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PYMTRT: Evidence-Based Low Intensity Treatment of Common Mental Health Problems
Module code: PYMTRT
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: Mrs Eleanor Vialls, email: e.j.vialls@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: 23 May 2024
Overview
Module aims and purpose
As detailed in the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) national curriculum (2022):
This module will equip students with a good understanding of the process of therapeutic support and the management of individuals and groups of clients engaging with, where appropriate, families, friends and carers. Skills teaching will develop PWPs general and disorder-defined ‘specific factor’ competencies in the delivery of low-intensity treatments informed by cognitive-behavioural principles and in the support of medication concordance.
Students will provide support for a range of low-intensity self-help interventions informed by cognitive-behavioural principles, such as behavioural activation, graded exposure, cognitive restructuring, worry management, panic management, problem solving, CBT-informed sleep management, exposure response prevention and behavioural experiments as well as supporting physical exercise and medication adherence. Support is specifically designed to enable people to optimise their use of self-management recovery information and pharmacological treatments and may be delivered individually or to groups and through face-to-face, telephone, email, cCBT or other contact methods.Â
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:
- Demonstrate competence in planning, implementing and critically reflecting on the delivery of a range of low intensity guided self-help psychological interventions including: behavioural activation, graded exposure, cognitive restructuring (including behavioural experiments), worry management, problem-solving. promoting good sleep and physical activity, and medication support
- Demonstrate knowledge of, and competence in developing and maintaining a therapeutic alliance with clients during their treatment programme, including dealing with issues and events that threaten the alliance
- Critically evaluate a range of evidence-based interventions and strategies to assist clients in managing their emotional distress and disturbance
Further details can be found within the national curriculum (July, 2022):
Module content
- A range of evidence-based low-intensity interventions and strategies
- The therapeutic alliance
- Collaborative treatment planning
- Managing endings
- Individualising low-intensity interventions
- Role of case management and stepped care approaches
- Supporting people with medication
- Delivering low-intensity interventions using a range of methods
Structure
Teaching and learning methods
Skills based competencies will be learnt through a combination of clinical simulation and role plays in small groups working intensively under close supervision with peer and tutor feedback and supervised practice through supervised direct contact with clients in the workplace. Knowledge will be learnt through a combination of lectures, seminars, discussion groups, guided reading and independent study.
Teaching will provide trainees with the opportunity to practice different modes of evidence based treatment delivery. Group facilitation skills will be learnt through teaching on and feedback on experiential practice of group facilitation.
This approach could help trainees to learn how to present information in different ways e.g. designing PowerPoint slides, using an interactive white board, and to learn how to tailor information to different audiences including minoritised communities.
Self-directed study will include review of video library and web-based resources with examples of intervention sessions and clinical demonstrations of specific techniques.
The following structure for this module is a minimum of 15 days in total:
- At least ten days of theoretical teaching, skills practice in intensive workshops and clinical simulations, in which trainees must be signed off by the course as competent to start work with clients
- Five days undertaking directed practice-based learning
- Approximately forty hours of clinical contact time dedicated to intervention (including in person, group, via video and via telephone)
Over the course of the programme, in line with the national curriculum, at least 15 days (approximately 86.25 hours) of teaching will be delivered in person on campus with the remainder delivered online or on campus. The ratio of on campus to online delivery varies across the three modules; you will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.
Lectures across the programme all encompass a degree of clinical skills rehearsal as part of teaching pedagogy; lectures comprise varying degrees of class discussion, small group rehearsal, and supervision and clinical skills practice.
For the purposes of the module descriptor form, practical classes detailed below comprises directed practice-based learning in the workplace (5 days / approximately 28.75 hours per module recommended by national curriculum).
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.Â
Study hours
At least 86.25 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.
 Scheduled teaching and learning activities |  Semester 1 |  Semester 2 | Ìý³§³Ü³¾³¾±ð°ù |
---|---|---|---|
Lectures | 28.75 | 28.75 | |
Seminars | |||
Tutorials | 1 | ||
Project Supervision | |||
Demonstrations | |||
Practical classes and workshops | 14 | 14.75 | |
Supervised time in studio / workshop | |||
Scheduled revision sessions | |||
Feedback meetings with staff | |||
Fieldwork | |||
External visits | |||
Work-based learning | 20 | 20 | |
 Self-scheduled teaching and learning activities |  Semester 1 |  Semester 2 | Ìý³§³Ü³¾³¾±ð°ù |
---|---|---|---|
Directed viewing of video materials/screencasts | 10 | 10 | |
Participation in discussion boards/other discussions | 2 | 2 | |
Feedback meetings with staff | 1 | ||
Other | |||
Other (details) | |||
 Placement and study abroad |  Semester 1 |  Semester 2 | Ìý³§³Ü³¾³¾±ð°ù |
---|---|---|---|
Placement | |||
Study abroad | |||
 Independent study hours |  Semester 1 |  Semester 2 | Ìý³§³Ü³¾³¾±ð°ù |
---|---|---|---|
Independent study hours | 23.75 | 24 |
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:
- A mark of 50% in each assessment, and no autofails in the practical skills/clinical assessment
- A minimum of 80% live attendance
- An overall module mark of 50%
Summative assessment
Type of assessment | Detail of assessment | % contribution towards module mark | Size of assessment | Submission date | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Practical skills assessment | Low-intensity treatment session with a client treated by the trainee | 50 | 30 minutes | Students will be notified of submission date via Blackboard at the beginning of the module. | For clinical assessments (e.g., video-recording submissions); there are autofail sections within each of these marking criteria. This means that if any of these autofail sections have not been met to a passing standard, it will lead to a failure in the relevant areas and therefore a fail in the overall assessment. The autofails will apply even if assessments have been awarded an overall percentage within the passing range. |
Written coursework assignment | Reflective report | 50 | 2,000 words | Students will be notified of submission date via Blackboard at the beginning of the module. | Reflective report on their performance from the recorded and submitted treatment session. This reflective commentary must be based on the submitted clinical 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: /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.
Self-practice/ self-reflection (SP/SR) tasks that include practicing the intervention for themselves and then reflecting in a 500-word blog, submitted to a discussion board on blackboard, after each study day. Feedback is given in the form of discussion points during University based supervision and through general feedback to the discussion board. The students also have the option of asking for specific feedback on their reflective writing.
Problem based learning (PBL) scenarios to be considered within the assigned study day and feedback is provided through an example answer that is shared after the students have considered their answer.
Reassessment
Type of reassessment | Detail of reassessment | % contribution towards module mark | Size of reassessment | Submission date | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Practical skills assessment | Low-intensity treatment session with a client | 50 | 30 minutes | Students will be notified of submission date via Blackboard at the beginning of the module. | 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 failed. |
Written coursework assignment | Reflective report | 50 | 2,000 words | Students will be notified of submission date via Blackboard at the beginning of the module. | Reflective report on their performance from the recorded and submitted treatment session. The written assignment can be the same piece as first submission with improvements made based on feedback |
Additional costs
Item | Additional information | Cost |
---|---|---|
Computers and devices with a particular specification | ||
Printing and binding | ||
Required textbooks | ||
Specialist clothing, footwear, or headgear | ||
Specialist equipment or materials | ||
Travel, accommodation, and subsistence | Travel, accommodation and subsistence costs incurred by the student whilst studying at UoR on campus may be reimbursed by the student's employer; this will be outlined in student employment contracts. |
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MODULE DESCRIPTION DOES NOT FORM ANY PART OF A STUDENT'S CONTRACT.