Professional Diploma in Child & Adolescent Mental Health

The Professional Diploma in Child & Adolescent Mental Health is designed for professionals who work with young people and want a deeper, evidence-based understanding of their emotional and psychological development. The course explores how children and adolescents think, feel, and behave, and how family, school, community, and online environments influence their mental health.

You will be introduced to key mental health difficulties commonly seen in childhood and adolescence, such as anxiety, low mood, behavioural challenges, neurodevelopmental conditions, trauma-related difficulties, and emerging risk behaviours. Emphasis is placed on early identification, understanding underlying causes, and knowing when and how to refer on for specialist support.

Throughout the diploma, you will develop practical skills in communication, engagement, and relationship-building with children, teenagers, and families. You will learn how to have sensitive conversations about mental health, how to respond to distress, and how to provide safe, supportive, and boundaried help within your professional role.

The course draws on current research, real-life case examples, and reflective practice. Teaching is typically delivered through lectures, workshops, group discussions, and guided self-study, allowing you to link theory directly to your day-to-day work.

This diploma is suitable for teachers, SNAs, social care workers, youth workers, nurses, counsellors, social workers, and other allied professionals. By the end of the programme, you will have increased confidence in recognising mental health needs, collaborating with families and services, and contributing meaningfully to a young person’s support network.

Graduates leave with a strong foundation in child and adolescent mental health theory and practice, ready to apply their learning in schools, community settings, health and social care, or further specialist study.


Professional Diploma in Clinical Psychology & Mental Health Practice

The Professional Diploma in Clinical Psychology & Mental Health Practice is designed for professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of psychological distress and strengthen their practical skills in working with adults and young people. The course provides a solid grounding in key principles of clinical psychology, including models of mental health and illness, assessment, formulation, and evidence-based intervention.

Learners explore the nature, presentation, and impact of common mental health difficulties such as anxiety, depression, trauma, personality-related difficulties, psychosis, and co-occurring issues like substance use. Attention is given to risk, safeguarding, and ethical decision-making, ensuring that participants can work safely and responsibly within their professional roles.

Across the programme, you will develop the ability to think psychologically about the individuals, families, and systems you work with. You will learn how to gather and interpret information, understand what might be maintaining a person’s difficulties, and consider appropriate pathways to care, including multidisciplinary and community-based supports. Reflective practice is a core focus, helping you to integrate theory with your own values, experience, and professional context.

Teaching typically combines lectures, workshops, skills practice, and guided independent learning. Case examples and scenarios are used to bring ideas to life and to build confidence in applying knowledge to real-world situations.

This diploma is particularly relevant for those working in health, social care, counselling, community and voluntary services, education, and related fields. By completion, you will have enhanced insight into clinical psychology perspectives, improved competence in mental health practice, and a stronger foundation for collaboration with specialist services or for further postgraduate training in psychology, psychotherapy, or related disciplines. Graduates leave the course with a clearer professional identity, a shared language for talking about mental health, and practical tools they can use immediately to support service users, contribute to care planning, and advocate for psychologically informed services in their organisations.