BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling

This module supports you in developing the professional skills, confidence, and insight needed to apply psychology within real‑world settings. Building on the foundations established in earlier study, you will deepen your understanding of how psychological knowledge, theory, and research can be used to address challenges in workplaces, organisations, and communities. A key feature of the module is the opportunity to undertake a short placement or draw on experience from a professional setting. This practical element allows you to observe and apply psychological principles in context, reflect on your strengths, and identify areas for further development. Alongside your placement experience, you will engage in sessions focused on personal effectiveness, communication, leadership, ethical practice, and reflective learning. You will explore how psychologists contribute to different sectors and consider potential career pathways. Through structured reflection, self‑assessment, and goal setting, you will begin to shape your professional identity and build a portfolio of skills relevant to your future ambitions. By the end of the module, you will be equipped with enhanced employability skills, greater self‑awareness, and a clearer sense of how psychology can be applied in diverse professional environments.

Building upon material covered in Semester 1 in Psychology in Context, Psychology in Action takes real world issues and applies the different perspectives from the core domains. This includes biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology, as well as individual differences. On this module, the focus switches to the societal level. Students will consider how the different perspectives can be used to provide a coherent explanation of significant societal issues, showing how psychology can make a real difference

Building upon material covered at Level 4 in Succeeding at University and Understanding Psychology, Psychology in Context takes real world issues at the individual level and applies the different perspectives from the core domains. This includes biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology, as well as individual differences. Students will consider how the different perspectives can be used to provide a coherent explanation of significant individual issues, showing how psychology can make a real difference.

This module provides an opportunity to engage in a piece of research chosen, with a supervisor’s guidance, by the student as an independent piece of work that employs the skills that have been acquired during the previous two years of study on the psychology programme. During this individual piece of research the student will develop/refine the skills needed to design an ethically and methodologically sound piece of empirical research; execute a literature search for relevant published material and analyse the data collected. The learning experience will conclude with student writing of a report on their research that will include a critical appraisal of both the existing literature and the students’ own findings.

To introduce you to advanced issues in health psychology. You will learn the theoretical basis of health psychology, and the way health psychologists apply their knowledge in the field. You will also explore some fascinating areas of research, some of which court considerable controversy. You will be expected to develop a critical approach to current issues in health psychology, an ability which is so important for level 6 study. Additionally, the module will help you to further develop some key transferable skills. In particular, the module incorporates introductory skills training in designing behaviour change interventions, as applied by health psychologists. Behaviour changer interventions can be subtle or complex, taking a range of forms. Learning this process is a skill which can be taken into any work setting where humans interact with one another. Any work setting where there is a need to change staff/client/public behaviour in some way, can benefit from a well-designed behaviour change intervention. This module equips you with this skillset, which, once learned, you can apply to any work context. Every week, the module focuses on teaching this very process culminating in students’ own behaviour change intervention design.

This module introduces you to the theory and practice of psychology in clinical settings. You will examine how psychological science is applied to understanding, assessing and treating mental health difficulties across the lifespan. Through lectures and seminars, you will explore key clinical models and consider how different domains of psychology—biological, cognitive, developmental and social—interact to explain mental distress and resilience. You will learn the essential skills of assessment, formulation and treatment planning, developing the ability to link theory and evidence to real-world practice. Emphasis is placed on ethical awareness, reflective thinking and critical evaluation of psychological approaches. Learning takes place through lectures, seminars, discussion of case material and guided reading. Independent study and peer collaboration will help you deepen understanding and prepare for your assessment. The summative assignment is an individual case conceptualisation (100%), where you apply theoretical knowledge and clinical reasoning to a chosen case example. By completing this module, you will gain foundational competence in clinical thinking and develop professional skills relevant to further training or graduate roles in mental-health and applied psychology settings.

This module is designed to provide students with the opportunity to explore psychological theories and research related to Developmental and Educational Psychology and to apply them during problem-based learning. The module content covers a range of topics including prenatal, infant, child, adolescent, neurodevelopmental conditions, learning and development in adults and cognitive ageing older adults and an exploration of the empirical evidence surrounding what may promote and inhibit learning and development throughout the lifespan. During weekly sessions, students will be encouraged to explore prominent Developmental and Educational Psychology theories, previous research examples of interventions and possible solutions to address applied issues. Through problem-based learning in practical workshops activities, students will be given the opportunity to develop their own intervention design skills. For the assessment for this module, students will design a research/theory-informed intervention to address an applied issue in their choice of one out of a selection of case studies. All of the above prepares students for the summative assignment, where students are required to develop their own research theory informed intervention in response to a particular scenario such as the effects of maternal mental health on infant development, ways to facilitate reading and language development in early childhood, to optimise adolescent development and early interventions for children with a particular neurodevelopmental condition.