Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) MSc

Course Content

• Course Details

  This course has been designed to contribute towards achieving the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goal: SDG3 Good Health and Wellbeing.

  The course is innovative in its content and teaching methods, 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.

  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).

  Please note the modules shown here relate to the academic year 22/23. The modules relating to the academic year 23/24 will be available from June 2023.

  • Stage 1
    • Therapeutic Interventions with Children, Young People and Families (30 Credits)
      Module code: PSYM065

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to critically engage with core therapeutic interventions which are used within CAMHs. Students will also develop a working and critical understanding of the cultural, legal, political and interdisciplinary contexts relative to working within CAMH and related services. .
    • Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods (10 Credits)
      Module code: PSYM085

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with the opportunity and resources to develop a critical understanding of research methods so that they can evaluate research they read and/or propose research of an acceptable standard.
    • Dissertation and Research Methods (50 Credits)
      Module code: PSYM086

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is ?To build on basic research methods skills from modules PSYM085 or PSYM102. The module is designed to develop advanced research skills enabling students to autonomously formulate and conduct an empirical research project in a field relevant to individual masters programs under supervision.
    • Understanding Children and Young People's Distress (30 Credits)
      Module code: PSYM105

      Status: Compulsory
      This module will critically explore the construction of `childhood?, with relation to both traditional and diverse understandings of child and adolescent development. Specifically, the module will focus on the complexities surrounding `typical? and `atypical? development, unpacking the social, political and cultural nature through which children and adolescent?s development is understood.
    • Therapeutic Skills for Working with Children, Young People and Families (30 Credits)
      Module code: PSYM106

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with an experiential learning environment where they can explore and practice the skills needed to work with children, young people and their families. This module will build on critical reflection from PSYM105 and theory from PSYM065.
    • With Young People in Mind: Clinical, Community or Educational Placement (30 Credits)
      Module code: PSYM132

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge within either a community, clinical or educational setting.

  • 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

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• Entry 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.

  You will need an Overseas Police check for those who have resided outside of the UK at any time in the last five years prior to the course start date. (This is in addition to completing the UK DBS unless you have not lived in the UK during the last five years).  It is recommended that you try to obtain the police check prior to coming to the UK, if you are currently living outside of the UK.

  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 overall (or equivalent) 
    with a score no lower than 6.0 for writing and no remaining band/component below 5.5 for study at postgraduate level.

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

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• Fees and Funding

  22/23 Tuition Fees

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 22/23 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  • UK – Full Time: £7,650
  • UK – Part Time: £1,275 per 30 credit module
  • International – Full Time: £15,000

  21/22 Tuition Fees

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 21/22 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  • UK – Full Time: £7,470
  • UK – Part Time: £1,245 per 30 credit module
  • International – Full Time: £14,000

  Additional costs

  There are no additional costs for this course for students beginning their studies in September 2021. Should this change, applicants and students will be contacted by the university with details of the costs.

  Scholarships and Bursaries

  For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page.

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• Special Features

  Facilities and Equipment

  • Three dedicated psychology technicians available to support students
  • Six research cubicles
  • Observation suite

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• FAQs

  How will I learn?

  Teaching methods used on the CAMH MSc include:

  • Workshops
  • Work-based learning (i.e. placement)
  • Reflective journals
  • One-to-one support
  • Private Study
  • Group Work
  • Role play / presentations

  How is the course structured?

  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 and two days each week for full-time students. You are however advised to have at least one other day ‘free’  for the purpose of meeting your personal tutor and/or your dissertation supervisor, and for independent study.

  The course also features opportunities for Work-based learning. The new placement module, beginning in 2020/21 has been developed to provide you 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.

  How will I be assessed?

  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
  • case study/formulation
  • self-reflective work
  • critical reviews
  • role play
  • oral presentations
  • dissertation

  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.

  Are there any extra curricular events?

  • Mental Health First Aid qualification
  • Opportunities for engagement with staff research
  • Support with MSc CAMH social media channels

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Careers and Employability

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. MSc CAMH students have entered into a variety of positions from education (e.g. Assistant SENCo), therapeutic/intervention work (e.g. Therapeutic Care Worker, Intense Support Worker etc.), self-created opportunities (e.g. founding of new support/education organisations in their country of origin) and further study (e.g. Clinical Doctorates, PhD Study, Mental Health Nursing, Teacher Training, IAPT). The course outcomes are not limited to a single thought of study, and therefore the opportunities are diverse upon completion.

This course will provide you with opportunities to engage in critical and reflective practice, encouraging you 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 prioritise the facilitation of a supportive environment through which you will develop both personally and professionally, within the MSc CAMH community.