PGDip/GradDip Psychological Therapies Practice
(Low Intensity CBT for Children, Young People & Families) (CWP)
Please note: This page is for 2027 entry. Click here for 2026 entry.
| UCAS code | 1234 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 1 year full time |
| Entry year | 2026 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Typical offer | There are two separate training routes/qualifications for the course – one at postgraduate and at graduate level. |
|---|---|
Why study PGDip/GradDip Psychological Therapies Practice
(Low Intensity CBT for Children, Young People & Families) (CWP) at Exeter?
- Develop your career as a Wellbeing Practitioner
- Develop your clinical competency in the low intensity cognitive behavioural therapy clinical method
- Gain an understanding of ways to adapt your practice to accommodate diversity and increase access to evidence-based psychological therapies
- This programme will provide you with an outstanding opportunity to develop the competencies and knowledge associated with practice as a Wellbeing Practitioner for Children and Young People (CYP)
- A strong emphasis throughout the programme is placed upon your personal and professional development
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
There are two separate training routes/qualifications for the course – one at postgraduate and at graduate level.
For those with no prior degree, on completion the student will be awarded an undergraduate diploma whereas those already with an undergraduate will qualify for a postgraduate diploma.
For postgraduate (PGCert, PGDip, MSc = level 7) applicants would normally be required to have an honours degree (ie studied at level 6 in the national curriculum). A Grad Diploma programme is a level 6 qualification so we would normally expect an applicant to have some evidence of activity at level 5 (e.g. second year UG study or equivalent)
Detail on the minimum of level 5 qualification for undergraduate pathways
Applicants without a degree
This programme is offered at both postgraduate level (PGDip) and at final year undergraduate degree level (GradDip). If you do not hold an undergraduate degree you may be eligible for enrolment on the GradDip programme. The topics you will study are the same for both programmes. Please contact the administrative team for more information.
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
The aims of the PGDip Psychological Therapies Practice (Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Children, Young People and Families) are to:
- Provide you with a thorough grounding in the Department of Health Wellbeing Practitioner for Children and Young People (WP-CYP) curriculum working within the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Programme.
- Develop your understanding and clinical competency in the low intensity CBT clinical method and enable you to adapt your practice to work effectively with children and young people (CYP), their parents/carers and professionals with diverse needs.
- Provide you with the foundations to establish a commitment to continuing professional development and becoming an evidence-based practitioner.
- Provide you with a high quality and stimulating learning experience in a supportive environment that is enriched by an internationally-recognised research environment, nationally-recognised innovative clinical teaching approaches and current clinical practice.
Teaching will begin with trainees spending five days per week at the University as part of the intensive teaching block. It will then taper down to four days per week, then three days per week, before working in service full time for the remainder of the training year.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
120 credits of compulsory and non-condonable modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Children and Young People's Mental Health Settings: Context and Values | 20 | |
| Fundamental Skills: Assessment and Engagement | 20 | |
| Evidence-Based Interventions for Common Mental Health Problems with Children and Young People (Theory and Skills) | 20 | |
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Working, Assessing and Engaging in Community Based and Primary Care Settings | 20 | |
| Mental Health Prevention in Community and Primary Care Settings | 20 | |
| Interventions for Emerging Mental Health Difficulties in Community and Primary Care Settings | 20 | |
PYCM079: Children and Young People's Mental Health Settings: Context and Values
This module will develop practitioners’ knowledge of the core principles of CYP Mental Health and enhance their skills when working with children, young people and their families/parents/carers. This module underpins modules 2 and 3, and will provide practitioners with the necessary knowledge, attitude and competence to operate effectively in an inclusive, values driven service and in the wider services context.
PYCM080: Fundamental Skills: Assessment and Engagement
This module will equip you with a good understanding of the incidence, prevalence and presentation of common mental health problems experienced by children and young people and evidenced-based treatment choices. Teaching skills will develop core competences in active listening, engagement, alliance building, patient-centred information gathering, information giving and shared decision-making. The module will develop your competency in assessing and identifying areas of difficulty (including risk) and establish main areas for change. It will support you to establish and maintain a working therapeutic alliance and engaging CYP to support them in self-management of recovery. It will also help you to navigate and signpost appropriate interventions and use routine outcome measures and standardised assessment tools effectively as part of the assessment and engagement process.
PYCM081: Evidence-Based Interventions for Common Mental Health Problems with Children and Young People (Theory and Skills)
This module will equip practitioners with a good understanding of the process of therapeutic support and the management of individual children and young people and parents / carers experiencing anxiety, low mood or behavioural difficulties, face to face or remotely. Skills teaching will develop general and disorder-defined ‘specific factor’ competencies in the delivery of low intensity treatments informed by cognitive-behavioural and social learning principles.
Practitioners aid clinical improvement through the provision of information and support for evidence-based low-intensity treatments. Psychological treatments place a greater emphasis on self-management and are designed to be less burdensome to the CYP undertaking them than traditional psychological treatments. The overall delivery of these interventions is informed by behaviour change models and strategies. Examples of interventions include providing support for a range of low-intensity self-help interventions (often with the use of written self-help materials) informed by cognitive-behavioural and social learning principles, such as behavioural activation, exposure, cognitive change methods (such as identifying and working with automatic anxious negative thoughts and suggesting behaviour experiments), problem solving, CBT-informed sleep management, parent training and computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) packages as well as supporting physical exercise.
PYCM136: Working, Assessing and Engaging in Community Based and Primary Care Settings
CWPs provide support and evidence-based interventions community based and primary care mental health services. Successful implementation of this requires the CWP to be fully cognisant of the health care systems and mental health practice within these settings.
This module consists of two main areas: the community and primary care context and assessment and engagement of children, young people, and their families specific to these settings and has been designed as counterparts to modules 1 and 2.
First, CWPs will understand the community and primary health care settings, and the context in which they will be working, including legislative and policy frameworks, how services are organised and challenges working with mental health issues in these settings. CWPs will then learn assessment and engagement skills particular to these settings, including an emphasis on supporting co-production and expert by experience involvement. This includes engagement skills with Children and Young People, families and health care staff, assessment, diagnosis and signposting skills and neurological development.
PYCM137: Mental Health Prevention in Community and Primary Care Settings
Within this module, CWPs will be trained in two primary prevention approaches within community settings:
Training others: To identify and have awareness of common mental health difficulties, available resources and how to signpost within community settings. To support and provide structured workshops and training, based on principles of cognitive behaviour therapy, to children, young people parents / carers and health care staff.
Participation Engagement Activity: CWPs will be able to review, understand and support the development of participation of CYP and their families in community settings to improve access and effectiveness to mental health support in these settings using evidenced based approaches to participation work.
PYCM138: Interventions for Emerging Mental Health Difficulties in Community and Primary Care Settings
Within this module, CWPs will develop an awareness of emerging mental health difficulties in community and health care settings and be able to intervene with parents / carer and staff in these settings. Two key intervention skills will be taught in this module:
The first core skill will be Psychoeducation. CWPs will be able to provide evidence-based information and psycho education to children and young people, parents / carers and health care staff. Psychoeducation and other preventative measures when working with communities in localities should be responsive to local and potentially diverse views of distress and activity limitations and their relation to mental health problems.
CWPs will be taught intervention skills in the delivery of training and psychological support to groups both face to face and digitally (of Children and young people, parents/carers). Key principles of working with groups (classes) will be addressed so that the CWP is able to prepare appropriate materials, manage group processes, deliver training and/or support confidently, work in partnership with other professionals, and critically evaluate their own performance. CWPs will need to evidence competency in one of these two intervention areas i.e., group work with children or young people OR/ group work with parents.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
60 credits of compulsory and non-condonable modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Children and Young People's Mental Health Settings: Context and Values | 20 | |
| Fundamental Skills: Assessment and Engagement | 20 | |
| Evidence-Based Interventions for Common Mental Health Problems with Children and Young People (Theory and Skills) | 20 | |
PYC3022: Children and Young People's Mental Health Settings: Context and Values
Practitioners will 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. They must be able to respond to children and young people’s needs sensitively about all aspects of diversity. The practitioners 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. They will also demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the power issues in professional/student relationships and take steps in their clinical practice to reduce any potential for negative impact this may have. This module will, therefore, expose them to the concept of diversity, inclusion and multi-culturalism and equip them with the necessary knowledge, attitudes and competencies to operate in an inclusive, values driven service. They will also learn to manage caseloads, operate safely and to high standards and use supervision to aid their clinical decision-making. They will need to recognise the limitations to their competence and role and effectively communicate and direct children, young people and families to resources appropriate to their needs, including step-up to high-intensity therapy, when beyond competence and role.
PYC3023: Fundamental Skills: Assessment and Engagement
This module will equip practitioners with a good understanding of the incidence, prevalence and presentation of common mental health problems experienced by children and young people and evidenced-based treatment choices. Teaching skills will develop core competences in active listening, engagement, alliance building, patient-centred information gathering, information giving and shared decision-making. The module will develop practitioner’s competency in assessing and identifying areas of difficulty (including risk) and establish main areas for change. It will support practitioners to establish and maintain a working therapeutic alliance and engaging CYP to support them in self-management of recovery. It will also help practitioners to navigate and signpost appropriate interventions and use routine outcome measures and standardised assessment tools effectively as part of the assessment and engagement process.
PYC3024: Evidence-Based Interventions for Common Mental Health Problems with Children and Young People (Theory and Skills)
This module will equip practitioners with a good understanding of the process of therapeutic support and the management of individual children and young people and parents / carers experiencing anxiety, low mood or behavioural difficulties, face to face or remotely. Skills teaching will develop general and disorder-defined ‘specific factor’ competencies in the delivery of low intensity treatments informed by cognitive-behavioural and social learning principles.
Practitioners aid clinical improvement through the provision of information and support for evidence-based low-intensity treatments. Psychological treatments place a greater emphasis on self-management and are designed to be less burdensome to the CYP undertaking them than traditional psychological treatments. The overall delivery of these interventions is informed by behaviour change models and strategies. Examples of interventions include providing support for a range of low-intensity self-help interventions (often with the use of written self-help materials) informed by cognitive-behavioural and social learning principles, such as behavioural activation, exposure, cognitive change methods (such as identifying and working with automatic anxious negative thoughts and suggesting behaviour experiments), problem solving, CBT-informed sleep management, parent training and computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) packages as well as supporting physical exercise.
How to apply
In order to apply for this programme you will need to be selected as a Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner (EHMP) with one of our NHS/voluntary sector partner services. Please see the SW CYP IAPT website for a full list of services. The EHMP is a full-time job role funded at NHS Band 4 and will involve direct practice working across a range of educational settings as well as university-based training days. Upon completion of your training, you will remain employed within your service at a NHS Band 5 Pay Scale.
Jobs will be advertised on the NHS jobs website and on individual partner websites, as well as on our SW CYP IAPT website. Please note it is not possible to apply directly to the University of Exeter as you are required to be working within a service in order to participate in the course.
Fees
This course is funded by NHS England, so fees are not typically payable by candidates. You will be employed and paid by your service on a minimum 12-month contract, and will split your time between working clinically at your service and studying at the university.
If you work for a non-NHS employer and are interested in a self-funded place, please contact our Programme Administrator for more information.
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.
Teaching and research
Our teaching team is committed to creating an engaging, interactive, and inclusive learning environment grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. Teaching begins with an initial block of timetabled lectures, which gradually tapers to allow for more in-service days before transitioning to full-time in service. Learning activities include a mix live lectures, clinical skills practice, role-play, group work, and asynchronous individual learning.
Assessment methods include:
- Online exam
- Recorded clinical competency assessments
- Reflective commentaries
- Clinical reports
- Narrated presentations
- Practice Outcomes Document (POD)
- Professional portfolio
Careers
This programme will provide you with an outstanding opportunity to develop your competencies and knowledge as a children’s wellbeing practitioner.
A strong emphasis throughout the programme is placed upon your personal and professional development.
Advantages of the programme are that:
- You will study within a vibrant, stimulating and internationally-recognised research environment, where members of your teaching team have first-hand experience within the clinical setting.
- Your learning experience will be enriched by nationally-recognised, innovative, clinical teaching approaches, designed to develop you on your terms.
