A golden milestone for clinical psychology training in Wales
Cardiff University marks 50 years of training NHS clinical psychologists.
For the last 50 years, Cardiff University has trained clinical psychologists to assess, treat, and support people experiencing psychological difficulties.
Graduates have largely worked in NHS services in Wales, and others have contributed to other organisations elsewhere in the UK and internationally.
It’s a discipline that bridges the gap between scientific understanding of the mind, behaviour, and the real-world improvement for both individual and group mental health and well-being.
Launched in 1975, the University’s programme in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) has shaped hundreds of professionals who have gently – but effectively – helped transform the lives of people, families, and institutions.
At the same time, over the last five decades, these individuals have championed research, and the delivery of evidence-based interventions, in order to improve psychological care. The developments have been consistently guided by the compass of patient wellbeing and typically occurred within a framework of working alongside experts-by-experience.
“For 50 years, our evidence-based programmes have shaped leaders in clinical psychology by training professionals who make real and lasting differences in people’s lives and enhance their quality of life,” said Professor Katherine Shelton, Head of School at the Cardiff University School of Psychology.
“Cardiff-trained clinical psychologists have gone on to have varied careers, providing effective care for individual patients, supporting public health initiatives, advancing our understanding of human behaviour, and helping to build resilient communities.”
Within a single lifetime, the reality of living with mental ill health in Wales has undergone a remarkable transformation.
In the early 20th century, large Victorian ‘asylums’ still dominated the landscape, and often prioritised containment of those needing mental health care over effective support and treatment. Psychological understanding was limited, therapies were rudimentary, and ‘mental illness’ was heavily stigmatised, often seen as a moral failing and source of shame, which meant that many people and families hid their struggles rather than seeking help.
The 1960s and 1970s saw a seismic shift in the treatment of mental health in the UK. In the wake of the Mental Health Act 1959, improvements in treatments, and changing social views of mental ill-health, there came a movement away from institutionalised care towards community-based services. However, this deinstitutionalisation of services presented a problem – the lack of adequate resource and trained professionals to care for those in need.
“In 1966, the best data we have was that there were six psychologists in the health service in the whole of Wales,” said Professor Roger Young, Programme Director between 2003 and 2007.
“In 1968, the British Psychological Society introduced the Diploma in Clinical Psychology, creating a formal route to qualification. At that time, there were essentially three pathways to becoming a clinical psychologist – the first was through traditional university courses, the second was the in-service route, and the third involved working as a probationary psychologist. These probationary psychologists were employed by district health authorities in substantive training posts, with the expectation that they would qualify via the Diploma in Clinical Psychology.
“By the late 1960s and early 1970s, in South Wales, there were only a few of us trained as clinical psychologists, some already qualified, others still in training, me included. In 1971, David Griffiths, originally from Wales and trained at The Maudsley, in London, returned to Cardiff University as a Senior Lecturer to teach medical students following the Todd Report, which recommended greater psychological input in medical education. His remit was to teach at the medical school.
“In 1975, David became the first all-Wales tutor for clinical psychology, funded to establish an in-service training course across Wales. He started with fewer than 15 trainees.”
Through the years
- Led by David Griffiths, the programme first began as an in-service clinical psychology programme serving all of Wales in 1975.
- To align with changing UK standards for clinical psychology training, at the end of the 1980s, Cardiff University became the education provider and took over the function of validating and awarding the Doctoral qualification from the British Psychological Society.
- In 2012, the programme relocated to the School of Psychology on the University campus. This allowed closer collaborative relationships with psychologists within the School.
- In 2024, following a tender process, Cardiff University successfully retained the contracts to continue to provide and to markedly expand the provision of NHS Clinical Psychology training places in South, Mid, and West Wales. In addition, it also successfully established a training programme for a new psychological cadre of NHS worker – the Clinical Associate in Applied Psychology.
Anne McAreavey was part of the first cohort of students, and trained with the programme between 1975 and 1978.
“By the end of the course, I felt prepared for the role of being a psychologist in the health service.
“I felt the course itself was very supportive. I had six six-month placements, four days each week, and I had the opportunity to gain a wide range of experience. There was a lot of interest in changing the traditional mental health service model from the institution to a more community-based model.
“Working as a clinical psychologist gave me the opportunity to tackle very big problems, sometimes within individual people’s lives, but also in the wider service, in modernising the provision for people who had significant difficulties, a mixture of mental health problems and disabilities. So, for me, it was an enriching life experience.
“I hope that clinical psychology will continue and expand its use and relevance in helping people to deal with life's complexities and life stresses. There’s a significant group of people who will always need additional support, and so we need to become much more confident about how we help those people to have a better life.”
Esme Moniz-Cook is Professor Emerita of Clinical Psychology, and an internationally renowned expert in ageing and dementia care research.
She trained with the programme as part of the second cohort between 1977 and 1980 and remembers her training fondly. “I had a wonderful time on the course. I’d wanted to become a nurse, but they told me I was far too short as I couldn’t reach the beds, so I decided to do clinical psychology instead!
“I had a wonderful professor called Gwyn Jones who mentored me, and when I was offered places at all three of the courses that existed at that time – Cardiff, Aberdeen, and The Maudsley – Gwyn encouraged me to go to Wales.
“The course taught us how to be scientist practitioners – to always find out whether you did any good with every case you covered. We were ahead of our time.
“I’m hoping the profession has a bright future. The NHS and social care need clinical psychologists, and over my career I have mentored a lot of psychiatrists, neurologists, and nurses, both clinically and academically, to build up careers, but to remain rooted in the NHS.
“My advice to future students is to remain humble, use your knowledge, collaborate with other people, and serve. Sometimes it’s hard, because systems change, but I hold onto the belief that if you can do some good to serve one person that’s enough.
“Remain rooted in the humanity of people who are suffering emotionally in various ways, because if you learn to walk alongside people, there’s always some way you can share something or help them to carry on.”
“Over the last five years we have seen a major investment in clinical psychology training in Wales, supported by our commissioners, Health Education and Improvement Wales. This has seen a 100% increase in our numbers.”
— Professor Andrew Thompson, Programme Director – NHS Clinical Psychology Programmes, Cardiff University
In June 2025, staff, trainees, experts by experience, commissioners, and alumni spanning the last 50 years gathered on campus to celebrate the course’s legacy.
The celebratory event, held at the University’s Centre for Student Life, also showcased the evolution of the course across its 50 years.
“Cardiff University in collaboration with NHS colleagues has nurtured and developed the development of clinical psychology training and research in Wales for 50 years. It’s a monumental milestone in our history, and we’re proud to see so many of the alumni providing services to the public across our health boards,” said Professor Andrew Thompson, current programme director of the NHS Clinical Psychology Programmes at Cardiff University.
“This program was one of the first of its kind in the UK. Since its inception in 1975, the course has evolved and changed, but always, at the centre, has been a dedication to providing the best care for patients.
“Over the last five years we have seen a major investment in clinical psychology training in Wales, supported by our commissioners, Health Education and Improvement Wales. This has seen a 100% increase in our numbers.”
The current doctoral programme works in partnership with University Health Boards in mid, west, and south Wales, including Cardiff and Vale, Aneurin Bevan, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, Hwyel Dda, Swansea Bay, and Powys Teaching Health Board. It maintains close links with the Bangor University North Wales programme that runs in collaboration with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
The two programmes make use of NHS teaching and placements throughout the country which enables trainees to provide a service alongside gaining real world experience.
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“Clinical psychology is never standing still,” Professor Thompson added.
“We need to move more into helping train people to work on a preventative front, preventing mental ill health and improving wellbeing. We need to continue to innovate, both in terms of the therapies that we offer but also preventing people becoming significantly distressed in the first place.
“Here at Cardiff, those aims are shaping our provision. Now, we’re working even more closely with our educational psychology and cognitive behavioural therapy colleagues. We’ve also been able to increase our research output and really strengthen the contribution that both staff and trainees are making on that front, as well as in clinical practice.
“The University is a leader in several fields that are very much allied to mental health, including neuroscience and child development research. By collaborating with those research groups, we provide trainees with opportunities to do research in those areas.
“We are the South Wales training programme, so although we’re housed in Cardiff, we very much serve and work alongside all of the health boards in South, mid and West Wales. I think that makes us special. It adds to the richness of the training programme and really helps us keep abreast of what the mental health needs are of the wider country and pan-Wales communities.
“In addition to collaboration with NHS stakeholders, we also draw strongly on the wisdom and experience of our lay expert-by-experience contributors and supports.
“Co-production with our service users and experts by experience is key to us delivering training that is relevant, up-to-date, and responsive to the needs of our communities. To paraphrase one of our experts by experience, by tailoring training around lived experience we can create support that is more authentic, more compassionate, and give a voice to those navigating complex mental needs.”
