Foundations of Clinical Psychology, MSc at University of Aberdeen

Increasing numbers of psychology graduates are looking to pursue a career in clinical psychology and related areas. Accessing job and training opportunities is highly competitive. Our masters programme in Foundations of Clinical Psychology will increase your knowledge, skills, experience and confidence when applying for highly competitive Assistant Psychologist posts, Clinical Associate Training, the Doctoral Qualification in Clinical Psychology, clinical psychology research posts or related positions*.

You will learn from practising and academic psychologists who will provide training on theoretical and applied aspects of clinical psychology. Courses include key issues and debates in clinical psychology, clinical psychology across the lifespan (core and specialist areas), introducing core clinical skills, ethical and professional issues and clinical research methods. Carrying out a substantial clinical project will enable students to apply some of these skills. Each clinical project is typically co-supervised by a practitioner psychologist and is often rooted in local clinical services, for example, carrying out a service evaluation of a treatment group.

This programme is aimed at psychology graduates looking to pursue a professional career in clinical psychology, clinical PhD/research or other careers in healthcare, social care and charity sectors working with people experiencing a range of mental health problems.

How You'll Study

A broad range of teaching methods are used throughout the programme, including workshops, practical classes, lectures, experiential exercises and debates.

• Clinical workshops, often led by Clinical Psychologists give an insight into the application of formulation across the lifespan and in a broad range of clinical areas highlighting topical issues and debates.
• Clinician-led experiential group exercises (eg. guided role play) and a reflective learning approach are used to introduce some core skills relevant to clinical practice.
• Key ethical and professional issues are also examined and brought to life using clinically relevant examples and dilemmas.

Learning Methods

• CLINICAL LEARNING
• GROUP PROJECTS
• INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
• LECTURES
• PEER LEARNING
• RESEARCH
• SEMINARS
• TUTORIALS
• WORKSHOPS

Why Study Foundations of Clinical Psychology?

• The Aberdeen masters in Foundations of Clinical Psychology introduces key areas of current clinical psychology knowledge, theories and models and enables students to link this applied knowledge with fundamental psychological theory.
• Based in one of the UK’s oldest centres for the study of psychology, students’ knowledge and practice of core research methods will be extended and key clinical research methods, such as systematic reviewing, audit and service evaluation introduced.
• The programme has a workshop format, enabling interactive learning. You will be taught by clinical and health psychologists practising in a range of NHS and voluntary sector settings.
• You will use real world clinical data or focus your review on a current clinical issue for your individual clinical project. You will be encouraged to present your project to clinical and academic colleagues, providing an excellent opportunity for networking to enhance your career prospects.

Careers

With 1 in 4 people experiencing mental health problems during their lifetime and a growing recognition of the value of psychological therapies and interventions, there is an increasing demand for professionals working in the field of clinical psychology.

The Masters in Foundations of Clinical Psychology is aimed at psychology graduates looking to develop and extend their clinical knowledge, experience and network, prior to pursuing a career in clinical psychology and related fields.

Graduates of the programme will be able to demonstrate a strong skillset in a wide range of areas relevant to clinical psychology as well as a range of valuable transferable skills.

Career opportunities

• Assistant Psychologist posts
• Clinical Associate Training
• Doctoral Qualification in Clinical Psychology
• Clinical PhD/Clinical Research posts
• Careers in health care, social care, mental health and charity sectors.