Evaluation of the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy by Professional Studies (DCPsych)
This is a new programme at the Institute, designed to meet the changing requirements of the British Psychological Society (BPS) in relation to the training and accreditation of counselling psychologists. The design is an innovative one, based on a practitioner research philosophy and seeking to integrate both clinical and research training at doctoral level. Since this kind of education is gaining in popularity, we have decided to evaluate the new programme with the aim potentially of making a significant contribution to the literature on professional knowledge. We are particularly interested in this project in exploring the interrelationship between theory, research and practice, and in gaining a better understanding of the complexities of the relationship between a training of this kind and clinical effectiveness.
We have embarked on Phase 1 of this project and are in the process of evaluating our Assessment Scheme and intake into the first year of the programme. We have plans to roll this out into each year of the programme and link the evaluations both to candidate assessments on the programme and CORE evaluations of clinical work as carried out within the Metanoia Counselling and Psychotherapy Service (MCPS) at the Institute.
Evaluation of the Clinical Practice Year in Transactional Analysis
This enquiry is a cycle within a wider action research enquiry (van Rijn, 2005) aiming to develop further the first two years of training in psychological therapy by focusing on the development of clinical practice. Based on the wider enquiry, the current Clinical Practice Year was designed on an internship basis, aiming to coordinate formal training, clinical supervision and placement practice. The year long evaluation project was completed in July 2006 and is currently in the final stages of data analysis.
The evaluation was based on the principles of action science and involved tutors, supervisors, students and placements, as well as the quantitative evaluation of clinical practice using the CORE System.
Enquiry into the Process of Learning Clinical Assessment Skills (Metanoia Counselling and Psychotherapy Service - MCPS)
This new development at MCPS involves offering assessment placements to senior students, and has provided an opportunity to enquire into the process of acquiring clinical assessment skills. The project enquires into various components of effective clinical assessment, how these can be taught during the training process, as well as supporting the articulation of stages in developing the competencies and skills of assessment. It is envisaged that the outcome of this project will identify a range of learning objectives and outcomes, as well as highlighting the way in which these can be taught and evaluated.
References
Argyris, C., Putnam, R., Smith, D., (1985) Action Science: Concepts, Methods, and Skills for Research and Intervention San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Friedman, V.J (2001) Action Science: Creating Communities of Inquiry in Communities of Practice in Handbook of Action research: Participative Inquiry and Practice) Eds. Reason, P & Bradbury, H, Sage
Reason, P. & Bradbury, H. (Eds.) (2001) Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry & Practice. London: Sage.
Van Rijn, B. (2005) An Enquiry into Psychotherapy Training. Challenges to developing a generic foundation year and links to clinical practice training, DPsych, Metanoia Institute and Middlesex University
Dr Patricia Moran (Research Forum Convenor), Dr Simon Du Plock, Prof. Vanja Orlans, Dr Biljana Van Rijn
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