personal statement psychological wellbeing practitioner

The King's Careers Blog

We're here to help you, whether you are in the discover, focus or action phase of your career journey., how to find your resilience: pwp trainee’s tips for budding psychologists + worry management tips.

What’s it like getting into a PWP traineeship? We talked to a PWP Trainee about their career journey and how they kept building employability (and resilience!) during unsuccessful applications to get where they are today. Also, we got tips for students on worry management!

Introduction

Hello! I’m George, a trainee PWP (Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner) training and working in London. After my undergraduate degree, I’ve worked in and studied various areas of psychology. Outside of work, I enjoy playing video games and the occasional hiking trip!

An unexpected journey: My route to a PWP

After my undergrad in Psychology, I spent a year working part-time as an administrator in a private company whilst completing a Masters in Applied Psychology and volunteering at a helpline. I then undertook a PGDIP in London which allowed me to begin working placements in the NHS in community mental health settings. After this, I worked in acute emergency mental health teams for a while. I worked in these services through the first wave of the UK’s Covid-19 pandemic, which was a challenging experience, before receiving an offer for the position as a trainee PWP.

To get to the traineeship role where I am today, I actually had countless unsuccessful interviews and applications all across the country over the few years between graduating and being offered the role. While it was sometimes difficult, I always asked for feedback following an interview and found ways to take this on board to be more eligible and qualified for the next application. I also sought work that may not have been my dream career but provided me with valuable insight and experience into mental health treatment and care pathways in between re-applying for the PWP traineeship opportunities.

Why I decided to pursue this career path

I decided to pursue the career path towards a PWP as I’ve always wanted to do a job where I can help people in some way. Talking therapy always felt like a route where I could provide a lot of people with meaningful support, as I feel passionate about helping people with their mental health. I’m also very interested in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy theory, which has many applications within the treatments provided as a PWP – so in many ways, it felt like a natural destination.

Reflecting on career anxiety and building your resilience

The future (especially regarding career) can be really intimidating when we feel uncertain about what’s going to happen. Many of us will worry about worst-case scenarios; that we’ll be unsuccessful, or let down the people around us. We have a tendency to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make the right choices to avoid these feared outcomes. It’s really important to talk to the people around you if you’re feeling anxious about the future and your career; you are not alone, everyone experiences these kinds of thoughts. Sharing the way you feel can help you hear another’s perspective, get some reassurance, and proportionate the worries.

So how do we manage anxious feelings generally? My advice would be to try and figure out which aspects of your anxiety you can influence and which you cannot . Ask yourself, “is there anything that I personally can do to control the outcome of this worry?” If the answer is yes, find a way to do what you can, and then try to let the worry go.

If the answer is no, try to find some acceptance in the fact that you cannot control or influence the outcome, so there is no point in allowing anxiety to dominate the way you feel. Often, anxious thoughts of the (hypothetical) future are out of our control; no amount of worry or anxiety can influence it, so this is essentially wasted energy. A good way to handle these anxieties for now, is to speak to your careers service for guidance and advice to help you prepare as best you can.

If you’re worried about careers, one way to help manage anxious feelings is tapping into simple, small self-improvement. This includes things like reading and learning. You’re already reading this career blog – and that counts! For more small actions, explore our KEATS pages with career resources, online courses and more. For managing your overall mental health and finding help, read more about the support options you have available at King’s . 

Advice for students interested in psychology and mental health careers

Talk to your tutors about what kind of psychology career you are interested in, try to have conversations with people who do that job to get an understanding of what it would be like and if you would enjoy the role. Experience is invaluable in psychology services and will really make you stand out in an interview; start looking at volunteering opportunities to begin developing the skills that psychology services will value. Certain services will facilitate shadowing shifts for people who want to gain an insight into the team and an understanding of the job (as well as what kind of experience and skills are sought after), which can be really helpful in advance of an interview.

The author’s name is switched in this blog to protect their professional anonymity.

Child and Young Persons Psychological Wellbeing Practice PG Dip

London, King's Cross (Anna Freud Centre)

This is the programme information for 2024 entry

If you require details of this year's programme, Child and Young Persons Psychological Wellbeing Practice PG Dip (2025), click here

The Child and Young Persons Psychological Wellbeing Practice PG Dip programme, a Department of Health initiative, aims to train a new workforce for CAMHS: Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners. You will complement the work of existing practitioners by building better links with communities and offering rapid access to brief treatment interventions for children and young people with mild to moderate mental health difficulties.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

Applications open

• Entry requirements

Normally a minimum of a second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard is required. No prior professional experience or accreditation is required.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

This programme aims to train a new workforce for CAMHS: Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners.

The programme is only available to those who have been offered CWP trainee roles in one of our partnering CYP-IAPT MH sites.

The content of the curriculum is specified at a national level and covers a range of evidence-based interventions currently available for work with children, young people and their families experiencing mental health and behavioural difficulties. Teaching is provided by highly experienced practitioners and supported by supervisors within your work setting; and supervisors oversee your day to day work with children and young people.

Graduates will complement the work of existing practitioners by building better links with communities and offering rapid access to low intensity evidence-based treatment interventions, for mild to moderate mental health difficulties.

Themes and topics covered throughout the year include consideration of how to work with young people and their parents, development of CWP skills; understanding anxiety, depression and challenging behaviours, and exploring the evidence base for low intensity interventions and Guided Self Help (GSH) treatments currently available in these areas. Furthermore, you will work towards increasing accessibility to services by working with diverse populations from a community based and primary care service model, including prevention, health promotion, group work, training others/consultations skills, as well as 1-1 interventions with young people and parents.

Who this course is for

This programme involves a dual application process. This includes a university application and a separate application for a role as a  Children's Wellbeing Practitioner (CWP)  with one of our partnering mental health services. These can be found on job sites online. Please do not apply to the course unless you are also applying for one of these posts. Your University application will not be processed unless you have been invited to an interview with one of our CWP training sites. Please see our website  for more information.

What this course will give you

Alumni from this programme normally gain employment as Child Wellbeing Practitioners in a variety of settings including schools, NHS clinics, Local Authorities and charities.

The foundation of your career

Alumni from this programme normally gain employment as Child Wellbeing Practitioners in a variety of settings including schools, NHS clinics, Local Authorities and charities

Employability

Successful applicants will be undertaking this programme in conjunction with their service role, typically in the CAMHS workforce (but also in local authorities, schools, or third sector organisations) as a Children’s Wellbeing Practitioner.

Students can attend the CWP Shared Learning Event to hear from other students about their experiences and network with colleagues.

Teaching and learning

The learning you acquire on this programme will be a combination of the theory and practical skills you undertake within the university setting coupled with your practical learning while undertaking case work within the CYP setting you are employed within. The balance of time spent on these two areas of learning varies as the programme progresses, with a weighting towards some classroom learning, online learning and skills practice sessions at the beginning of the programme which gradually moves towards more of an emphasis on work based CWP setting learning later. Teaching is a combination of pre-recorded lectures, live synchronous teaching, in-person lecture-style workshops and small group seminars delivered by leading practitioners in the field.

Teaching days will involve a combination of pre-recorded materials to view online, in-person/livestreamed lectures, whole group discussion and exercises, workshops, online quizzes/discussions forums, as well as small group project work in skills practice groups. Skills Practice Groups involve you presenting video examples of current case work. Skills Practice tutoring is carried out by the staff members of the programme. It involves detailed analysis and practice of assessment and conceptualisation, strategy and techniques of intervention. It is aimed very much at skill development rather than case management. This will enable you to develop the skills required to engage CYP and their parents and to effectively deliver a range of interventions. Project work will cover critical evaluation of the evidence base and research studies undertaken for various interventions when working with CYP. Teaching days will typically be a full day with a break for lunch, both online and in-person. Assessment on the programme will comprise a combination of written, oral (presentations) and video assessments. At the end of the week, a lecture is generally convened which consolidates learning from the week and provides an opportunity for expansion on key areas of learning.

This programme is divided into six modules aimed at teaching you the compulsory competencies and skills required to work with children and young people in mental health settings.

The six compulsory modules run in parallel and are assessed over the programme of the year by a variety of assignments, including written and digital video recordings of your therapy sessions and reflective analyses, as well as a service-based portfolio of clinical work carried out throughout the programme of the programme.

Teaching Day hours from 10am - 4pm.

Self study days - Number of self study days will be provided in the timetable.

This is a full-time programme, taught across one year, where you spend part of the week in face-to-face classroom-based learning with the majority of teaching delivered online and the remainder of the week employed in a workplace setting working with children and young people.

The teaching programme is made up of six compulsory modules, which are run in parallel throughout the year, totalling 120 credits.

These cover developing the necessary skills to engage with children and young people and their families and deliver effective prevention and intervention models, psychoeducation, developing understanding of the evidence base of treatments and how to critically evaluate this, and an understanding of the contexts within which interventions will be delivered and in which you will be working, including group work in community and healthcare settings.

Throughout the year, you will typically attend a maximum of three days per week of university training and will spend the remaining days working within your service. As your CWP skills and knowledge develop, you will spend less time on the university programme and more time in your work setting or in private study time.

Compulsory modules

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 120 credits. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Child and Young Persons Psychological Wellbeing Practice.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team .

Fees and funding

Fees for this course.

Fees for this programme are available on request from the department.

Additional costs

This programme has no additional costs. 

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs .

Funding your studies

Places on this programme are funded by National Health Service England. For further details, please visit the Anna Freud webpages on the Children's Wellbeing Practitioner Programme to find out more.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

• Why you want to study CYP Psychological Wellbeing Practice at graduate level
• Why you want to study CYP Psychological Wellbeing Practice at UCL
• What particularly attracts you to this programme
• How your academic and professional background meets the demands of this rigorous programme
• Where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

The application to the CYP Psychological Wellbeing Practice PG Dip is not an ordinary application process. Mental health services across NHS, local authority and voluntary sectors working in London and the South East of England make an application to join the London and South East IAPT Learning Collaborative. On successful entry to the Collaborative, services will then advertise Children's Wellbeing Practitioner Posts. All applicants to these posts will be required to submit an application form to UCL in addition to a job application to the relevant Service. You must be successfully appointed as a Children's Wellbeing Practitioner working within an organisation which is part of the London and South East IAPT Learning Collaborative to be considered for this programme. Please see our website for more information.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2024-2025

Got questions get in touch.

Division of Psychology and Language Sciences

[email protected]

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IAPT PWP Frequently Asked Questions

What relevant experiences do I need for the course?

Candidates need experience working or volunteering in a role that has allowed them to develop skills in recognising and responding to mental health problems.  Some experience of the recognition and management of risk is advantageous, as is the experience of receiving supervision.  Relevant personal experience is also applicable here, such as caring for a family member or personal experiences of mental health issues.

Applicants are encouraged to think about the quality and content of their experiences, how they can demonstrate the skills they have acquired from their experiences and how these may be transferable to the role.  The emphasis is on the skills and learning rather than the duration of experience or the environment it was acquired in.

I’ve not completed previous study in a health or psychology related discipline, can I apply to the PWP course?

Completing an undergraduate degree in a health or psychology related subject is not a pre-requisite for the course.  Candidates from a range of backgrounds with a variety or experiences are welcome and encouraged to apply. Candidates must evidence their ability to study at level 6 of a higher education programme.

I am not employed with an IAPT service; can I apply for PWP training?

At the present time the only route into PWP training is via employment within an IAPT service because the training places are funded by Health Education England and the course is delivered to meet the needs of the expanding psychological workforce.

I only have voluntary experience; can I apply for PWP training?

Candidates need experience working or volunteering in a role that has allowed them to develop skills in recognising and responding to mental health problems and building relationships. This does not need to be paid employment but you must be able to demonstrate your abilities at interview and evidence how the skills you have acquired would be transferable to the PWP role.

I have personal experience of mental illness but no employment or voluntary work in the area.  Can I apply?

Candidates need experiences that have allowed them to develop skills in recognising and responding to mental health problems and building relationships with people.  Personal experiences or experiences as a carer can be relevant here.  Applications from people with lived experience are welcomed.

Related information

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners Training (PWP)

PWP supervisor information