The programme aims to equip people with more knowledge and to increase individuals’ capacity to work with people who present with multiple and challenging difficulties associated with diagnoses of personality disorder.

This programme is unique in the UK in providing a practice-based post-graduate qualification in working with people with Personality Disorders. Some of these unique features are:-

• Active collaboration with an Independent group of service users who are ‘experts-by-experience
• Bringing together and integrating practitioners working in general adult, forensic mental health, social care and community justice practitioners
• The programme is partly offered within a Medium Secure Unit thus placing very specific restrictions on the freedom of movement of students as a focus for reflection
• High quality practice/clinical supervision in small groups with senior clinician
• Progression to MA in Psychosocial Studies by Distance learning at UEL 

• An undergraduate honours degree at a minimum 2:2 level and/or a core mental health, social care or criminal justice qualification (e.g. Diploma in Social Work or Diploma Higher Education Nursing) or equivalent experience.
• Applicants will need to be engaged in some kind of relevant professional practice involving working with people with complex emotional, relational, social or behavioural problems in a statutory or non-statutory agency and will have current enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Clearance.
• In the case of applicants whose first language is not English, then IELTS 6.0 (or equivalent) is required. International qualifications will be checked for appropriate matriculation to UK Higher Education postgraduate programmes.
• A written statement in support of the application making the case for your interest in this programme at UEL
• Two supporting references, one of which should be the applicant’s line manager
• If there is doubt about the applicants’ clinical or academic qualifications or experience, or the suitability of their place of work an interview will be arranged. The interview panel will comprise members of East London Foundation NHS Trust and UEL link person (or delegate).

The course structure comprises supervised practice linked to work discussion seminars and a theoretical component.  Students attend weekly group supervision, made up of no more than six students. This will be supported by a series of study days which are organised around a series of themes. Within the Study Days, there are taught components, consisting of lectures and focused reading seminars, as well as further opportunities to discuss issues arising from the students’ practice.

A further unique aspect of the programme is that the teaching on the study blocks and study days takes place within the confines of a Medium Secure Unit (MSU), thus placing very specific limitations on course members’ freedom of movement during the day in ways that may guide reflections upon the conditional, and sometimes coercive, nature of working relationships in such settings.

Summative assessment will be by written coursework. This is designed to develop and assess both conventional academic writing and the ability to reflect upon personal experience and practice. As such students will be expected to draw on both the theoretical components of the programme and to demonstrate reflective capacity through their accounts of their work.

Students will be able to apply this model of teaching and learning to aspects of training and professional development in their own work settings as practice-based teachers, supervisors and service managers

Students will be supported to write a Special Interest paper

This is the only programme of its kind in the UK and a unique aspect is that it is designed to have elements of a temporary learning organisation (TLO), or ‘psychologically informed planned environment’ (PIPE), comprising course staff who are experts-by-training, those who are expert-by-experience. The structure and design of the programme enables students to reflect upon their experience of the relationship between the different sub-systems of the programme itself (work discussion, supervision, reading seminars, mentorship meeting, reflective group etc.).

The programme enables students to extend their awareness of interpersonal, group and systemic thinking so that they can become senior practitioners, supervisors and/or managers who will then be able to apply this thinking in practice. 

The course is personally demanding and of considerable intensity. As such, several mechanisms of student support are made available:

PERSONAL TUTORIALS:  Each student will be allocated a personal tutor who will provide the opportunity for up to one hour’s academic and pastoral support per month. This may be by telephone conference, email discussion and/or face-to-face. The responsibility for establishing and maintaining this link lies with the Personal Tutor. Personal tutors will also be available to provide a link between the course and students’ workplace mentor as required.

WORKPLACE MENTORS:  Students will identify, as part of the application process, an appropriate mentor. The mentor will be expected to be aware of the student’s work context and so will also be able to facilitate access to further training or professional development opportunities as appropriate.  Nominated mentors will be invited to meet with student’s Personal Tutor to ensure that these requirements can be adequately met. Although taking no part in the assessment of the student, mentors are expected to be able to meet formally with their students for at least one-hour per fortnight throughout the course.  The responsibility for arranging these meetings is shared between student and workplace mentor. The role of the workplace mentor will include:

• The provision of a supportive relationship with the student.
• Ensuring that the student is receiving adequate supervision of their work.
• Problem-solving any difficulties that might emerge for the student in terms of completing the course requirements.
• Linking with a student’s Personal Tutor as appropriate.

The course is designed and developed in line with recent Policy implementation guidance including:

• Personality Disorders: No Longer a Diagnosis of Exclusion, (DH, 2003a)
• Capabilities Framework for Working with Personality Disorders (DH, 2003b)
• Personality Disorders Knowledge and Understanding Framework (KUF)
• Relational Security Framework (DH, 2011)
• Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) (DCLG, 2012)
• Psychologically Informed Planned Environments (PIPES) (DH, 2011)

• Broaden and deepen their professional and academic understanding of the interpersonal, systemic and organisational factors that help and hinder the establishment and maintenance of effective professional relationships with patients/clients;
• Develop academic and professional competencies and capabilities essential to a wide range of management or treatment settings;
• Develop and apply this model of teaching and learning to aspects of training and professional development within the students’ own work settings;
• Extend their awareness of interpersonal, group and systemic thinking so that they may become senior practitioners, supervisors and/or managers who will then be able to apply this thinking in practice; 
• Deepen their understanding and knowledge of service users’ emotional, interpersonal and behavioural difficulties and so enhance the efficacy and meaningfulness of their work with people who are diagnosed with personality disorders.

Learning Outcomes for the module

At the end of this module, students will be able to:

Knowledge

• Critically analyse different theoretical approaches to understanding the aetiology and characteristics of different types of Personality Disorder, including how the vicissitudes of early relationships and experiences affect subsequent pathways of human development.
• Develop a framework for understanding the various emotional and behavioural difficulties that arise from Personality Disorder, and how these can impact upon the self and others.

Thinking skills

• Demonstrate the ability to justify interventions within the context of evidence-based theoretical knowledge.
• Evaluate individuals with Personality Disorder within their developmental, social and legal contexts.

Subject-based practical skills

• Demonstrate an awareness of the complex reciprocal dynamics in in forming a working alliance with patients/clients with Personality Disorder, whether in formal therapy, task-orientated work such as assessment, risk management and supervision, as well as in more informal contact.
• Critically reflect upon their reactions to their work with people with Personality Disorder, as well as the processes affecting colleagues, teams and organisations.

Skills for life and work (general skills)

Critically evaluate their practice through examination of their own knowledge, skills and attitudes as demonstrated in their interaction with colleagues and staff on the course.

This programme is part-time and extends over two semesters

There is one entry point per year and you will enter in either February (to complete in January) or September (to complete in July) (subject to recruitment)

This part-time programme comprises one single 60 credit core module

In order to gain a Postgraduate Certificate, you will need to obtain 60 credits at Level M.                  

The programme team are actively seeking formal recognition of the programme from the Department of Health, Personality Disorders Strategy teams.

Knowledge is developed through conventional classroom teaching (lectures and seminars), and guided reading. Thinking skills and practical knowledge is developed through case discussion and practice supervision. Other practical skills and skills for life are developed through and experiential group work

Summative assessment will be by written coursework. This is designed to develop and assess both conventional academic writing and the ability to reflect upon personal experience and practice. As such students will be expected to draw on both the theoretical components of the programme and to demonstrate reflective capacity through their accounts of their work.

How we assure the quality of this programme

Before this programme started, the following was checked:

• there would be enough qualified staff to teach the programme;
• adequate resources would be in place;
• the overall aims and objectives were appropriate;
• the content of the programme met national benchmark requirements;
• the programme met any professional/statutory body requirements;
• the proposal met other internal quality criteria covering a range of issues such as admissions policy, teaching, learning and assessment strategy and student support mechanisms.

This is done through a process of programme approval which involves consulting academic experts including some subject specialists from other institutions.

The quality of this programme is monitored each year through evaluating:

• external examiner reports (considering quality and standards);
• statistical information (considering issues such as the pass rate);
• student feedback.

Drawing on this and other information, programme teams undertake the annual Review and Enhancement Process which is co-ordinated at School level and includes student participation.  The process is monitored by the Quality and Standards Committee.

Once every six years an in-depth review of the whole field is undertaken by a panel that includes at least two external subject specialists.  The panel considers documents, looks at student work, speaks to current and former students and speaks to staff before drawing its conclusions.  The result is a report highlighting good practice and identifying areas where action is needed.

This programme has a programme committee comprising all relevant teaching staff, student representatives and others who make a contribution towards the effective operation of the programme (e.g. library/technician staff).  The committee has responsibilities for the quality of the programme. It provides input into the operation of the Review and Enhancement Process and proposes changes to improve quality.  The programme committee plays a critical role in the quality assurance procedures.

The standard of this programme is monitored by at least one external examiner.  External examiners have two primary responsibilities:

• To ensure the standard of the programme;
• To ensure that justice is done to individual students.

External examiners fulfil these responsibilities in a variety of ways including:

• Approving exam papers/assignments;
• Attending assessment boards;
• Reviewing samples of student work and moderating marks;
• Ensuring that regulations are followed;
• Providing feedback through an annual report that enables us to make improvements for the future.

The external examiner reports for this programme are located on the UEL virtual learning environment (UELPlus or Moodle) on the School noticeboard under the section entitled ‘External Examiner Reports & Responses’.  You can also view a list of the external examiners for the UEL School by clicking on the link below:

http://www.uel.ac.uk/qa/CurrentExternalExaminers.htm

The following methods for gaining student feedback are used on this programme:

• Module evaluations
• Student representation on programme committees (meeting twice a year)
• Direct feedback in regular Large Group/Community meeting

Students are notified of the action taken through:

• circulating the minutes of the programme committee
• providing details on the programme noticeboard
• Direct feedback on Large Group/Community meeting

The following methods are used for gaining the views of other interested parties:

• Questionnaires to former students
• Annual student satisfaction questionnaire
• Feedback form Workplace mentors