PYMVECB-Values,Employment and Context

Module Provider: Psychology
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:7
Terms in which taught: Autumn term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2019/0

Email: p.myles-hooton@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) operate at all times from an inclusive values base which promotes recovery and recognises and respects diversity. Diversity represents the range of cultural norms including personal, family, social and spiritual values held by the diverse communities served by the service within which the worker is operating. Workers must respect and value individual differences in age, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture. PWPs must also take into account any physical and sensory difficulties people may experience in accessing services and make provision in their work to ameliorate these. They must be able to respond to people’s needs sensitively with regard to all aspects of diversity. They must demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities for all and encourage people’s active participation in every aspect of care and treatment. They must also demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the power issues in professional / patient relationships and take steps in their clinical practice to reduce any potential for negative impact this may have. This module will, therefore, expose PWPs to the concept of diversity, inclusion and multi-culturalism and equip workers with the necessary knowledge, attitudes and competencies to operate in an inclusive values driven service.

Aims:

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) operate at all times from an inclusive values base which promotes recovery and recognises and respects diversity. Diversity represents the range of cultural norms including personal, family, social and spiritual values held by the diverse communities served by the service within which the worker is operating. Workers must respect and value individual differences in age, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture. PWPs must also take into account any physical and sensory difficulties people may experience in accessing services and make provision in their work to ameliorate these. They must be able to respond to people’s needs sensitively with regard to all aspects of diversity. They must demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities for all and encourage people’s active participation in every aspect of care and treatment. They must also demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the power issues in professional / patient relationships and take steps in their clinical practice to reduce any potential for negative impact this may have. This module will, therefore, expose PWPs to the concept of diversity, inclusion and multi-culturalism and equip workers with the necessary knowledge, attitudes and competencies to operate in an inclusive values driven service.

PWPs are expected to operate in a stepped care, high-volume environment. During training, trainee PWPs should carry a reduced caseload, with the number of cases seen depending on their stage in training, building up to a maximum of 60-80% of a qualified PWP’s caseload at the end of training. PWPs must be able to manage caseloads, operate safely and to high standards and use supervision to aid their clinical decision-making. PWPs need to recognise the limitations to their competence and role and direct people to resources appropriate to their needs, including step-up to high-intensity therapy, when beyond their competence and role. In addition, they must focus on social inclusion – including return to work and meaningful activity or other occupational activities – as well as clinical improvement. To do so they must have knowledge of a wide range of social and health resources available through statutory and community agencies. They must have a clear understanding of what constitutes the range of high-intensity psychological treatments which includes CBT and the other IAPT approved high-intensity therapies and how high-intensity treatments differ from low-intensity working. This module will, therefore, also equip PWPs with an understanding of the complexity of people’s health, social and occupational needs and the services which can support people to recovery. It will develop PWPs decision making abilities and enable them use supervision and to recognise when and where it is appropriate to seek further advice, a step up or a signposted service. Skills teaching will develop PWPs clinical management, liaison and decision making competencies in the delivery of support to patients, particularly where people require intervention or advice outside the core low-intensity evidence-based interventions taught in module 2.

Assessable learning outcomes:

Students must demonstrate:

1) Demonstrate knowledge of, and commitment to a non-discriminatory, recovery orientated values base to mental health care and to equal opportunities for all and encourage people’s active participation in every aspect of care and treatment

2) respect for and the value of individual differences in age, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture.

3) Demonstrate knowledge of, and competence in responding to peoples’ needs sensitively with regard to all aspects of diversity, including working with older people, the use of interpretation services and taking into account any physical and sensory difficulties service users may experience in accessing services.

4) awareness and understanding of the power issues in professional / service user relationships.

5) competence in managing a caseload of people with common mental health problems efficiently and safely.

6) knowledge of, and competence in using supervision to assist the worker’s delivery of low-intensity psychological and/or pharmacological treatment programmes for common mental health problems.

7) Demonstrate knowledge of, and competence in gathering patient-centred information on employment needs, wellbeing and social inclusion and in liaison and signposting to other agencies delivering employment, occupational and other advice and services.

8) an appreciation of the PWPs own level of competence and boundaries of competence and role, and an understanding of how to work within a team and with other agencies with additional specific roles which cannot be fulfilled by the PWP alone.

9) a clear understanding of what constitutes high-intensity psychological treatment and how this differs from low-intensity work.

Additional outcomes:

•    Students will obtain supervision on difficult cases.



•    A training log specifying the length of study, number of taught hours and a record of the lecturers, tutors or mentors participating in a therapist’s training must be kept by the student. 



•    To constructively discuss and appraise the clinical work of themselves and others presented in small discussion groups. 

Outline content:

1) Nondiscriminatory, recovery orientated values base to mental health care.

2) Individual differences in age, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture.

3) Responding to people’s needs sensitively with regard to all aspects of diversity, including the use of translation services.

4) Physical and sensory difficulties service users may experience in accessing services and if required refer to appropriate services.

5) Equal opportunities for all and encourage people’s active participation in every aspect of care and treatment.

6) Power issues in professional / service user relationships.

7) Managing a caseload of people with common mental health problems efficiently and safely.

8) Using supervision to assist the worker’s delivery of low-intensity psychological and/or pharmacological treatment programmes for common mental health problems.

9) Range of employment, occupational and wellbeing strategies to assist patients manage their emotional distress and disturbance.

10) Patient-centred information on employment needs, wellbeing and social inclusion.

11) Appreciation of the worker’s own level of competence and an understanding of how to work within a team and with other agencies with additional specific roles which cannot be fulfilled by the worker alone.

12) What constitutes high-intensity psychological treatment and how this differs from low-intensity work.

13) Liaison and signposting to other agencies delivering employment, occupational and other advice and services.

14) The complex systems of community, statutory and voluntary sector provision of services work together.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

Knowledge will be learnt through a combination of lectures, seminars, discussion groups, guided reading, self-practice/self-reflection activities, problem-based learning tasks, and independent study. Skills based competencies will be learnt through a combination of clinical simulation in small groups working intensively under close supervision with peer and tutor feedback and supervised practice through supervised direct contact with patients in the workplace. 

Contact hours



• 11 days in total 

• Days split between in class theoretical teaching and clinical simulation, and in the workplace undertaking practice-based learning and supervision.

Summative assessment- Examinations:

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

1.    A clinical planning scenario with a real treatment case or other clinical task in which trainees are required to demonstrate knowledge and skills in working with a person with a variety of needs from one or more of a range of diverse groups. This will be assessed by a live class presentation which will be filmed.  The presentation will last 15 minutes with 5 minutes for questions.



2.    Submission of an 8-10 minute video clip of an intervention with the case presented in class, demonstrating clinical skills in working with a person with a variety of needs.  The recording will not be formally marked.  However, if there are concerns raised by any of the content of the video, this will be raised with the student and service as a potential fitness to practice issue.  It is permissible for the student to submit an audio recording of a telephone session if a video has been submitted in PYMTRT.  If the submission is of a face to face session, the recording must be video recorded.



3.    A 3000-word case report in which trainees are required to demonstrate knowledge and competence in using case management and clinical skills supervision.  This task includes a 500-word reflective commentary on the 10-minute clip and a reflection on how supervision was used to support working with this patient.



4.    Successful completion of the following practice outcomes, to be assessed by means of a practice outcomes portfolio and signed off as satisfactory (PO 7, PO 8 and PO 9).



PO 7.    Demonstrates the ability to engage with people from diverse demographic, social and cultural backgrounds in assessment and low-intensity interventions. This could include adaptations to practice working with older adults, using interpretation services/self-help materials for people whose first language is not English, and/or adapting self-help materials for people with learning or literacy difficulties. 



PO 8.    Demonstrates the ability to effectively manage a caseload including referral to step up, employment and signposted services



PO 9.    Demonstrates the ability to use supervision to the benefit of effective (a) case management and (b) clinical skills development. This should include: a) a report on a case management supervision session demonstrating ability to review caseload, bring patients at agreed pre-determined thresholds and provide comprehensive and succinct case material; b) a report on use of clinical skills supervision including details of clinical skills questions brought, learning and implementation.  

Formative assessment methods:

Penalties for late submission:
Penalties for late submission on this module are in accordance with the University policy. Please refer to page 5 of the Postgraduate Guide to Assessment for further information: http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/exams/student/exa-guidePG.aspx

Assessment requirements for a pass:

A mark of at least 50% in every skills-based assessment (Assessment number 1) with no concerns raised with Assessment number 2.

A mark of at least 50% in every academic-based assessment (Assessment number 3).

A mark of ‘satisfactory’ on the practice outcomes (Assessment number 4).

The portfolio will be marked summatively in Module 3 and the marks for each practice outcome will sit within each relevant module (i.e. Pos 1-3: Module 1; Pos 4-6: Module 2; Pos 7-9: Module 3.

A minimum of 100% attendance is required. 

Reassessment arrangements:

Students who do not obtain the required pass mark in the assessed work will be given the opportunity to resubmit, on one further occasion, any individual assessment that has been failed. The re-sit grade cannot exceed 50%. A short Top-up week will be held after the end of the course, giving students the opportunity to complete some teaching sessions or assessments that were missed initially.



Completion of studies is dependent on employment within an IAPT service and access to an IAPT clinical caseload. Students must successfully pass all modules of the PWP training programme. Therefore a student’s studies may be terminated if they are no longer working in an IAPT service, no longer have access to an IAPT caseload or fail coursework at second attempt

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books:

2) Specialist equipment or materials:

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear:

4) Printing and binding:

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification:

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence:

Last updated: 10 April 2019