This MSc will give you a sophisticated understanding of the impact of socio-cultural factors in mental health, mental illness and mental health care, with a specific focus on the role of culture in the diagnosis of mental illness and in the delivery of different psychological and psychiatric therapeutic approaches. Youll understand the cultural contexts of mental health problems, learn about the innovative ways care is delivered cross-culturally and gain experience of working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

• Develop a critical insight into the role of culture in mental health as well as psychological and psychiatric practice, enhancing both your clinical and research skills
• Gain a global perspective on the ethical and methodological challenges of mental health research and practice in various settings worldwide, in multicultural societies and with diverse populations enabling you to work with culturally diverse population
• Take a supervised placement in a clinical setting or mental health organisation.
• Gain a comprehensive training in research methods and writing
• Learn from leading experts in the field.

What you'll study

This programme is designed to improve your understanding of the impact of socio-cultural factors on mental health, mental illness and mental health care disciplines and delivery. It will enable you to work in a research or mental health care role in a multicultural setting both here in the UK and abroad as well as put you in a position to pursue further training to qualify as a therapist, social worker or clinical psychologist.

You will examine how cultural factors such as belief systems, values, ethnicity, practices and traditions can affect an individuals mental health risk – and their resilience. Youll also look at how migration, race and other cultural phenomena intersect to create mental health challenges and how these can be addressed in direct clinical practice and mental health care systems through the implementation of innovative therapies as well as the adaptation of current psychological approaches and care pathways.

Youll organise and complete a supervised placement with a mental health service or organisation that provides support to a diverse range of people (eg the NHS, a third sector organisation or a global mental health and development agency). Clinical placements will give you experience of supervised practice and will develop your ability to work with emotional, behavioural and psychological distress within and across different cultural contexts. An organisational/policy focused placement will give you the opportunity to observe and engage in the cultural processes that shape how mental health services are structured and delivered.

In addition, youll develop your research skills and complete a research project.

Mental Health: Cultural Psychology and Psychiatry is also available to study to PgDip or PgCert level.

Career paths

This programme is ideal if you want to:

• pursue a career in psychology or psychiatry
• work in an international setting or pursue research in cultural and global issues in mental health care.

The course has allowed students who were already practicing clinicians to develop their own practice with culturally diverse populations and to implement cultural competency programmes in their services.

Students who have completed this course have gone on to:

• pursue research doctorates in clinical psychology
• take on assistant psychologist roles within the NHS and third sector
• gain research assistant roles.

This programme doesnt equip you to be registered as a psychotherapist in the UK: youll need additional advanced training for that. However, this course does prepare you for such training.