BSc (Hons) Psychology, Counselling and Therapeutic interventions

Society: People, Groups & Relationships

To understand a broad area of everyday functioning and experience in terms of the behaviours, feelings, attitudes, and mental processes involved in interpersonal and intergroup relations. 

The module aims to use functional analysis so that a broad experience can be broken down into a series of questions concerning the sub-functions and behaviours involved, allowing the psychological constructs and theories that are associated with those behaviours to be elucidated and explored. 

Exploration will involve appropriate methods to investigate what psychological constructs and theories relate to relevant behaviours and function.  

The module will explore the experience of relationships through the processes related to forming an impression of people, feeling attracted or not to them, wanting to be their friend, getting to know them and forming a relationship with them, through a variety of behaviours, such as approaching them, talking to them, and meeting them socially. 

Psychological theories and empirical findings from investigations into impression formation will be introduced, and methodology will be explored. 

Becoming a Social Scientist: Study & Research Skills

The module introduces research design skills essential for success and growth throughout an undergraduate degree. It provides guidance on the basics of data analysis using JASP software and covers key concepts in time management and teamwork.

Critical thinking skills are developed to enhance the ability to present convincing arguments and evidence in written work. Academic reading skills are also supported to enable access to complex scientific reports.

Additionally, the module offers instruction on producing high-quality assessments, including creating references and citations using APA style, presenting information effectively, and writing well-structured essays.

Reflection on strengths and weaknesses is encouraged to facilitate continuous improvement and progress toward academic goals.

Study skills are developed within a supportive and psychologically safe environment, offering opportunities to build confidence and knowledge without fear of judgment.

Learning is facilitated through various teaching methods, including lectures, discussion groups, interactive workshops, labs, problem-solving exercises, group work, independent study, and research participation.

The module accommodates all levels of ability, welcoming both those new to academic study and those seeking to further enhance their skills.

Core Skills and Ethics in Counselling Psychology

This module introduces you to fundamental counselling psychology skills and ethical considerations, integrating theoretical knowledge, skills development, and applied practice.

You will explore the philosophical and theoretical roots of counselling psychology with a Humanistic emphasis, while also engaging with psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural perspectives to understand their role in different therapeutic contexts.

Throughout the module, you will engage with ethical frameworks (e.g., BPS, HCPC), learning about professional responsibilities such as confidentiality, boundaries, and ethical decision-making.

You will also develop core counselling skills such as active listening, empathy, and open questioning, with an emphasis on your application in professional contexts. Learning activities will include structured skills practice, observation of counselling demonstrations, guided self-reflection, and peer feedback. Through these experiences, you will build confidence in therapeutic interactions while critically reflecting on your own development and emerging professional identity.

Positive Psychology, Wellbeing & Human Flourishing

Based on the discipline of Positive Psychology, the module will explore the experience of living well relating the need to understand well-being, emotions, motivation, aspirations and goals to self-development, personality traits, needs for achievement, self-efficacy, and self-esteem, environmental influences and the enhancement of well-being. 

Psychological theories and empirical findings from investigations into needs, motivation and traits will be introduced, as will the use of selected nonparametric statistics.

This module aims to give understanding a broad area of everyday functioning and experience in terms of the behaviours, feelings, attitudes, and mental processes involved in that experience. 

The module aims to use functional analysis so that a broad experience can be broken down into a series of questions concerning the sub-functions and behaviours involved, allowing the psychological constructs and theories that are associated with those behaviours to be elucidated and explored. 

Exploration will involve appropriate methods to investigate what psychological constructs and theories relate to relevant behaviours and function. 

The module will explore the experience of positive psychology relating the need to understand one’s own motivation, aspirations, and goals to self-development, personality, need for achievement, self-efficacy and self-esteem. 

Psychological theories and empirical findings from investigations into emotions, traits and environments will be introduced and non-parametric methodology will be explored.    

Thinking with Machines: Cognitive Science in the Age of AI

The module will explore the experience of using everyday technologies such as cash machines, mobile phones, electronic tablets, computers, and AI-driven systems (e.g. chatbots and recommendation systems, alongside key AI approaches such as Narrow AI, Generative AI, Reinforcement Learning, Expert Systems, Computer Vision, Multimodal AI, Robotics, and Artificial General Intelligence). It will relate the need to learn and remember how to operate them to processes of memory, attention and decision-making on the one hand, and their usability and human–machine interaction on the other.

Psychological theories and empirical findings from investigations into learning, perception, memory, attention and human–computer interaction will be introduced, alongside emerging perspectives on human interaction with artificial intelligence, including issues of trust, agency and ethics. Experimental methodology will be explored, including how psychological questions are translated into testable designs.

The module will also introduce foundational statistical concepts to support the interpretation of psychological research, including descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), relationships between variables (correlations), and an introduction to group comparisons (t-tests). Emphasis will be placed on understanding and interpreting data in applied contexts rather than complex calculation.

Big Ideas That Shaped Psychology

This module aims to introduce the Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology and work of prominent figures who influenced the development of modern psychology and encourage students to begin to explore for themselves key thinkers in Psychology, focussing on how key thinkers design and conduct research in their field.   

Human Cognition and Individual Differences

This module explores how we think (Cognitive Psychology) and how we differ from one another (Individual Differences).

The aim of this module is to introduce you to basic theory, research findings and methods of investigation in perception, attention, learning, memory, face and object recognition and problem-solving.

Developmental Psychology across the Lifespan

Developmental Psychology involves the study of development and maturation in cognitive, personality and social processes. 

The aim of the module is to introduce students to fundamental theory, research findings and methods of investigation in infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and overall lifespan development. 

The module will aim to provide a critical understanding of ways in which behaviour is influenced by developmental factors, the nature of developmental processes, and ways which empirical research can help us to understand how developmental processes influence what we do. 

Scientific Inquiry: Quantitative & Qualitative Analysis

This module develops students’ understanding of key research designs and analytical approaches in psychology, including experimental, survey, and qualitative methods, alongside an introduction to research ethics and integrity.

Students will explore how different research designs relate to forms of reasoning, including causal inference in experimental research and predictive reasoning in correlational studies. The module covers core analytical techniques such as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for group comparisons, multiple regression for multivariate analysis, and thematic analysis for qualitative data.

Through this, students will gain practical and conceptual knowledge of how to investigate and analyse psychological data using a range of methodological approaches, as well as research ethics considerations.

Biological Psychology and Neuroscience

Biological Psychology involves the study of the biological and psychological bases of mind and behaviour.  The aim of the module is to introduce students to basic theory, research findings and methods of investigation in behavioural genetics, neuroscience and neuropsychology.

The module will aim to provide a critical understanding of the ways in which behaviour is influenced by biological factors, how we study these biological processes and why these processes are important in applied psychological settings.

This module will examine areas of behavioural genetics, brain development, brain structure, plasticity and neuropsychology in terms of underlying theory and empirical research.

This includes an introduction to the ways biological processes have been investigated, for example through brain lesions, neuroimaging and brain stimulation techniques. 

Applied Counselling Skills & Client Presentations

This module builds on core counselling skills, introducing deeper relational engagement through PCEPS skills development and applied ethical considerations.

Students will explore various client presenting issues, working with difference and diversity, and the relationship between counselling psychology and other approaches.  

Students will examine ethical dilemmas, professional boundaries, and power dynamics, while enhancing self-awareness and relational depth.

Through structured skills practice and experiential learning, they will develop the ability to apply theory to diverse client presentations, navigate ethical complexities in professional settings, and continue developing their counselling skills.  

Independent Project

The Independent Project provides an opportunity to apply appropriate knowledge, concepts, techniques and research methods of psychology to an in-depth study of a particular question or problem related to psychology.

This module aims to foster a greater understanding of the processes involved in undertaking a research project and marks the culmination of your learning experience.

The study will enable you to produce a written research report, and a poster presenting a summary of your research and findings.

Managing Research Projects: Communicating Evidence with Impact

The Independent Project in Psychology is demanding of a wide range of skills, from project management to presentation of results in an accessible form. 

This module aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop their project management skills, to further develop their scientific reasoning and reporting skills, and to learn skills enabling the production of a poster presenting research work.   

The course will cover the project management skills involved in independent psychological research and its presentation. 

Areas covered will include time-management, assertiveness, risk assessment, scientific reporting, and use of visual presentation software.   

Coaching and Health Psychology

The aim of this module is to introduce the professions of Health and Coaching Psychology as career options for psychologists. During this module, you will gain insight into the theory, practice, and research undertaken by health and coaching psychologists.

The Module will be divided into three parts covering:

1. Theoretical underpinnings of health and coaching psychology (e.g. Behaviour change models, Goal Setting); understanding the importance of life context, social inequalities and health literacy;
2. Applications of Health and Coaching Psychology whereby the role of each discipline will be applied to health-related case studies (e.g. living well with a range of long-term conditions) in order to highlight the benefit of working as part of multi-disciplinary teams;
3. The future of Health and Coaching Psychology as a career option: how bigger picture issues such as technology developments and the Anthropocene Age might impact approaches to coaching and health-related interventions will be explored.

Professional Journeys in Counselling Psychology

This module provides you with an opportunity to review and clarify many of the practice issues raised in previous modules, giving you a chance to continue to develop your ethical and professional awareness, as well as your employability.

Further aspects of employability, such as developing the CV, preparing for interviews and answering job applications, will be discussed.

You will have an opportunity to review and clarify your values and beliefs in relation to professionalism, assessment, outcome measures and contemporary developments in the world of counselling psychology and related professions.

Innovations in Psychological Therapies: Mindfulness and Brief Interventions

The aim of this module is to provide a critical understanding of mindfulness and compassion-focused psychotherapies, exploring their theoretical foundations and practical applications.

You will engage with specialist approaches used within therapeutic settings, developing insight into their effectiveness and suitability for diverse client needs.