has good reason for requiring a coursework extension of more than

seven calendar days, the student should discuss the issue with their Personal Tutor,

submit the coursework when able to do so (as agreed with the Personal Tutor), and

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apply via the Special Circumstances process for the Board of Examiners to consider

disregarding the penalty for late submission (see below for guidance on Special

Circumstances).

For further examples of circumstances that would, and would not, be considered good

reasons for coursework extensions via the Special Circumstances process please see

Taught Assessment Regulation 28

(http://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/taughtassessmentregulations.pdf)

and the Special Circumstances Policy Document

(http://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/special_circumstances.pdf).

A4.5 Special Circumstances Special circumstances are circumstances which are exceptional for the individual student,

are beyond that student’s control and for which there is sufficient evidence to show that

they had a significant adverse impact on the student’s performance in an assessment, or

resulted in non-attendance or a non-submission for a scheduled assessment.

Further information regarding the Special Circumstances process, including the policy

document which contains examples of circumstances which are and are not likely to be

accepted, is available on the Academic Services website:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/academic-services/students/assessment/special-circumstances

It is the responsibility of students to submit their request for consideration of special

circumstances to the Convenor of the relevant Special Circumstances Committee as soon

as possible and not more than a week after the student’s final assessment for the

semester. Students should submit the Special Circumstances form in consultation with

their Personal Tutor. In the form students should describe the circumstances, state when

the circumstances affected them, and all assessments and courses affected. Students

should also ensure that they provide sufficient documentary evidence as detailed in

Section 6 of the Special Circumstances Policy. The form is available at:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/courseworkextensionform.docx

The School will treat the information provided by students as confidential in line with the

University’s Data Protection Policy, and will only share it with staff and External Examiners

who have a legitimate need to access the information in order to consider the student’s

case or to provide students with support.

A4.6 Avoidance / Detection of Plagiarism and Declaration of Own Work

We collate electronic copies of all submitted work in order for them to be processed using

software that checks for potential plagiarism (Turnitin). Trainees are directed to the advice

on plagiarism in section A.2 of this document, and the associated web links. All academic

work should be submitted to Turnitin through Learn.

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Before submitting to Turnitin, students are asked to read and accept an online Declaration

of Own Work form. The intention of this form is to reduce the occurrence of plagiarism

(deliberate or unintentional). It only takes a few moments to complete and giving some

consideration to avoiding unintended plagiarism may save you a lot of difficulty later on.

A4.7 Word Limits

Writing concisely, paying attention to presentation and giving due consideration to the

reader are important skills and essential when communicating written material. To

encourage concise writing and ensure that no benefit is gained by adding excess

information, all submitted work must include a word count towards the start of the

assignment. Guidance and word limits for all submitted work are given in the

corresponding course handbooks. Please keep in mind that these word limits are

maximum word lengths and not figures to aim at, many good assignments will be well

below the word limit. Word limits refer to the main body of text and do not include title

pages, references or appendices. Abstracts for small scale research projects have their

own word limits and do not count towards the word limit for the main body of text.

Trainees are expected to write in a way that meets standards of presentation (layout,

grammar, punctuation, spelling etc.) appropriate for a professional clinical psychologist.

If there is a fixed word limit (e.g. 4,000 words) work will be subject to a penalty of 10

marks if the word count is more than 10% over the prescribed word length (e.g. 4,401 and

above). If a word range is given (e.g. 4,000 - 4,500 words) work will be subject to a

penalty of 10 marks if the word count goes over the higher limit of the band (e.g. the word

count is 4,501 and above).

No specific penalty will be applied for submissions with fewer than the recommended

number of words

A4.8 Reasonable Adjustments for Trainees with Disabilities

Reasonable adjustments for assessed work will be made where required for trainees with

disabilities. These adjustments come from the Student Disability Service and not simply

from a conversation with the trainee. As these adjustments need to be approved well in

advance of assessment dates, trainees with disabilities that may require adjustments

should contact the Student Disability Service at the earliest opportunity:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-disability-service.

Advice may also be sought from Personal Tutors or the Programme Director. Adjustments

may also need to be made in employment settings, please see Clinical Practice

Handbook, section P2.8.

A4.9 Portfolio of Assessed Work

Trainee portfolios are maintained by the programme secretary. Submitted academic work

is stored in an electronic portfolio. Placement paperwork (evaluation of clinical

competence and summaries of clinical experience) must be submitted to the trainee’s

20

Clinical Tutor to be stored as hard copies. The trainee must ensure that they submit all

end of placement paperwork to their Clinical Tutor as they complete each placement.

A4.10 Feedback to Supervisors

Trainees are expected to provide their supervisors with a copy of case conceptualisations,

SSRP and R1 proposals and to give some feedback about their appraisal. Preferably a

copy of the feedback from the marker should be sent to supervisors, though at minimum

an email or telephone call conveying the general feedback should be provided.

A4.11 Feedback and Provisional Marks

Feedback and provisional marks will be returned to trainees through Learn once all work

has been returned from second markers and the results collated. All case

conceptualisations, thesis proposals, essays and small scale research projects are

returned with detailed feedback comments. Samples of each of the assignments are

reviewed by external examiners. All marks returned by the programme team are

provisional marks that may be subject to change by the External Examiner’s moderation

or by the Exam Board. If you do not receive your mark at the same time as other trainees,

this does not mean there is a problem with your assignment. As all work is double marked

blind, it is sometimes necessary for markers to meet to discuss and agree a mark. Please

contact the Programme Secretary if you are worried that you have not received your mark.

A4.12 Submission Process for Written Work

As all coursework is marked anonymously you must ensure that your paper has been fully

anonymised and that you have not included your name or student number anywhere in

your paper.

The following steps should be taken to submit your course assessments:

1. Choose the relevant course in Learn and click on the “Assessment Submission”

folder.

2. To begin the submission process, click the “Own Work Declaration” and read the

attached document. Return to the previous page and click the “Mark Reviewed” button

to confirm that you agree with each of the statements in the Own Work Declaration.

You will now be able to see the “View/Complete” link to submit your paper.

3. Click ’View/Complete’ and on the next page, click the blue ‘Submit’ button.

4. Your name should be automatically filled in on the submission form. The submission

title should always be your exam number. You will find your exam number on your

student card. If your exam number is not included as the submission title we will not

be able to identify your work and you may be marked as a late submission. (Please

note that your exam number is different to your student number. Your student number

starts with “S”, most exam numbers start “B…”.)

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5. Next, click on the ‘Browse’ button to open your computer’s file browser and use it to

browse to the document you wish to submit. Click the ‘Upload’ button when you are

happy you are submitting the correct file.

6. At this point, a plain text version of your paper will be displayed to you (it won’t show

any formatting, images, etc.). Review this to ensure you are submitting the correct

document (the document itself will be sent to the system in its original format). If you

are happy, click on the ‘Confirm’ button to submit your assignment. If you have made

a mistake you can click on the ‘cancel, go back’ link, which will take you back to the

submission form.

All Turnitin submission boxes are set up to allow students to overwrite their work multiple

times up to the submission deadline. This allows you to carry out a “test” submission

which will show your Turnitin similarity score and allow you to make any necessary

adjustments prior to making your final submission.

A.5 Passing or Failing the Academic Component

All academic work is double marked blind by academic and honorary staff, and marks are

reviewed by an External Examiner. Passing academic work depends upon the joint

decision of the Exam Board. Trainees should contact their Personal Tutors for individual

feedback concerning their performance. Academic progress is reviewed at End of

Placement Meetings and at the Annual Review.

A5.1 Failed Academic Work (Except Thesis)

When an assignment does not meet the assessment criteria, a fail mark will be awarded.

The marker will also determine whether the work is capable of being remedied to meet the

pass mark, or whether a new assignment should be submitted. Assignments that are

assessed as a fail will be returned to the student for resubmission with specific

recommendations for further work. In such cases, students may be invited to meet with

the marker to discuss the further work required and to agree the new submission date.

This date will be set by the marker, depending on the extent of submissions or whether a

new submission is required. For simple resubmissions this is likely to be within two weeks

of the meeting date, unless special circumstances apply. For more extensive

resubmissions, or submissions of new assignments, this may be more. In Clinical

Psychology, only one resubmission opportunity is allowed. Resubmissions are assessed

according to the same marking criteria as first submissions; no penalty cap is enforced.

However, only the original fail mark is recorded on the student's academic transcript. For

the purposes of adding and averaging marks, for example, determining the Gillian Birrell

prize, only the first submission mark is counted, not the resubmission mark.

Where a failed piece of work is resubmitted or replaced and is again allocated a fail grade,

the trainee’s progress will be discussed by the Board of Examiners, who may make the

recommendation that the trainee’s studies are discontinued. Should a trainee fail any two

22

academic courses, his/her progress will be discussed by the Board of Examiners, who

may make the recommendation that the trainee’s studies are discontinued.

A5.2 Criteria for Programme Discontinuation

There is an explicit policy on programme discontinuation, which has been agreed by the

Joint Training Committee. All instances of potential discontinuation are discussed at the

Exam Board, which makes a recommendation to the College Postgraduate Studies

Committee. Any Exam Board in which a recommendation to discontinue a student’s

studies is a potential outcome must have invited the student’s NHS employer to the Board

(see section in the Programme Orientation Handbook on the Constitution of the Board of

Examiners).

Where a trainee has failed a placement, this alone will trigger a discussion at an Exam

Board, reflecting the greater magnitude of placement failure compared to failing an

academic assignment. The Exam Board may then recommend either an opportunity to

retake the placement or discontinuation of studies, as appropriate to the individual

circumstances. It should be noted that this would not apply if a placement had not given

the individual sufficient experience to be able to gain the required competences. In such

circumstances, the trainee would not be deemed to have failed the placement, and

existing procedures would allow an extension of the placement or the completion of a

further placement in order to gain the competencies. If the Exam Board recommends that

the trainee be allowed to retake the placement, any further failure of academic work will

also trigger a discussion by the Exam Board.

In terms of course work (case conceptualisations, research proposals and small scale

research projects), the failure of any two of these pieces would similarly trigger a

discussion by the Exam Board. Discontinuation of studies is one of a range of options the

exam board may recommend, in addition to further opportunities to resubmit the failed

work and to put in place any extra supports or remedial action required. The thesis is

governed by separate regulations, which are clear regarding passing, any resubmission

required and failure, so this policy would not apply to the thesis.

The regulations for postgraduate taught programmes are clear regarding instances where

a student has underperformed due to circumstances beyond their control, such as ill

health. Such situations are covered by the use of Special Circumstances Committees.

Trainees should inform their Personal Tutor at the earliest possible convenience of any

personal circumstances that might reasonably be considered to affect academic or clinical

progress through the programme.

A5.3 Special Circumstances Committee

Any candidates for whom special circumstances are known should be discussed in a

specially convened meeting, prior to the meeting of an Exam Board. The full Exam Board

does not need to convene for the SCC. It will be convened and chaired by the Programme

Director and in attendance will be a nominated representative of the External Examiners,

23

the Personal Tutor of any candidate to be discussed by the SCC and any other member of

the Programme Team from whom it would be useful for the SCC to hear, such as the

Clinical Tutor etc. It will be the Personal Tutor’s duty to decide from whom it would be

useful to hear. Written reports may be presented in lieu of attendance.

The purpose of the SCC is to hear in confidence any special circumstances that may

apply to the progress of a postgraduate student and to make a recommendation to the

Exam Board regarding that students’ progress. Recommendations may be to extend

training or to allow progression, or a further opportunity to resubmit for a given piece of

work (e.g. a case conceptualisation, essay or small scale research project). Special

Circumstances Committees do not provide recommendations in relation to the thesis

project.

A5.4 Alternate Exit Awards

From time to time a trainee is not able to complete the Doctoral level training. Under these

circumstances the University can consider awarding an alternate exit award. These

awards are at Masters and PG Diploma level, based upon the work that has been

satisfactorily completed and the credits attached to each. These awards do not allow a

trainee to register with the HCPC and do not confer Chartered Psychologist status with the

BPS. If trainees are considering exiting the programme and not completing the

DClinPsychol, they should discuss their options carefully with their Personal Tutor and

Clinical Tutor and be aware of the possible alternate awards and the implications of each

for their future career. Trainees that have not been able to progress because of a failed

resubmission (of any placement or academic work) may also be able to exit the

programme with an alternate award.

For more information please see the University’s information on Progression

Requirements and Award Criteria.

A.6 Case Conceptualisation Framework

Case conceptualisation reports must demonstrate a thorough understanding of the

relevant literature as well as evidence of its application to clinical problems through the

use of appropriate psychological skills. As well as providing a critical overview of the

relevant literature at the beginning of the case conceptualisation, clear links throughout

the report must be made between the theoretical framework, relevant research findings

and the particular situation and intervention described. This will involve referencing the

psychological literature where appropriate. The case conceptualisation report should

include relevant information in the appendix, such as summary tables of assessment

scores. However, case materials must not be included in the report (e.g. consent forms,

completed measures, referral letters). Case conceptualisations should include most of the

following elements or sections, which should be clearly defined, although it is not

necessary to follow the order given below or to use identical sub-headings.

A critical overview of the literature relevant to the case:

24

This will outline the theoretical context and evidence base within which your case

conceptualisation is situated. For example, if your case relates to anxiety management

with a person with a learning disability, you may wish to provide an overview of models of

anxiety as applied to this client group along with the evidence base for different

interventions. However, in order to obtain a high grade, this overview should go beyond

the description of various models and the evidence-base for associated interventions and

include a significant amount of critical analysis. For example, if your case relates to the

treatment of depression in the context of psychosis, this overview may question the

validity of drawing on the evidence base for non-psychotic depression to inform treatment

for this population. Alternatively, you may wish to discuss the possible psychological

mechanisms of change (e.g. cognitive vs behavioural) underlying the treatment of various

anxiety disorders. Your presentation of the case can then refer to this research context.

An introduction to the case or problem situation:

This will probably include some information about the referral or the initial stimulus for

intervention, if no formal referral was received. It will also usually include the client’s initial

presentation of the problems to the psychologist.

A detailed assessment of the problem situation, based on the trainee’s own investigations:

The case conceptualisation should give a clear description and justification of the

approach taken for data gathering, as well as a clear summary of the results obtained.

The referral information and client’s initial presentation of the problems provide the basis

for the initial hypotheses about the case that can then be tested out through the

assessment and treatment. At the initial stages of assessment it is likely that there may

be alternate or competing hypotheses or explanations to account for the problem

situation. The assessment section should show the most likely explanations, together with

an account of how these hypotheses will be tested. Reporting the results of the

assessment may include details gathered in the initial interview(s), with the client or

significant others, concerning such factors as home background, social, sexual,

educational and occupational histories, client beliefs or attitudes, and history of the

presenting problem(s). The information presented should be clearly relevant to the

proposed hypotheses and theoretical stance adopted in relation to the case. It should

also include reports of any standardised tests, or additional behavioural, cognitive or self-

report forms of assessment.

A hypothesis should contain a postulated psychological mechanism of the onset,

development and / or maintenance of the presenting problem or problems, e.g. adverse

childhood experiences leading to self blaming beliefs, or avoidance of affect leading to

social withdrawal. Consideration of whether a client meets criteria for a particular DSM

diagnosis is not a hypothesis. Consideration of differential diagnoses is not the same as

hypothesis testing. The key distinction is a postulated theoretical mechanism, as

described above.

A psychological formulation of the problem:

25

The formulation is the drawing together of the hypotheses that are being considered and

is at the centre of the case conceptualisation report. The formulation should make sense

of the data that has been gathered in terms of psychological principles, and draw upon the

literature presented in the critical overview section in order to clearly point to an

intervention plan or therapeutic recommendations. Within the formulation, it may be useful

to distinguish between aetiological factors and maintaining factors. It may be useful to

illustrate the formulation schematically. The formulation should clearly link the case

material to a key area of psychological knowledge and cite appropriate key references for

that area.

Many clinicians use the 5 P’s approach to formulating (Factors clustered into:

Predisposing, Precipitating, Presenting, Perpetuating, and Protective) and certainly this

approach is not wrong per se. It is the experience of academic markers however, that this

approach lacks theoretical specificity, makes it harder for the case conceptualisation to

demonstrate strong theory to practice links and makes it harder to critique the models

being used in formulating. We recommend the use of a theoretically specific, model driven

approach to formulation.

An account of the intervention itself:

This should give a brief description of the treatment intervention itself, which should follow

on from the original formulation. You should give an account of the treatment process and

any issues arising out of this, problems encountered, and any outcome measures that

were taken. Sessional or mid-treatment measures can be very useful at guiding treatment

and pointing to re-formulation or a change in treatment direction where therapeutic

change has not taken place in the manner expected.

Evaluation and discussion:

The process of change almost inevitably brings forth additional information. This may

substantiate the original formulation or require a revision of the formulation, and a change

in tactics. With the benefit of hindsight, it may be possible to see how things could have

been done differently, or how therapeutic benefits could have been maximised. It is not

essential to present successful cases, but it would be a matter of concern if psychologists

were presenting unsuccessful cases from which nothing had been learned! Follow up

information, where available, can be included in this section, together with an analysis of

the important issues in the case. This section can also be used to highlight what the case

may teach us about psychological theory. For example, it is often useful to speculate

about possible mechanisms of change. Alternatively, the case process and outcome can

be used to comment on key debates raised in the introductory session of the

conceptualisation. Additionally, it may be useful to reflect on professional issues for the

profession, such as team working, leadership, multi agency liaison etc. Finally, we would

expect to see some personal reflection on therapy process, personal learning and ways in

which the therapeutic encounter shaped the trainee.

References – Please ensure that the BPS Style Guide is used for referencing.

26

Appendices

Information Gathering: Both quantitative and qualitative approaches to information

gathering are appropriate. Both should be equally rigorous. Quantitative data may include

observational, psychometric, self-report (e.g. quantified diary information) or

psychophysiological findings. Qualitative data might include examples of dialogue,

interaction sequences (for example, as recorded on videotape during family therapy

sessions), and descriptions of situations derived from participant observations. In case

conceptualisation reports which include only qualitative data (e.g. process recordings from

psychotherapy) a clear distinction must be made between the data and your

interpretations of these. If appropriate, raw data may be placed in an appendix and only

summary data presented in the main text of the report.

Clinical Validation

Examiners will be concerned about clinical validation of the case conceptualisation.

Supervisors must sign a declaration that the case conceptualisation report is a fair

representation of the work undertaken.

Length and Presentation

Case conceptualisations should be between 4,000-6,000 words in length (NOT including

references and appendices). Give the actual word count on a title or contents page. If the

word limit is exceeded, a lower mark may be received and resubmission of the

assignment in a more concise format may be required.

Title Page

The first page contains the title (which should give some indication of the type of work

carried out), your name and the words “Submitted in part fulfilment of the degree of

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Edinburgh” followed by the month and

year of submission. On a separate line the statement “I certify that this report is a fair and

accurate account of the work carried out” should be signed by the supervisor whose name

should also be printed in typeface. If the supervisor does not have an electronic signature,

then the trainee can copy and paste an email from the supervisor containing this

statement at the start of the submitted piece of work. The second page should be the

declaration of own work form (see below). The third page should include a list of contents

and a word count which excludes references and appendices.

A6.1 Confidentiality in Case Conceptualisations

Although this section refers to Case Conceptualisations, the importance of not breaching

confidentiality applies to all submitted work.

Confidentiality will be deemed to be breached if a reader is potentially able to identify an

individual from the details contained in the submitted piece of work. Obvious breaches of

confidentiality include the presentation of a name or address. However, more care may be

27

required when submitting a case conceptualisation, as a minimum level of information is

required for the reader to understand the case.

Often trainees may accidentally include information without realizing that it is potentially

identifying. To avoid this, adhere to these rules:

Do not leave a name – either the first or last name of the client, even if the name is

not in full: do not use real initials, the first or last name of a friend or relative of the

client or a nickname. If a pseudonym has been used this needs to be stated or it

may appear the name has been included. If a false name is used, ensure there are

no slips where the real name is used by accident (avoid this by running a find and

replace command on Word). Please note that a name of something like a pet or

local pub can be potentially identifying. A simple rule is to avoid real names at all

and note at the start that all names and potentially identifying information have

been changed.

Clinical materials must not be included in the case study (e.g. questionnaires,

letters etc.).

The supervising psychologist must not be identified.

Be aware that detailed information about a client’s job or close significant other’s

job may act as an identifier if the information is very specific.

If the client has signed a consent form, do not include this in the report.

In general, ensure that any reference to your own identity, the identity of the clients or any

institutions is deleted. Bear in mind that in order to protect the identity of your clients, you

may need to go further than simply changing or removing names. Some details of the

history (for example size of family, ages and sex of family members, occupations, timing

of problem onset, specific details of the problem) may provide identifying information to

somebody reading the work. This risk increases if you include a lot of specific details

which, taken together, could add up to hint at a patient's identity, particularly if the case

has unique qualities such as a rare disorder, a high profile forensic history etc.

Where names and/or initials have been changed to protect confidentiality, highlight this on

the first mention of the name (e.g. ‘Mr Lowry (not real name)’ so that the marker and other

readers know that the name has been changed appropriately).

Appropriate steps should be taken to disguise a client’s identity without distorting relevant

issues. For example:

'A professional in her forties' is more appropriate than 'The client was aged 43 and worked

as a solicitor in a medium-sized law firm' or: 'He lives on a deprived council housing

scheme' is better than 'He lives on a run-down housing estate in Niddrie’.

Only necessary items of demographic and clinical information should be included. Some

specialities may require some detail that would normally be omitted, e.g. a specific health

28

condition. Please seek advice from your Personal Tutor and Clinical Supervisor before

choosing such a case, if the ability to protect confidentiality is questionable.

In some instances, case material will be unsuitable for writing up, because the nature of

the case makes it impossible to protect confidentiality adequately. If so, then please

choose another case.

Note that where inappropriate identifiable information is left on any submitted work, the

work is likely to be allocated a fail grade.

Any piece of academic work that has been failed for confidentiality reasons will be

discussed at a Programme Team meeting. The work will be allocated a fail grade, though

the trainee will receive a note of the mark that would have been granted had the breach

not occurred. The trainee must resubmit the same piece of work with the confidential

information removed. They will then be unable to receive more than a borderline pass. At

the request of NHS Area Representative/Heads of Service, the line managers of trainees

will be informed of serious confidentiality breaches.

Once you have completed the programme, you are expected to make every effort to

disseminate your research work in the form of journal articles and submissions, and there

is an expectation that your supervisor will assist you to do this. Under these circumstances

the requirement to remove details of where a piece of research was carried out are

waived. These elements only need to be removed from R1 and R2 assignments in order

for the work to be marked anonymously. As the thesis is not marked blind, there is no

requirement to conceal the location of the research, unless (in rare circumstances) this

breaches an individual client’s confidentiality.

Redacting information in academic assignments

As stated above, you should not submit clinical materials with case conceptualisations. If

materials are needed to illustrate an essential point however, anything potentially

identifying must be redacted (i.e. potentially identifying information removed). When

redacting details it is your responsibility to ensure that the details are fully and irreversibly

removed or deleted. Covering the details with correction fluid or black pen, or using black

highlighter (or similar on electronic documents), is not sufficient as the cover / electronic

blackening could be removed to reveal the details. In electronic documents, it is important

to ensure that the document does not contain tracked changes or similar which could

contain identifying information. An option if unsure would be to simply cut and paste text

into a fresh document. Your NHS Board may have guidance for this in relation to NHS

work.

A6.2 Guidelines for Marking Case Conceptualisations

A – 70+ (Excellent) (A1 = 90-100; A2 = 80-89; A3 = 70-79)

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The case conceptualisation shows critical analysis of the material rather than being merely

descriptive and is focussed and economical; the material is well understood, trainee uses

a wide range of literature and examines this in depth in order to understand the case and

intervention or assessment. The report has a strong structure; the writing is lucid and

confident. Theory, research and clinical practice are well integrated in the material, which

shows an informed consideration of the current issues within Clinical Psychology as a

profession.

B – 60-69 (Good to Very Good)

The report has many of the qualities of the ‘A’ case conceptualisation and must certainly

contain a good deal of critical analysis. It differs from an ‘A’ case study in showing fewer

signs of original thinking, less depth of critical analysis. The structure is clear and

arguments well developed and substantiated. There may be one or two minor

misunderstandings of material, or lapses in a clear structure, but this is compensated for

by other strengths. There is some link made in the material between theory, research and

clinical practice. The answer shows some consideration of the current issues within

Clinical Psychology as a profession.

C – 50-59 (Satisfactory)

The balance here is towards description rather than analysis of a case. The range of

material used is more restricted than in a ‘B category’ answer, or the literature is less

deeply understood, analysed and critiqued but is still relevant. The structure and analysis

may at times be a little less clear but is still discernible. Writing is only occasionally

clumsy. Whilst there may be occasional misunderstandings of the material, other

strengths make up for these. Theory, research and clinical practice may be less clearly

linked than in a B answer. There should still be some awareness of the current issues

within the profession of Clinical Psychology. There should still be an awareness of and

critical thinking or review of the literature that is relevant to the casework being described.

Overall the work demonstrates sufficient competence, understanding and standards of

scholarship to merit a pass at doctoral level.

D – 40-49 (Fail)

The case conceptualisation does not really show competent application of psychological

theory to clinical practice though some of the material used is relevant. There are

misunderstandings of the case, theory, its application or the implications of this. These

deficiencies are not ameliorated by strength in other aspects of the project. There may be

a lack of understanding or awareness of key professional issues within Clinical

Psychology. Overall there is insufficient evidence of competence, understanding and

scholarship to merit a pass at doctoral level.

E – 30-39 (Fail)

Very little evidence of effective clinical work and much irrelevant material. Evidence that

the trainee has seriously misunderstood the issues raised by the case or approaches it in

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a very restricted way with much important material omitted. These deficiencies are not

ameliorated by strength in other aspects of the case study.

F – 20-29 (Fail)

The case study does not provide evidence that the trainee has worked competently,

understands the case or the theory. There is insufficient evidence to merit a pass.

G – 10-19 (Bad Fail)

H – 0-9 (Bad Fail)

AT ALL GRADES

Trainees are expected to write up projects in ways that meet standards of presentation

(Layout, grammar, punctuation, spelling etc.) appropriate for a professional clinical

psychologist. An appropriate level of ethical conduct and approval must be demonstrated.

A.7 Information for Trainees on Awards

The programme has benefited from bequeathed endowment funds to allow us to offer two

class prizes per year.

The Gillian Birrell Memorial Prize

This award is presented to the trainee with the highest overall performance and marks for

all work completed over the course of training. It is a financial prize awarded annually to a

trainee in his or her graduating year.

Gillian Birrell is remembered professionally for her major contribution to advancing the role

of Clinical Psychology in the specialism of Severe and Enduring Mental Health. She was

influential in seeking ways of providing support and psychological therapy to clients whose

psychological needs had previously been met with little recognition at the time. Gillian was

a support to her colleagues and is remembered in Lothian, where she was based, for her

kindness, warmth and humour.

The Caroline Blair Memorial Prize

This award is presented annually for excellence in a thesis in the area of Child,

Adolescent and Family Psychology.

Caroline Blair’s contribution to the mental health of the adolescent population is

widespread. As an exceptional researcher, Caroline identified and provided an

understanding of undetected mental health needs of homeless teenagers and other

vulnerable groups. She had an ability to transmit her research into excellent clinical

practice. She is remembered for her generosity in promoting and sharing her knowledge

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of evidence based practice to her colleagues and trainees to promote the well being of

young people.

New Clinical Psychology Thesis Prize

A new thesis prize has been introduced as a means of recognising and promoting high

quality thesis research. The new prize will ensure that the highest graded thesis is always

recognised with a prize, regardless of topic area.

The three prizes will be given to three separate trainees each year.