The document summarizes the learning experiences gained by a student during their placement in the academic and clinical departments of a mental health service. In the academic department, the student was involved in a research project on risk assessment and prediction of verbal aggression, gaining skills in research methods, statistical analysis, writing papers, and presenting research. Clinically, the student assisted with and led therapy sessions, updated patient risk logs, participated in treatment team meetings, conducted assessments, and received supervision. The student also attended training sessions on various clinical topics. Overall, the placement provided valuable lessons in multidisciplinary collaboration, treatment delivery, patient monitoring, and communication skills.

1. 19.06.2015
Placement Learning Points
Research
In the Academic Department, I was able to get involved in a research project about the HCR-20
and its ability to predict verbal aggression. This taught me numerous skills such as being able to:
 Organise, plan and manage my time.
 Carry out a literature search and a systematic review.
 Summarise information into essay form, helping me to evaluate information critically and
prioritise information that is most relevant.
 Carry out statistical analyses on verbal aggression data and interpret the results of these
analyses, which has helped me familiarise myself with statistics and apply my existing SPSS
knowledge to real-world research.
 Write a first draft of a paper, including the abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion
and reference sections in APA format. This has helped me to think critically and in depth
about issues faced during the research process.
 Edit the draft to fit journal guidelines. This has taught me to write more concisely and
appreciate the different standards of writing for journals compared to report writing for
university assignments.
 Submit the paper to a journal and respond to reviewers’ comments. During this process, I
have learnt to remain open minded about suggested changes, and explain fully the reasons for
the research methods that were chosen, helping me to understand the design of the study
better.
 Present the paper at a conference. This experience has increased my confidence and I feel
that the skills I have learnt and developed will be useful during the rest of my course and in
future interviews.
 Learn about the different areas of mental health services from attending regular CPD events.
Clinical
Within my clinical role, I have taken part in many educational opportunities such as:
 Assisting with the running of sessions, which taught me ways of presenting easy to
understand information to patients and dealing with certain behaviours or questions by
observing the main facilitator.
 Learning to lead sessions (Mind Group and Talking Positive), which involved forward
planning, organisation, preparation, and improvisation when sessions did not run as planned.
Leading sessions has also improved my confidence whilst speaking in front of a group.
 Updating risk logs, which has allowed me to gain insight into patients’ daily lives, the types
of risk behaviours patients engage in and how these risks are managed.
 Attending MDT meetings (Handovers, CPU meetings, CPA meetings), which have given me
insight into patients’ progress and legal matters that arise during rehabilitation.

2.  Contributing to reports (HCR-20s, CPA, CPUM), which involved patient interviews,
gathering of data, and write up of the report. This has helped me gain insight of patients’
perspectives about their own care, knowledge of how risk assessments are conducted and
written, and how risk formulations are produced.
 Observing (RBANS, HCR-20, BADS and BPRS) and carrying out (HADS, CANFOR-S,
MoCA, BIS and GSES) psychology assessments, which have improved my understanding of
how each assessment is administered, scored and interpreted. This has also taught me about
different cognitive functions and made me aware of the effects of functioning deficits.
 Working alongside Clinical/Assistant Psychologists and other professions (occupational
therapy, nursing, social work, and doctors) has enabled me to appreciate their roles better and
understand how each profession is needed for optimum recovery to take place.
 Having regular supervision, which allowed me to express ideas, learn more about individual
patients, and about the different psychological theories applied to their care and therapy. In
addition, through supervision, I have gained a better understanding of the role of an Assistant
Psychologist and Clinical Psychologist, and the various career pathways in psychology.
Training
During my placement, I have attended a number of training and induction sessions which have
helped me to gain a deeper understanding of psychology treatments, theories and clinical
practice. These include:
 The general St. Andrew’s induction
 The Women’s Service local induction
 RiO training
 HCR-20 (v.3) and FAM training
 CBT for psychosis
 Mindfulness awareness
 Progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery awareness
 Group facilitator training
Overall
The last year has been a brilliant educational experience for me. As well as the above, I have also
learnt about:
 The way a multidisciplinary team work together and the role of psychology in the overall
treatment and recovery of patients.
 The extensive work and preparation that is involved in delivering sessions and writing
reports.
 The monitoring of patients’ progress using data analysis.
 How to engage and communicate with individual patients; being aware of their strengths,
needs, and difficulties.