MSc Psychological Therapies Practice
and Research (Systemic Therapy)
Please note: This page is for 2027 entry. Click here for 2026 entry.
| UCAS code | 1234 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 2 years part time |
| Entry year | 2026 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Typical offer | An undergraduate degree, or a previous qualification at an equivalent level. |
|---|---|
Why study MSc Psychological Therapies Practice
and Research (Systemic Therapy) at Exeter?
- Our programme is designed to give the knowledge, skills and clinical experience you need to become an independent family and systemic psychotherapist. If you meet all requirements, you will be eligible to apply for registration with the Association for Family and Systemic Psychotherapy (AFSP) as a family/systemic psychotherapist with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
- You will learn how to understand and apply psychological therapeutic practice, both in general and within your chosen modality. This includes developing an understanding of how different therapeutic approaches relate to one another
- The course combines academic learning with clinical practice, giving you a strong foundation in theory and hands on clinical experience to become an effective family and systemic psychotherapist
Clinical Education Development and Research (CEDAR)
This programme is delivered by Clinical Education, Development and Research (CEDAR): an applied psychological practice centre of excellence, focussed on training the new psychological therapies workforce of the future.
Competency-based training, delivered according to the latest evidence-informed clinical teaching approaches
Dedicated training facilities equipped with video and audio recording
A strong emphasis throughout the programme is placed upon your personal and professional development
CEDAR is 1st in the sector for student satisfaction in three out of seven themes
National Student Survey 2025
Entry requirements
This programme will cover core and advanced theories and skills, and will not be taught at a basic or introductory level. It is intended for trainees who have such basic knowledge and skills who wish to become more specialised or advanced practitioners and or researchers.
Successful applicants to the course will need to have met the following criteria:
1. Preliminary training in systemic practice.
Normally this would mean at least a year’s preliminary formal systemic psychotherapy training (successful completion of a foundation and intermediate course or equivalent).
2. Clinical experience using a systemic approach.
Normally this would mean an intermediate level course that includes a minimum of 60 hours of supervised practice. Applications will be considered from those who have not completed a formal intermediate level training but who can provide evidence of appropriate clinical and educational experience.
3. An undergraduate degree, or a previous qualification at an equivalent level.
This is required by the University of Exeter for enrolment in a postgraduate programme and is important to ensure capacity to complete academic course work, most of which will be done through self-directed assignments.
4. A recognised qualification in a profession involving the care of people with mental health problems.
A qualifications such as Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry, Mental Health Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Counselling (with membership of BAC). The programme will assume basic knowledge of topics such as the diagnosis of mental health problems, ethical practice and the trainee's capacity to observe basic ethical, safety and reporting procedures in carrying out a course of therapy.
5. Normally the applicant will also be working in settings in which they can be working systemically with clients.
Trainees must have the approval of their manager in releasing them from some of their normal duties for the duration of the Programme.
Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.
Entry requirements for international students
Please visit our entry requirements section for equivalencies from your country and further information on English language requirements.
Course content
Anti-Oppressive Practice
We believe that the client’s difficulties must be understood within the wider context of social justice, oppression and inequality. Antioppressive practice is therefore central to the MSc Psychological Therapies Practice and Research (Systemic Therapy) programme.
Our teaching includes:
- Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS (Burnham, 2012)
- Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991)
- Social location (PettyJohn et al., 2020)
- Valuing multiple forms of knowledge and lived experience
Placements - Clinical Practice Close to Home
Clinical practice is a key part of the MSc Psychological Therapies Practice and Research (Systemic Therapy) programme. In line with the requirements of the Association for Family and Systemic Psychotherapy (AFSP), students will be supported to apply their learning in real-world settings throughout both years of the course.
There are two main forms of clinical practice outside of our teaching days:
- Placements: 300 hours (a minimum of 3.5 hours per week), including a minimum of 40 hours as lead therapist
- Parallel hours (usually in the student’s workplace): 200 hours (arranged by the student)
We aim to arrange placements as close to students’ homes as possible, and often within the student’s employing NHS trust (in a different team where possible to support learning).
We have established placement networks across the South West, London, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, South Wales and the Midlands. For students outside these areas, we work with professional networks to identify suitable placement opportunities.
Placements typically involve:
- Working in training clinics with other students, where possible
- Year‑round clinical work, including holiday periods (typical annual leave arrangements will apply)
- A CAMHS placement in Year 1 and an adult services placement in Year 2 (where possible)
- At least 20 lead therapist hours per year (most students exceed this)
- Video‑recording sessions to support learning
- Regular supervision from a qualified systemic psychotherapist
- Termly meetings between the student, tutor and supervisor
If you are a prospective or existing placement supervisor, you can find out more information about placements below.
Information for Placement Supervisors.
Parallel Hours
To further develop their systemic clinical practice, our students must complete 200 hours (100 hours per year) of parallel practice.
This can include:
- Clinical hours with two or more family members (primarily) or individuals
- Arranging and supporting network meetings
- Delivering systemic CPD training to other professionals
Parallel hours must be supervised by an accredited systemic psychotherapist. If this is not available in the workplace, students will need to arrange private supervision.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
75 credits of compulsory modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Family Therapy and the Family of Therapies | 15 | |
| Psychological Therapies Research Methods | 15 | |
| Evidenced-Based Practice and Practice-Based Evidence in Family Therapy | 15 | |
| Key Concepts and Skills in Systemic/Family Therapy Practice | 15 | |
| Systemic Clinical Practice: Part 1 | 15 | |
PYCM015: Family Therapy and the Family of Therapies
Family therapy exists within a context in which other therapies are being practised. At the same time there is an increasing convergence between the therapies. This entails similarities of approach around the therapeutic alliance, formulation and self-reflexivity. This module will provide an introduction to a range of therapies as they are currently practiced within the public and private sectors including psychodynamic therapy, CBT, body and creative therapies. It will then explore the range of distinct approaches and ideas within family therapy while relating them to the wider psychotherapeutic world. One of the key concepts that spans all psychotherapies is 'the therapeutic use of self' and the meaning of 'self' in relation to psychotherapy. This is a central concept in this module.
The aim of this module is to enable you to:
- Develop an understanding of a range of therapies practised in public and private contexts;
- Develop an ability to compare and contrast these differing models while assessing which are most useful for which presentations and families;
- Understand how core common processes and ideas cross the differing therapies;
- Develop a deeper understanding about systemic theories which provide the unique features of this form of therapy;
- Understand how culture, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation are understood and respected within each therapy.
- Help you develop an understanding about your use of self in the therapy you do
PYCM051: Psychological Therapies Research Methods
This module provides you with an overview of current methods in psychological therapies and clinical research through lectures, seminars, student presentations, directed reading and web-based seminars. You will learn about the research basis for evidence- based practice and qualitative clinical research methods relevant to psychological therapies. You will be helped to understand research findings and the strengths and weaknesses of various kinds of research methods. An adult learner model will be the basis for the learning as programme members work individually and in small groups with key texts and reading lists as well as whole group discussion and application.
This module takes place in Year One
The aim of this module is to provide you with:
- a critical and comprehensive survey of research methodologies applied to the understanding and application of systemic psychotherapy.
- the ability to identify resources to further you learning in a way that is appropriate to your work as evidence-based psychological therapists.
- the skills to evaluate critically psychological therapies research.
- the ability to use clinical research as part of your professional work as psychological therapists.
- the skills to develop a thoughtful, ethical and responsible consumption and application of research in clinical practice.
- Develop your reflexivity with regard to your approach to research
PYCM052: Evidenced-Based Practice and Practice-Based Evidence in Family Therapy
Evidenced-based practice (EBP) has become a crucial factor in contemporary family therapy practice. Practitioners need to be able to analyse their practice with reference to the literature and research and to build in significant ways of measuring their outcomes. Practitioners should also be able to analyse and promote the implementation of EBP in practice settings to reduce the gap between research and practice. This module will help you explore the development of EBP and its application to family therapy. It will give you a working knowledge of the evidence for family therapy in specific settings and it will help you understand that evidence as well as how to facilitate the implementation of EBP and practice-based evidence.
The aim of this module is to enable you to:
- Develop a critical awareness of the research in family therapy and the impact of power in research.
- Understand the differing types of evidence including practice-based evidence.
- Identify factors that impact the uptake of EBP across multiple levels.
- Implement an EBP model in your work, including outcomes/ feedback from different stakeholders.
- Adapt the evidence to different settings in which family therapists practice.
PYCM053: Key Concepts and Skills in Systemic/Family Therapy Practice
This module will provide a consolidation of the key concepts and skills that are central to systemic/family therapy practice. It will help you describe your practice from the perspective of both the basic and specific competencies as laid out by the Expert Reference Group (2011). You will have a good grounding in an integrative approach to practice within this module including ideas and skills that span all the different family therapy/systemic approaches.
The aim of this module is to enable you to:
- Develop an advanced knowledge of the underlying concepts of family therapy/systemic practice.
- Recognise the historical origin, value and application of skills within family therapy/systemic practice.
- Hold a critical mind within the application of these skills/concepts.
- Develop your own way of integrating them for yourself in a reflective manner.
PYCM054: Systemic Clinical Practice: Part 1
This module constitutes the first year of supervised practice. This will meet half of the requirements of AFSP for you to register as a psychotherapist with UKCP. This is for 150 hours of clinical work and at least 20 in face-to-face therapy and some clinical hours can be gained through online practice. You must pass this module in order to proceed to year two. In addition to the practice hours, you are required to attend three consultation sessions in your own right in order to work on self-reflexivity.
The aim of this module is to enable you to:
- Develop clinical skills with families with a range of family forms, age presentations and difficulties.
- Explore your own self as a relational being and as a therapeutic agent of change.
- Apply various theories and skills to therapeutic practice.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
105 credits of compulsory modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Psychological Therapies Research Project | 60 | |
| Systemic Clinical Practice: Part 2 | 15 | |
| Issues in Contemporary Family Therapy Practice | 15 | |
| Couple Therapy | 15 | |
PYCM001: Psychological Therapies Research Project
This module provides you with an opportunity to study in detail a topic of your own choice, related to psychodynamic/analytic practice, psychological therapies and mental health. It will allow you to explore, in some detail, your understanding of the subject matter through the production of a piece of original research on a particular issue. This methodology you choose (for example, quantitative, qualitative, observational) will be suitable to the question being asked. You will be allocated a project supervisor after formulating your research plan. The work will comprise independent research, supervised in monthly tutorials, and there will also be some group tutorials and research consultancy. To improve access to the module, the delivery of supervision over the telephone or via internet based software application will be available. The outcome will be a preliminary formative research plan of 2000 words maximum and a research project written up as a research paper of 8000 words maximum (with an appendix of up to 2000 words) in the style of your chosen journal (though you may exceed the word count of your chosen journal up to the 10,000 word maximum and you will not be penalised for this).
This module aims to:
PYCM055: Systemic Clinical Practice: Part 2
This module constitutes the second year of supervised practice. This will meet half of the requirements of AFSP for you to register as a psychotherapist with UKCP. This is for 150 hours in clinical work and at least 20 in face to face therapy. You must pass this module. In addition to the practice hours, you are required to attend three consultation sessions in order to work on self-reflexivity.
The aim of this module is to enable you to:
- Develop clinical skills with families with a range of family forms, age presentations and difficulties.
- Explore your own self as a relational being and as a therapeutic agent.
- Apply various theories and skills to therapeutic practice.
PYCM056: Issues in Contemporary Family Therapy Practice
This module will provide information and exploration of the impact of social issues on family dynamics and relationships including the social, legal and political contexts of family therapy/ systemic practice. It will foreground expanding your knowledge around culturally competent practice in specific contexts relevant to the contemporary issues facing families, communities and family therapy practice.
The aim of this module is to enable you to:
- Identify the contextual influences on contemporary family therapy/systemic practice.
- Identify and understand a range of emerging family forms.
- Be competent at working reflexively, inclusively, and respectfully with a variety of cross-cultural, intergenerational family forms.
PYCM057: Couple Therapy
Couple therapy is an integral aspect of contemporary family therapy practice. This module will enable you to understand the couple relationship both from within and outside of the family context, drawing on existing knowledge of gender and power from the first year. This module will enable you to understand the different theories pertaining to couple therapy and how to plan, implement and evaluate a piece of therapy in a variety of clinical settings. This module will help you explore the recent developments in evidence-based couple therapy.
The aim of this module is to enable you to:
- Develop an understanding of couple relationships within family and social contexts;
- Understand the different models of couples therapy;
- Understand the theories of how to work with couples within families;
- Develop a context for thinking about how, when and why to work with couples and how to choose in which modality to work with couples;
- Understand how culture, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation will impact on the couple dynamic.
How to apply
Before applying
If you have any questions, we welcome you to join one of our open days (typically online). These are a chance for you to ask any questions you may have and hear about our programme in more detail. To book your place or ask any questions outside of our open days, you can contact our team at admin-systemicstudies@exeter.ac.uk.
Open days 2026
Online: Tuesday 10 March 2026, 13:30 - 15:30
Online: Thursday 19 March 2026, 10:00 - 12:30
To book a place at one of the open days, or for any other queries, please contact admin-systemicstudies@exeter.ac.uk.
Complete an application form
To apply, please download and complete the Systemic Application Form (.docx) and return this to the Programme Administrator at admin-systemicstudies@exeter.ac.uk. The closing date for applications is 23 April 2026. The closing date for NHSE-funded places via the PPN initiative is 31 July 2026.
We reserve the right to close this process if we receive large numbers of applications. If this occurs, then you can continue to apply and we will put your application on a reserve list.
Fees
Home/EU students
This course is funded by NHS England, so fees are not typically payable by candidates.
The fee for self-funded places for 2026 is £8,400.
Scholarships
The University of Exeter offers a wide range of scholarships to support your education, with £7 million available for international students applying to study with us in the 2026/27 academic year, including our prestigious Exeter Excellence Scholarships. We also provide awards for sport, music and other achievements, as well as regional and partner scholarships with organisations such as Chevening, The Beacon Trust and the British Council. For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship
We are pleased to offer the University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship, a scholarship for University of Exeter alumni beginning a standalone postgraduate programme in 2026/27 with us a scholarship worth 20% of the cost of your first year tuition fees.
Terms and conditions, including deadlines, apply.
I believe using a systemic framework can help us tackle some of the difficulties we face generally. Almost all the young people I work with are responding appropriately and understandably to incredibly difficult life circumstances. We need to contextualise mental health, within both the family and wider society.
Hannah Sherbersky
Co-director of Systemic Portfolio, Senior Lecturer, Researcher and Systemic Psychotherapist/Academic Lead for MSc PTPR Systemic Therapy
Teaching and research
Tutors and tutor groups
Each student is assigned a personal tutor who supports their personal and professional development throughout the course.
- Tutor groups are made up of up to 8 students
- In these groups, we support students to build relationships and a sense of safety, allowing a supportive and personalised learning environment
- Groups focus on connection, reflective practice and — as training progresses — video review and skills development
- Students meet with their tutor one-to-one each term, with further meetings available if needed
- Meetings may include the student’s placement supervisor to ensure coordinated support
- Tutors can help students access University wellbeing services if needed
Therapeutic consultations
As part of our commitment to developing the ‘self of the therapist’, students are required to take part in their own family therapy. This supports students to deepen their understanding of the client’s experience.
This helps students to explore:
- What it feels like to find a therapist
- How circular questions feel from a client perspective
- How it feels when others speak about you
- How safety and trust develop
- How families prepare for and reflect on sessions
These are all things you can best understand by experiencing therapy as a client.
This is an essential course requirement for all students. However, it is neither ethical nor practical for us to insist that family members attend. A timetabled session early in the course offers an opportunity for students to consider the practical and emotional challenges involved in participating in this aspect of the training.
Developing your skills
We draw on the ‘deliberate practice’ model (the work of Tony Rousmaniere, Adrian Blow and others). Using this, we will support students to
- Identify potential areas for growth
- Practice skills and receive immediate expert feedback, before continuing to hone these skills
- Reflect on their ‘self of the therapist’
- Use client feedback to guide their development
Therapy models and evidence-based practice
We believe that understanding and building on the strong evidence base for family and systemic psychotherapy is key to its effective use and development. This approach helps maintain the profession’s important role in the UK health and social care system.
As such, we teach students to build a positive, healthy and critical relationship with research, evidence, therapy models and manuals.
Models we focus on include:
- Family Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa (FT-AN)
- Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT)
- Family Interventions for Psychosis and Bipolar Experiences (FIP)
- Open Dialogue
- A range of couple therapy models, including the Exeter Model for adult depression, Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) and the Gottman Method
