Course Description Document

Course Title	CBT (Anxiety and Depression) (2025-26)
Course Code	8832
Award Title	Postgraduate Diploma
Awarding Body	University of Southampton
Teaching Institution	University of Southampton
Regulated by	Office for Students
Accreditation	British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)
Regulations	The Regulations of the University can be found on the University's Governance Webpages: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/about/governance/regulations-policies
Location of study	Southampton
Length of the course	1 Years
Tuition Fees	Fees for students can be located by the student fees page. https://www.southampton.ac.uk/studentservices/money-matters/student-fees/index.page

Course Overview

The PG Diploma in CBT teaches clinicians to engage, assess and treat people with anxiety and depression, to a level of competence.
The Postgraduate Diploma in CBT is BABCP Level 2 accredited. This means it fulfils all the BABCP minimum training requirements to support practitioner accreditation.
Entry requirements
Academic: 2:1 degree in healthcare relevant subject (or equivalent professional qualification).
Professional: Four years full time experience in mental health work; applied knowledge of CBT (or demonstration of equivalence).
English language (if English not first language): International English Language Testing System (IELTS) overall score of 7.0 with 6.5 in reading, writing, speaking, listening.

Aims of the Course

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a collaborative and evidence based psychological treatment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends CBT for a range of mental health problems including depression, anxiety, psychosis, and personality presentations.
CBT enables us to understand the relationships between our feelings, thinking, behaviours and environment, and the ways in which these can become problematic. With an understanding of how mental health difficulties have developed and are maintained day to day, we can then support people to make changes if they so chose.
Successful completion of this programme will equip you to deliver formulation-based CBT for anxiety presentations and depression, to the nationally recognised standard.

Course Structure

The tables below provide a list of the modules that make up your course.

Each module is worth a specified number of credits: you can take a combination of core and compulsory modules enabling you to cover key subject knowledge. Some courses have option modules which enable you to develop your own interests.

Your programme requires a certain number of credits. The number of option modules you can take depends on the number of core and compulsory modules and this is also influenced by the requirements of the regulatory requirements for professionally accredited courses. Some courses also have pre and co-requisites, and these are included in individual module information.

Your learning will be led by the latest research, and modules can change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. You can always find the most up-to-date information about your modules and who is teaching them via the information on our webpages and, post enrolment, via the Faculty hub.

If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an option module, it may not be offered. If an option module will not be run, we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

The core and compulsory modules available on your course are as follows:

Part I PG Dip in CBT Anxiety and Depression (Full-time) This programme offers you the opportunity to develop your CBT skills and knowledge to the level of a competent CBT practitioner. This programme is accredited by BABCP at Level 2. Students are expected to develop a clear understanding of cognitive behavioural concepts, models and methods. You will gain skills in collaborative assessment, formulation and treatment, and develop sound clinical decision making through a critical appreciation of the theoretical and empirical literature. Most students will be working in NHS Talking Therapies clinical settings and attending the University two days a week. Typical course content: Credit values for the standard modules range from 5-10 ECTS (10-20 CATS). Each CATS point represents a nominal ten hours of study so a module with a credit value of 5 ECTS (10 CATS) represents 100 hours of study, which is made up of the teaching and supervision that you receive, as well as directed and independent study. For supervision modules, patient contact hours are included in the calculations of independent study time. Supervision modules are designed to accompany theory modules. For example CBT Fundamentals is linked to CBT Supervision 1 (Generic). The aim of these modules is to give a thorough grounding in the concepts and methods of CBT for the relevant presentations, and to apply these in therapy. Mode of study: Usually over 12 months. Assignments: You must achieve a mark of at least 50% in all modules. Therapy recordings linked to Supervision 1 (Generic) require a CTS-R grade of 30; all other summative therapy recordings require a competency level of 36 on the CTS-R. Supervision reports are pass / fail only. Failed Assignments: If you fail a summative assignment, you will have one opportunity to resubmit (refer) the failed piece of work but your mark for resubmitted assignments will be capped at 50%. If you fail a resubmission (referral) that is worth more than 10% of the overall module mark, you will fail the module. In this case you may be offered the opportunity to repeat the module (usually in the following academic year). The opportunity to repeat a module is at the discretion of your service and should be agreed prior to starting the programme. This is because students who take this programme as IAPT training posts may have agreed certain contractual arrangements involving their training. If a repeat is not permitted by your service, then failure of a resubmission will normally lead to withdrawal from the programme. If you repeat a module and then fail again, this will normally lead to termination of the programme of study. Attendance: We expect full attendance in order that students are in the strongest position to meet the learning outcomes of the course. Where a student is not able to attend occasional sessions (due to exceptional circumstances such as brief illness or family crisis), it may be possible to demonstrate equivalent learning using a Missed Session Learning Plan, where agreed with the student’s personal academic tutor. Teaching on the programme is cumulative. If students miss more than four sessions, they are likely to be asked to suspend in order that their learning is not compromised. Portfolio: The CBT Portfolio is core to our PG CBT Diploma programmes. This provides evidence of your clinical practice, ability to use supervision, and development as a reflective practitioner. The portfolio acts as a log of your clinical and academic development and competence (a requirement for BABCP accreditation). Additional Requirements: Students are permitted to resubmit assignments (refer) in modules totalling not more than 30 ECTS (60 CATS). The programme must be completed within five years of first registration. Classification for the PG Diploma is based on the 100 point mark scheme for the final average mark as follows: Final average mark (rounded to nearest integer) | Classification 70 and over | Distinction 60 – 69 | Merit 50 – 59 | Pass
Part I Core
Code	Module Title	ECTS	Type
PSYC6107	CBT for Anxiety (Long) 2025-26	10	Core
PSYC6089	CBT for Depression 2025-26	10	Core
PSYC6088	CBT Fundamentals 2025-26	10	Core
PSYC6135	CBT Portfolio 2025-26	7.5	Core
PSYC6095	CBT Supervision 1 (Generic) 2025-26	7.5	Core
PSYC6096	CBT Supervision 2 (Anxiety) 2025-26	7.5	Core
PSYC6097	CBT Supervision 3 (Depression) 2025-26	7.5	Core

Learning and Teaching

Your overall workload consists of class contact hours, independent learning, and assessment activity, with each ECTS credit taken equivalent to 20 hours of student effort. While your actual contact hours may depend on the option modules you select, the information available on our webpages give an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities.

When not attending lectures, seminars and other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and for other types of assessments and examinations.

Full information about contact hours is provided in individual module information.

How we'll assess you

Your course provides you with opportunities to test your understanding of the subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your module mark. Each module normally contains at least one piece of practice or formative assessment for which you receive feedback.

Formative assessments are developmental, and any results do not count towards your module mark, but they are an important part of your learning.

Summative assessments usually take place at the end of each module, although some may have interim assessments throughout. Assessment methods might include written examinations and a range of coursework assessments such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations and projects for example. The marks from summative assessments count towards your module mark.

The information available on our website gives an indication of the assessment methods used on your course.

Staff involved in delivering the different elements of the course

You will be taught by an experienced teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on your course. The team includes senior academics, professional practitioners with industry experience, demonstrators and technical officers.

Postgraduate research students who have undertaken appropriate training may also contribute to the teaching of seminars if their research specialism is directly related to the topic of the module and may also be involved in practical classes, project work and field trips. All contributions will be carried out under the supervision of the module leader.

Fees

What your fees pay for

Your tuition fees pay for the full cost of tuition and standard exams.

Extra costs you may experience

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.

Depending on the nature of your course, you may be able to choose modules which may have additional costs, such as field studies, travel overseas or industrial placements which will change the overall cost of your course. Details of these costs can be found in module information.

Please also ensure you read the section on additional costs in the Fees, Charges and Expenses Regulations.

The following course-related costs are not included in your fees:

Type	Details
Calculators	Where a calculator is required, all Casio Calculators are allowed but they must be Non-Programmable, Scientific models. More information is available in the Examination Regulations https://www.southampton.ac.uk/studentadmin/assessment/assess-overview/exam-regulations.page
Stationery	You will be expected to provide your own day-to-day stationery items, e.g. pens, pencils, notebooks, etc. Any specialist stationery items that you may need will be specified in the relevant module profile.
Textbooks	Where a module specifies essential texts, the Library will identify the optimal option(s) to support the module via the course Reading List. This may include e-books (ideally with unlimited concurrent usage) or a digitised chapter extract, supported by a limited number of print books (where available). You may request that the Library purchases additional print copies via 'suggest a book', borrow an additional copy via our inter-library-loans service or you may prefer to buy your own copies for high demand titles.
Printing	In most cases, written coursework such as essays and projects are submitted online. However it may be necessary to submit a hard copy of some projects, business projects and dissertations. The costs of printing a hard copy for submission of such work will be your responsibility. You will also have to cover the cost of photocopying. https://www.southampton.ac.uk/isolutions/students/printing.
Accommodation and Travel	You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all costs related to your clinical work.
Computer discs or USB drives	You will need to have access to equipment to (i) video and audio record therapy sessions, and (ii) upload these recordings securely to the University. You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all equipment costs related to your clinical work.
Hardware	You will need to have access to equipment to (i) video and audio record therapy sessions, and (ii) upload these recordings securely to the University. You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all equipment costs related to your clinical work.
Insurance	You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all costs related to your clinical work.
Medical Insurance	You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all costs related to your clinical work.
Occupational Health, DBS checks or vaccinations	You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all costs related to your clinical work.
Other	If you are taking supervision modules you are required to become a member of BABCP prior to start of your programme.
Parking costs (including on placements at hospitals)	You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all parking costs while at the University.
Paying for immunisation and vaccination costs before being allowed to attend placements	You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all costs related to your clinical work.
Recording Equipment	You will need to have access to equipment to (i) video record therapy sessions, and (ii) upload these recordings securely to the University. You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all equipment costs related to your clinical work.
Software Licenses	You will need to have access to equipment to (i) video and audio record therapy sessions, and (ii) upload these recordings securely to the University. You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all equipment costs related to your clinical work.
Translation of birth certificates (for programmes abroad)	You or your employer (typically the NHS) will be responsible for all costs related to your clinical work.

Bursaries, scholarships and other funding

We award scholarships and grants for travel, academic excellence, or to students from underrepresented backgrounds.

You may be able to get a University of Southampton bursary to help with your living costs.

If you are a care leaver or estranged from your parents, you may be able to get a specific bursary.

You may be able to get a scholarship or grant that's linked to your chosen subject area.

Financial Support

The Student Services Centre offers support and advice regarding student finances. You may be able to access our Student Support fund and other sources of financial support during your course. You can find more information about financial support via our webpages: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/studentservices/money-matters/student-support-fund/index.page

Academic support

The Student Support Hub is your first point of contact when it comes to seeking support. The team will answer your questions or concerns about your wellbeing, fees and funding, accommodation and visas. The team will help make sure you receive the support you need, guiding you to further support services where required. You can find more information about student support via our webpages:

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/studentservices/index.page

One of the most important people you will meet while you are a student at Southampton is your Personal Academic Tutor, who will be allocated to you for your arrival at the University and who is normally a member of academic staff in your own or a closely related subject area. Your Personal Academic Tutor will offer one-to-one support and advice throughout your time at Southampton and will support you in your studies or with other issues you may have. You can find out more via our webpages:

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/studentadmin/academic-support-guidance/personal-tutor.page

Disclaimer

As a research-led University, we undertake a continuous review of our courses to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. As a result, this course may be revised during a student's period of registration; however, any revision will be balanced against the requirement that the student should receive the educational service expected. Please read our Disclaimer to see why, when and how changes may be made to a student's course.