PYMEAC: Engagement and Assessment of Common Mental Health Problems in Children and Young People

Module code: PYMEAC

Module provider: Psychology; School of Psych and Clin Lang Sci

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Double Presentation: S1 & S2, and S2 & Summer

Module convenor: Miss Lucy Miller, email: l.miller2@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 13 August 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

As per the national curriculums for CWP/EMHP training (2020): The module aims to equip CWPs/EMHPs to “be able to undertake a child-centred interview which identifies the child’s / young person’s current difficulties, their goals and those of their family/parents, their strengths and resources and any risk to self or others. They need to understand the child in the context of their family, culture, wider social environment, developmental stage and temperament. They need to effectively engage the child or young person and their parents/carer(s) and other family members and to establish therapeutic alliances. They will need to gather appropriate information from relevant sources, be able to make sense of this and with the family develop a shared understanding. They also need to understand how the child’s difficulties fit within a diagnostic framework, identify other physical, developmental or psychological difficulties and know what evidence-based interventions are likely to be appropriate.”  

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Demonstrate systematic and advanced knowledge understanding and awareness of concepts of common mental health problems in children and young people, and a range of social, medical and psychological explanatory models. 
2. Undertake a robust patient-centred assessment, compromised of, but not limited to, information gathering, risk assessments, and the use of routine outcome measures. 
3. Identify the main areas of concern relevant to the assessment undertaken, and provide evidence-based information about treatment choices to make a shared decision with the child/young person and family. 
4. Engage children, young people and their parents/carers, and establish an appropriate relationship whilst gathering information in a collaborative manner. 

Module content

As per the national curriculums for CWP/EMHP training (2020):  

The module content will equip CWPs/EMHPs to “assess children, young people and families with a range of mental health problems. This assessment must reflect the child and their family’s perspective and must be conducted with the child’s and family’s needs paramount. The assessment should reflect a shared understanding of the child or young person’s current difficulties and inform how decisions are made with the family about the best next steps for the child and the family. Possible next steps include giving advice and psycho-education, referral to another agency, care within the wider multidisciplinary CAMHS team (e.g. for medication or formal psychological therapy) or a low intensity intervention (e.g. guided self-help, brief behavioural activation) delivered by the practitioner themselves.  

The module will therefore equip the CWP/EMHP with a good understanding of the incidence, prevalence and presentation of common mental health problems experienced by children and young people and evidenced-based treatment choices. Skills teaching will develop core competences in active listening, engagement, alliance building, patient/carer-centred information gathering, information giving and shared decision-making. The module will develop the practitioner competencies in assessing and identifying areas of difficulty (including risk assessment) and establishing main areas for change.  

The CWP/EMHP will therefore be able to effectively and collaboratively establish the main areas for change (goals); develop and maintain a working therapeutic alliance; engage the child/young person/family to support them in self-management of recover; identify and differentiate between common mental health problems in CYP; navigate and signpost to appropriate interventions and use routine outcome measures and standardised assessment tools effectively as part of the assessment and engagement process.” 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching sessions to develop critical awareness of theories, research, policies & legislation.  

Experiential and skills-based workshops provide students with a strong foundation in the clinical procedures of low-intensity practice, addressing the most up-to-date research developments.  

Skills-based competencies will be developed through small group experiential work and role plays in workshops, observation and feedback from peers and course tutors. 

University-directed learning sessions utilise e-learning packages, guided research / reading, and individual or small group reflective exercises to support learning. 

Self-directed study to include general reading for each module. Video resources will be available to allow students to see examples of clinical therapy sessions and clinical demonstrations of specific techniques. 

This module is taught twice to two different cohorts of students - first in Semester 1 and Semester 2 and then repeated in Semester 2 and Summer Vacation. The 200 study hours are listed for the first iteration of teaching in Semester 1 and Semester 2, and these same study hours are repeated for the second iteration of teaching in Semester 2 and Summer Vacation. 

Study hours

At least 28.5 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve all of the following to pass this module:

1. A mark of 50% in each assessment, with no auto-fails in the practical skills assessment
2. A minimum of 80% live attendance
3. An overall module mark of 50%

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Minimum of one tutor observation of role play rehearsal of skills in teaching sessions, with oral feedback given. 

Reassessment

Additional costs