The Centre for Developmental and Complex Trauma, part of the academic provision at St Andrew’s, has launched the course as part of our ongoing collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Buckingham.  

The PGDiP in Complex Trauma is a part-time distance learning course delivered one day a week over the course of a year. It focuses on developing applied skills for successfully working with adults who present with chronic and/orenduring complex trauma related needs.

The course has been created to support professionals working clinically with adults who have been affected by prolonged or significant exposure to trauma and adversity. Participants will develop professional competences to provide psychological services to those who require specialised trauma care. 

After completing the course, participants will have a strong, theory-driven knowledge base of the lifelong impact to the whole person of experiencing complex trauma. Including the understanding of how to apply this knowledge to clinical, research and service development activities.

The structure and content of the PGDiP follows the level three ‘trauma expert’ competencies outlined by the British Psychological Society.

Post Graduate Diploma in Complex Trauma

Module 1: ‘Theory informing practice’

Module 2: ‘Idiosyncratic Assessment & Formulation of Complex Trauma Needs’

Module 3: ‘Idiosyncratic intervention approaches for Complex Trauma’.

Module 4:‘Working with hard to reach and underserved populations: Practice guidance & Professional practice issues’.

Dr Deborah Morris, Director of the Developmental and Complex Trauma, said: "We are incredibly proud to have developed this course with the University of Buckingham. Complex trauma is a relatively new diagnosis and our understanding of the treatment needs of this population is still emerging. There is very limited training provision for healthcare professionals working in this area and this course meets an important need.”

The first intake of the course is planned for September 2025. 

Deborah added: “The team are very much looking forward to supporting clinicians to develop skills to achieve better outcomes for those impacted by psychological trauma.”

The course is the second of six planned post graduate courses with the University and joins our portfolio alongside our successful MSc Practitioner in Psychological Trauma. 

For an informal discussion about the course, please contact Dr Deborah Morris: deborah.morris@stah.org or deborah.morris@buckingham.ac.uk.

To learn more about the course visit the University course page Postgraduate Diploma Practitioner in Complex Trauma | University of Buckingham