Frequently asked questions - clinical courses

The British Psychological Society’s Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists requires demonstration of 3 core competencies: Knowledge, Practice & Research. We offer courses accredited by the BPS to deliver the Knowledge and Practice competencies, which can be gained separately or together. Depending on your training pathway, you can submit our degrees as evidence that you have gained these components when seeking entry to the Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists.

We do not, however, control access to the Register.

We recognise that those studying on our courses will be balancing busy employment schedules, family/caring commitments and the demands of study. As such, our courses offer multiple modes of study. Please see each course page for detailed durations of study available. 

We can facilitate transfer to longer durations of study during your enrolment with us if there are changes in circumstances or need. Equally, candidates may apply for extensions to their course duration, and this time would exclude any suspensions that may be required (e.g. for health, changes in employment or parental responsibilities...). You will be allocated a pastoral tutor on the course who can discuss these issues with you and help ensure that study durations remain manageable.

We support candidates wishing to undertake the practice component of the training for paediatric clinical neuropsychology.

Our standalone practice component course is the PG Certificate in Clinical Neuropsychology Practice.

Our taught knowledge component is only for the adult pathway. 

Both programmes deliver the Knowledge and Practice competencies necessary for eligibility for the Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists. The MSc provides all the taught content and support for clinical practice that is required to achieve these competencies. It is therefore a standalone course that does not require demonstration of previous study in neuropsychology. In contrast, the Diploma has a reduced teaching load (one unit less), but it requires demonstration of previous learning via an entrance assessment.

The Diploma is intended to streamline subsequent training for trainee clinical psychologists who intend to specialise in neuropsychology after finishing their DClinPsy. We have collaborated with various DClinPsy courses in the UK in order to ensure that the exempted unit on our Diploma is covered by teaching on these courses. Trainees may also seek to undertake placement and case studies relevant to neuropsychology which can contribute toward the cases and clinical experience required for the practice competencies.

Yes, although you maybe eligible for fees if an additional viva is required.

Once you have completed your course and demonstrated all of the competencies required you can apply to be listed on the British Psychological Society’s Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologist. The BPS may require a fee to process your application.

No.

We do not provide you with a supervisor as part of the course. It is your responsibility to secure the relevant supervision and employment to allow you to acquire and demonstrate the required practice competencies.

We can provide guidance about sources of supervision that you might wish to explore, depending on the scope of your practice.

The majority of your clinical practice supervision should come from someone who is on the British Psychological Society's Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists and also on their Register of Applied Practitioner Psychology Supervisors (RAPPS). In conjunction with the University of Glasgow, Bristol offers online training for supervisors that is equivalent to RAPPS so please speak to the course if your supervisor needs to undertake this training.

The majority of your clinical practice supervision should come from someone who is on the British Psychological Societies Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists and also on their Register of Applied Practitioner Psychology Supervisors (RAPPS). In conjunction with the University of Glasgow, Bristol offers online training for supervisors that is equivalent to RAPPS so please speak to the course if your supervisor needs to undertake this training.

The most important principle is the quality of the supervision and the quality of the supervisory relationship. Supervision is intended to enhance a person’s practice competencies.

We believe it is good practice for candidates to meet their supervisor and establish agreement about supervision needs and, ideally, set up a supervision “contract”.

An appropriate balance of group and individual supervision and telephone/Zoom versus face-to-face is necessary in order to obtain the maximum professional benefit from the supervision process

We suggest you request specific approval from our Clinical Director for supervision with more than 80% delivered remotely.

For those undertaking the Adult practice component: It is important that you evidence your experience in assessment, formulation and therapeutic / rehabilitation management of a range of presenting problems, including those resulting from commonly encountered conditions, such as traumatic brain injury,  stroke and dementia. Cases should reflect a range of neurological severity, including cases where there is little evidence of brain damage and cases where there is evidence of extensive brain damage. Cases should reflect a lifespan approach to neuropsychology, including cases where brain damage occurred earlier in life, in the middle of life and in later life.  Cases should reflect a range of severities of presented problems, including cases where there is considerable presented disability but little evidence of demonstrable brain damage or dysfunction.

For those undertaking the Paediatric practice component, cases should demonstrate required competences in the management of commonly encountered conditions in paediatric practice. You must also demonstrate your competence over a range of developmental stages and degrees of learning difficulty. They should usually include at least one case each of traumatic brain injury, epilepsy and congenital disorder. It would be preferable if one case could have a primary psychiatric diagnosis or systemic illness. The purpose of the intervention must be diagnostic assessment in at least two cases, and in at least two cases the ability to develop effective rehabilitation or remedial programmes with the child/adolescent’s family and educational establishment must be demonstrated.

Group and consultation work is acceptable within a candidate’s supervision plan. It is useful to consider the broader competencies for clinical neuropsychology

We can provide guidance and support with regard to the kind of arrangements that work for other candidates in securing access to different case types, but the responsibility for making this work is outside the scope of the course.

As a general rule, backdating of any qualifying experience* within 5 years of submission is eligible. Therefore, if a candidate were to submit in 2025 they could backdate any experience as far back as 2020. There is a further option to provide evidence that experience accumulated even beyond 5 years could be admissible.

You may backdate up to 12 months FTE experience, for instance two years at 0.5 FTE.

*Qualifying Experience should include supervised practice in a neuropsychological setting where the dominant characteristics of the work involve the deployment of neuropsychological models in formulation, assessment or treatment. Candidates are reminded of the broader need to develop neuropsychological competencies in the context of supervised practice

It is necessary to demonstrate development of competence while studying on the course and we therefore allow no more than 12 months FTE experience to be backdated. This ensures that your portfolio can show progress and development in your understanding and competencies over your time with us.