About this course

Develop your cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) knowledge and skills with this advanced course in CBT for severe mental health conditions. This year long postgraduate certificate aligns with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) requirements and can count towards your accreditation as an individual practitioner.

You’ll gain an in-depth understanding of cognitive behavioural concepts, models and methods.

By studying both theory and research-based evidence, you’ll develop essential skills in:

collaborative assessment
formulation and treatment
critical decision-making

Your choice of modules will allow you to develop specialist skills in line with the needs of your clinical practice:

CBT for psychosis and bipolar
CBT for personality presentations

This is a flexible programme, with most students working in clinical settings and attending the University at least one day a week.

The key difference between this award and the CBT (Severe Mental Health) (PG Dip) is that applicants for this advanced course already have a good working knowledge of CBT for anxiety and depression.

Flexible study

If you prefer, you can apply to study this course as:

a part-time master's - study the same course content over 2 or more years

Your modules and fees may vary if you choose a different study option.

We regularly review our courses to ensure and improve quality. This course may be revised as a result of this. Any revision will be balanced against the requirement that the student should receive the educational service expected. Find out why, when, and how we might make changes.

Our courses are regulated in England by the Office for Students (OfS).

Course lead

This course is led by Dr Katherine Newman-Taylor. Katherine works on the CBT and Clinical Psychology programmes at the University, and as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with the local NHS trust. Their clinical interests are in working with people with psychosis, and in adopting a cognitive behavioural approach to living well with voices and paranoia.

Learn more on Dr Newman-Taylor's staff profile page.

Accreditations

British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)

Course location

This course is based at Highfield.

Awarding body

This qualification is awarded by the University of Southampton.

Download the Course Description Document

The Course Description Document details your course overview, your course structure and how your course is taught and assessed.

ODT

Download 2024-25 Course Description Document

Entry requirements

Academic

You’ll need a 2:1 degree in one of the following subjects:

psychology
medicine
social work
occupational therapy
nursing
or an equivalent professional qualification

If you have a nursing qualification that is not a degree, it must be equivalent to an undergraduate degree.

Find the equivalent international qualifications for your country.

Professional

You'll need to be already working at a level approaching competency in CBT. This can be demonstrated by one of the following:

successful completion of a certificate or diploma in CBT (including a CTS-R rating of 30 or above)
50 clinical hours of CBT under supervision of an accredited CBT practitioner (including a CTS-R rating of 30 or above)

You must also have prior training, experience or knowledge in:

CBT
interpersonal skills
mental health problems
general assessment
understanding of ethical and professional issues

We usually receive applications from qualified mental health professionals (for example, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, and Mental Health Nurses).

If you have a different professional background, you may be considered on an individual basis, by submitting a portfolio of evidence linked to the BABCP 'Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes' criteria.

English language requirements

If English isn't your first language, you'll need to complete an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to demonstrate your competence in English. You'll need all of the following scores as a minimum:

IELTS score requirements

overall score: 7.0
reading: 6.5
writing: 6.5
speaking: 6.5
listening: 6.5

We accept other English language tests. Find out which English language tests we accept.

If you don’t meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.

Pre-masters

If you don’t meet the academic requirements, you can complete a pre-master's programme through our partnership with OnCampus. Learn more about the programmes available.

Recognition of professional experience

If you don't have the exact entry requirements, but you have significant work experience in this sector we’ll assess your relevant professional experience, your subject knowledge and your aptitude for learning.

Your application will be considered on individual merit and you may be asked to attend an interview.

Got a question?

Please contact us if you're not sure you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000

Course structure

The Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (Severe Mental Health) (PGCert) is usually completed over 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time. The exact timing depends on the modules you choose to study.

Your choice of modules will allow you to develop specialist skills in line with the needs of your clinical practice.

This is a flexible programme with most students working in clinical settings and attending the University at least one day a week.

Want more detail? See all the modules in the course.

Modules

The modules outlined provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. As a research-led University, we undertake a continuous review of our course to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Find out why, when and how we might make changes.

For entry in academic year 2025 to 2026

You must study the following modules :

CBT - Severe Mental Health Working with Complexity

This module aims to develop your competence in working psychologically with people with serious mental health needs (SMH).

CBT Portfolio

This module comprises a portfolio evidencing your academic and clinical work completed over the course of your PG CBT training, aligned with BABCP requirements for accreditation.

You must also choose from the following modules :

CBT Severe Mental Health for Personality Presentations

The aim of this module is to extend your knowledge and understanding of CBT assessment and formulation and to examine CBT change methods in depth - as applied to personality presentations. You will apply these skills in supervised practice.

CBT Severe Mental Health for Psychosis and Bipolar

The aim of this module is to extend your knowledge and understanding of CBT assessment and formulation and to examine CBT change methods in depth - as applied to psychosis and bipolar. You will apply these skills in supervised practice.

Learning and assessment

Learning

The learning activities for this course include:

lectures
interactive workshops
group work
independent learning

Assessment

We’ll assess you through:

case reports
essays
therapy recordings

Academic Support

We’ll assign you a personal tutor, and you’ll have access to a senior tutor.

Careers and employability

The employability and enterprise skills you'll gain from this course are reflected in the Southampton skills model. When you join us you'll be able to use our skills model to track, plan, and benefit your career development and progress.

Download skills overview

Work experience opportunities

Choosing to do work experience is a great way to enhance your employability, build valuable networks, and evidence your potential. Learn about the different work and industry experience options at Southampton.

Careers services and support

We are a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022). Our Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise team will support you. This support includes:

work experience schemes
CV and interview skills and workshops
networking events
careers fairs attended by top employers
a wealth of volunteering opportunities
study abroad and summer school opportunities

We have a vibrant entrepreneurship culture and our dedicated start-up supporter, Futureworlds, is open to every student.

Your career ideas and graduate job opportunities may change while you're at university. So it is important to take time to regularly reflect on your goals, speak to people in industry and seek advice and up-to-date information from Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise professionals at the University.

More about careers support

Fees, costs and funding

Tuition fees

Health Education England (HEE) will pay your fees for this course.

Fees for a year's study:

UK students pay £8,000.
This course is not available to EU and international students.

Check fees for other versions of this course.

What your fees pay for

Your tuition fee covers the full cost of tuition and any exams. The fee you pay will remain the same each year from when you start studying this course. This includes if you suspend and return.

Find out how to pay your tuition fees.

Accommodation and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees. There may also be extra costs for retake and professional exams.

Explore:

Funding your postgraduate studies

A variety of additional funding options may be available to help you pay for your master’s study. Both from the University and other organisations.

How to apply

Use the blue 'apply for this course' button on this page to take you to our postgraduate admissions system.
Create an account which gives you access to your own application portal. .
Search for the course you want to apply for.
Complete the application form and upload any supporting documents.
Pay the £50 application assessment fee, (there are some exemptions, check terms and conditions).
Submit your application.

For further details of our admission process, read our step by step guide to postgraduate taught applications.

Application deadlines

Contact your Service or Trust Lead for information on application deadlines.

Single module (CPD) applications

To apply for a single module (CPD), you'll need to fill in a physical application form that you can download from our continuing professional development pages.

Supporting information

When you apply you’ll need to submit a personal statement explaining why you want to take the course.

You’ll need to include information about:

your knowledge of the subject area
why you want to study a postgraduate qualification in this course
how you intend to use your qualification

You'll also need to submit two academic references.

Please include the required paperwork showing your first degree and your IELTS English language test score (if you are a non-native English speaker) with your application. Without these, your application may be delayed.

What happens after you apply

You'll be able to track your application through our online Applicant Record System.

We will aim to send you a decision 6 weeks after you have submitted your application.

Unfortunately, due to number of applications we receive, we may not be able to give you specific feedback on your application if you are unsuccessful.

Equality and diversity

We treat and select everyone in line with our Equality and Diversity Statement.

Got a question?

Please contact us if you're not sure you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000

Related courses

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (Severe Mental Health) (PGCert) is a course in the Psychology subject area. Here are some other courses within this subject area:

a

PGDip

Advanced Clinical Practice and Supervision (Senior Wellbeing Practitioner)

PGCert

Advanced Supervision

c

PGDip

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (Anxiety and Depression)

PGDip