PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

Ms. R

oisin Sweeney

Manager

Programm

e Accreditation U

nitQ

uality and Qualifications Ireland

26/27 Denzille Lane

Dublin 2

Dear R

oisin,

I trust this finds you well. Further to receipt of the Panel R

eport and your letter dated 19 June 2014, please find enclosed the revised program

me docum

ent for our Post G

raduate D

iploma

and M

aster of

Arts

Degree

in Pluralistic

Counselling

and Psychotherapy. I have review

ed the report in its entirety and made the required

changes. Please find below a breakdow

n of the changes and amendm

ents made in

order to satisfy the conditions and recomm

endations from the report:

Section 1: Conditions

1.W

ith regard to C1, the titles of the program

mes have been changed from

M

.Sc. and PG D

iploma in C

ounselling and Psychotherapy to M.A

. and PG

Diplom

a in

Pluralistic C

ounselling and

Psychotherapy throughout

the docum

ent.

2.C

2 has a number of subsections to it. Please see below

the responses to individual bullet points for each condition.

C2.1 I w

ould like to confirm that the new

programm

e document clearly

articulates the Aim

s and Objectives reflecting the pluralistic m

ode of the program

me (Please see Page 22

of Revised Program

me

Docum

ent). C

2.2 I can also confirm that w

e have added a discrete section outlining the A

ttributes of the Graduates of the Program

me (Please see Page 22

of R

evised Programm

e Docum

ent). C

2.3 With regard to the clarification of the entry requirem

ents regarding the m

inimum

number of clinical practice hours and personal therapy

hours completed by the candidate in advance of application, w

e have am

ended section 5.3.1 to clearly and explicitly state that learners

must

have com

pleted a

minim

um

of 100

hours of

supervised clinical work in advance of application. Evidence for this

will take the form

of a letter from the applicant’s clinical supervisor

clearly stating the exact number of hours com

pleted to date. As an

alternative to this, learners who have achieved full accreditation

status with IA

CP or IA

HIP (or equivalent) can also subm

it a copy of

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

their full

accreditation m

embership

status, as

this requires

a m

inimum

of 450 hours of clinical supervised, far exceeding the 100w

e require. We have also included a requirem

ent that applicants subm

it a letter from their personal therapist confirm

ing that they have com

pleted a minim

um of 50 hours of personal therapy during

their core counselling and psychotherapy training. (Please see Page 41

of Revised Program

me D

ocument). These changes w

ere also applied to the Program

me Inform

ationform

in Appendix 2 of the

document (Page 206) and to the Proposed A

pplication Form in

Appendix 2.2 (Page 210).

C2.3 In relation to IIC

P’s Recognition of Prior Learning Policy and

Procedures, we have am

ended the RPL policy to explicitly outline

the requirements relating to clinical and personal therapy hours

completed in advance of application (Please see Page 240

and 241of the R

evised Programm

e Docum

ent). C

2.4. IICP has included a separate program

me schedule for the M

aster’s program

me and for the Post G

raduate Diplom

a Programm

e (Please see Pages 8-10 of the R

evised Programm

e Docum

ent).

3.C

3 on the report related to the programm

e learning outcomes and required

changes. Again, there w

ere a number of sub-sections to C

3.

C3.1 The M

inimum

Intended Programm

e Learning Outcom

es(M

IPLOs)

have been reduced from 46 to 24

and some M

IPLOs w

ere redrafted(Please see Pages 23-29 in the R

evised Programm

e Docum

ent). C

3.2 IICP has rem

oved reference to the Science Aw

ard Standards and has instead included the G

eneric Aw

ards Standards at Level 9, while

also ensuring that the MIPLO

s reflect the Level 9 draft standards in C

ounselling and Psychotherapy (Please see pages 23-29 in the R

evised Programm

e Docum

ent).C

3.3 The need to reflect the Level 9 Know

ledge, Skill and Com

petence statem

ents for practitioners as well as for research is addressed in

the following M

IPLOs: 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 24.

This means that 50%

of the MILPO

s are practitionerrelated

and ensures that there is an even

balance between practitioner and

research related learning outcomes

(Please see pages 23-29 in the R

evised Programm

e Docum

ents). C

3.4 IICP has m

ade changes to the document in order to m

eet the requirem

ent that Clinical Practice be explicitly referenced in the

curriculum. In Section 5.4.4, w

e have expanded on the Clinical

Requirem

ents. (Please see page 50

in the revised programm

e docum

ent). IICP have also included the m

odule Clinical Practice

and Developm

ent as part of the programm

e to further support the clinical developm

ent of the candidates (Please see pages 95-97 in the R

evised Programm

e Docum

ent).

4.C

4 on the report relates to the need to provide an appropriate number of

computing term

inals and associated broadband facilities for students to

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

support and foster research skills training. IICP has contacted our IT provider

to purchase 12 computer term

inals for this purpose. As per our discussion in

May w

hen you informed m

e that the report had yet to be finalised, we are

comm

itted to ensuring that the computer facilities are in place prior to

comm

encing the programm

e.We very m

uch appreciate your understanding of the tim

e constraints due to the delay in receiving the report and we w

ill work

with you to ensure all is in place

in advance of the programm

e comm

encing.W

e have begun this process and we appreciate that Q

QI w

ill need to visit to ensure this action has been undertaken and that validation w

ill be conditional on this requirem

ent being fulfilled.

5.W

ith regard to C6, w

e have reduced the number of M

odule Learning O

utcomes in the

Research Portfolio m

odule to 8 (Please see page 99in the

Revised Program

me D

ocument).The w

eighting of the assessments has been

changed from 25%

for each of the four assignment com

ponents to 25% for the

Literature Review

, 35% for the R

esearch Paper, 25% for the reflexive paper

and 15% for the poster presentation.

Additionally, consideration has been

given to the balance of the learner effort and a higher word count is allocated

the Research Paper of the portfolio

(Please see page 101in the R

evised Program

me D

ocument).The IIC

P would like to confirm

that, while the three

papers are corrected individually, the learners are required to submit a

professionally bound copy of the portfolio that contains the three assignments.

This is explicitly stated in the Module C

urriculum section of page 100.

6.In relation to C

6 of the report, IICP has revisited the assessm

ent protocols to ensure they better align w

ith the module learning outcom

es and include opportunities for continuous assessm

ent. This has been achieved by the follow

ing adaptations:

6.1.Advanced R

esearch Methods 1 – In orderto ensure better alignm

ent w

ith learning

outcomes

and the

Level 9

NFQ

standards

and opportunities for continuous assessm

ent, IICP has included, in the

module

descriptor, explicit

reference to

the use

of form

ative assessm

ent in the clinical application of the CO

RE-34 and other

outcome and process related research tools This is follow

ed up with

reference to outcome and process research as part of the R

eflexive W

ritten Assignm

ent as part of this module. A

dditionally, to ensure learners are challenge to Level 9 standard, the w

ord count of this assignm

ent has been changed from 1,500-w

ords to 3,000 words in the

Revised Program

me D

ocument.Form

ative assessment strategies have

also been

clearly expressed.

(Please see

page 63

the R

evised Program

me D

ocument).

6.2.Philosophical Underpinnings to C

ounselling and Psychotherapy – In the original subm

ission, we had proposed one assignm

ent, a debate w

hich would be follow

ed by a short reflective statement of 1,000

words. In order to ensure better alignm

ent between the learning

outcomes, assessm

ent strategy and NFQ

level, IICP has adapted the

assessment strategy in this m

odule. Learners will now

complete a tw

o-

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

part assessment strategy. Firstly, they w

ill complete a 4,000-w

ord essay that analyses a range of epistem

ological stances and ethical issues

and w

ill form

ulate a

defence for

a philosophical

stance regarding clinical w

ork and a rationale for a pluralistic approach. In a stepped approach to assessm

ent for this module, this w

ill be followed

by a debate based on what em

erged in the essay(Please see Page 67 in

the Revised Program

me D

ocument).

6.3.Professional Know

ledge –The w

ord count for this assignment has

been increased and a stepped approach to the assessment strategy has

been outlined in the module descriptor. A

dditional information on

formative

assessment

strategies has

been added

to the

module

descriptor (Please see Page 77 in the Revised Program

me D

ocument).

6.4.Contem

porary Perspectives

–In

line w

ith the

panel’s recom

mendation, the w

ord count for the assignment in R

ole-Play assignm

ent for

the contem

porary perspective

module

has been

increased from

1,000

to 2,500

words.

The w

eighting of

the assignm

ents has also been amended so that each assignm

ent in this m

odule is weighted at 50%

of the overall module grade. A

dditionally, m

ore clarity has been given regarding the nature of the 6 hours of practical exercises included in the contact hours. This w

ill be used for form

ative assessment purposes, allow

ing learners to receive concrete feedback

on their

performance

when

using m

indfulnessas

a therapeutic intervention

(Please see Page 80in the R

evised Programm

e D

ocument).

6.5.Practice Based Issues –

The word count of the Practice Issues

Proposal has been increased to 3,500 words. The w

ord count range (1,000-1,500-w

ords) for the Supervisor’s Report &

Clinical Im

pact R

eport A

ssessment

has been

removed

and set

at 1,500

words.

Additionally, clear description of the Form

ative Assessm

ent activities in the m

odule has been added. We have clearly stated that all aspects

of this module m

ust be passed (Please see Page 84in the R

evised Program

me D

ocument).

6.6.Sociological C

ontext of

Mental

Health:

As

per the

panel’s recom

mendations, the assessm

ent strategy in this module has been

stepped. The Group Presentation assignm

ent has been separated into tw

o sections, with the project w

orth 40% of the assessm

ent grade and the w

ritten paper worth 60%

of the assessment grade. The w

ord count of the w

ritten section of the assignment has been increased from

1,000-w

ords to 2,500-words (Please see Page 89

in the Revised Program

me

Docum

ent). 6.7.C

linical Practice and Developm

ent Module –

In order to ensure that m

ore clinical learning outcomes are included and assessed, w

e have changed the Professional K

nowledge 2 m

odule to a Clinical Practice

and Developm

ent Module (Please see Page 95-96 in the R

evised Program

me D

ocument).

6.8.Research Portfolio –

As cited above, in point five, w

e have redressed the balance of the 4 parts of the assignm

ent strategy for this module.

We have also am

ended the word count for each of the three w

ritten

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

components so that they accurately reflect the w

eighting of the assignm

ents (Please

see Page

101in

the R

evised Program

me

Docum

ent).

7.W

ith regard to C7 in the report, w

e have reviewed the Ethics

Com

mittee for the

programm

e and Dr. M

ary Creaner from

Trinity College D

ublin and Dr. Laura

O’R

eilly have agreed to sit as external mem

bers of the IICP Ethics C

omm

ittee.N

either Mary nor Laura is involved in any other capacity in IIC

P programm

e delivery. This ensures that w

e have independent research specialists on the ethics com

mittee w

hose purpose it is to review our M

A candidates’ research proposals

and ethics forms in advance of com

mencing the R

esearch Portfolio as part of the M

A program

me.

Section Tw

o: Recom

mendations

1.W

ith regard to R1, w

e have adjusted the Direct C

ontact Hours for each m

odule so that the credit w

eighting is consistent with that expected for directed and self-

directed learning at Level 9. This has been changed on the Programm

e Schedules and on each individual m

odule descriptor.

2.W

ith regard to R2, w

e have updated the reading lists for the modules. The

following changes have been m

ade:

oJournal A

rticles have been added to the indicative reading list for Advanced

Research M

ethods 1o

Some C

lassic Primary Philosophy Texts have been added to the indicative

reading list

for the

Philosophical U

nderpinnings of

Counselling

and Psychotherapy M

odule. o

An

extra core

text and

additional article

have been

to the

Pluralistic Fram

ework for C

ounselling and Psychotherapy Module’s Indicative R

eading List.

oA

n extra journal article has been added to the indicative reading for the Professional K

nowledge M

odule. This particular article has a pluralistic theme

to it as well as m

eeting the reading requirements for PK

. o

Two extra journal articles have been added to the indicative reading list for the

Practice Based Issues M

odule. o

With regard to the Sociological C

ontext of Mental H

ealth Module, w

e have updated the R

eading List to include the recomm

ended book proposed by the panel, along w

ith some additional indicative reading m

aterial.o

The Research Portfolio indicative reading list has been updated to include

more recent publications to assist the learners in the research portfolio

preparation process.

3.W

ith regard to Recom

mendation 3, IIC

P have included a specific policy outlining the role and eligibility of a C

linical Supervisor and a protocol on how the Institute

will interact w

ith the Clinical Supervisor, in particular w

ith Learner Assessm

ent. Please see pages 252-266 in the R

evised Programm

e Docum

ent.

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

On behalf of the program

me developm

ent team here at IIC

P, we w

ould like to extend our thanks to the panel and to Q

QI for the inform

ative, supportive and collaborative approach w

e witnessed w

ith regard to thevalidation process. W

e trust that all is now

in order and we very m

uch look forward to hearing from

you following the m

eeting of the PA

EC in July.

If you require any additional information in advance of that, please do not hesitate to

contact me here at the office.

Kind R

egards,

_______________C

aitríona Kearns

Registrar, IIC

PE: Triona@

iicp.ieP: 086 0499154

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

Panel Evaluation of the Programm

e Team Response to Conditions of Validation

I have read the amended program

me subm

ission document for the M

aster of Arts in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy and the Post G

raduate Diploma in Pluralist Counselling and

Psychotherapy submitted by the IICP, and have received feedback from

the other mem

bers of the External Review

Panel, who have also received and review

ed the amended docum

entation, and I can state that it addresses, in a satisfactory m

anner, all the conditions set by the panel. Therefore, w

e recomm

end this programm

e for validation to the QQ

I. Signed on behalf of the Expert Panel Review

Danny Brennan Date: 2/07/2014

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

1.1. Programme Schedule MA in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy 1.1.1. Programme Schedule MA Programme – Year 1

Name of Provider: IICP Education and Training LimitedProgramme Title (i.e. Named Award): M.A. in Pluralistic Counselling and PsychotherapyAward Title (i.e. QQI Named Award): M.A. in Pluralistic Counselling and PsychotherapyMode of Delivery: ACCS, PT

Award Class Award Level NFQ Award Level EQF Stage Stage Level NFQ Stage Level EQF ECTS Credits First Intake Last IntakeMajor 9 7 Award 9 7 90 2014 2019

Year One Exam Sessions: N/A Electives Required: 0SubjectCode

Stage Sem. Module Title NFQ Level

ECTSCredits

Subject Status

Total Contact Hours Allocation of MarksContact Independent Learning Practical CA Max

Award 1 Advanced Research Methods 1 9 5 M 28 97 40% 60% 100%Award 1 Philosophical Underpinnings of

Counselling & Psychotherapy 9 10 M 36 214 30% 70% 100%

Award 1 A Pluralistic Framework for Counselling and Psychotherapy

9 10 M 36 214 - 100% 100%

Award 1 Professional Knowledge 9 5 M 25 100 - 100% 100%Award 2 Contemporary Perspectives in

Counselling and Psychotherapy 9 10 M 36 214 50% 50% 100%

Award 2 Practice Based Issues in Counselling and Psychotherapy

9 10 M 36 214 - 100% 100%

Award 2 Sociological Context of Mental Health 9 5 M 25 100 40% 60% 100%Award 2 Advanced Research Methods 2 9 5 M 28 97 100% 100%

ACCS CREDITS YEAR ONE: TOTAL ACCS CREDITS REQUIRED 60 TOTAL ACCS CREDITS AVAILABLE 60

Students can exit the programme with a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy upon completion of the first year (60 ECTS Credits). To be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy, the learner must have completed all modules in year one of the programme. Please see Programme Schedule for Post Graduate Diploma in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy on Page 10.

Special Regulation: Learners must pass all elements of the Practice Based Issues in Counselling and Psychotherapy Module.

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

1.1.2 Programme Schedule – Year 2 Name of Provider: IICP Education and Training LimitedProgramme Title (i.e. Named Award): M.A. in Pluralistic Counselling and PsychotherapyAward Title (i.e. QQI Named Award): M.A. in Pluralistic Counselling and PsychotherapyMode of Delivery: ACCS, PTAward Class Award Level

NFQAward Level

EQFStage Stage Level

NFQStage Level

EQFECTS Credits First Intake Last Intake

Major 9 7 Award 9 7 90 2014 2019

Year Two Exam Sessions: N/A Electives Required for Passing the Stage: 0

SubjectCode

Stage Sem. Module Title NFQ Level

ACCSCredits

Subject Status

Total Contact Hours Allocation of MarksContact Independent Learning Practical CA Max

Award 3 Clinical Practice & Development 9 5 M 25 100 100% 100%Award 3/4 Research Portfolio Module 9 25 M 48 577 15% 85% 100%

ACCS CREDITS YEAR TWO: TOTAL ACCS CREDITS REQUIRED 30 TOTAL ACCS CREDITS AVAILABLE 30

Special Regulations: The Dissertation/Research Portfolio is a capstone module and must be passed in order to obtain the award of M.A. in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. Learners must pass the Advanced Research Methods modules prior to commencing the dissertation. The dissertation module cannot be compensated and can only be repeated once. In the circumstances where a learner has previously failed on two attempts of the dissertation module, they may be required to exit with the Postgraduate Diploma in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy if they have successfully passed all first year elements of the programme resulting in the accumulation of 60 ECTS Credits.

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1

1.2 Programme Schedule PG Diploma in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy Name of Provider: IICP Education and Training LimitedProgramme Title (i.e. Named Award): PG Diploma in Pluralistic Counselling and PsychotherapyAward Title (i.e. QQI Named Award): PG Diploma in Pluralistic Counselling and PsychotherapyMode of Delivery: ACCS PT

Award Class Award Level NFQ Award Level EQF Stage Stage Level NFQ Stage Level EQF ECTS Credits First Intake Last IntakeMajor 9 7 Award 9 7 60 2014 2019

Year One Exam Sessions: N/A Electives Required: 0SubjectCode

Stage Sem. Module Title NFQ Level

ECTSCredits

Subject Status

Total Contact Hours Allocation of MarksContact Independent Learning Practical CA Max

Award 1 Advanced Research Methods 1 9 5 M 28 97 40% 60% 100%Award 1 Philosophical Underpinnings of

Counselling & Psychotherapy 9 10 M 36 214 30% 70% 100%

Award 1 A Pluralistic Framework for Counselling and Psychotherapy

9 10 M 36 214 - 100% 100%

Award 1 Professional Knowledge 9 5 M 25 100 - 100% 100%Award 2 Contemporary Perspectives in

Counselling and Psychotherapy 9 10 M 36 214 50% 50% 100%

Award 2 Practice Based Issues in Counselling and Psychotherapy

9 10 M 36 214 - 100% 100%

Award 2 Sociological Context of Mental Health 9 5 M 25 100 40% 60% 100%Award 2 Advanced Research Methods 2 9 5 M 28 97 100% 100%

ACCS CREDITS YEAR ONE: TOTAL ACCS CREDITS REQUIRED 60 TOTAL ACCS CREDITS AVAILABLE 60

Special Regulation: Learners must pass all elements of the Practice Based Issues in Counselling and Psychotherapy Module.

PAEC/A6/4.2.5.1