# Practising for Medical Psychotherapy (ST4) with MedMock

Canonical page: https://medmock.com/exams/medical-psychotherapy-st4

## What is the Medical Psychotherapy ST4 interview, and how do you practise for it?

Medical Psychotherapy is one of the specialties you can be considered for after a single ST4 psychiatry application to NHS England's National Psychiatry Recruitment Office. Every applicant sits the same online interview, whichever specialties they want: one panel of about 15 minutes that asks two scenario questions of about 6 minutes each, Part A and Part B, whose stems are published in advance each round, and gives a communication mark across the whole interview. Part A and Part B are each scored out of 20 and communication out of 10. There is no portfolio or audit station, and no supporting evidence is used at interview: your self-assessment is scored separately beforehand. MedMock practises Part A and Part B as two stations, with one examiner voice for the two-person panel; the full mock runs them back to back. MedMock lets you practise it out loud against an AI interview panel, with examiner-style feedback on any station you finish.

## About Medical Psychotherapy (ST4) recruitment (official sources, checked 2026-10-13)

- 2025 recruitment round, NHS England figures for Psychiatry (all specialties) ST4: 683 applications for 491 posts, a competition ratio of 1.39.
- For Medical Psychotherapy, the higher training programme in Medical Psychotherapy consists of the equivalent of 3 years of full-time clinical experience.
- Approved dual programmes that include Medical Psychotherapy are with General Adult Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; a CCT application is made only when both programmes are completed.
- Like other higher psychiatry specialties, all eligible applicants are invited to book a 15 minute online interview, in which they are asked 2 scenario-based questions.

Sources: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/competition-ratios/2025-competition-ratios https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/psychiatry/higher-psychiatry-training/overview-of-higher-psychiatry-training/overview-of-higher-training https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/psychiatry/higher-psychiatry-training/overview-of-higher-psychiatry-training/interviews

Recruitment dates: Applications 19 November 2026 to 10 December 2026 (national Round 2); Interviews within the national Round 2 window, 11 January 2027 to 9 April 2027 (source: NHS England Medical Specialty Recruitment, checked 2026-09-24).
All Medical Psychotherapy (ST4) dates: https://medmock.com/exams/medical-psychotherapy-st4#dates

## Stations you can practise

- **Part A — Managing a complex case** — Part A of the ST4 psychiatry interview: a scenario question of about 6 minutes on managing a complex case, such as taking over the care of a patient who disagrees with their management plan. It is the same question whichever psychiatry specialty you apply for. The examiner puts the scenario to you and asks follow-up questions; no portfolio or supporting evidence is used.
- **Part B — Working within a stretched system** — Part B of the ST4 psychiatry interview: a scenario question of about 6 minutes on working or training within a stretched system, such as an understaffed service with poor teamwork. It is the same question whichever psychiatry specialty you apply for. The examiner puts the scenario to you and asks follow-up questions; no portfolio or supporting evidence is used.

## Sample Medical Psychotherapy (ST4) questions

- *Part B — Working within a stretched system:* A senior colleague asks you to independently assess and manage a patient whose presentation is genuinely outside your current level of competence, and there is no one immediately available to support you. How would you handle this?
- *Part B — Working within a stretched system:* Protected teaching time for trainees has been repeatedly cancelled over recent months because everyone is needed clinically, and you feel this is affecting both morale and learning. What would you do?

## Example scenarios

- *Part A — Managing a complex case:* You have just taken over the care of a patient who has capacity and disagrees with her management plan. How would you approach this?
- *Part B — Working within a stretched system:* You start ST4 in a very busy, understaffed service where you have seen poor teamwork and poor patient care. How might this affect your work, and what would you do?

## How a practice session works

1. **Choose a station** — Choose Part A or Part B, the two scenario questions every ST4 psychiatry applicant is asked, or run both back to back.
2. **Have the conversation** — Speak naturally, out loud. The AI interviewer listens and asks the demanding follow-ups, just as a real interviewer would.
3. **Get instant feedback** — The moment you finish, you get specific, examiner-style feedback and a score — what you did well, what cost you marks, and precisely what to fix before the next attempt.

## Price

Start with a one-off £5 taster: 30 credits (30 minutes of speaking practice), not a subscription. After that, or instead, £69 per month for 350 credits. One credit is one minute of spoken practice, or two typed exchanges, and where the examiner or patient speaks first, that opening line is free. Examiner scorecards, mark schemes and model answers for finished sessions are included at no extra credit cost. Cancel at any time. Full details: https://medmock.com/pricing

## Frequently asked questions

### How does the feedback work?

When you finish a station you can have it marked, and the scorecard comes back in seconds — what you did well, what cost you marks, and exactly what to work on next. Scorecards, mark schemes and model answers are included at no extra credit cost.

### Can I practise specific Medical Psychotherapy ST4 stations?

Yes. You can pick either station to drill a weak area, or run a mixed set to simulate the real interview.

### How much does it cost?

You can start with a one-off £5 taster: 30 credits, which is 30 minutes of speaking practice, with no subscription. After that, or at any time, you can choose a monthly plan, which includes a monthly credit allowance. Current prices are on the pricing page.

## About MedMock

MedMock is a web app for practising the spoken parts of UK medical and dental exams and interviews out loud. The candidate talks; an AI patient, examiner or interview panel answers in real time by voice; and when the station ends MedMock marks the performance against that exam's assessment domains and shows the model answer.

It covers 104 spoken exams and interviews — OSCEs, vivas, structured oral exams, simulated consultations, and specialty-training and consultant interviews. It does not cover written or multiple-choice papers, and it is not a question bank.

It was founded by Mr Sam Nahas, MBBS BSc MEd FRCS (Tr & Orth), a practising consultant orthopaedic surgeon in the UK, with co-founder and CTO Arjan Jandu. It is operated by VirtualPatients Ltd (company no. 16303492).

Pricing: a one-off £5 taster of 30 credits to try it (not a subscription, one per account), and a monthly subscription from £20 to £129 depending on the exam (student exams cost least, fellowship exit exams and consultant interviews most), or £199 to £275 for the Intensive plans, which carry more credits. One credit is one minute of spoken practice, or two typed exchanges, and where the examiner or patient speaks first, that opening line is free. Examiner scorecards, mark schemes and model answers for finished sessions are included at no extra credit cost. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time.

It runs in a web browser on a laptop or phone; spoken practice needs a microphone. There is no public demo: practice needs an account with credits, usually from the taster or a monthly plan.

MedMock is for adults aged 18 or over. Sign-up asks every new account to confirm it.

MedMock is a revision tool. The patients, examiners and cases are fictional and AI-generated; it is not clinical guidance and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any Royal College, the GMC, the GDC or any examining body.

Start with the £5 taster: https://medmock.com/auth/signup