EVIDENCE BASED TREATMENT OF COMMON MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS - 2025/6
Module code: PSY3111
Module Overview
This module supports trainees to develop the competencies they require to be able to treat adult patients from diverse populations who are presenting with mild-moderate common mental health difficulties using evidence-based low-intensity interventions. The module builds on the engagement and assessment skills and knowledge that trainees developed in module PSY3110. Additionally, the module continues to help trainees to grow as reflective practitioners who can reflectively engage with their practice and the evidence base that informs this.
Trainees will be encouraged to consider how treatments can be adapted to support individuals from a variety of different backgrounds thus providing them with knowledge for subsequent modules (PSY3113).
Module provider
Psychology
Module Leader
JACKSON Circe (Psychology)
Number of Credits: 15
ECTS Credits: 7.5
Framework: FHEQ Level 6
Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A
Overall student workload
Independent Learning Hours: 50
Lecture Hours: 27.5
Tutorial Hours: 1
Practical/Performance Hours: 30
Guided Learning: 37.5
Captured Content: 4
Module Availability
Semester 2
Prerequisites / Co-requisites
None
Module content
Indicative content includes:
- Engagement skills
- Evidence-based low-intensity interventions
- Modes of delivery
- Record keeping
- Evaluation skills
- Common factor skills
Assessment pattern
| Assessment type | Unit of assessment | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Online Scheduled Summative Class Test | 1 HOUR (OPEN BOOK) ONLINE TEST WITHIN A 4 HOUR WINDOW | 100 |
| Practical based assessment | AUDIO RECORDING | Pass/Fail |
Alternative Assessment
N/A
Assessment Strategy
The programme’s assessments are intended to be authentic. This means that they are designed to assess (and also to support the development) of the skills and competencies that Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners require in real clinical practice. They should therefore enhance trainees’ employability. For example, the requirement to submit an audio recorded treatment session should promote trainees’ digital capabilities. Equally, the need to engage in formative peer and self-assessment should promote trainees’ resourcefulness and resilience. This is because these assessments require trainees to engage constructively with feedback. The exam should support trainees to develop their global and cultural capabilities given that it requires them to engage critically with this area.
Summative assessment
The summative assessment for this module consists of:
- Examination 1-hour within a 4-hour window, open book, online, 100% (addresses learning outcomes 1 - 17)
- Practical based assessment, pass-fail, audio recording of a live treatment session assessed according to predefined criteria (addresses learning outcomes 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13)
Both assessments must be passed within 2 attempts to pass the module. The graded assessment (the exam) is marked at FHEQ level 6 and has a pass mark of 40%. The audio is a pass-fail assessment.
Formative assessment
Trainees learning (and success) on the audio recording is supported through the module’s self, peer and tutor led formative assessments. The rationale for using extensive assessment and feedback is to help trainees to develop their resourcefulness and resilience. Specific formative opportunities include ongoing feedback from peers and tutors during clinical skills sessions and a practice treatment session.
Trainees’ exam skills are developed through opportunities to engage with an example exam and to discuss their answers in small group contexts.
Feedback
Trainees are provided with verbal and/or written feedback on their intervention skills (to support their audio submission) from their peers and tutors on an ongoing basis in clinical skills sessions. They are given verbal and written feedback from an appropriately qualified member of staff on their formative session and written feedback on their summative treatment session.
Trainees do not receive feedback on the examination.
Module aims
- Equip trainee PWPs with the skills and knowledge needed for them to be able to safely and effectively engage and treat adult patients who are presenting with mild-moderate common mental health difficulties in NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression.
- Strengthen trainees¿ professional competencies as resourceful, resilient and reflective practitioners.
Learning outcomes
| Attributes Developed | ||
| 001 | Evaluate a range of evidence-based interventions and strategies to assist patients in managing their emotional distress and disturbance. | KCT |
| 002 | Demonstrate knowledge of, and competence in developing and maintaining a therapeutic alliance with diverse patients during their treatment programme, including dealing with issues and events that threaten the alliance. | KCPT |
| 003 | Demonstrate competence in planning collaborative low-intensity psychological treatment programmes for common mental health problems, including appropriate frequency of contacts, managing the ending of contacts and development of relapse prevention strategies. | KCPT |
| 004 | Demonstrate understanding of and competence in selection of appropriate cases for low-intensity treatment, aligned to NICE guidance and the NHS Talking Therapies Manual. For example, people whose primary problem is social anxiety disorder or PTSD should only be offered a high intensity intervention. | KCPT |
| 005 | Demonstrate in-depth and critical understanding of, and competence in, a range of low-intensity, evidence-based guided self-help psychological interventions (delivered virtually and in-person) where these are NICE recommended for anxiety disorders and depression, selecting one or more of these intervention strands delivered in an adequate dose for work with patients, linked to their goals and outcome measures (that might have been collected digitally). o Behavioural activation o Graded exposure o Cognitive restructuring (including behavioural experiments) o Worry management o Problem-solving o Promoting good Sleep o Promoting physical activity o Medication support | KCPT |
| 006 | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of, and competence in using the COM-B behaviour change model and strategies in the delivery of low-intensity interventions. | KCPT |
| 007 | Evaluate the role of case management and stepped care approaches to managing common mental health problems in primary care including ongoing risk management appropriate to service protocols, NICE guidance and mode of delivery e.g. digital / in-person. | KCPT |
| 008 | Demonstrate knowledge of, and competence in supporting people with medication for common mental health problems to help them optimise their use of pharmacological treatment and minimise any adverse effects. | KCPT |
| 009 | Demonstrate competence in delivering low-intensity interventions using a range of methods including one-to-one treatment (in person, via video consultation, via telephone, interactive text or computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT)) and guided self-help groups (in person or via video). | KCPT |
| 010 | Demonstrate knowledge and competence in selecting and revising mode of delivery, as necessary on an ongoing basis depending on patient choice, suitability, etc (including discussing the pros and cons of digital work). | KCPT |
| 011 | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding to map core skills into text-based interventions. | KCPT |
| 012 | Demonstrate competence in guided self-help group facilitation skills to successfully deliver and lead evidence-based groups and workshops. This includes involving everyone to generate a useful discussion, managing challenges to engagement such as someone monopolising the discussion or someone not talking at all, and responding flexibly to questions from the audience. | KCPT |
| 013 | Demonstrate competence in succinct and accurate note-taking skills. | KCPT |
| 014 | Demonstrates knowledge of (and competence applying) relevant professional and ethical guidelines (such as NHS Talking Therapies manual, the BPS's ethical framework, the professional and ethical guidelines of UCL's CBT competencies framework, HEE¿s Health and Care Digital capabilities framework, and Digital Health Skills' digital competency) to in-person and digital treatments. This includes managing consent to record and managing risks such as those associated with digital working. | KCPT |
| 015 | Demonstrates an understanding of some of the limitations of the literature related to treatments including research involving minoritised groups e.g. small sample sizes. | KCPT |
| 016 | Demonstrates a capacity to reflect on the self in relation to others e.g., values, beliefs, reactions, assumptions and to take responsibility for subsequent actions (including tolerating ambiguity in relation to diversity) in treatment contexts. | KCPT |
| 017 | Demonstrates knowledge, competence and commitment to eliminating all forms of discrimination from the experience of staff and in relation to treatments. This includes reducing patient inequity of access to treatment and treatment outcomes of mental health services (across all protected characteristics and other characteristics associated with inequity). For example, by making reasonable adjustments and undertaking culturally informed interventions. | KCPT |
Attributes Developed
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Methods of Teaching / Learning
Reflective capacity is an essential attribute for PWPs given that it has been associated with enhanced decision making, better patient care and improved health service delivery. The importance of reflection is evident in the module’s learning outcomes because many of these require trainees to draw on this meta-competence. Given this, trainees are supported to develop their reflective capacity, knowledge, and skills relevant to the module’s learning outcomes through reflective methods of teaching and learning. This is consistent with the approach taken in modules PSYM126, PSYM128 and PSYM129. The specific methods used to support reflective learning include:
- Clinical skills practice session (at least 50% of taught days)
- Self-practice and self-reflection.
- Observation and feedback.
- Case-based learning.
- Interactive lectures
- Group discussion
- Independent study
Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.
Reading list
https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: PSY3111
Other information
In line with the 5 pillars of the University of Surrey’s Curriculum Framework, the module aims to support trainees to develop strengths in the following areas.
Resourcefulness and resilience
Building on the resourcefulness and resilience that developed through module PSY3110, this module continues to enable trainees to enhance themselves in these respects. The module achieves this through learning activities that help trainees to develop their capacity to engage in more sophisticated, autonomous and complex decision-making. This is promoted through clinical skills practice sessions and case-based learning in relation to evidence-based low-intensity interventions. Trainees are also supported to strengthen their ability to effectively use feedback to inform their learning using the same methods (peer and self-assessment) that were employed in module PSY3110.
Digital capabilities
Following module PSY3110, trainees’ digital capabilities continue to be promoted in this module. This is achieved through the requirement for trainees to actively engage with learning resources on the University’s virtual learning environment and through synchronous online teaching and learning sessions. Trainees’ digital capabilities are assessed as part of the module’s audio recording which requires trainees to demonstrate their ability to treat a client by phone. They also form part of the module’s exam which necessitates trainees use online research databases to identify literature that can be used to inform their answers. Within this module Trainees will also be encouraged to take an evaluative stance of different treatment modalities including telephone, video conferencing and computerised CBT.
Employability
This module continues to enhance the employability skills that trainees started to develop during module PSY3110. These include transferable skills such as communication, teamwork and time management. These skills are promoted through group-based learning activities and observed practice clinical sessions. Some of these transferable skills (such as time management and communication skills) are assessed in the module’s audio. Additionally, trainees are helped to develop employability skills that are more specific to their role in relation to low-intensity interventions. This is supported through interactive lectures, modelling, self-assessment and clinical skills practice sessions.
Global and cultural capabilities
In module PSY3110, trainees started to develop their ability to assess diverse clients from an inclusive, anti-discriminatory values base. This theme is further developed in this module as trainees are encouraged to apply similar principles to their intervention work. For example, trainees are expected to consider issues such as social inclusion in their intervention plans and to evaluate the limitations of the evidence base in relation to diversity and context. This is achieved through interactive lectures, case-based learning and group discussion. Trainees’ ability to adopt a reflectively stance in these respects is assessed as part of the module’s exam.
Sustainability
Following module PSY3110, this module continues to assist trainees to develop their knowledge and awareness of the relationship between psychological wellbeing and sustainability concerns. It achieves this using lectures, group discussions and case-based learning that provide learning opportunities for trainees in these regards. For example, trainees are encouraged to reflect on how they might address social issues such as health inequalities in their client work.
Programmes this module appears in
| Programme | Semester | Classification | Qualifying conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Practice in Psychological Wellbeing Grad Cert(CORE) | 2 | Core | Each unit of assessment must be passed at 40% to pass the module |
Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.