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Supervision: Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Services, PG Cert

A one-year, part-time postgraduate certificate for experienced children and young people’s mental health professionals to develop core supervision skills.

Key dates

  • Applications open: August 2026.

  • Teaching begins: January 2027.

Students attending a training session at Anna Freud in London, facing a lecturer who is at the front of the room.

Programme overview

The supervision programme is an exciting opportunity to develop core Children and Young People’s Psychological Therapies (CYP PT - formerly IAPT) supervision practice and skills. It is designed for site supervisors supporting trainees on:

Children and young people's mental health service managers can find out more about nominating a candidate for this course.

View the course brochure

Course details

This one-year, part-time postgraduate course is delivered at both University College London (UCL) and Kings College London (KCL), with university allocation depending on your modality and service location:

  • The UCL course covers cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and autism and learning disabilities.

  • The KCL course covers CBT, parent training and systemic family practice.

Both universities also offer training for supervisors of EMHP and CWP trainees. In these cases, supervisors will typically attend the same university as their trainee.

Candidates must be experienced mental health professionals, with a minimum of two years’ therapeutic or clinical experience working with children and young people in a mental health setting. They must demonstrate experience in delivering the specific therapeutic approach they are applying to train in (e.g., CBT).

Managers will benefit from staff participation, as high-quality supervision plays a key role in embedding the principles of the CYP IAPT programme across services. Supervisors are also seen as important agents of change within their organisations. Commissioners benefit as well, as effective supervision ensures children and young people receive high-quality care.

Attendees sitting in on a training at Anna Freud.

Programme delivery

The supervision programme is delivered part-time over one academic year. Teaching takes place at either UCL or KCL, depending on your modality and service location. The programme provides a number of learning opportunities:

  • Teaching days bring supervisors together for shared learning and skills development.

  • In modality-specific supervision groups, participants discuss real cases and review video-recorded supervision sessions.

  • Ongoing supervision practice supports participants in their own service, typically through weekly individual or group sessions with trainees.

Teaching is a blend of lectures, small-group work and peer discussion, allowing supervisors to apply learning directly to their clinical context. The smaller group sessions provide a reflective space to explore supervision challenges, receive feedback and build confidence in supervisory practice.

Who can apply

  • Applicants must be experienced mental health professionals with at least two years’ therapeutic or clinical experience working with children and young people in mental health settings.

  • They must have experience in both delivering and supervising the therapeutic approach they are applying to train in (e.g., CBT).

  • Applicants must be nominated directly by a children and young people's mental health service (NHS, voluntary sector or local authority).

Please see the course brochure for full details of the entry requirements.

Additional entry requirements:

  • A second-class UK bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject, or equivalent professional experience.

  • At least two years’ clinical experience with children and young people.

  • English language proficiency at UCL Level 2.

Services should nominate a supervisor during their bidding process for CYP PT: Therapy (formerly known as Recruit to Train) funding. If you are interested in a place on the course, please speak with your service lead and ask them to contact cypptworkforce@annafreud.org to discuss further.

Site supervisors who have not previously completed the training will be eligible to apply for the programme.

How to apply

  • Speak to your service lead - they must nominate you during the CYP PT: Therapy funding bidding process. Find out more about our workforce development team and their work.

  • If nominated, submit your application directly to the relevant university.

  • For more information about course content, structure, and entry requirements, email supervision@annafreud.org.

  • For service application queries, contact cypptworkforce@annafreud.org.

  • UCL course guide

    Cover for the Supervision: Children and Young People's Mental Health and Wellbeing Services, PG Cert course. Features a photo of a woman with long, dark hair smiling and looking at the camera. Anna Freud and UCL logos.

    Take a closer look at the UCL programme, including course content, teaching structure and entry requirements.

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