This programme offers the unique perspective that children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing is influenced by developmental processes at multiple levels, from individual to sociocultural, and that our approaches to working should be informed by this dynamic, interactional system. We draw on the knowledge and clinical experience of a community of developmental, clinical and health psychologists, to help you understand children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing from this perspective.

The programme includes both conceptual and applied elements. At the conceptual level, the programme will review different theories of children and young people’s mental health involved in the complex structure of typical and atypical development. At the applied level it will include the application of psychological knowledge to understanding the difficulties experienced by children and young people and the critical appraisal of psychological knowledge and its implications.

The programme fosters transferable skills such as critical evaluation, research competence, teamworking and communication and is suitable for further PhD-level study, research or practitioner study. It will enhance the employability of those wishing to work with children and adolescents in mental health-relevant settings.

Previous students work in a range of professions including clinical practice and voluntary sector organisations, and, with appropriate additional training, in nursing, social work and social care, and teaching.