Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) MSc

• Overview

  Our Child and Adolescent Mental Health MSc is a multidisciplinary course which will develop your understanding of child development and mental health difficulties experienced by children and adolescents.

  This course is taught by practitioners and academics from various backgrounds, including but not limited to: mental health, education, counselling, therapeutic work, speech and language, offering a diverse range of perspectives.

  Postgraduate Event

  Course

  Highlights

  • Interdisciplinary course.
  • Choose either PG diploma or full MSc.
  • Opportunities for additional training/experience (e.g. Mental Health First Aid, Trauma in Schools, research projects with staff etc).

  Apply Now Open Days

  
• Course Details

  With innovative content and teaching methods, you will study a course designed to provide you with a critical route to better understand the experiences of children, young people and their families. This programme is for practitioners from education, health, social or voluntary services working in some capacity with children and young people with mental health challenges at first or second tiers of service provision.  Alternatively, if you are a psychology graduate or have studied similar disciplines like social and behavioural sciences (e.g. Psychology), education and more, then this course is also suitable for you. Relevant experience with young people is desirable, but not essential.

  The course is intended to develop your specific mental health knowledge and skills in a range of backgrounds and perspectives, to enable you to work more effectively with children and young people. It will also provide you with the theoretical underpinning to better understand the nature of children and young people’s distress, as well as some broad practical skills. The foundational aim of the course is to explore children and young peoples lives, and what may contribute to the traumas, difficulties and challenges that they experience on a day-to-day basis.

  Students who enter the course with a profession use the course to specialise their knowledge and/or increase their opportunities for progression within their own organisations. The course is also popular for students who have recently finished an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline, and are looking to provide a firmer academic foundation for future applications in CAMHs and related services.  The diversity of the cohort is a key benefit of the course and its group culture, providing all students with many opportunities to reflect on their own practice, experiences, backgrounds and presumptions around mental health.

  In an increasingly competitive market, a postgraduate qualification is positioned as an essential requirement for working with children, young people and their families. This course will provide you with opportunities to engage in critical and reflective practice, encouraging students to explore the diverse worlds of children and young people. Research methods and the development of academic skills are integral to the course. Course tutors look to provide a supportive environment through which you will develop both personally and professionally.

  The course provides a critical platform to explore the diverse and lived experiences of children, young people and their families. You will use your developed theory and experience to explore the socio-cultural context through which children and young people experience distress.

  You can choose to graduate with either a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Postgraduate Diploma by completing 120 credits or you can complete all of the recommended course modules, including the dissertation, and be awarded with an MSc. The course is not accredited by the BPS or a related body. This is due to the diversity of its content, further reflecting the multiplicity of roles within CAMHs and related services (i.e. there is not a singular ‘CAMH’ role, rather there are lots of opportunities within a very diverse sector).

  Methods of Learning

  Teaching methods used on the CAMH MSc include:

  • workshops
  • reflective journals
  • one to one support
  • private study
  • group work
  • Placement opportunity
  • role play

  Schedule

  Each 30 credit module involves approximately 70 hours of formal teaching (split between face to face and online delivery). Formal teaching takes place on approximately one day a week for part-time students (typically Friday in Year One and most Wednesdays and some Fridays in Year Two and two days each week for full-time students (every Friday and most Wednesdays).

  The new placement module has been recently developed to provide candidates with experiential learning opportunities. In addition, as a Changemaker Campus and with connections with the local community, there is support with paid and/or voluntary placements.

  The full MSc runs for one year full-time or two to four years part-time.

  Assessments

  Our assessment strategy is designed to include a broad range of assessment methods, in order to ensure that you have the maximum opportunity to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes for the course.

  Assessment strategies used on this course include:

  • project portfolio
  • intervention research
  • case study/formulation
  • self-reflective work
  • critical reviews
  • role play
  • oral presentations

  There are no examinations on this course. The Research Methods and Dissertation module supports you in completing a supervised, but original and independently undertaken, piece of research that is assessed through a 12,000 word dissertation.

  Extra Curricular Events

  • Mental Health First Aid qualification
  • Opportunities for engagement with staff research

  Read more

  Additional

  Information

  Careers

  The content of the programme is eclectic to reflect the diverse career paths within Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Therefore, there is not a direct career path following the programme, rather it provides you with a specialism and/or a stepping stone for career progression. Previous candidates have pursued various careers including but not limited to: Alcohol/Drug Support teams; Drop in Services; Clinical work; Eating Disorder Clinics; IAPT training; research careers and further study (e.g. Clinical Doctorate, Mental Health Nursing, Social Work etc).

• Careers and Events
  • Open Days

    See for yourself

    Our Open Days offer you a fantastic opportunity to get a real taste of university life at Northampton and discover how studying here will be a life-changing experience.

    Each Open Day has a postgraduate stall, where you can speak with tutors about the postgraduate courses that interest you, to give you all the information you need about studying at the University of Northampton.

    To find out more about the day, please feel free to have a look at our Open Day Guide.

    
• Requirements

  You will normally need to hold a first class or upper second class (2:1) honours degree in a relevant discipline from a UK institution or the CNAA or equivalent.

  If you have a lower second class (2:2) degree or practitioner qualification at diploma level and can demonstrate your ability to work at Master’s level you will also be considered. A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is mandatory for entry onto this course.

  English Language Requirements

  All International and EU students applying for a course with us must meet the following minimum English language requirements:

  • Minimum standard – IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) 
    with a minimum of 6.0 in each band for study at postgraduate level.

  For information regarding English language requirements at the University, please see our IELTS page.

  Contacts

  Course enquiries
  study@northampton.ac.uk

  Application status enquiries
  admissions2020@northampton.ac.uk

  Online enquiry form

  Current student enquiries
  SID@northampton.ac.uk

  International student enquiries
  international@northampton.ac.uk

  Applying for 2020
  Facebook Applicant Group

  Office hours:
  Mon – Thu: 9am – 5pm
  Fri: 9am – 4.30pm

  Phone Call

  0300 303 2772

  +44 (0)1604 892134

  +44 (0)1604 892546

• Course Content
  • Level 7

  • Understanding Children & Young People's Distress (30 Credits Credits)
    Module code: PSYM105

    Core Module Y
  • Therapeutic Skills for Working with Children, Young People and Families (30 Credits Credits)
    Module code: PSYM106

    Core Module Y
  • Working with Schools and Communities (30 Credits Credits)
    Module code: PSYM064

    Core Module Y
  • Therapeutic Interventions with Children, Young People and Families (30 Credits Credits)
    Module code: PSYM065

    Core Module Y
  • Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods (10 Credits Credits)
    Module code: PSYM085

    Core Module Y
  • Dissertation & Research Methods (50 Credits Credits)
    Module code: PSYM086

    Core Module Y

  Facilities &

  Special Features

  • promotes advanced understanding of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH)
  • encourages a more critical consideration of the context through which children and young people experience distress
  • considers mental health from the perspective of the young person
  • strong reflexive focus
  • diverse module content and delivery of content
  • interdisciplinary staff and student group provides you with an exciting and varied learning environment
  • strong focus on putting theory into practice
  • dedicated laboratories and computer suites
  • sensory deprivation room
  • biological testing suite
  • observation suite
• Further Studies
  • Alumni 20% Discount

    Our Graduate Discount Scheme

    If you have previously studied an undergraduate degree with the University of Northampton, you may be eligible for a 20% discount on Postgraduate course fees.

    Visit our Graduate Discount Scheme page to find out more information and eligibility requirements.

    
  • Postgraduate Loan

    Get funding to study

    If you are starting a postgraduate Master’s course either full-time or part-time you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan through Student finance England.

    Visit the GOV website for more information on eligibility.

    
• Fees & Funding
  • UK & EU
  • International

  20/21 Tuition Fees

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 20/21 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  Full Time: £7,425
  Part Time: £1,235 per 30  Credit Module

  Additional costs

  There are no additional costs for this course for students beginning their studies in September 2020. Should this change, applicants and students will be contacted by the university with details of the costs.

  19/20 Tuition Fees

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 19/20 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  Full Time: £7,300
  Part Time: £1,215 per 30  Credit Module

  Additional costs

  There are no additional costs for this course for students beginning their studies in September 2019. Should this change, applicants and students will be contacted by the university with details of the costs.

  20/21 Tuition Fees

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 20/21 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  International: £13,750

  There are no additional costs for this course for students beginning their studies in September 2020. Should this change, applicants and students will be contacted by the university with details of the costs.

  19/20 Tuition Fees

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 19/20 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  International: £12,750

  There are no additional costs for this course for students beginning their studies in September 2019. Should this change, applicants and students will be contacted by the university with details of the costs.

  Scholarships

  EU and International Scholarships

  We’re committed to offering the opportunity to study in the UK to the best and brightest students from around the world.

  TD Lewis Scholarship

  The T D Lewis Scholarship provides both undergraduate and postgraduate students with financial awards of up to £1,000.  This scholarship is awarded on educational excellence…

  The Chancellor's Fund

  The Chancellor’s Fund is a bi-annual fund providing students with awards of between £100 and £1,000. You must be a current student to apply.  The…

• Who can I contact for more information?

  You can contact the Programme Leader, Lauren McAllister.

*Course data provided by Unistats