(BA) Bachelor of Arts
Psychodynamic Practice
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies
Colchester Campus
Honours Degree
Full-time
Health Studies
Psychology
None
BA C847CO
10/05/2023
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
A-levels: BBC
BTEC: DDM, depending on subject studied - advice on acceptability can be provided.
IB: 29 points or three Higher Level certificates with 554
We are also happy to consider a combination of separate IB Diploma Programme Courses (formerly certificates) at both Higher and Standard Level. Exact offer levels will vary depending on the range of subjects being taken at higher and standard level, and the course applied for.
We can also consider combinations with BTECs or other qualifications in the Career-related programme – the acceptability of BTECs and other qualifications depends on the subject studied, advice on acceptability can be provided. Please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for more information.
Access to HE Diploma: 6 level 3 credits at Distinction and 39 level 3 credits at Merit
T-levels: Merit, depending on subject studied - advice on acceptability can be provided.
Please note that a satisfactory enhanced DBS check may be required prior to starting any placement(s) for this course. This will be organised by the University where required.
What if I don’t achieve the grades I hoped?
If your final grades are not as high as you had hoped, the good news is you may still be able to secure a place with us on a course which includes a foundation year. Visit our undergraduate application information page for more details.
What if I have a non-traditional academic background?
Don’t worry. To gain a deeper knowledge of your course suitability, we will look at your educational and employment history, together with your personal statement and reference.
You may be considered for entry into Year 1 of your chosen course. Alternatively, some UK and EU applicants may be considered for Essex Pathways, an additional year of study (known as a foundation year/year 0) helping students gain the necessary skills and knowledge in order to succeed on their chosen course. You can find a list of Essex Pathways courses and entry requirements here
If you are a mature student, further information is here
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall. Different requirements apply for second year entry, and specified component grades are also required for applicants who require a visa to study in the UK.
Other English language qualifications may be acceptable so please contact us for further details. If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels listed above. Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications
If you are an international student requiring a visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
Dr Anthony John Faramelli
Lecturer in Visual Cultures
Goldsmiths
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
- To provide a basic psychoanalytic vocabulary and understanding of the unconscious dimension of relationships, communication and emotional containment
- To introduce students to the context and experience of employment ready for psychodynamic practice within the therapeutic and caring professions
- To provide a psychodynamic perspective on child, adolescent and adult development and difficulties
- To develop an understanding of physical and psychological violence, trauma and recovery, and psychodynamic approaches to addressing these
- To develop students’ understanding of the principles of psychodynamic observation as a way of understanding individuals, groups and institutions
- To understand the role of emotions in learning, behaviour, and social development
- To understand the psychodynamics of working in groups and institutions, including the therapeutic and anti-therapeutic processes
- To develop a psychodynamic understanding of the effect of disruptive behaviour and psychological disturbance on the institution and the therapeutic potential of psychodynamic management of the institution
- To recognise concerns around safeguarding of clients
- To understand and work with emerging factors related to class, race and gender which exclusion, injustice and marginalisation may be in play
- To provide a space and process by which students can explore and reflect upon the intersection between their academic, personal and professional selves
- To develop the students' understanding of reflective practice and what is required to become a reflective practitioner
- To put in practice students’ psychodynamic understanding via placements direct work and to learn counselling skills in therapeutic work.
- This programme aims to provide students with an experiential, work-based and theoretical understanding of the problems faced by individuals who find themselves in need of mental health support, care and containment within our society. It provides a firm foundation for a career in psychodynamic practice and the aligned caring professions, whether education, health or social care (e.g. work with troubled infants in nurseries, children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in schools or children’s homes, adults in social care and mental health settings, the elderly or those with learning difficulties). It also provides a solid basis in psychodynamic thinking, child, adolescent and adult development, and the dynamics of therapeutic interventions in groups and organisations as well as developing some basic counselling skills and a range of therapeutic skills and interventions.
- Overall, the programme offers a 'psycho-social' approach to therapeutic practice and care, underpinned by a long tradition in psychoanalysis, whereby the distorted communication between the clients, between clients and carers, and between carers and other professionals - all of this occurring within a familial and institutional frameworks - can be understood and adapted toward a therapeutic process.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Knowledge of psychoanalytic vocabulary and capacity to describe the unconscious dimensions of relationships, communication and emotional containment.
A2: Knowledge and understanding of the unconscious factors in group structuring and functioning.
A3: Grasp of the impact of an institution on an individual and of an individual on an instituion.
A4: Psychodynamic understanding of the emotional factors that affect learning, relationships and behaviour.
A5: Knowledge of the psychodynamics of human development and disturbance
A6: Knowledge of the psychodynamic understanding of trauma and its influence on individuals and organisations
Learning methods
The programme makes use of theoretical seminars (A1, A4), lectures, practice orientated seminars (A2, A5, A6), work-based practice (A2, A3, A4, A6), the experience of reflective groups and psychodynamic group observation (A2, A3, A6).
Assessment methods
Essays, presentation, take home test, case study, reflective report, work-based learning report, observation summary
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: To define and use specific psychoanalytic concepts describing relationships and communication, including transference, counter-transference, projection, introjection, etc
B2: To describe psychoanalytically the unconscious factors in group structuring and functioning, such as anxiety, defences against anxiety, authority and leadership.
B3: To describe in psychoanalytic terms the impact of an institution on an individual and of an individual on an institution.
B4: To describe the emotional factors that affect learning, relationships and behaviour.
B5: To describe psychoanalytically therapeutic and anti-therapeutic factors in relationships and organisations, the family and community.
B6: To discern unconscious dynamics in wider society, politics and culture (e.g. in relation to gender, race, disability, etc.).
Learning methods
The programme makes use of theoretical seminars (B1, B4), lectures, practice orientated seminars (B2, B5, B6), work-based practice (B4, B6), the experience of reflective groups and psychodynamic group observation (B2. B3, B6). In addition, students learn how to carry out psychodynamically informed social observations, and through work-based practice, focus their theoretical understanding on specific settings and situations.
Assessment methods
Formal assessment is by essay, observation summaries and clinical case studies. The formal assessment is aided by formative assessment by work-based supervisors, to guide students’ work and the integration of theory and practice. The case studies assess the students’ work with respect to their knowledge of specific concepts and clinical strategies, and more particularly, a range of skills, which emerge as foci of the theoretical and experiential learning
C: Practical skills
C1: Capacity for psychodynamic observation.
C2: Capacity to recognize and describe situations and interactions in institutions in psychodynamic terms.
C3: Capacity to recognise and describe behaviour, including learning behaviour, in rleation to emotional dynamics.
C4: Capacity to analyse difficulties of individuals in terms of problems of relationships and of institutional factors.
C5: To carry out a piece of sustained work focussed on one individual.
C6: Capacity for use of self in reflective approach to practice.
Learning methods
The programme makes use of theoretical seminars (C1), clinically orientated seminars (C2, C3), work-based clinical practice (C4), the experience of group relations and psychodynamic group observation. In addition, students learn how to carry out psychodynamically informed social observations (C2, C3), and through work-place supervised practice (C1, C2, C3, C4, C5) and performative assessment, focus their theoretical understanding on specific settings and situations. Their supervised practice provides the main setting for the development of specific skills.
Assessment methods
Formal assessment is by essay, observation summaries and clinical case studies. The formal assessment is aided by formative assessment by work-based supervisors, to guide students’ work and the integration of theory and practice. The case studies assess the students’ work with respect to their knowledge of specific concepts and clinical strategies, and more particularly, a range of skills, which emerge as foci of the theoretical and experiential learning
D: Key skills
D1: To communicate effectively with colleagues and with clients.
D2: To use e-mail, Moodle and electronic submission of assessed work.
D3: Knowledge of the range of available research approaches and an understanding of how this knowledge relates to their chosen area of research
D4: To develop a capacity to make a formulation based on psychodynamic understanding and to take a view on appropriate therapeutic interventions; to decide on specific topics for essays.
D5: To work effectively in an institutional setting, in which collaboration is the basic aim as well as therapeutic process.
D6: To work independently, including through e-based learning and to learn through practice and self-reflection, to engage in independent research towards a dissertation.
Learning methods
The programme makes use of theoretical seminars (D1, B4), lectures, practice orientated seminars (D1, D5), work-based practice (D5), the experience of reflective groups and psychodynamic group observation (D1. D5). In addition, students learn how to carry out psychodynamically informed social observations, and through work-based practice, focus their theoretical understanding on specific settings and situations (D4). Students also make presentations linked to an individual research project (D1, D6)
Assessment methods
Formal assessment is by essay, observation summaries and clinical case studies. The formal assessment is aided by formative assessment by work-based supervisors, to guide students’ work and the integration of theory and practice. The case studies assess the students’ work with respect to their knowledge of specific concepts and clinical strategies, and more particularly, a range of skills, which emerge as foci of the theoretical and experiential learning