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Are you looking to develop the competencies that are required to become an Approved Clinician for the purposes of the Mental Health Act 1983?

Are you a medical practitioner without a certificate of specialist registration, psychologist, mental health/learning disability nurse, occupational therapist or social worker?

As a professional practice course, there are no specific topics that must be covered. Instead the emphasis is very much on what you need to study in order to prepare yourself for the Approved Clinician role and/or to continue your professional development.

At the start of the Postgraduate Certificate you will be asked to write a learning contract that identifies your specific learning objectives on which you will have feedback from a University Mentor. You will then work towards meeting these objectives through undertaking further continuing professional development (CPD) attending study days offered by the University, reflecting on your CPD and ultimately through completion of a work-based project. On completion of the Postgraduate Certificate you should have developed many skills and much of the knowledge you need to make an application to be an Approved Clinician. 

Please find teaching dates and more information here.

Course Information

Level of Study
Postgraduate

Mode of Study
1 year Distance Learning

School
Northumbria School of Law

Location
City Campus, Northumbria University

City
Newcastle

Start
September 2026 or February 2027

Fees
Fee Information

Modules
Module Information

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Entry Requirements Modules Overview Fees, Funding  and Scholarships Apply Now

Entry Requirements 2026/27

Standard Entry

Applicants should normally have:

 You must meet the professional requirements for approval as an Approved Clinician eg medical practitioner,  psychologist, mental health or learning disability nurse,  occupational therapist or social worker

International qualifications:

If you have studied a non UK qualification, you can see how your qualifications compare to the standard entry criteria, by selecting the country that you received the qualification in, from our country pages. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry

English language requirements:

International applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).

 *The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS.  You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications

Fees and Funding 2026/27 Entry

Full UK Fee: If you are not sponsored by NHS England then you are liable to pay a tuition fee of £5,500

Tuition fees in the academic year 2027/28* will be £10,050. Fees are set in line with the UK Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase fees in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Increases will be linked to inflation. For example, increases may be linked to RPIX (Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments) Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect. Student fee loans rise in line with the tuition fees cap.

*if your course is longer than one year


Full International Fee: Not Applicable

This is the tuition fee for your first year of study. You should expect to pay tuition fees for every year of study. The University may increase fees in the second and subsequent years of your course at our discretion in line with any inflationary or other uplift. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect.



Scholarships and Discounts

Discover More about Fees, Scholarships and other Funding options available for UK and International applicants.

ADDITIONAL COSTS

Key texts are provided by the University. Other books are made available via the University Library and students may wish to purchase their own copies.  Study day sessions are accessible online however students will be expected to attend some sessions face to face and this will incur travel and accommodation expenses if they do not live locally.

If you’d like to receive the latest updates from Northumbria about our courses, events, finance & funding then enter your details below.

* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here

Modules Overview 2026/27

Modules

Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.

Year one

Year one

LW7000 -

Academic Recognition of CPD in Mental Health Law (Core,30 Credits)

During this module you will be asked to complete a Learning Contract. This should also be approved by a workplace mentor. Through the process of preparing this Learning Contract you will identify where you need to develop further knowledge and skills relevant to the Approved Clinician competencies, what learning activities need to be undertaken to meet those needs and a timescale for completing them. You will be provided with feedback on the Learning Contract. You will also be required to engage in at least 48 hours of continuing professional development relevant to the Approved Clinician competencies. You have the opportunity to participate in a series of full day and half day university led CPD sessions (67 hours) delivered using a blending learning approach which you are expected to attend. These training days are designed to prepare practitioners to apply for approval to become an Approved Clinician. As such they will cover, for example: the legal context and overall legal framework relating to the Approved Clinican role; assessment in the context of the Approved Clinician role; clinical leadership, report writing and communication; equality and diversity; and preparation of the Approved Clinician portfolio. CPD activities may be completed by other means, for example by attendance on a short course, one-to-one coaching, workshops, conferences and seminars or engagement in discussion with your learning set (if you choose not to attend all sessions offered by Northumbria then you will need to engage in additional activities elsewhere to ensure that you complete a minimum of 48 hours of CPD activities) which is the minimum amount that you are required to report on in your CPD Training Log. You will be appointed an academic tutor and a university mentor (an Approved Clinician) who will provide you with advice on your personal and professional development from an academic perspective throughout the module.

More information

LW7001 -

Work Based Project in Mental Health Law (Core,30 Credits)

On this module you will undertake a work based project. You will complete a statutory report of the type that would be submitted by an Approved Clinician to the First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health) on an anonymised/hypothetical case study. It is suggested that the case study should be one of the hypothetical statutory reports that you will need to include in the portfolio that is to be submitted as part of the Approved Clinician approval process, should you decide to seek such approval.

More information

Modules Overview 2027/28

Modules

Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.

Year one

Year one

LW7000 -

Academic Recognition of CPD in Mental Health Law (Core,30 Credits)

During this module you will be asked to complete a Learning Contract. This should also be approved by a workplace mentor. Through the process of preparing this Learning Contract you will identify where you need to develop further knowledge and skills relevant to the Approved Clinician competencies, what learning activities need to be undertaken to meet those needs and a timescale for completing them. You will be provided with feedback on the Learning Contract. You will also be required to engage in at least 48 hours of continuing professional development relevant to the Approved Clinician competencies. You have the opportunity to participate in a series of full day and half day university led CPD sessions (67 hours) delivered using a blending learning approach which you are expected to attend. These training days are designed to prepare practitioners to apply for approval to become an Approved Clinician. As such they will cover, for example: the legal context and overall legal framework relating to the Approved Clinican role; assessment in the context of the Approved Clinician role; clinical leadership, report writing and communication; equality and diversity; and preparation of the Approved Clinician portfolio. CPD activities may be completed by other means, for example by attendance on a short course, one-to-one coaching, workshops, conferences and seminars or engagement in discussion with your learning set (if you choose not to attend all sessions offered by Northumbria then you will need to engage in additional activities elsewhere to ensure that you complete a minimum of 48 hours of CPD activities) which is the minimum amount that you are required to report on in your CPD Training Log. You will be appointed an academic tutor and a university mentor (an Approved Clinician) who will provide you with advice on your personal and professional development from an academic perspective throughout the module.

More information

LW7001 -

Work Based Project in Mental Health Law (Core,30 Credits)

On this module you will undertake a work based project. You will complete a statutory report of the type that would be submitted by an Approved Clinician to the First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health) on an anonymised/hypothetical case study. It is suggested that the case study should be one of the hypothetical statutory reports that you will need to include in the portfolio that is to be submitted as part of the Approved Clinician approval process, should you decide to seek such approval.

More information

To start your application, simply select the month you would like to start your course.

Professional Practice in Mental Health Law Postgraduate Certificate

START MONTH
YEAR

SEPTEMBER

2026

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FEBRUARY

2027

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Any Questions?

Our Applicant Services team will be happy to help.  They can be contacted on 0191 406 0901 or by using our Contact Form.

 

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.  

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

Accessibility and Student Inclusion

Northumbria University is committed to developing an inclusive, diverse and accessible campus and wider University community and are determined to ensure that opportunities we provide are open to all.

We are proud to work in partnership with AccessAble to provide Detailed Access Guides to our buildings and facilities across our City, Coach Lane and London Campuses. A Detailed Access Guide lets you know what access will be like when you visit somewhere. It looks at the route you will use getting in and what is available inside. All guides have Accessibility Symbols that give you a quick overview of what is available, and photographs to show you what to expect. The guides are produced by trained surveyors who visit our campuses annually to ensure you have trusted and accurate information.

You can use Northumbria’s AccessAble Guides anytime to check the accessibility of a building or facility and to plan your routes and journeys. Search by location, building or accessibility feature to find the information you need. 

We are dedicated to helping students who may require additional support during their student journey and offer 1-1 advice and guidance appropriate to individual requirements. If you feel you may need additional support you can find out more about what we offer here where you can also contact us with any questions you may have:

Accessibility support

Student Inclusion support

 

 

If you’d like to receive the latest updates from Northumbria about our courses, events, finance & funding then enter your details below.

* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here

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