2 years part-time
Part-time
£14,000 (INT) *
Nicky Payne
Overview
This course is no longer accepting applications for 2020 entry. The next entry is 2021.
Supporting physical and mental health is central in all areas of life and employment. This master's degree integrates the promotion of health and wellness with a focus on mental and physical health. You'll gain the knowledge, clinical practitioner and professional skills you need for a career working with clients and patients in health-related settings. You'll also have the opportunity to undertake hands-on learning through a professional placement.
Why study MSc Clinicial Health Psychology and Wellbeing* at Middlesex University?
This MSc has been developed for psychology graduates (or a related discipline) and current health and mental healthcare professionals wishing to further their studies, develop their knowledge and skills and enhance their career opportunities.
During the course, you'll be examining health, wellness and illness to understand the relationship between psychological variables and biomedical conditions as well as physical and mental health and wellbeing.
You'll focus on application and intervention and have the opportunity to apply your knowledge and practice professional and clinical skills. These can include communication with clients, ethical and reflective practice, judgment and decision-making, and skills related to formulation and assessment, cognitive-behavioural therapy, motivational interviewing, and health behaviour change.
We have strong partnerships with many health psychology organisations and trusts which means that you'll be able to undertake an eight-week work placement and gain valuable hands-on work experience. Previous placements have included working with addiction management, cancer screening, pain management, exercise promotion, stroke rehabilitation.
Course highlights
- Focus your studies on both physical and mental health and wellbeing
- Develop your skills in intervention, working with clients and developing professional and clinical skills
- Undertake a work placement in a health psychology setting
- Consider and prepare for your future career
*Please note this course is subject to validation
Find out more
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Course content
What will you study on MSc Clinical Health Psychology and Wellbeing?
This master's degree allows you understand how psychology is applied to physical health and psychological wellbeing, and mental and physical ill health. You'll also focus on health promotion and health behaviour change.
During the course, you'll learn key interventions to promote health and wellbeing, and treat mental ill health. You'll recognise chronic illness in patients and be able to create and implement management strategies.
What will you gain?
You'll be encouraged to focus on both your personal and professional development in several areas. Your professional skills for example, will include clinical, counselling and research skills, analysing and appraising psychological theories, and becoming an ethical and reflective practitioner.
You'll also be continually enhancing your employability by developing your decision making and communication skills as well as practising self-awareness and self-reflection.
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Modules
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Psychology of Wellness and Illness (30 credits) - Compulsory
This module will introduce key areas of wellness and illness, including health promotion and behaviour change, positive psychology and wellbeing, mental ill health and chronic health conditions. You'll be able to focus on intervention and the promotion and enhancement of health and wellbeing.
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Counselling and Psychotherapy (30 credits) - Compulsory
This module will introduce the main schools of psychological therapy, their theoretical origins and demonstrate how the theory is applied in practice. You'll also be introduced to the basic principles of communication skills that form the foundation of all counselling and therapy.
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Quantitative Research Methods (15 credits) - Compulsory
Module information will be available shortly
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Qualitative Research Methods (15 credits) - Compulsory
Module information will be available shortly
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Clinical Practice and Placement in Health Psychology (30 credits) - Optional
This module will help you develop the skills required to work in health psychology settings. You will also have the opportunity to undertake a work placement. You'll be supported to develop you personal and professional skills, including clinical skills and becoming an ethical and reflective practitioner.
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Trauma Impacts and Interventions (30 credits) - Optional
This module will allow you to develop a critical understanding of current research evidence and perspectives on psychological trauma and its effects. You'll review the impact of trauma on different groups and at different stages of the lifespan and critically examine the models of intervention for psychological trauma. You'll also explore the current debates around ameliorating factors and developmental outcomes.
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Research Practice and Reporting (60 credits) - Compulsory
This module will give you the opportunity for an in-depth, advanced study in a specific area of applied psychology. You'll apply appropriate principles of empirical research to an issue of your choice, and present your research study in the form of a written journal article, using appropriate styles and conventions.
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You can find more information about this course in the programme specification. Optional modules are not offered on every course. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.
Teaching
How is the MSc Clinical Health Psychology and Wellbeing taught?
You'll attend interactive classes and workshops where you'll take part in discussions, role-play and problem-solving exercises and group work.
Assessment
You'll be assessed on the basis of a variety of types of coursework including log books and reflections on practice, case studies, intervention design, reports and a journal style article.
Entry requirements
Fees and funding
Careers
How can the MSc Clinical Health Psychology and support your career?
Once you've completed this MSc course, you can choose to work in a variety of sectors such as the health service, public health, charities, organisations, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services and academia.
You'd qualified and confident to work in a wide range of roles such as helping people deal with diabetes, pain, or stroke; health promotion in communities, schools or the workplace; designing and delivering interventions for weight loss or smoking cessation; promoting well-being and mental health; and research and teaching.
Our graduates have found successful careers as:
- Child well-being practitioner in the NHS (Mary Oshinnaya)
- Senior triage and engagement coordinator in a Stop smoking Service (Marcos Castejon)
- Drug and alcohol recovery worker in the prison service (Dean Soobhen)
- Specialist support office with young people with complex needs (Hamse Hassan)
You could also choose to continue your studies and training to become health, counselling or clinical psychologists.
Staff profiles
Dr Camille Alexis-Garsee
Associate Professor in Health Psychology
Dr Alexis-Garsee is a Chartered Psychologist with the BPS and is joint Programme Leader of the MSc Clinical Health Psychology and Wellbeing programme, joint Ethics Chair for the Psychology Department and Co-ordinator of the Health Psychology Lab. Her research focuses on on the use of technology for behaviour change and providing solutions for problems impacting population health such as smoking, obesity, and chronic illness.
Dr Nicky Payne
Associate Professor of Psychology
Dr Payne is a Chartered Psychologist with the BPS and a Registered Practitioner Health Psychologist with the HCPC. She is joint programme leader of the MSc Clinical Health Psychology and Wellbeing and the Psychology Research Degrees Coordinator. Her research focuses on health behaviour change, infertility, work stress and work-life balance.
