Alysia Janes
Senior Lecturer in Psychological Therapies
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Graduate Diploma in Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Practice
Key Facts
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Duration
Full Time
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Level
UndergraduateUG
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Starting
January, March
JAN, MAR
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Waterside
Updated 03/11/2025
Updated 03/11/2025
Overview
PWPs support children and young people with common mental health problems (such as anxiety and depression) using evidence based Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approaches. Low-intensity CBT places a greater emphasis on parent and CYP self-management and are designed to be less burdensome and intensive for families than traditional psychological therapies. The overall delivery of these interventions is informed by behaviour change models and strategies.
Highlights
- To equip you with knowledge and skills needed to assess and engage children, young people and families experiencing a common mental health difficulty
- To enable you to deliver effective low intensity interventions with children, young people and families, informed by a critical and advanced understanding of contemporary research and evidence in child and adolescent mental health
- To enable you to collaborate effectively with children, young people and families, and with other professionals, in a multi-agency service context
- To develop and enhance your ability to reflect on your clinical practice, using a variety of methods including reflective models, supervision and observational feedback.
Entry Requirements
Academic
- Will hold an Honours degree or holds a third-class degree or Ordinary Degree
- Will have studied at level 4 or above, in a relevant area of study
- Good basic literacy and numeracy qualifications at a minimum of level 2
Experience
A minimum of one year experience of supporting children/young people with their mental health.
Attributes
- Ability to manage a caseload of children, young people and families that are experiencing mental health difficulties
- A self-motivated learner, who has the ability to use technology to support their learning
- Ability to reflect on own development
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
Other
- Able to travel to meet the requirements of the post
- A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks will be required for students being admitted to this programme.
This is a ‘Recruit to Train’ programme, and students will work in a relevant Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services setting in the voluntary sector, NHS, or a local authority setting, as they study. Given the specialist and bespoke nature of this degree, prospective students will initially be identified through the joint action of the University of Northampton programme leader, and participating NHS services and linked organisations, through an open recruitment process. Due to the above process, this course is not open to international or self-funded applicants.
The programme is suitable for staff whose role includes brief interventions for children, adolescents, and families and who already have basic clinical competencies. During the period of training students will be required to hold a caseload, to be receiving regular clinical supervision, to be able to video record their sessions with children and families, and to use the battery of CYP IAPT routine outcome measures. Students therefore must have been recruited to a relevant organisation and should be working in services that have access to colleagues in specialist CAMHs for consultation and where they can refer children and young people for specialist multidisciplinary care as necessary.
Suitability for the programme will be ascertained by an application form and personal statement, and admissions interview (which may include a young people’s representative, and representatives from an employer and the University of Northampton). The interview will focus on the suitability of the applicant to work at Level 6, and their suitability to work intensively with children and young people. A proforma will be developed to support standardisation of the interview process, and to enable fair and transparent feedback to candidates.
Given the nature of the work expected as a component of the programme, and its emphasis on local CAMHS transformation, this programme will not be available to international applicants.
During the period of training students will be required to:
- Hold a small clinical caseload of children with mild to moderate anxiety, behavioural difficulties, low mood, or self-harm, and work as appropriate with their parents/carers and other professionals who support them
- Be receiving regular clinical supervision from an appropriately trained and qualified supervisor.
- Video record their sessions with children and families for supervision and assessment purposes;
- Use approved CYP IAPT Routine Outcome Measures (ROMs).
With your application you need to complete and submit an Employer Declaration form which has been signed by your manager with your online application.
If you would like to find out more information about applying for postgraduate study, please visit the postgraduate application page.
What You'll Learn
It is likely that students on this Graduate Diploma will come from a broad range of backgrounds and will have varied skills when they begin the programme. The modules are structured to support you in developing your existing skills to enable graduate success. The focus now is on taking skills to an advanced level and encouraging you to develop greater expertise in chosen areas.
The transferable skills which are particularly emphasised on this programme include the ability to critically evaluate, synthesise and apply research and theory in a practical organisational context. You are encouraged to examine the tensions between theory and practice and to develop flexibility and creativity in applying research and theory to real-world contexts. You are encouraged to work in action learning sets and in reflexive and problem focused group work, building strong skills in teamwork, equipping you to facilitate group projects in a variety of employment settings.
The diploma places a strong emphasis on work-based learning, and you will develop and assess the knowledge and skills developed in workshops, individual and online learning contexts, supported by academic staff as well as supervisors in learning sets in your places of work. The certificate consists of two, 30 credit modules assessed at Level 6.
Compulsory Modules
This module builds the knowledge, attitudes and competencies required to operate effectively in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services context and to engage with and assess children, young people and families where there are mild presentations of anxiety and depression, conduct difficulties and where parenting support is needed.
This module provides students with robust training in evidence based low intensity psychological treatments for working with children, young people and familiesLow-intensity psychological treatments place a greater emphasis on patient self-management and are designed to be less burdensome to people undertaking them than traditional psychological treatmentsThe overall delivery of these interventions is informed by behaviour change models and strategies.
This module provides opportunities to develop working relationships with organisations that access children, young people and families, in populations that can be hard to reach, achieving equity of access, and reducing health inequalitiesStudents will learn to operate within community-based settings, applying inclusive, value-based practice which recognises and respects diversity.
The purpose of this module is to develop the student s ability in building relationships with community organisations, and to provide these organisations with education on common mental health problems in children and young peopleStudents will also be taught how to support children, young people and families to participate in their own care.
The purpose of this module is to enhance understanding and the skills needed to facilitate psycho-education and group work in community and health care settings, aimed at supporting children, young people, their families and other professionalsStudents will build this knowledge through teaching, observation and supervised practice.
Please note the modules shown here relate to the academic year 25/26. The modules relating to the academic year 26/27 will be available from June 2026.
Fees and Funding
The course is fully funded by Health Education England (HEE) and students’ participation in the diploma is with the full support of their employer, who will nominate or employ students to undertake the diploma.
Staff
Jynna Yarrum
Senior Lecturer in Psychological Therapies (Clinical Lead)
Tamana Bassi
Senior Lecturer in Children and Young People (LIST)
Kathryn Congreve
Lecturer in Psychological Therapies
Careers and Employability
Upon successful completion of the programme plus one year post qualifying experience, students may consider our Postgraduate Diploma in Low Intensity Senior Practice. This can provide trainees an opportunity to extend the clinical skillset of their existing roles, enhance their specialisation for community and educational settings respectively, expand supervisory capacity, support workforce retention within the low intensity profession and enable widened participation and social mobility within this workforce.
