Overview
In the UK and Scotland there is a growing demand for psychological therapeutic services to treat mental health disorders. Around one in four people will experience mental health problems in any one year (source: Public Health Scotland 2025).
Our MSc Psychological Therapy in Primary Care is an NHS Scotland-funded professional training course. You’ll gain the clinical and professional skills you need to work as a Clinical Associate. You can work in Applied Psychology, an NHS Scotland role, or in other mental health services. The course is jointly delivered by the University of Stirling and the University of Dundee.
Gain expertise in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
The MSc Psychological Therapy in Primary Care provides expert training in delivering evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to adults with common mental health conditions.
You'll enhance your knowledge of the prevalence, diagnostic criteria, presentation and treatment of common mental health disorders within a CBT framework. You’ll develop the abilities to meet a range of performance targets safely, while responding constructively to clinical supervision in line with professional and ethical guidelines.
Fully funded by NHS Education for Scotland
Applicants to this Psychological Therapy in Primary Care MSc must apply for employment with the NHS at the same time. If accepted, your tuition fees are paid by NHS Education for Scotland. You will be based in an NHS Health Board which will support you with supervised clinical practice in the workplace.
Learn more about the role in the Trainee Clinical Associate in Applied Psychology job description and person specification. The specification also details the essential and desirable qualities and attributes of applicants.
Study a British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited course
The Psychological Therapy in Primary Care Masters degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy (BABCP). Graduates are eligible for registration with the BPS. The course also has Level 1 accreditation from BABCP.
The Division of Psychology has outstanding laboratory space fitted with high-quality equipment. It has excellent computing infrastructure, and both research and teaching activities are supported by in-house technical staff with computing, programming, electronic and audio-video expertise.
We’ve invested heavily in research infrastructure, including our own Psychology Kindergarten, which provides an outstanding facility for developmental research and teaching. Purpose-built laboratory space has also been created to support human electrophysiology research (EEG/ERPs), health research (including GSR and heart rate monitoring), face research (including eye-tracking) and vision research (including stereoscopic displays).
The University of Stirling is rated 2nd in Scotland for research impact in Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Research Excellence Framework 2021), with 100% of our research impact and environment rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.
Our Masters students get involved in our lively community of research excellence.
Entry requirements
Applicants should hold an honours degree in Psychology (2:1 or above) conferring the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS).
Alternatively, applicants should have successfully completed an MSc psychology conversion course at a level equivalent to a 2:1 and which confers Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS).
Applicants for this course should be aware that they are also applying for employment with the NHS and therefore must be eligible for, and have appropriate personal qualities suited to, employment in the NHS. Recruitment will be jointly undertaken by senior academic staff and NHS staff.
International entry requirements
You apply for this course via the University of Dundee. Visit the Dundee Psychological Therapy in Primary Care MSc page for further details and the application forms.
To see the English Language Requirements for this course please go to the University of Dundee Psychological Therapy in Primary Care MSc page.
See our information on English language requirements for more details on the language tests we accept and options to waive these requirements.
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, University of Stirling International Study Centre offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree.
Find out more about our pre-sessional English language courses.
Course details
The course has five taught modules and a sixth research module. The first three modules are supervised by the University of Dundee while the second three are supervised by the University of Stirling. All modules are core and there are no optional modules.
Assessment, diagnosis and formulation
Provides knowledge of the essential ingredients of collaborative therapeutic relationships and of the evidence linking the therapeutic alliance to treatment outcomes in Cognitive -behavioural Psychotherapy.
Principles and methods of psychological therapy
Provides knowledge of general factors implicated in onset, maintenance and restitution of common mental health disorders within a CBT framework.
Common mental health disorders in primary care
Provides the theoretical and clinical knowledge of the prevalence, aetiology, presentation, course and differential diagnosis of common mental health disorders in the context of the evidence base for the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural treatment for common mental health disorders presenting in primary care.
Professional and ethical issues
This module examines common ethical dilemmas which may affect psychologists in their therapeutic work. The module will emphasize the need to consider the consequences of the therapist’s actions in relation to ethical issues in: communication, informed consent, diversity, boundaries, competence and fitness to practice, confidentiality and organizing services/clinical governance, as well as how to avoid conflicts of interest and put client’s best interests first.
Research, evaluation and outcome
This module aims to strengthen your understanding of the methodological and statistical principles of psychological research and their relevance to evidence-based outcomes while helping you develop the ability to critically evaluate psychological research methodology and outcomes.
Research dissertation
This module gives the trainee the experience of conducting a clinically relevant research project in an NHS setting. This helps you to develop a clear understanding of what 'evidence based practice' is while engaging with relevant literature as early as possible in an attempt to answer a specified research question.
Modules
The module information below provides an example of the types of course module you may study. The details listed are for the academic year that starts in September 2024. Modules and start dates are regularly reviewed and may be subject to change in future years.
Course Details
You'll be taught through a mix of:
- lectures;
- clinical skills workshops utilising role play;
- talks by NHS-based clinicians;
- individual and group-based clinical supervision sessions;
- comprehensive online resources to support workshops.
Regular contact between course team members and trainees is a feature of this course to support your daily clinical activities.
You'll be assessed by:
- a systematic review/service related project of published evidence relating to a primary care mental health issues;
- two exams/assessments;
- three case reports of patients you have treated;
- three clinical placement-based assessments of your clinical competence.
Students spend 12 months at the Universities of Stirling and Dundee. Clinical skills training is conducted both in supervised NHS placements and in face-to-face skills workshops at the universities.
This training is supported by online learning material. You must attend one or other of the universities for four/five days per month for nine months of the year, in addition to a two-week period during January for face-to-face clinical skills training.
Course administrator
Vicky Greene and Roxana Tudoran
msc-ptpc@dundee.ac.uk
MSc PTPC
Postgraduate Office, Level 6, School of Medicine
Ninewells Hospital
Dundee
DD1 9SY
Fees and funding
University of Stirling alumni will automatically be awarded a fee waiver for the first year of Masters studies through our Stirling Alumni Scholarship.
Applicants from the UK or Republic of Ireland who hold a first-class honours degree or equivalent will automatically be awarded a £2,000 scholarship through our Postgraduate Merit Scholarship.
If you need to extend your period of study, you may be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Eligible students could receive a scholarship worth between £4,000-£7,000. See our range of generous scholarships for international postgraduate students.
If you need to extend your period of study, you may be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Applicants to this programme simultaneously apply for employment with the NHS and, if accepted, their tuition fees will be paid by NHS Education for Scotland.
Additional costs
There are some instances where additional fees may apply. Depending on your chosen course, you may need to pay additional costs, for example for field trips. Learn more about additional fees.
If you’re domiciled in the UK, you can typically apply to your relevant funding body for help with living costs. This usually takes the form of student loans, grants or bursaries, and the amount awarded depends upon your personal circumstances and household income.
International (including EU) students won’t normally be able to claim living support through SAAS or other UK public funding bodies. You should contact the relevant authority in your country to find out if you’re eligible to receive support.
We aim to be as flexible as possible, and offer a wide range of payment methods - including the option to pay fees by instalments. Learn more about how to pay
After you graduate
You will graduate with the clinical and professional skills needed to work in NHS Scotland as a Clinical Associate in Applied Psychology (CAAP). Recent graduates have also gone on to work in other clinically related posts in the public sector across the UK. Accreditation by the BPS and BABCP has increased the acceptance of this qualification in other parts of the UK.
In NHS Scotland, a trainee Clinical Associate in Applied Psychology is graded as a Band 6 role with a salary of £39,912 - £48,635. A Clinical Associate in Applied Psychology (CAAP) typically falls within Band 7 and earns between £40,872 and £47,846 per year.
Applicants for this course should be aware that they are also applying for employment with the NHS and therefore must be eligible for employment in the NHS. This includes having appropriate personal qualities suited to employment in the NHS. Recruitment will be jointly undertaken by senior academic staff and NHS staff.
