Introducing PG Dip CAPNiP: University College London

If you're interested in working with children and young people who have experienced adversity, then the postgraduate diploma in child and adolescent psychology and neuroscience in practice at University College London (UCL) could be for you

Dr Jodie Rawlings is the clinical co-director for the CAPNiP programme. She is a clinical psychologist by training and still works part time within the NHS, allowing her to offer real-life experience to the students. Here she explains what you can expect.

What is the PG Dip CAPNiP?

The postgraduate diploma in child and adolescent psychology and neuroscience in practice is an innovative cohort-based distance-learning programme. It is designed to meet the needs and interests of a global cohort of students, who are working with children, young people and families. The course covers content related to the psychology and neuroscience of child and adolescent wellbeing, with a particular focus on understanding the impact of early trauma and adversity.

Tell us how the distance learning works…

Students access the core learning elements of the programme online, through the UCL Moodle website. This allows them to work in their own time and at their own pace. This content includes pre-recorded lectures, the reading list and a range of other resources to support their learning, such as interviews, podcasts, videos, and reflective exercises.

We are a cohort-based distance learning programme, which means that we see the relationships between our students as fundamental to their learning experience. These relationships develop through shared exercises in the online learning space, such as discussion forums and activities, along with weekly dedicated points of connection, like seminars and peer groups. We see these spaces as opportunities to take what we have learned in the week's content and reflect upon and apply it together, learning from each student's unique experience and perspective.

What are the course's unique selling points?

The course is novel in taking the best benefits from the online learning space - such as being able to learn in your own time and space, and being able to benefit from teaching delivered by a global pool of experts - and mitigating many of the challenges, such as feeling isolated, through our cohort-based structure.

We have used up-to-date research on learning theory and instructional design to create a programme that is engaging and motivating. We also feel passionately about the modern format of the course also being reflected within the content - this is an up-to-date overview of the area of child and adolescent psychology and neuroscience, which benefits from the contributions of a range of experts across academia, clinical practice and lived experience. We take a multiple perspectives approach, which allows us to explore lots of ways of understanding the challenges children and young people face.

Finally, the course has a real area of expertise in trauma, the understanding of which has benefitted from fascinating recent developments in research and clinical practice.

Could you tell us more about these recent developments?

One example is the latent vulnerability model, around which we benefit from an in-depth lecture from professor Eamon McCrory. This model helps us to understand how early adverse experiences influence brain development in a way which can support survival in a challenging environment, but create a mismatch with safer environments, such that young people are sadly more likely to experience further harm. This model gives us ways of responding to children and young people to support them and increase protective factors.

What type of students would suit this course?

The course has been designed to target the needs of professionals working in roles alongside children, young people and families. In our first cohort this has included people working in schools, social care, family support, and mental health. We also have a number of students who are interested in the areas we cover, but don’t yet have any experience. Our course is an excellent introduction to the area.

What advice do you have for anyone considering this course?

Dr Vanessa Puetz, my programme co-director, has written a brilliant course on FutureLearn called Childhood Adversity: The Impact of Childhood Maltreatment on Mental Health. Why not try this out and see how you find the self-directed aspects of distance learning?
In the programme we build a lot on reflective skills, as these are so important in working with children, young people and families. If you are considering applying to the CAPNiP programme try this out by taking a moment to reflect on what you would like to get out of further study. What one thing would you want to take from your learning experience? How would the course fit with your values and goals? What would best support you to make this a successful experience?
Come along to one of our webinars or listen to our podcast to hear more about the programme and get answers to your questions. If you can’t find the answers, please do reach out to us at capnip.admin@annafreud.org.