Audit, service evaluation, service development and applied research related to delivery or professional issues are important competencies for clinical psychologists. These are typically smaller scale projects carried out in a specific clinical setting and which have immediate implications for the service.
Oxford trainees undertake one assessed project, known as the “service related project” but are encouraged to conduct others, as part of their training, on all clinical placements. Projects can use quantitative or qualitative methods, or a mix of the two.
The Course structure means that most service related projects in Oxford are conducted on placements with adult mental health clients or children and young people.
Some recent titles/topics are:
- Uptake at, and suitability for, a Hearing Voices group
- Evaluation of a paediatric pain management programme
- Implementation of the NICE guidelines for self-harm in a Trust’s children’s service.
- Representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups patients in an adult mental health service
- An audit of an Autistic Spectrum Disorders assessment clinic’s adherence to NICE guidelines
