City University - About the Log Book - Counselling Psychology Year 2-3
Revised 03-04
Counselling Psychology Programme
Years 2 - 3
Post-MSc Diploma / DPsych
in the practice of
Counselling Psychology
Log Book
Student's name......
Personal tutor's name ......
Course start date (mm/yy) ......
About the Log Book
Welcome to your log book. By this stage of your training you will be familiar with the two main functions. Firstly it contains all the information and paperwork that you need in order to organise the professional components of the course. Secondly, it provides an ongoing comprehensive record of your learning, experience and development as a Counselling Psychologist In-Training. Although the log is essential for demonstrating that you have met course requirements you are urged to maintain it even after you have finished your course of study. In the future, should you decide to pursue accreditation with professional bodies other than the BPS, it is likely that they will want evidence of your experience and ongoing supervised practice and professional development.
Completion of all sections of the log is vital to ensure that you have demonstrated that you have met course requirements and are eligible for the award of your Post-MSc / Dpsych and chartered status as a Counselling Psychologist. Your personal tutor will wish to see your log at various points in the course, and it will provide a focus for discussion of your progress.
All forms and completed work must be retained in your log book, signed by your personal tutor and copied to relevant parties where indicated. The office copies enable us to maintain our database of your placements, supervision arrangements and also forms the basis of our mailing lists. It is essential, therefore, that you include the full address and contact details on the relevant forms so that we can maintain regular contact with the professionals who work with you outside the university setting. All forms must be completed legibly and in full and good quality copies submitted where indicated.
The log remains your property and it is your responsibility to ensure that it is kept up to date, relevant sections signed or approved by your supervisor or personal tutor, and that it is completed by the end of the course. No copies are retained by the University, other than copies of certain of the forms. You are advised, therefore, to retain back-up copies of all completed forms and log book entries and keep them in a separate place from your log book.
You should feel free to record any confidential personal learning as the Reflective Diary section will not need to be submitted except in summary form at the end of the course.
Any queries about the log book should be directed, in the first instance, to your personal tutor. We hope that you will take pride in your log and that you find it a helpful way in which to build a portfolio of your ongoing development as a Counselling Psychologist.
Log Book Contents
The log book is divided into three main sections: Placements, Coursework, and Personal and Professional Development, each with subsections containing forms and information as listed. At the end, there is a Checklist to record the sections completed.
Placements
You will need to download two full sets of each of the following placement forms at the sections Placement 1 and Placement 2.
Supervisor Guidelines
Form MP1Letter to Placement Provider / Supervisor
Form MP2Guidelines for Placement Providers / Supervisors
Form MP3Course Aims and Structure - an excerpt from the course handbook
Placement Contract
Form MP9aPlacement Contract
Form MP9bOpportunities for Experience
Supervisor Registration
Form MP4Placement and Supervisor Registration Form
Health and Safety
Form MP5Health and Safety Questionnaire
Indemnity Insurance
No form – for inclusion of a copy of your insurance
Supervisor Evaluation
Form MP6Placement Supervisor's Evaluation
Client Work
Form MP7Client Log
Form MP10Summary of Client Work
Supervision Work
Form MP8Supervision Log
Form MP11Summary of Supervision Session
Reflections
No form – for inclusion of your reflections on your practice
Log Book Contents (2)
Coursework
Client Studies
Form CW1Client study mark sheets
Form CW2Client presentation mark sheet
Process Reports
Form MW1 Consent to Tape Therapeutic Sessions
Form CW3Process report mark sheets
Other Coursework
Form CW6Essay mark sheet
Personal and Professional Development
Diary
No form – for inclusion of a brief summary of your personal diary
Additional Experience
No form – for inclusion of additional experience not covered elsewhere
Curriculum Vitae
No form – for inclusion of your CV
Personal Tutor Evaluation
Form MT5Personal Tutor’s Evaluation of Progress
Checklist
Form PMC1Year 2-3 Programme Requirements Checklist
Log Book - Guidelines for Students
Placements
The emphasis in Year 2 - 3 is that you enjoy a range of experience in terms of client work, and it is important that you demonstrate the variety of your work in your log book. You are encouraged, therefore, to regard the different types of work you do separately as different placements. For example, if you work for a particular NHS trust, but your work is divided between a Community Mental Health Team and a Psychology Department in a hospital setting, you should regard this as two separate placements. Details of each placement should be recorded separately under different sub-sections of your log book. You have been provided with dividers for two placements, so you will need to obtain additional dividers for any further placements.
If you are continuing in any of the same placements as for the MSc, you will need to demonstrate to your tutor that you have completed and had approved all the relevant forms, by inserting copies of the forms in your new log book, or by cross-referencing the information to your MSc log book.
Supervisor Guidelines
Copies of the following three forms in this subsection should be given together to your placement supervisor (or line manager if no supervision is provided in placement) before the start of the placement. Ensure you read these yourself before you give them to your supervisor.
Form MP1Letter to Placement Provider / Supervisor
Form MP2 Guidelines for Placement Providers / Supervisors
Form MP3Course Aims and Structure - an excerpt from the course handbook
Placement Contract
Form MP9aPlacement Contract
Form MP9bOpportunities for Experience
Before starting the placement, form MP9a is to be completed by the placement supervisor and approved by the personal tutor. If there is no supervision provided at the placement, you need to arrange an external supervisor (see next section) and the line manager at the placement agency must complete the Placement Contract.
Once approved, you should distribute the copies as indicated in the bottom margin on the form. The original is for you to retain in your log book.
You should revisit the Placement Contract form during your Placement Supervisor’s Evaluation meeting and complete the remaining columns of the Placement Contract to reflect the experience you have gained.
Guidelines for Students (2)
Supervisor Registration
Form MP4Placement and Supervisor Registration Form
Before the start of your placement, this form is to be completed by the placement supervisor, (or external supervisor if no supervision is provided at the placement) and approved by the personal tutor. You will need to show your tutor evidence of your current professional indemnity insurance, together with your supervisor’s CV (unless we already have one on file) in order for the tutor to approve the placement and supervision arrangements. You should also make sure the supervisor’s professional registration number is noted on the form, and it is helpful to bring your tutor a copy of the website entry or directory showing the details for your supervisor so your tutor can be assured the supervisor is appropriately registered.
Once approved, you should distribute the copies as indicated in the bottom margin on the form. The original is retained in your log book. The copy for the office should be submitted with the supervisor’s CV.
Please bear in mind that your supervisor may have several students, and it is helpful to them if you complete as much of the form yourself as possible.
Health and Safety
Form MP5Health and Safety Questionnaire
This is a statutory requirement and must be completed by the placement supervisor, placement administrator or other appropriate person before the start of the placement. Your tutor will need to see this in order to approve your placement.
Indemnity Insurance
It is essential that you have professional indemnity insurance at all time that you are working with clients as part of the Programme. Please keep copies of your insurance certificates in the log book. Your tutor will need to see evidence of your insurance in order to approve your placement and supervision arrangements. It is important that you renew your insurance each year to cover the period of your client work as the University will not recognise any client work undertaken outside the period of your insurance.
Supervisor Evaluation
Form MP6Placement Supervisor’s Evaluation
Evaluations are usually biannual. You should have at least two evaluations from different points in time within your main placement in order to demonstrate your development over the period. For additional short-term placements, or those for which you have accrued only a very few client hours,
(ctd. over)
Guidelines for Students (3)
Supervisor Evaluation (ctd.)
you would be expected to submit at least one evaluation. You should meet with your supervisor to go through the form. This involves reviewing page 2 of the original Placement Contract (Form MP9) so that you can record new experience you have gained. Your tutor will need to see your completed Client Logs(Form MP7) and Supervision Logs(Form MP8) before signing your evaluation.
Once approved, you should distribute the copy of the page 1 as indicated in the bottom margin on the form. The original of page 1 and the other pages are retained in your log book.
Client Work
Form MP7Client Log (download as needed)
You are to complete these with details of your client hours as you as you go along. Ensure that your logs are up to date at the time of each evaluation, so that the number of hours of client work can be confirmed and signed by your supervisor and personal tutor. Complete separate logs for each placement and record any group work on a separate log from your work with individual clients. A majority of your client work must be individual work with adult clients on a one-to-one basis. While you are welcome to record occasions when your client did not attend (DNA) these occasions do not count towards the required hours of client work as only actual face-to-face contact with clients can be counted towards the total.
Given data protection and access to client records requirements, the reference used on this and Form MP10 should not identify the client, i.e. it should not be a service / placement reference number or the client’s initials. These forms are your academic reflections and not part of the client record.
Form MP10Summary of Client Work(download as needed)
You are to record on these a brief summary of your work with each client to demonstrate your ability to reflect and learn from your experience. One form to be completed per client after their course of therapy with you is completed, not after each session. If work is ongoing at the end of the year, a form still needs to be completed to record work so far for with that client. You may find it helpful to complete the initial sections of the form when you start work with the client, and return to the form to record outcome and learning when the work is complete.
Guidelines for Students (4)
Supervision Work
Form MP8Supervision Log(download as needed)
You are to complete these as you go along with details of your supervised client work. As with the Client Log, ensure that your logs are up to date at the time of each evaluation, so that the number of hours of supervision can be confirmed and signed by your supervisor and tutor. Complete separate logs for each supervisor and record any group supervision on a separate log from your one-to-one supervision. Small group supervision must be recorded on a pro-rata basis (eg three hours of supervision with a group of trainees and one supervisor counts as one hour of supervision). If group supervision is undertaken it should constitute roughly no more than two fifths of the total supervision. So, for example, for 300 hours of client work you would need 25 hours of supervision in total (one hour of supervision for every twelve hours of client work). At least 15 of these hours should be one-to-supervision.
Form MP11Summary of Supervision Session
(download as needed)
You are to record on these a brief summary of your supervision sessions, outlining the issues covered, what you have learned and how it helped you in your work with the client. You may like to complete one form after each supervision session although it is likely to be more useful to reflect on what you have learned at regular intervals.
Reflections
This section relates to your reflections on your own learning and experience in placement. You should record a brief reflective summary of your learning and development within the placement in a format of your choosing. This should also include details of additional experience gained within the placement, for example seminars, workshops, peer discussions, meetings, visits, training experience, staff support groups etc.
Coursework
The mark sheets provided should be submitted as the cover page to the relevant piece of coursework. Once marked, all coursework should be retained in your log book.
Client Studies/Presentation
Form CW1Client study mark sheets
Form CW2Client presentation mark sheet
Guidelines for Students (5)
Process Reports
Form MW1 Consent to Tape Therapeutic Sessions
Form CW3Process report mark sheets
A note about Consent to Tape Therapeutic Sessions
Form MW1 is provided, for you to record your client’s consent to taping for the process reports. To ensure the anonymity of the client, page one of the form, once completed, must be removed from your log book and retained with the client’s notes at the placement. Submit with your process report only page two to show your supervisor’s confirmation that consent was obtained from the client.
Other Coursework
Form CW6Essay mark sheet
A Note on Mark Sheets and Marking
Please note that the mark sheets are designed to show the marker’s opinion of the relative degree to which your coursework meets the different assessment criteria. It is intended to provide you with a focus for improving your work by showing which areas need more attention (if any). You should find that the ticks in the boxes relate to more specific comments written on the script. While your work will reflect these judgements, there is not a direct or precise link between the feedback on the mark sheet and the mark awarded, which involves a more global judgement. To understand your mark, please refer to the information in the course handbook.
In addition to entering your name and other essential details you will be asked to sign a declaration stating that the work is exclusively your own, except where explicitly indicated (with quotations and citations).
Personal and Professional Development
Diary
A note on the Diary: Summary of Aspects from the Reflective Diary
You are required to keep, in a format of your choosing, an ongoing reflective diary of your personal development as a Counselling Psychologist. Due to the personal nature of the diary, you are not asked to submit it. However, you are asked to provide a summary here of what you regard to be the main aspects or themes of your diary and to reflect on your development over the period. Your personal tutor may also ask just to see the diary to ensure you are keeping it regularly.
Guidelines for Students (6)
Additional Experience
A note on Additional Relevant Professional and Personal Experience
You should file here details of any additional professional experience, for example teaching or presentation experience, attendance at workshops, training events, conferences, or any personal experience you believe to be relevant to your development as a Counselling Psychologist, for example ongoing personal counselling, or particular life events. A record of your work on the personal development weekend can usefully be included here.
Curriculum Vitae
Please keep an up-to-date CV in your log book. It may be useful to include one at the start of the course, so that your tutor can see your experience to date, and then update your CV on an ongoing basis to reflect the experience gained over the period.
Personal Tutor Evaluation
Form MT5Personal Tutor’s Evaluation of Student Progress x 2
You will need to approach your tutor to complete this by the date indicated in the assessment shedule of your course handbook. Once completed and approved, you should distribute a copy to the office (as indicated in the bottom margin on the form). The original is retained in your log book.
CHECKLIST
Form PMC1Year 2-3 Programme Requirements Checklist
The checklist is for the use of both yourself and your personal tutor to enable you to keep track of your progress and to ensure that all sections of the log book are complete and all course requirements met. It is vital in ensuring that you are eligible for award of the MSc or Diploma at the end of the period. Once complete, distribute the copy as indicated.
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