Psychodynamic and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Clinical Practice I
| Module title | Psychodynamic and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Clinical Practice I |
|---|---|
| Module code | PSYM313Z |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 60 |
| Module staff | Dr Marta Bolognani (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | All | All | All |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 20 |
|---|
Module description
In this module, you will undertake clinical work with patients, over a minimum of 42 weeks a year for two years. This will take place in a setting agreed with the programme staff that will allow you to see patients for psychodynamic psychotherapy under the weekly clinical supervision of a senior psychodynamic/psychoanalytic therapist who has been approved by the programme staff team.
You will keep a written record of the sessions, in a form agreed with your clinical supervisor, and use this to present your work and reflect on it with your clinical supervisor weekly and occasionally with other programme members, staff and students, during clinical discussions. You will also produce a written assignment in year 2.
All other stage one modules are a co-requisite to this module. On coming to the module students must have had experience of working therapeutically with people or the equivalent or transferable skills constituting the equivalent. This module is taught in the first and second year of your study.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this module is to enable you to be competent to carry out psychodynamic psychotherapy under supervision, at a frequency of once a week. You will build on your existing, pre-programme experience to gain a basic understanding of the psychoanalytic method, treatment framework and clinical approach. You will become familiar with working with patients with different kinds of psychopathologies. You will gain experience of short and longer-term psychodynamic psychotherapy with individual clients within an appropriate clinical setting. You will acquire basic psychodynamic psychotherapy competencies and understand how these may be applied in different clinical settings, with different types of patients.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Apply psychodynamic and psychoanalytic theory to your clinical practice to gain a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of your area of professional practice.
- 2. Conduct short-term and longer-term once a week psychodynamic psychotherapy at a professional level, to gain a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to your area of professional practice.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Understand, critically evaluate and apply theoretical ideas relevant to the practice of psychodynamic psychotherapy.
- 4. Comprehensively understand the principles of ethical practice, make appropriate use of supervision and consultation, understand the limits of your competence, and apply all of this in your practice to a professional standard.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Monitor and critically evaluate your own capacities and development as a clinician.
- 6. Use supervisory relationship for professional growth including learning from your countertransference and from parallel processes in supervision.
- 7. Evaluate critically and reflect on countertransference as experienced in the clinical setting.
Syllabus plan
Clinical hours are counted as 50 mins. Your casework with individual clients will consist of a total requirement of 200 clinical hours with must include:
- A minimum of two long cases with separate patients, seen once weekly as a long-term psychotherapy patient (treatment of a patient seen for a minimum length 12 months)
- A minimum of two short cases, with separate patients (maximum 20 sessions each).
You are required to write up notes of sessions with your patients, in a manner agreed with your supervisor and liaise in an appropriate manner, when necessary, with other professionals involved with a patient. You will complete a record of your work with your patients on any case file kept by an institution in which you see patients.
You will write up notes and attend Clinical supervision with a clinical supervisor and in Learning sets for a minimum of 168 hours over a minimum of 42 weeks per year, during the period that you are engaged in clinical work.
You will be formatively assessed by your supervisor on your clinical work at six monthly intervals during the period you are engaged in your clinical work. This assessment will be completed initially by both you and your supervisor separately in the manner described in the course handbook on the forms that are to be found there or may be obtained electronically from the programme administrator. You will discuss the comments made by you and your supervisor and the outcome of this discussion will then be recorded on the supervisor’s form along with any remaining disagreements or comments the either party wants to include.
Your supervision reports and reports from seminar leaders and tutors will be considered by the staff team to make a summative assessment of whether you have achieved a ‘pass’ grade on the skills outlined above to pass in this module.
You will also complete a Clinical Case Report assignment, which will describe a clinical case. These will include linking clinical practice to theory, use of supervision and demonstrate your understanding of ethical practice and the maintaining of confidentiality.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 168 | 232 | 200 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 168 | Clinical supervision sessions & clinical seminars (168 clinical hours over a minimum of 42 weeks per year). |
| Placement/study abroad | 200 | Clinical practice seeing patients (2 long and 2 short cases (minimum) in institutions/private practice) under supervision, hours spent can be determined by the student but must total 200 hours. |
| Guided Independent Study | 232 | Writing up notes from clinical practice sessions, preparation for assessments. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical supervision reports 1-4 | N/a | 1-7 | Written and formative oral feedback from your supervisor. |
| Case work with individual clients | Ongoing throughout module | 1-7 | Oral feedback from your supervisor. |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programme staff will review all supervisors six monthly report forms along with oral reports from Learning Set facilitators, tutors and seminar leaders provided in student progress meetings during which, on the basis of these, programme staff judge whether the student has reached to required standard in the ILOs. (this is pass/fail only and must be passed; failure in this assessment will lead to failure in the module and the programme) | 70 | 1-7 | Oral feedback Written feedback from the programme lead after staff discussion and following the mini viva that takes place in the . Developing Research Skills for Applied Professional Practice (M) research project proposal module | |
| Report of Clinical Activity: Account of a Case | 30 | 3,000 words max | 1-7 | Written feedback |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report of Clinical Activity: Account of a Case | 3,000 words max | 1-7 | Minor Amendments 4 weeks Major amendments 8 weeks |
Re-assessment notes
In relation to your Report of Clinical Activity: Account of a Case assignment submission, where you have been given amendments, major or minor, you will have the opportunity to submit an amended version of your Report, which addresses the points made in the feedback you are given, by the marker(s) and moderator. You must also write a letter to the marker, accompanying your resubmission, which describes how you have addressed the points made in the feedback. You will have 4 weeks to complete minor amendments and 8 weeks to complete major amendments.
If you have major amendments and your resubmission is marked as needing minor amendments, you will then have 4 weeks to resubmit a second time. If you have minor amendments and if on re-marking your resubmission still requires minor amendments you will gain a ‘fail’ mark. If you fail an assignment you will be given the opportunity to submit a completely new submission and will have 8 weeks to do this in.
If you again fail you will then have failed in the module and consequently you will have failed the programme also and your registration as a student of the University will be terminated.
If you do not reach a ‘satisfactory’ level, or above, in the assessments of the various categories described in the ‘Supervision Reports’ your clinical work, in all categories in your final report, this will be discussed at the mini viva (see above) and you will be allowed to undertake a further period of clinical work of up to six months, in order to allow you to reach this minimum, ‘satisfactory’ level. If this has not been reached by then, there will be a meeting between you, your supervisor(s) and programme staff, to consider whether it is possible for you to achieve a ‘satisfactory’ level. If there is agreement that it may be possible, you can have a further period of up to six months clinical work. If this is not agreed, you will have failed the module and your registration as a student of the University will be terminated.
A majority (over 50%) of ‘Good’ or above assessment results across the competence categories in the final supervisors’ reports and ratified by the programme lead in consultation with the programme staff team, are required in order to progress to Part II of the programme.
Student completing this module with less than 50% of ‘Good’ assessments, and the remainder assessed as “Satisfactory”, ratified by the programme lead in consultation with the programme staff will pass the module, but exit the programme with the Master of Psychodynamic and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Practice award but this bestows no clinical qualification.
More information regarding assessment of pre-dissertation modules can be found here: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/pgr/professionaldoctoratepgr/#assess including the Flowchart of professional doctorate assessment process.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Core reading:
- Bateman, A., Brown, D. and Pedder, J. (2000) Introduction to Psychotherapy (3rd ed.). UK: Brunner-Routledge.
- Lemma, A. (2003) Introduction to the Practice of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. Chichester: Wiley.
- Holmes, J. (2009) Exploring in Security: Towards an Attachment-Informed Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. UK: Brunner-Routledge
- Storr, A. &, J. Holmes (Ed.) (2012) Storr's The Art of Psychotherapy (3rd Ed.) UK. Hodder Arnold
Other resources:
- ELE – you can find methodology references, lecture PowerPoints (usually with references on the final slide) and guides to research.
