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. 

Module learning outcomes

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

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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. 

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.

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, and no autofails in the practical skills/clinical 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: /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

Additional costs