HS934-6-SU-CA:
Values, Diversity and Context

The details
2024/25
Health and Social Care (School of)
Colchester Campus & Apprenticeship Location
Summer
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Tuesday 06 May 2025
Tuesday 22 July 2025
20
21 February 2024

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

HS943

Key module for

CERLB940SS Psychological Wellbeing Practice (Apprenticeship)

Module description

This module is one part of the three module Post Graduate Certificate Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner. The role of the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) has been developed since 2007 alongside the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme (www.iapt.nhs.uk) . PWPs work at high volume (high caseloads) with people suffering from depression and/or anxiety at Step 2 in Primary Care mental health settings offering low intensity, guided self-help interventions.
On successful completion of this course PWPs are able to register with the British Psychological Society (BPS) as an accredited practitioner and would be eligible to begin the accreditation process with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP).

Module aims

Students taking the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner course must operate at all times from an inclusive values base which promotes recovery and recognises and respects diversity. Diversity encompasses 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. Students must respect and value individual differences in age, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture. Students must also take into account any physical and sensory difficulties people may experience in accessing services and make provision in their work to mitigate these. They must be able to respond to people’s needs sensitively with regard to all aspects of diversity. They must demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities for all and encourage people’s active participation in every aspect of care and treatment. They must also demonstrate an understanding an awareness of the power issues in professional/patient relationships and take steps in their clinical practice to reduce any potential for negative impact these may have.


PWPs are also expected to operate in a stepped-care, high-volume environment. During training, trainee PWPs should carry a reduced caseload, with the number of cases seen depending on their stage in training, building up to a maximum of 60-80% of a qualified PWP’s caseload at the end of training. Students must be able to manage caseloads, operate safely and to high standards and use supervision to aid their clinical decision making. Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners need to recognise the limitations to their competence and role and direct people to resources appropriate to their needs, including step-up therapy; and they must focus on social inclusion – including return to work or other meaningful activity – as well as clinical improvement. To do so they must have knowledge of a wide range of social and health resources available through statutory and community agencies. They must have a clear understanding of what constitutes high-intensity psychological treatment and how this differs from low-intensity work.


This module will, therefore, expose PWPs to the concept of diversity, inclusion and multi-culturalism and equip workers with the necessary knowledge, attitudes and competencies to operate in an inclusive values driven service. In addition it will also equip students with an understanding of the complexity of people’s health, social and occupational needs and the services which can support people to recovery. It will develop students’ decision making abilities and enable them to use supervision and to recognise when and where it is appropriate to seek further advice or for the client to access a signposted or step-up service. Skills teaching will develop students’ clinical management, liaison and decision-making competencies in the delivery of support to patients, particularly where they require intervention or advice outside the core low-intensity evidence-based individual or group interventions taught in module 2.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:



  1. Demonstrate knowledge of, and commitment to a non-discriminatory, recovery orientated values base to mental health care and to equal opportunities for all and encourage people’s active participation in every aspect of care and treatment.

  2. Demonstrate respect for and the value of individual differences in age, sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture.

  3. Demonstrate 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.

  4. Demonstrate awareness and understanding of the power issues in professional-patient relationships.

  5. Demonstrate an awareness of voluntary, community and statutory organisations in their community that may be helpful to signpost/refer to.

  6. Demonstrate competence in managing a large caseload of people with common mental health problems efficiently and safely.

  7. Demonstrate knowledge of, and competence in using supervision to assist the PWP's delivery of low-intensity psychological treatment and/or medication support programmes for depression or anxiety disorders.

  8. Demonstrate 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.

  9. Demonstrate an appreciation of the PWP’s own level of competence and boundaries of competence and role, and an understanding of how to work within a team and with other agencies with additional specific roles which cannot be fulfilled by the PWP alone.

  10. Demonstrate a clear understanding of what constitutes high-intensity psychological treatment and how this differs from low-intensity work.

  11. Demonstrate an awareness of voluntary, community and statutory organisations that may be helpful to signpost/refer to.


Practice Outcomes:



  1. Demonstrate the ability to engage with people from diverse demographic, social and cultural backgrounds in assessment and delivery of low-intensity interventions. This could include adaptations to practice in line with positive practice guides11, using interpretation services or self-help materials for people who are deaf or whose first language is not English, and/or adapting self-help materials for people with learning or literacy difficulties including as a result of cognitive or neurological conditions.

  2. Demonstrate the ability to effectively manage a caseload including step-up within IAPT, onward referral to employment support and signposted services, or other referral beyond IAPT.

  3. Demonstrate the ability to use supervision to the benefit of effective (a) case management and (b) clinical skills development.

Module information

This module will be taught by clinical practitioners in the field of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Psychological Wellbeing Practice. Where appropriate, outside speakers with specific skills will be utilised.
The module incorporates teaching sessions, group discussions, case presentation and clinical skills practice as primary teaching methods.

Pre-requisites
Students must be employed as a Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner within an Improving Access to Psychological Therapy Service.

Other entry requirements
It is a requirement of the course's accreditation with the British Psychological Society (BPS) that the course staff are involved with the selection and recruitment of PWPs prior to taking up a place on this course. Applicants should have a Level 6 qualification (Honours degree or equivalent), two satisfactory references, GCSE Maths and English grade C or above, or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy (IELTS 7.0) , Satisfactory Occupational Health and Enhanced DES checks

Learning and teaching methods

Knowledge will be learnt through a combination of lectures, seminars, discussion groups, case discussion, guided reading, simulation and independent study.

Bibliography

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   HS934 Portfolio      
Coursework   HS934 Reflection  12/08/2025  100% 
Practical   HS934 Presentation     

Additional coursework information

Presentation (Pass/Fail)
Portfolio (Pass/Fail)

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Ms Rachael Parsons, email: rachaelp@essex.ac.uk.
Rachael Parsons, Julie Puttock, Katalin Abdul Hamid, Bryony Nicholas, Harriet Nairn
E: hhsiapt@essex.ac.uk Admin: Catarina Cosstick-Wright

 

Availability
No
No
No

External examiner

Mrs Jennie Hague
University of Sheffield
IAPT Programme Director
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 202 hours, 32 (15.8%) hours available to students:
170 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).

 

Further information

Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements, industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.

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