The Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsych) course provides a comprehensive training programme comprising concurrent academic teaching (on average two days per week) and clinical work placements based mainly in the NHS (on average three days per week). The overarching purpose of the training course is to supply highly competent clinical psychologists for the NHS and related settings.

Please view the full Trainee Person Specification if you are interested in this course.

On successful completion of training you will meet the Health and Care Professions Council's requirements for registration as a Practitioner Psychologist. You will also satisfy the British Psychological Society’s Committee on Training in Clinical Psychology requirements (BPS, CTCP) for becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

You will participate in a broad-based clinical-academic programme, designed and taught by a diverse core team, selected invited external speakers and NHS specialists. The course covers all of the major theoretical and clinical approaches to clinical psychology.

This training course requires you to fulfil two main minimum criteria in order to apply. You need at least a year’s experience of paid relevant clinical-academic work, such as an assistant psychologist in the NHS or a research assistant. And you need strong academic qualifications, i.e. at least an upper 2:1 degree in Psychology (which grants Graduate Basis for Registration with the BPS).

During the training course you will be robustly assessed to evaluate your clinical performance, academic achievement and your ability to integrate these two elements. As this is a doctoral-level programme, you will need to be able to work at this standard and produce an original research thesis by the end of training.

All applications must be made via the Clearing House for Postgraduate Courses in Clinical Psychology, click 'Apply' to find out more.

In the most recent BPS accreditation, our Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology was widely praised for its structure, quality of teaching, clinical rigour and philosophy.

In the context of a critical and innovative approach, you will gain the knowledge and skills to become an effective clinical psychologist across different client groups and work settings. You will also learn how to apply knowledge and theory to different ways of working, such as direct therapy, indirect working (e.g. consultation), staff support, service development and organisational change.

You will gain core skills in assessment, formulation and therapeutic interventions. Your effective core therapy skills will include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and at least one other approach.

We offer theoretical frameworks for evaluating clinical psychology theory and practice in a critical but constructive way. You will learn about innovative approaches to practice, such as social constructionist, narrative and systemic therapies, and community psychology interventions.

The research element of the course encompasses both qualitative and quantitative methods. And we offer an outstanding range of placement and personal/professional development experiences.

At a recent accreditation visit, the BPS spoke of our course as being “clearly ahead of the game” in terms of engaging with the future directions of healthcare provision. It also acknowledged that the course was viewed extremely positively in this regard by trainees, recent graduates, supervisors and employers.

As a graduate of this course you will have the necessary training to work as a clinical psychologist in the NHS and related settings, such as primary care, community contexts, hospital wards, and charities.

The training programme will also send you forward into your career with an enriched and broadened outlook that we hope will be of lasting benefit.
The BPS praised the course’s critical stance as empowering the development of both therapeutic and non-therapy competencies – for example, developing skills in promoting new ways of working as well as influencing the field at a policy level.

We hope that you will graduate prepared for the new and evolving challenges within the NHS and other diverse settings.