Specialist Mental Health Pharmacy Training Pathway

Attendance mode: Part-time
Start date(s): September
Duration: 1 year
Location: Distance learning

UK students can apply

We are now recruiting for the September 2026 intake of this course. Recruitment is closed for the September 2025 intake.

Overview

This pathway consists of a tailored 12-month programme aimed at experienced pharmacy professionals working in community mental health teams.

The key objectives for this training pathway are to empower pharmacy professionals to safely deliver to the full scope of their professional capability and increase their competence in optimising medicines use for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI).

The pathway aims to further develop pharmacy professionals' knowledge of; medicines optimisation, initiation and personalisation, particularly of medication for patients with complex co-morbidities, and will therefore have a key role in improving physical health outcomes for people with severe mental illness.

New models of integrated primary and community mental health care for adults and older adults with moderate to severe mental health problems will require excellent leadership and communication skills, decision-making and educating others. The work will require collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams (MDT), bringing together the current community mental health team (CMHT) workforce, the primary care workforce and newly contracted third-sector services.

Many of the students on this pathway will already have experience in mental health or have completed some postgraduate qualifications to enhance understanding of the sector. The pathway will provide a basis for a refresher of some of the fundamentals of mental health whilst also focusing on the pillars of advanced practice.

Professional accreditation

Accredited by the College of Mental Health Pharmacy (CMHP).

The course has given me the confidence to collaborate more with specialist teams and better understand patient perspectives when making decisions about their psychotropic treatment.

Camilia, Specialist Mental Health Pharmacy Training Pathway

Entry requirements

To be eligible for this programme, you must:

be an experienced pharmacist or pharmacy technician registered with the GPhC
be working within a Community/Primary care Mental Health Team (CMHT), CRISIS/HOME treatment or a rotational role/interface role which involves rotating into community based settings
be working in a patient-facing role with patients with severe mental illness (SMI)
be employed within the NHS, or through an NHS commissioned mental health service
have a permission to attend from your line manager and provide their contact details for independent verification
have agreed ongoing work-based educational supervision/clinical supervision from a mental health specialist employed by a mental health provider organisation and provide their contact details for provision of their course materials and review
agree to undertake a gateway training needs analysis (TNA), facilitated by the education provider, at the beginning of the programme

Your learning journey

You will undertake 10 units over the duration of the pathway.

The dates shown below are for the September 2025 intake.

Unit 1 - Induction and Learning Needs Assessment (Wednesday 24 September 2025)
Unit 2 - Working in Community Mental Health Teams (October 2025)
Unit 3 - Audit and Service Evaluation (November 2025)
Unit 4 - Mood Disorders - Depression and Bipolar (January 2026)
Unit 5 - Psychosis and Schizophrenia (February 2026)
Unit 6 - Caring for Older Adults (March 2026)
Unit 7- Education of Patients and Others (April 2026)
Unit 8 - Substance Misuse (May 2026)
Unit 9 - Complex and Multiple Disorders (June 2026)
Unit 10 - Quality Improvement and Research (July 2026)

The final deadline for assignments: 26 August 2026

Physical health considerations, monitoring and leadership will also be interwoven throughout. Units 3 and 10 will provide introductions to service improvement and research. Ultimately, the autonomy needed to ensure these new roles are not only equipped to deal with the more complex interactions required but also influence and educate others to enhance mental health services has been the driving force behind the curriculum.

Finally, the pathway encompasses Framework of core mental health competencies for all pharmacy professionals and some of the Advanced Practice Mental Health Curriculum and Capabilities Framework which inform you of the skills required for advancement in mental health practice.

Further progression after this pathway completion could be achieved by undertaking the Advanced Clinical Practice or Consultancy recognition routes and this pathway will aid as a stepping stone to this next goal if desired. The training pathway supports the journey to advanced-level practice for pharmacy professionals.

Fees, finance and scholarships

Tuition fee

This is a NHSE-funded programme. See the NHSE Specialist Mental Health Pharmacist Training Pathway website for more information.

Additional costs

There may be additional costs that you may incur as a student. Though these are not essential to your programme of study you need to be aware of them as a student of the University. A list of the sort of costs you might expect can be found on our fees and finance section.

Financial support

See our fees and financial support section.

Postgraduate Master's Loan

If you live in England you may be able to apply for a special Government-funded Master's Loan to help pay your tuition fees and living costs. You don't have to pay the loan back until you're earning a certain amount of money.

Scholarships

Every year we award numerous non-repayable scholarships to UK, EU and international students on the basis of academic excellence, personal circumstances or economic hardship. For full details, visit our scholarships section.

Teaching, learning and assessment

This is a part-time distance learning pathway and you will be provided with distance learning material on the University's virtual learning environment (VLE). Team-based learning will be employed as an active and collaborative teaching approach. You will be given four hours of learning material (pre-learning) at the beginning of each unit. You will then undertake a ‘readiness assurance process’ (RAP) individually and in teams to ensure you have the required underlying knowledge for the unit. You will then complete team ‘application exercises’ (AEs) to apply your knowledge to authentic cases.

The application exercise sessions will all be online, and you can decide whether to complete them ‘synchronously’ (in a live online session), or ‘asynchronously’ over the period of five days using discussion boards, Microsoft Teams, or other suitable methods of communication.

Finally, the unit will be summarised in the last week of the unit with a 1-hour webinar/question and answer session.

The assessment will include the completion of an electronic portfolio. This will be structured to enable you to include evidence to demonstrate competencies against the Framework of core mental health competencies for all pharmacy professionals.

You will be required to include:

A learning needs assessment
One pharmaceutical care plan
A Quality Improvement Project (QIP). This is a project or audit that shows baseline measurement, improvement, and then further measurement repeatedly over the duration of the pathway. This will run for at least two improvement cycles. You will describe and evaluate the variation in data over time with support from the University programme team, educational supervisor and learning in Units 3 and 10
An educational assignment – this could be in the form of a reflection of an educational experience to patients, carers or members of the Multi-Disciplinary Meeting (MDT) team
Work-based assessments such as mini-CEX (Clinical Evaluation Exercises) and case-based discussions (CBD). We will provide you with a library of validated formative assessment tools similar to those outlined in the Advanced Practice-Mental Health Framework and the RPS Advanced Pharmacist Curriculum to facilitate this.

For further information please contact the pathway team at mhpharmacy@bradford.ac.uk

Career prospects

Further progression after this pathway completion could be achieved by undertaking the RPS Core Advanced Pharmacist Curriculum recognition routes or CMHP Credentialling. This pathway will aid as a stepping stone to this next goal if desired.

Career opportunities

The University is committed to helping students develop and enhance employability and this is an integral part of many programmes. Specialist support is available throughout the course from Career and Employability Services including help to find part-time work while studying, placements, vacation work and graduate vacancies. Students are encouraged to access this support at an early stage and to use the extensive resources on the careers section.

Support for your studies

At Bradford, we’re committed to supporting your success, well-being and future ambitions.

We’re here to provide everything you need to make the most of your time with us, ensuring you not only excel in your studies, but also step confidently into the world of graduate employment.

In addition to the support you receive from your academic tutors, our Student Support Services are here for you throughout your journey - before, during, and after your studies.

Research

Over 80% of outputs in Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy, Chemistry and Engineering are rated as Internationally Excellent or World Leading (REF 2021).

Staff teaching on the programme are active members of the School’s Medicines Optimisation Research Group.

This is the current course information. Modules and course details may change, subject to the University's programme approval, monitoring and review procedures. The University reserves the right to alter or withdraw courses, services and facilities as described on our website without notice and to amend Ordinances, Regulations, fees and charges at any time. Students should enquire as to the up-to-date position when applying for their course of study.