Postgraduate Certificate in Low Intensity Psychological Interventions - Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners Training (PWP) NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression

The course equips trainees with the necessary skills and competencies to provide guided self-help, low intensity cognitive behavioural  interventions at Step 2 of the NHS Talking Therapies (previously known as IAPT) Stepped Care Model, for individuals experiencing common mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and panic.

Trainees will learn how to assess common mental health problems using a structured patient centred assessment format.  Additionally, trainees will learn evidence based, low intensity CBT techniques.  The design of the academic programme reflects the NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression stepped care service context, in which trainees work during their training year.

Trainees must evidence their knowledge and competence in order to complete the programme.

Trainees who complete the Postgraduate Certificate will hold posts as PWPs in their organisations and work in NHS Talking Therapies Services.

Duration	1 Year
Start Date	March or October
Compulsory Modules	All modules on the LIPI course are compulsory.  Trainees must pass all modules to complete the course. Module 1: Low Intensity Psychological Interventions for Mental Health Module 2: Values, Diversity and Context. Delivery entails 30 days of face-to-face teaching and 15 days of practice-based learning.
Placement	The trainee will be employed directly by a local NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression Service.  They will attend university 1 day per week whilst working clinically on the remaining 4 days.
How to Apply	Applications to this programme may only be made through NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression services recruiting trainees and not directly through the University of Sheffield. Posts are typically advertised by services on NHS Jobs.

Entry Requirements

Recruitment is a 2 stage process carried out jointly by the NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression services and the University course team. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed at the associated service and then put forward for a second stage interview with a panel of the University's IAPT teaching team.  The university interview will include a role play. The candidate must be deemed successful by both the service and the IAPT teaching team (in terms of the PWP training course requirements) in order to confirm a place on the programme.

The programme is of 1-year duration and attendance on the programme is a requirement of the trainee posts. Trainees need to pass the course to continue in employment. Further information and examples of person specifications/job descriptions can be found on the NHS health careers website.

The PWP programme is currently only open to people employed within local IAPT services, with their places funded by Health Education England. 

The course has 2 intakes of trainees(N=50) per year and therefore recruitment is a rolling process with jobs being advertised between April and July for the October intakes and October to January for the March intake. 

Candidates must not be enrolled on any other HEI training or educational programme at the time of training.

Candidates who have previously been enrolled and not completed a funded PWP NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression training course must provide evidence and reference from the previous HEI about extenuating circumstances that lead to withdrawal from the course.  Previously funded applicants who have withdrawn without extenuating circumstance, or who have been excluded from a PWP course, are not eligible to apply.  Candidates who intent to apply to start another HEE funded programme (e.g. DclinPsy/CAPS/ CBT) before the PG Cert completes need not apply.

Qualifications Required

1. Undergraduate degree or equivalent level 6 qualification 

Candidates must hold an undergraduate degree or equivalent level 6 qualification. The course does not require the formal qualification to be in a health or psychology related discipline, however this would be advantageous to potential candidates.

2. Two years’ mental health working experience, including voluntary work or expertise gained by experience of mental health problems

PWP Trainees are required to have relevant transferable skills, knowledge and experience that will equip them for the role.  It is advisable that trainees have gained this experience via employment or voluntary work within mental health services or a service with relevant context.  Examples of this include volunteering for mental health organisations such as Mind or Samaritans, amongst a wide variety of others.  Volunteering in community organisations and supporting people where common mental health issues will be integrated into the role, such as work supporting refugees, homeless people, substance misuse, youth organisations, is relevant.  Roles that involve developing relationships with people and/or that demonstrate an ability to recognise and respond to common mental health problems are useful. Relevant personal experience is also applicable here, such as caring for a family member or personal experiences of mental health issues.

Applicants are encouraged to think about the quality and content of their experiences, how they can demonstrate the skills they have acquired from their experiences and how these may be transferable to the role.  The emphasis is on the skills and learning rather than the duration of experience or the environment it was acquired in.

3. Availability to attend university one day per week in conjunction with a minimum of two further days in low-intensity clinical practice per week for the period of the training course

The training course is delivered over 1 day per week and attendance is mandatory.  Trainees are typically employed within local IAPT services where they will complete 4 days of clinical practice during their training. Trainees will need a minimum of 2 days of clinical practice each week to enable them to acquire the required clinical hours for the course.

4. Applicants should demonstrate evidence of interpersonal skills in order to engage and develop working alliances with colleagues and patients

Interpersonal skills will be assessed via role play during selection. Evidence of the ability to develop effective working and therapeutic relationships with colleagues and patients is an essential prerequisite for the training.

5. Applicants should show evidence of an openness to learning new knowledge and skills

This is an experiential course. There are high demands throughout and an ongoing expectation that trainees will engage in regular supervision, skills practice and experiential learning.  Additionally, trainees need a willingness to push themselves, ‘give it a go’ and make mistakes in order to learn from them.

Course Content/ aims

The PWP teaching programme is delivered within a competency-based framework and trainees will lean core competencies for the PWP role.

The design of the academic programme reflects the NHS Talking Therapies stepped care service context, in which trainees work during their training year. The Programme contains two core modules and is structured to follow the national PWP curriculum guidance (reviewed in 2014/15).

The overall aims of the programme are for students to have:

• The skills, knowledge, values and competence in understanding behaviour change theory and how to use the COM-B model to inform low intensity assessments and interventions.
• The skills, knowledge, values and competence to effectively assess patients with common mental health problems.
• The skills, knowledge, values and competence to deliver PWP evidence-based self-help interventions.
• To effectively signpost patients to other services where appropriate.
• The skills, knowledge and values to work effectively with patients from a diverse range of backgrounds, understanding and respecting the impact of difference and diversity upon their lives and mental health.
• The skills, knowledge and values to work within a diverse social, work and healthcare context.
• Skills in managing personal learning agenda and associated self-care.

Structure of the programme

The programme begins in October/ March with a 1-week introductory teaching block where trainees are required to attend University for the full 5 days, consisting of academic teaching, grounding in clinical skills, awareness of the PWP model and programme acclimatisation. The main purpose of the introductory block is to prepare trainees for the Assessment Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) that takes place before trainees commence their clinical work.

After the introductory block, trainees will attend University for teaching on a Wednesday (March intake) or Friday (October intake).

Assessment is via Assessment and Treatment OSCE’s and accompanying Reflective Commentaries, a clinical Treatment tape of a client with a diversity need and accompanying Reflective Commentary, a Supervision Process Analysis and a final Practice Portfolio. Trainees clinical and organisational competency is also assessed though a report completed by their service supervisor at two points throughout the programme.

Teaching

The Postgraduate Certificate is a full-time programme, consisting of 1 day per week attendance at University for teaching and 4 days per week working in the service employer.

The teaching team is comprised of NHS Talking Therapies teachers who are highly experienced, qualified, PWPs and CBT Therapists.  They are all experienced supervisors and are currently employed in a range clinical of settings delivering low intensity CBT, supervision and or teaching LICBT.

At university trainees receive 1 day of teaching and lectures per week. Within this teaching day dedicated time is scheduled for clinical skills practice sessions and self-practice self-reflection groups, which are interspersed through the year.  Trainees will learn via didactic lectures, skills practice, demonstrations, modelling, role plays, small group work, reflective exercises and self-practice tasks.

Assessment is via a Screening OSCE, reflective essays, clinical session recordings and a final practice portfolio.  In addition, trainees must submit a case study examining their work adapting LI CBT for a patient with a diverse need and a process report analysing and reflecting on their ability to use case management supervision.   Trainees’ clinical and organisational competency is also assessed though a report completed by their service supervisor at two points throughout the programme.

Careers

Trainees will qualify as Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners.  Many trainee positions are permanent roles based within their employing NHS Talking Therapies service, conditional upon qualification from the course.  Where a permanent role is not contracted, trainees will be eligible to apply for PWP roles within a range of mental health settings within the NHS, 3^rd sector organisations or private practice.  Post qualification our trainees often develop and consolidate their clinical skills before developing in a range of areas to include PWP clinical and case management supervision, LI-CBT for Long Term Conditions, clinical leadership roles, managerial roles and teaching roles.  Some PWPs progress onto HI CBT or other clinical psychology roles.  Please note the PWP is not a prerequisite for CBT training.

Contact

Enquires can be directed to the IAPT Administrator at talkingtherapiesadmin@sheffield.ac.uk