VALUES, DIVERSITY AND CONTEXT - 2025/6
Module code: PSYM129
Module Overview
This module is designed to support trainees’ critical engagement with values, diversity and context. Its overarching aim is to enable trainees to develop themselves as resourceful, critically reflective practitioners who exhibit sophisticated levels of meta competence in their work with individual differences. The module also emphasises ethical practice and trainees’ ability to work within the limits of their competence.
This module should further support trainees to assess and treat individuals from diverse backgrounds therefore building on the learning from the previous modules (PSYM126 and PSYM127).
Module provider
Psychology
Module Leader
FISHER-SMITH Emily (Psychology)
Number of Credits: 15
ECTS Credits: 7.5
Framework: FHEQ Level 7
Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A
Overall student workload
Independent Learning Hours: 50
Lecture Hours: 25
Tutorial Hours: 1
Practical/Performance Hours: 32.5
Guided Learning: 37.5
Captured Content: 4
Module Availability
Year long
Prerequisites / Co-requisites
None
Module content
- Reflective practice
- Power
- Social inclusion
- Intersectionality
- Anti-discriminatory practice
- Supervision.
- Professional ethics
Assessment pattern
| Assessment type | Unit of assessment | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Critical Case Report | 100 |
| Oral exam or presentation | Clinical Viva | 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 support the development) of the skills and knowledge that PWPs require in real clinical practice. They should therefore enhance trainees’ employability. Both summative assessments demand trainees demonstrate strong reflective capacity in relation to the equality, diversity, and social inclusion agenda. They should therefore enable trainees to develop their global and cultural competencies. The use of formative feedback also aims to develop trainees’ resourcefulness and resilience. It does this by requiring trainees take responsibility for engaging constructively with feedback and using this to strengthen their subsequent practice.
Summative assessment
The summative assessment for this module consists of:
- Coursework, 100%, critical case report in which trainees reflect on how supervision supported their anti-discriminatory and social inclusive practice (learning outcomes 1-13).
- Oral type examination or presentation, pass-fail, a clinical viva in which trainees discuss how their treatment planning sensitively took account of diversity. (learning outcomes 1-4, 8-9, 12-14).
Both assessments must be passed within 2 attempts to pass the module. The graded assessment (the case report) is marked at FHEQ level 7 and had a pass mark of 50%. The viva is a pass-fail assessment.
Formative assessment
Trainees undertake a formative viva. There is no formative assessment of the case report. Rather, trainees are expected to use their feedback from their module PSYM126 essay to inform this.
Feedback
Trainees are provided with written and verbal feedback on formative viva. They are given written feedback on their summative viva and case report. Feedback from the viva and case-report should be used by trainees to support their PSYM129 reflective account and portfolio.
Module aims
- To develop trainee PWPs' understandings of the concepts of diversity, inclusion and multi-culturalism. Diversity in this context is taken to represent the range of cultural norms including personal, family, social and spiritual values held by the diverse communities served by the service within which the worker is operating.
- To develop trainees' capacity to critically reflect on issues of, and to practice respectfully and sensitively in relation to individual differences such as those of age, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture.
- To enhance trainees' understanding and awareness of the power issues that tend to be inherent in professional - patient relationships and to develop their ability to effectively empower patients.
- To develop PWPs' capacity to recognise the limitations of their competence and role and to be able to use stepping up and signposting to manage this; given the stepped care, high volume caseload that PWPs are expected to work with. This includes an emphasis on trainees' understanding of the importance of social inclusion including return to work and meaningful activity or other occupational activities, as well as clinical improvement.
Learning outcomes
| Attributes Developed | ||
| 001 | Demonstrate critical knowledge of, and commitment to eliminating discrimination, a, recovery orientated values base to mental health care and to equal opportunities for all (including staff and patients) and encourage peoples' active participation in every aspect of care and treatment. This includes reducing patient inequity of access to services and service outcomes of (across all protected characteristics and other characteristics associated with inequity). For example, by making reasonable adjustments and undertaking culturally informed work. | KCPT |
| 002 | Demonstrate critical knowledge and respect for and the value of individual differences in age, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture. | KCPT |
| 003 | Demonstrate critical knowledge of, and competence in, responding to people's needs sensitively with regard to all aspects of diversity, including working with older people, the use of interpretation services and taking into account any cognitive, physical, or sensory difficulties patients may experience in accessing services. | KCPT |
| 004 | Demonstrate critical awareness and understanding of the power issues in professional/service user relationships. | KCPT |
| 005 | Demonstrate an awareness of voluntary, community and statutory organisations in their community that may be helpful to signpost/refer to. | KPT |
| 006 | Demonstrate competence in managing a large caseload of people with common mental health problems efficiently and safely. | KPT |
| 007 | Demonstrate critical knowledge of, and competence in using remote and in-person supervision to assist the PWP's delivery of low-intensity psychological treatment and/or medication support programmes for depression or anxiety disorders including managing risk involved in digital contexts and supporting anti-discriminatory practice. | KCPT |
| 008 | Demonstrate critical knowledge of, and competence in gathering patient-centred information on employment needs, wellbeing and social inclusion and in liaison and signposting to other agencies delivering employment, occupational and other advice and services. | KCPT |
| 009 | Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the PWP's own level of competence and boundaries of competence and role, and a critical understanding of how to work within a team and with other agencies with additional specific roles which cannot be fulfilled by the PWP alone. | KPT |
| 010 | Demonstrate a clear and critical understanding of what constitutes high-intensity psychological treatment and how this differs from low-intensity work. | KCPT |
| 011 | Demonstrates in-depth and critical knowledge of (and competence applying) relevant professional and ethical guidelines (such as the NHS Talking Therapies manual, 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) in PWP work. | KCPT |
| 012 | Demonstrates a sophisticated capacity to critique the literature related to PWP work in relation to values, diversity and context. This includes showing an ability to critically discuss the limitations of research involving minoritised groups e.g. small sample sizes. | KCP |
| 013 | Demonstrates a sophisticated capacity to critically 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 PWP work. | KCPT |
| 014 | Demonstrates effective communication skills to work with people from diverse backgrounds, including critical use of digital capabilities and ability to work effectively with interpreters, by establishing ways of working together and consideration of the clinical implications of working in this way. | KCPT |
Attributes Developed
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Methods of Teaching / Learning
The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:
Equip trainee PWPs with the knowledge, skills and ability to be able to begin to critically reflect on their own practice and to demonstrate their ability to operate in an inclusive way within stepped care services.
The learning and teaching methods include:
- Discussion
- E-learning
- Tutor led lectures
- Modelling
- Supervised role play
- Work based learning
- Clinical and case management supervision
- Simulation
- Independent study (guided reading)
- Directed study (tutor directed assignments)
- Reflective Practice Groups
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: PSYM129
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
This module continues to support trainees to strengthen their resilience and resourcefulness using the same methods that were employed in modules PSYM126 and PSYM127. These include trainees’ capacity to use feedback to inform their learning and their ability to engage in complex decision making through ongoing assessment and feedback and case-based learning. Additionally, this module aims to broaden the repertoire of skills that trainees use to enhance their resilience. It does this through reflective practice groups which provide peer support and a context for enhancing self-awareness.
Digital capabilities
Following modules PSYM126 and PSYM127, trainees’ digital capabilities continue to be advanced 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’ ability to use PowerPoint and to deliver presentations online is assessed in their module viva. Their capacity to use online research databases to identify relevant literature forms a requirement of this module’s case report. Trainees are also required to critically consider which assessment and treatment modalities (such as telephone, video conferencing and computerised CBT) are best suited to their patients based on individual differences.
Employability
This module continues to progress the employability skills that trainees started to develop through modules PSYM126 and PSYM127. These include transferable skills such as communication, teamwork and time management. These skills are promoted through group-based learning activities and reflective practice skills. The module also helps trainees to significantly enhance their professional skills through its focus on values, diversity and context. Through interactive lectures and reflective practice groups trainees are supported to practice in accordance with the values and principles espoused in the NHS constitution and the British Psychological Society’s ethical framework. Via the same means, trainees are helped to develop their capacity to function as autonomous reflective practitioners who are capable to complex ethical decision making.
Global and cultural
Global and cultural issues are central to this module. Whilst trainees are supported to engage with the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda in modules PSYM126 and PSYM127, this module takes these concerns as its primary focus. The module therefore seeks to deepen trainee’s capacity to critically engage with global and cultural issues in work as Psychological Wellbeing practitioners. It does through reflective practice groups in which trainees must present and reflect on these areas in relation to clinical work that they have undertaken in practice. It is also facilitated through interactive lectures on topics such as power, social inclusion and protected characteristics. Trainees’ capacity to effectively engage with these areas is assessed in the modules’ assessments.
Sustainability
Following modules PSYM126 and PSYM127, this module continues to help trainees to develop their knowledge and awareness of the relationship between psychological wellbeing and issues of sustainability. 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 critically reflect on how they might address health inequalities in their client work.
Programmes this module appears in
| Programme | Semester | Classification | Qualifying conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Practice in Psychological Wellbeing PGCert(CORE) | Year-long | Core | Each unit of assessment must be passed at 50% 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.