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Psychology with Mental Health Practice

BSc (Hons)

Explore psychological theory and practice in relation to human behaviour, thought and feeling, and explore how clinical and counselling psychology can improve mental health and wellbeing.

UCAS Code: C843

Single Honours

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Our career-focused curriculum will provide you with the knowledge and research-based practices needed to support people with a variety of challenges, including relationship disputes, addiction and mental illness.

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Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS)

The course is professionally accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and, providing you achieve at least a 2:2 in your degree, you will be eligible for Graduate Membership of the BPS and the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), the first step to becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

BPS accreditation is both an important hallmark of quality that is extensively acknowledged by employers in the field, and an essential stepping-stone if you are looking to progress to become a Chartered Psychologist after graduation.

Taking a BPS accredited course is necessary if you wish to pursue a career in psychology or in the wider psychological workforce. For information on the benefits of studying an accredited course, visit the BPS website.

University of the Year finalist

Recognised for our graduate success, we’re shortlisted for University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2025.


Overview

This professionally accredited course has a strong practical focus that will build your professional skills, enhance your CV and get you noticed by employers.

In your first year, you’ll study modules which explore how social and biological factors shape people’s behaviour and psychological development. This will help you understand how mental health practice can be adapted based on factors such as family dynamics, cultural norms, and socioeconomic status. We’ll also develop your knowledge of how mental health professionals operate, with modules teaching you key professional skills such as active listening, note-taking and how to build repour with those you support.

As you progress through the degree you will be able to focus more on your specific interests through optional modules and research projects. This will prepare you to conduct a piece of original research under the supervision of a member of academic staff in your dissertation module.

You’ll be supported to develop your CV and widen your skillset with additional professional opportunities, such as mental health training, volunteering opportunities with local mental health charities, and specialist courses with Papyrus.

Our assessment methods are created to complement a future career within mental health and related fields. You’ll complete essays, written responses to counselling case studies and deliver presentations you about what you have learnt. This will create a supportive and reflective portfolio of work that you can refer to in a variety of professional scenarios.

Placements

As part of the course, you will have the chance to see first hand what it's like to work as a mental health professional through your placement with a mental health charity, NHS, private health care, care home, or school of your choosing. You'll apply what you've learnt in lectures to practice, be able to speak to working professionals and learn from them, enabling you to gain a deeper awareness of the various roles and working environments within the profession and be able to reflex on your experience and apply that to your work and career aspirations.

You’ll be supported by our Careers and Employability team in arranging paid and voluntary placements with many local and national organisations. Recent placement opportunities have included the NHS, the British Psychological Society (BPS) and Mind, a mental health charity.

You can also choose to participate in psychological research or join our paid ‘students as researchers’ scheme, which will provide you with opportunities to work alongside staff on live projects.



Course content

On this accredited course you will study a mix of mandatory and optional modules. This flexible course lets you explore different subjects and career paths in psychology before choosing a counselling specialism in your final year.

We regularly review our courses to reflect the latest research and developments in the subject area, as well as feedback from students, employers and the wider sector. As a result, modules may change to ensure the course remains current and relevant.

Optional modules will run if enough students choose to study them. It is not guaranteed that all modules will be offered every year.

Mandatory modules


Careers

Now, as much as ever, there is a need to ensure that there is enough capacity to promote psychological wellbeing and treat and prevent mental health conditions.

Our graduates are highly successful in securing a career in various specialist areas such as:

  • Practising psychologist
  • Psychotherapist
  • Counsellor
  • Guidance counsellor or life coach
  • Private and public healthcare
  • Government and policy

Psychology graduates can find a career in every area of society, using their numeracy, IT literacy, communication and problem-solving capabilities to add value to their professions.

By completing this BSc in Counselling Psychology, you’ll graduate as a well-organised, confident communicator, who is prepared for the world of work.

You could also progress onto further study into courses such as our Counselling MSc, Business Psychology MScOccupational Psychology MSc, Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner in Specialist Adult Mental Health (PG Cert/ Grad Cert).


Course highlights

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Making friends

There will be plenty of chances to make friends on this course. We offer a variety of social events, such as campus scavenger hunts, psychology workshops and chances to listen to guest speakers with your peers.  


Teaching and assessment

Teaching is a mix of interactive seminars, lectures, one-to-one tutorials and workshops. Your assessments will help prepare you for a career as a counsellor and include case studies where you apply counselling techniques and posters surrounding psychological theory.

Teaching and assessment contents

You'll learn through a mix of teaching styles, such as lectures, seminars, lab work and practical sessions so you can understand the theory by applying it in practice. Lectures are used to introduce you to core ideas, drawing from both classic theories and modern-day examples, giving you the foundation to explore topics further. You'll have the chance to discuss theories and practices with your peers in seminars, and practical classes will provide you with key practitioner-based skills. 

Meet the team

Just a few staff members from the wider team of psychology lecturers.

University of Worcester logo on a light blue background

Dr Daniel Farrelly

University of Worcester logo on a light blue background

Dr Jack Brimmell

Jack obtained his PhD from York St John University and examined attentional control and perceptual-cognition in sportspeople. Jack also holds an MSc in Sport Psychology and a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of Gloucestershire.

Jack has previously worked with elite sporting organisations (i.e., the Premier League, the RFU and professional Women’s football teams) to try and use sport psychology to enhance performance. Jack is published in a number of top level sport psychology journals and is also reviewing work for these journals. He is predominately interested in how feelings of anxiety and stress can disrupt attentional control and perceptual-cognition during pressurised sport performance.

University of Worcester logo on a light blue background

Dr Daniel Farrelly

University of Worcester logo on a light blue background

Dr Jack Brimmell

Jack obtained his PhD from York St John University and examined attentional control and perceptual-cognition in sportspeople. Jack also holds an MSc in Sport Psychology and a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of Gloucestershire.

Jack has previously worked with elite sporting organisations (i.e., the Premier League, the RFU and professional Women’s football teams) to try and use sport psychology to enhance performance. Jack is published in a number of top level sport psychology journals and is also reviewing work for these journals. He is predominately interested in how feelings of anxiety and stress can disrupt attentional control and perceptual-cognition during pressurised sport performance.


Entry requirements

UCAS tariff points required: 112

Typical Offer
QualificationGrade
A-levelBBC
BTEC National Extended DiplomaDMM
T-levelMerit

We do accept Access to HE Diplomas and other qualifications which may not exactly match the combinations above. Work out your estimated points with the UCAS tariff calculator.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.


Fees

Fees contents

UK and EU students

The fees for 2026/27 are not yet confirmed. For 2025/26 the standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees is £9,535 per year.

Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.

For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The fees for 2026/27 are not yet confirmed.

For 2025/26 the standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees is £16,700 per year.

Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.

For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.


How to apply

How to apply contents

Applying through UCAS

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for full-time undergraduate courses in the UK.

Read our how to apply pages for more information on the application process, or if you’d like to apply for part-time study.

  • Psychology with Mental Health Practice BSc (Hons) - C843
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Contact

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.

University of Worcester logo on a light blue background

Dr Jack Brimmell

Course Leader for Undergraduate Psychology

Admissions Office

01905 855111

Twenty-two years ago, Emma Banks wrote in her school leaving book “I want to be a psychologist.”

Now she is finally on her path to achieving that dream as she graduates from the University of Worcester with a First Class degree in Counselling Psychology. During her time at university, Emma became the Chair of the Mature Student Network and said she had made friends for life. Emma is now continuing her studies with an MSc in Occupational Psychology at the University.

Read Emma's full case study here.

Emma Banks

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