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Children and Young People's Mental Health Settings: Context and Values

Module description

Wellbeing Practitioners for Child and Young People (WPCYP) and Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP) operate at all times from an inclusive values base which promotes recovery, and recognises and respects diversity. Diversity represents the range of cultural norms including personal, family, social and spiritual values held by the diverse communities served by the service within which the practitioner is operating. Practitioners must respect and value individual differences in age, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture. You must be able to respond to children and young people’s needs sensitively with regard to all aspects of diversity. You will learn to demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities for all and encourage children and young people’s active participation in every aspect of care and treatment. You will also demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the power issues in professional / student relationships and take steps in your clinical practice to reduce any potential for negative impact this may have. This module will, therefore, expose you to the concept of diversity, inclusion and multi-culturalism and equip you with the necessary knowledge, attitudes and competencies to operate in an inclusive values driven service. You will also learn to manage caseloads, operate safely and to high standards and use supervision to aid your clinical decision-making. You will need to recognise the limitations to your competence and role and direct young people and families to resources appropriate to their needs, including step-up to high-intensity therapy, when beyond your competence and role. In this module you will develop knowledge in the core CYP mental health principles to enhance your work with children, young people and their families/parents. This module underpins modules 2 and 3, and will provide you with the necessary knowledge, attitude and competence to operate effectively in an inclusive, values driven service and in the wider services context.

Module aims - intentions of the module

In this module you will develop your knowledge in the core principles held by WPCYP and EMHP practitioners and you will become skilled in enhancing your work with children, young people and their families/parents. This module underpins module PYC3023 (Fundamental Skills: Assessment and Engagement) and PYC3024 (Evidence-based Interventions for Common Mental Health Problems with Children and Young People (Theory and Skills)). This module is to provide you with the necessary knowledge, attitude and competence to operate effectively in an inclusive, values driven service and in the wider services context. This module will enable you to develop knowledge and skills in the following areas:

• Service context, principles and policy – local and national
• Service role and overview of roles
• Multi agency working and navigation, (including context of service delivery)
• Legal/professional issues, (incl. legal framework, ethics, confidentiality, capacity/consent)
• Child, youth and family development and transitions
• Working with families and systems
• Diversity and culture, social inclusion, protected characteristics, social determinants, the influence of poverty for example and how this can impact engagement.
• Caseload and clinical management, use of supervision, liaison and clinical decision-making.
• Collaborative practice and participation
• Outcomes informed practice
• Understanding social roles, group and intuitional dynamics and appreciative enquiry

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Engage and involve children, young people and parents in a way that maximises their collaboration and engagement in mental health services and related settings and contexts
• 2. Understand and effectively convey the core principles of WPCYP and EMHP and the active outcomes frames and use routine outcome measures
• 3. Support access to child and adolescent mental health services and support to the whole population and minimise disadvantage and discrimination
• 4. Explain the key principles of core, evidence-based therapies
• 5. Use effectively self-reflection and supervision to enhance your clinical work and self awareness
• 6. Commit to a non-discriminatory, recovery-orientated values base to mental health care and to equal opportunities for all and encourage children and young peoples’ active participation in every aspect of care and treatment
• 7. Demonstrate respect for individual differences in age, language, developmental stage, physical and sensory needs, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture
• 8. Apply a critical understanding of power issues in professional / service user relationships to inform your own practice
• 9. Manage competently, efficiently and safely a caseload of children and young people with common mental health problems
• 10. Gather competently CYP patient-centred information on education, training and employment needs, wellbeing and social inclusion and liaise with and signpost to other agencies
• 11. Demonstrate knowledge and competency in working within your own level of competence and boundaries of competence and role, and work within a team and with other agencies with additional specific roles which cannot be fulfilled by you alone

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 12. Summarise basic and essential factual and conceptual knowledge of the subject, and demonstrate a critical understanding of this knowledge
• 13. Address systematically complex problems which may be framed within unpredictable contexts, think critically, creatively, and independently, and fully appreciate the complexities of the issues

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 14. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, challenge received opinion and develop your own criteria and judgement, and to seek and make use of feedback
• 15. Manage your own learning using the full range of resources of the clinical discipline and with minimum guidance

Syllabus plan

The module content, module-specific learning objectives, style of delivery and assessment for this module are as informed by the curriculum for the training of WPCYPs and EMHPs to support the delivery of low intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and parent therapy associated with the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Teaching content will include:

• CYP services context and principles – local and national.
• Service role of the EMHP and overview of other relevant mental health roles.
• Multi agency working and navigation (including context of service delivery).
• Professional conduct: maintaining a professional stance including professional communication with senior staff and peers as well as service users, expectations of professional behaviour, confidentiality, values and attitudes.
• Legal/professional considerations, (incl. legal framework, ethics, capacity/consent).
• Issues of safeguarding and its legal framework.
• Overview of CYP MH therapies and evidence base.
• Diversity and Culture, social inclusion, protected characteristics, social determinants, the influence of poverty for example and how this can impact engagement.
• Caseload and clinical management, use of supervision, liaison and clinical decision-making
• Child, youth and family development and transitions.
• Working with families and systems.
• Service user involvement.
• CYP mental health policy.
• Collaborative practice/working and participation.
• Outcomes-informed practice.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Three assessments are required for this module. In all cases re-assessment will be the same as the original assessment. Where you have been referred/deferred for any form of assessment detailed above you will have the opportunity to retake within the period specified above from the date that feedback was provided.

If you pass re-assessments taken as a result of deferral, your re-assessment will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment and the overall module mark will not be capped.

If you pass re-assessments taken as a result of referral (i.e. following initial failure in the assessment), the overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

If you fail re-assessments taken as a result of referral (i.e. following initial failure in the assessment), you will be failed in the module and as a consequence you will be failed in the programme and your registration as a student of the University will be terminated.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Core reading: 

• Bennett-Levy, J., Richards, D., Farrand, P. et al (2010). Oxford guide to low intensity CBT interventions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• British Psychological Society. (2021). Code of ethics and conduct. Retrieved from Code of Ethics and Conduct | BPS
• Department of Health (2015). Future in mind. Promoting, protecting and improving our children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Retrieved from: Future in mind - Promoting, protecting and improving our children and young people's mental health and wellbeing (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education (2017). Transforming children and young people's mental health provision: A green paper. Retrieved from: Transforming_children_and_young_people_s_mental_health_provision.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• England, NHS. (2014). The five year forward view. Retrieved from: Five Year Forward View (england.nhs.uk)
• Gallop, C., Fonagy, P., & Kidney, R. (2023). Low-intensity practice with children, young people and families. SAGE.

Wider reading: 

• Baruch, G., Fonagy, P., & Robins (2007). Reaching the hard to reach. Sussex: John Wiley and Sons.
• Batty, M. J., Moldavsky, M., Foroushani, P. S., Pass, S., Marriott, M., Sayal, K., & Hollis, C. (2012). Implementing routine outcome measures in child and adolescent mental health services: From present to future practice. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 18, 82–87.
• Bower, P., & Gilbody, S. (2005). Stepped care in psychological therapies: Access, effectiveness and efficiency. British Journal of Psychiatry.186,11 -17.
• Burnham, J. (2018). Developments in Social GRRRAAACCEEESSS: visible–invisible and voiced–unvoiced 1. In Culture and Reflexivity in Systemic Psychotherapy (pp. 139-160). Routledge
• CAMHS Tier 4 Report Steering Group (2014). CAMHS Tier 4 Report. NHS England.
• Kennedy, I. (2010). Getting it right for children and young people: Overcoming cultural barriers in the NHS so as to meet their needs. Retrieved from Getting it right for children and young people (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• Milne, E. (2018). Evidence-based clinical supervision: Principles and practice. (2nd Ed) Wiley-Blackwell

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE page: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=7741 and https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=7761

Key words search

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, IAPT, CBT, Wellbeing Practitioner, PWP, CYP, EMHP, low intensity,  children and young people, diversity, equal opportunities, recovery-orientated values, case management supervision, professional development, psychosocial, signposting, recovery