AT A GLANCE

Level	Movement Therapy Diploma (Level 4/5)
Total guided learning hours	40 hours
Typical pacing	8 weeks at ~5 hours per week (also runs as 12 weeks at ~3.5 hours per week (part-time))
Delivery	Live online (face-to-face day) + self-directed study + ongoing portfolio
Assessment	Part A — online worksheet · Part B — Explain Pain poster · ongoing reflective clinical log
Submission portal	MTE Thinkific Portal — Phase 1
Lecturer / contact	Mike Grice — mike.grice@MTE.Education
Pre-requisite	Pre-course Research Methods 21a unit completed on the MTE Thinkific Portal

About this module

Every patient interaction starts with a conversation. Module 1 trains you to make that conversation safe, structured and clinically powerful — so you take a thorough subjective history, recognise the red flags that need urgent medical referral, and apply contemporary pain neuroscience to the way you talk with your patients.

Across 40 guided learning hours you will work through structured case-history taking using SOCRATES and the 24-hour pain pattern, learn the five-flag framework that drives prognosis and treatment planning, and translate the IASP (2020) definition of pain into patient-friendly language. By the end you will have produced an Explain Pain poster you can use as a marketing asset for your clinic, and a fully Harvard-referenced workbook that evidences your competence at Level 4 and Level 5.

What you'll learn

Across the 40 guided learning hours this module covers:

• The structure of a professional clinical encounter, and what patients hope to gain from a therapeutic relationship
• Structured subjective case-history taking using SOCRATES and the 24-hour pain pattern
• Recognition of red flags requiring urgent medical referral, and the wider system of yellow, orange, blue and black flags that shape prognosis
• A clinical-reasoning cycle (Acquire → Interpret → Hypothesise → Test) and a shared decision-making model (Team-talk / Option-talk / Decision-talk; BRAN)
• Common cognitive biases (confirmation, anchoring, availability, premature closure) and practical circuit-breakers
• Principles of mechanotherapy and exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH)
• Contemporary pain neuroscience: the IASP (2020) definition, acute vs persistent pain, peripheral and central sensitisation, and the modulators of pain (sleep, stress, beliefs, context, mood, movement)
• Translating pain neuroscience into patient-friendly language using credible open-access sources (Moseley, Butler, Lehman, Cormack)
• UK legal, ethical and governance frameworks for sports therapy: UK GDPR / DPA 2018, Equality Act 2010, safeguarding, scope of practice, insurance, complaints and risk assessment
• Harvard-style referencing of peer-reviewed sources

Aims & objectives

On successful completion of this module learners will be able to:

• Explain the structure and purpose of a clinical encounter, and describe what patients hope for from a clinical relationship.
• Conduct a structured subjective case history using a recognised framework (e.g. SOCRATES) and the 24-hour pain pattern, integrating mechanism of injury, previous episodes, past medical history, drug history, family history, social history, beliefs and goals.
• Recognise red flags that require urgent medical referral, and distinguish them from yellow, orange, blue and black flags that influence prognosis and treatment planning.
• Apply a clinical reasoning cycle and a shared decision-making model (Team-talk / Option-talk / Decision-talk; BRAN) to a presenting complaint.
• Identify common cognitive biases and apply practical circuit-breakers in clinical reasoning.
• Describe the principles of mechanotherapy and exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH).
• Apply the IASP (2020) definition of pain and explain the differences between acute and persistent pain, peripheral and central sensitisation, and the principal modulators of pain.
• Translate contemporary pain neuroscience into patient-friendly language and produce a publication-ready Explain Pain poster fit for use as a marketing asset.
• Operate within the legal, ethical, governance, safeguarding and scope-of-practice frameworks that apply to UK sports therapy practice.
• Reference academic and clinical sources accurately in Harvard style.

National Occupational Standards (NOS) coverage

This module is mapped to the UK National Occupational Standards drawn from the SkillsActive / CIMSPA Sports Massage Therapy and Sports Therapy suites, and to the awarding-body learning outcomes of Active IQ, VTCT / ITEC, YMCA Awards, Focus Awards and Pearson BTEC at Levels 4 and 5. The question-by-question NOS map is published in the Assignment Remit.

Level 4 coverage

• Active IQ / VTCT-ITEC L4 Certificate — Advanced client assessment & clinical reasoning for safety
• CIMSPA L4 Professional Standard — Critical appraisal of scope of practice
• L4 Certificate — Biopsychosocial approach (yellow flags and barriers to recovery)
• L4 Certificate — Legal & Ethical practice (UK GDPR, DPA 2018, PUWER, LOLER, EAW)
• L4 Certificate — Records & Consent (informed consent as an ongoing process; capacity)
• L4 Certificate — Business management, professional practice, inter-professional practice, quality assurance, reflective practice and risk management
• L4 Academic skills — consistent Harvard referencing and peer-reviewed sources

Level 5 coverage

• L5 Diploma in Clinical Sports & Remedial Massage Therapy / L5 Diploma in Sports Therapy — Advanced clinical reasoning under uncertainty
• CIMSPA Sports Therapist Professional Standard (L5/L6) — Identify and escalate serious pathology
• L5 Diploma — Biopsychosocial assessment integrated into treatment planning
• SST / BASRaT graduate criteria — Define, defend and review scope of practice
• L5 Diploma — Legal & Ethical Practice (apply and critique legislation)

Assessment

This module is assessed against the Level 5 Generic Grading Criteria. Markschemes are published in University-style classifications (1st-class, 2:1, 2:2 and 3rd) and are available on the MTE Thinkific Portal. Late submissions are capped at a 3rd-class mark.

Part A — Online Worksheet

Format	Online worksheet on the MTE Thinkific Portal
What it covers	40 questions across 13 practice domains (clinical encounter, SOCRATES, flags, reasoning, bias, pain science, legal & ethical, safeguarding, risk, reflection). Fully Harvard-referenced with a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed sources.
Length	No word limit
Submission window	6 weeks from the live day

Part B — Explain Pain Poster

Format	Single-page poster (Canva or equivalent), uploaded to MTE Thinkific Portal Portfolio
What it covers	Patient-facing explanation of contemporary pain science. Marketing-ready — minimal jargon, accurate, credible-sourced (Moseley, Butler, Lehman, Cormack). Designed for use on the learner's website or social media.
Length	1 page
Submission window	6 weeks from the live day

Ongoing — Reflective Clinical Log

Format	200-hour reflective clinical log in MTE Thinkific Portal
What it covers	Ongoing portfolio of clinical hours with a 50–100-word reflective entry per treatment. Evidences integration of Module 1 learning into real practice.
Length	Ongoing
Submission window	Across the full diploma (50 h by 6 months, 100 h by 12, 150 by 18, 200 by 24)

Grading

Every piece of assessed work is marked against University-style criteria — 1st-class, 2:1, 2:2 and 3rd. Markschemes set out exactly what each band looks like for that assessment and are available on the MTE Thinkific Portal under each module. Learners are expected to self-check their work against the markscheme descriptors before submission.

Plagiarism & late submission

All assessments must be the learner's own work and fully Harvard-referenced using Cite This For Me or equivalent. Failure to reference, or copying from another source, will result in a fail for that piece of work and the MTE plagiarism policy (see the course handbook) will apply. Late submissions are capped at a 3rd-class mark.

Guided learning hours (40 hours)

The 40 guided learning hours combine live attendance, self-directed study, assessment work and ongoing reflective practice. The recommended pace is 8 weeks at ~5 hours per week, with a longer 12 weeks at ~3.5 hours per week (part-time) pathway available for part-time learners.

Activity category	Hours	What is included
Live face-to-face / live-stream attendance	8	Welcome, contraindications, clinic essentials, PNE intro, pain vs injury, neuromatrix
PowerPoint review & lecturer videos	8	Case History & PNE V7 deck plus lecturer videos (Moseley, O'Sullivan, Stanton, Butler, Lehman)
Self-directed reading	8	Greg Lehman Pain Science Workbook, IASP 2020 definition, Greenhalgh & Selfe red flags, Pears & Shields referencing
Worksheet completion (40 questions)	8	MTE Thinkific Portal — fully Harvard-referenced workbook
Explain Pain poster (assessment)	4	Plan, draft, finalise and upload poster
Reflective practice & portfolio entry	4	Clinical log entry, reflective writing (Gibbs / Kolb), CPD log
TOTAL	40

A week-by-week study plan is available as a separate download in the Guided Learning Hours folder of the MTE Thinkific Portal.

Resources & support

• All module materials (handouts, PowerPoints, lecturer videos and the worksheet) are hosted on the MTE Thinkific Portal — Phase 1.
• A dedicated week-by-week Guided Learning Hours study plan accompanies this module — available as a download in the Phase 1 area of the portal.
• Markschemes (1st / 2:1 / 2:2) are published alongside each assessment in the portal.
• Lecturer contact is shown in the At-a-glance panel above; learners are encouraged to reach out with questions during the submission window.
• Reasonable adjustments for learners with disabilities or specific learning differences are available — please contact the lecturer or the course administrator before submission.

Next steps

Considering enrolling? Visit mte.academy or email mike.grice@MTE.Education to discuss the next intake, payment options and entry requirements.

Already enrolled? Log in to the MTE Thinkific Portal and open Phase 1 to access the live recording, worksheet, study plan and markscheme. Your reflective clinical log should be updated at least weekly.

© Movement Therapy Education · Module 1 · Module Information Sheet · v2026