Category Archives: BPS

Getting Started In Clinical Psychology

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Overview

Source: Getting Started In Clinical Society

Clinical psychology aims to reduce psychological distress and to enhance and promote psychological well-being. A wide range of psychological difficulties may be dealt with, including anxiety, depression, relationship problems, learning disabilities, child and family problems and serious mental illness.

To qualify as a clinical psychologist, you will need:

  • Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC). One way to achieve the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership is to take a British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited honours degree.
  • If your course is not accredited, or your degree is not in psychology, then you can gain GBC by taking a conversion course which effectively converts your degree to the equivalent of an honours degree with psychology as the main subject.
  • The conversion course must be accredited by the BPS.
  • BPS accredited Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. All clinical doctorate courses expect you to have some relevant clinically related experience before starting training.
  • This helps to establish that you know what you are applying for, what clinical psychologists do, the settings they work in, and the people they work with.
  • There is then only one route to train – professional training is via the three year full time Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
  • The NHS funds the training. Gaining a place on a training course means you become an employee of the NHS as a trainee Clinical psychologist.
  • Please contact the Clearing House for Postgraduate Courses in Clinical Psychology (CHPCCP) www.leeds.ac.uk/chpccp/for more information about funded places.
  • In recent years there have not been any self-funded places available.
  • There are no part-time routes.See the British Psychological Society’s careers section of their website www.bps.org.uk/careersfor details of the route to qualification and lists of approved courses/qualifications.You will find resources on this area in the Careers Resource Centre in section C. For more in depth information on this career go to www.prospects.ac.uk/links/occupations.

    Where can I work?

    Clinical psychologists work largely in health and social care settings including hospitals, health centres, community mental health teams, child and adolescent mental health services and social services.

    Clinical psychologists may also be employed by schools and universities. Others work in the private sector or are self-employed. They will often work alongside other health professionals including doctors, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists.

    The Merseyside & North West England perspective

    The NHS is the main employer of clinical psychologists in North West England and Merseyside. Within the NHS North West there are 24 primary care trusts (PCTs), 31 acute trusts and eight mental health trusts.

    How to increase your chances of getting in

    Gain relevant experience by working in settings that are similar to those encountered by psychologists, for example hospitals, day care units, multi professional teams, with the sort of clients that clinical psychologists usually see www.liv.ac.uk/careers

This could be adults with mental health problems, older adults, people with learning disabilities, children with psychological difficulties, people who have substance abuse problems, people who have committed offences and so on.

When should you get relevant experience?

You can gain relevant experience before, during or after your first degree, but experience you can obtain in the light of your developing psychological knowledge is obviously of most benefit.

All training courses expect clinically related experience prior to the training course itself and this is often (though not always) as an assistant psychologist or a research assistant in a clinically related area.

However, psychology graduates often find that they need relevant experience before they can apply for an assistant position!! So how do you get this?

How can you get relevant experience?

Think of building up a ‘portfolio’ of different experiences with different groups of people. This could be in a paid or voluntary capacity, either full or part time. It can take place in the public, private or voluntary sectors. What you learn from your experience and your ability to relate it to underpinning psychological theories and your ability to analyse and express what you’ve learned are most important.

For voluntary or junior positions, you will not necessarily need to be under the supervision of a qualified clinical psychologist. Such experience can be useful in the broader context of ‘working with people’, but by itself can only be partially relevant – e.g. working only with students, or working with individuals in ‘ordinary’ settings such as schools. At some point, you will need to get some experience of work in a clinical setting.

If you find this difficult, then make links for yourself by contacting psychology departments or clinics and asking to speak to qualified psychologists or people in assistant posts.

Where can you gain relevant work experience?
  • charities
  • care homes
  • hospices
  • welfare agencies
  • prison service
  • citizens’ advice bureauxLook for jobs such as:

Applied behavioural analysis (ABA) tutor – working with a child with autism

How much experience do you need?

The quality of your experience and your understanding of the concerns and issues in clinical psychology are more important than the length of time you spend in work experience. Some applicants for clinical training actually spend three or four years gaining experience; this can be due to the pressure of demand for training places. They may have actually applied for training more than once. Generally, at least a year’s experience should give you enough insight to be able to make an application for training. Being able to interpret your experience, both on the application form and at interview, is the key to gaining a training place.

Key considerations

Postgraduate qualifications are not required for application for clinical training. Candidates for training must have a degree which makes them eligible for the BPS Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, at a level (usually 2:1 or above) that demonstrates a capacity to complete a doctoral course. A masters degree with a high research content can sometimes compensate for a low first degree (2:2). Postgraduate study may enable you to develop a particular specialism – e.g. neuropsychology – thereby enhancing your application, but a masters degree will help more if it is relevant to clinical work or gives you accredited research skills, for example a master in research skills recognised by

  • probation service
  • drug action teams
  • special hospitals
  • youth offending teams
  • the NHS
  • children’s centres
  • victim support
  • women’s refuges
  • advice lines e.g. Childline
  • rape crisis centres
  • Nursing assistant
  • Psychology assistant
  • Assistant psychologist
  • Research assistant

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). A PhD can lead on to clinical training in the area of the research specialism; however doing a PhD requires a very strong commitment to the research area and should not be seen solely as a route to clinical training.

Additional information

  • Useful discussion/support groups for prospective clinical psychologists www.clinpsy.org.uk
  • Book: Knight, A. (2002), How to become a clinical psychologist, London: Brunner/Mazel
  • Making a Difference with Clinical Psychology DVD: a purpose made DVD that informs sixth formers and undergraduates about a career in Clinical Psychology. We have a copy of this that you can watch in theCareers Resource Centre.
  • BPS Media centre on Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/bpsmediacentre How to get your first job

Where can you find jobs that are considered relevant?

For information on job opportunities and careers within the NHS visit http://www.jobs.nhs.uk and www.nhscareers.nhs.uk.

  • Join the BPS and you will receive a monthly copy of The Psychologist, incorporating Psychologist Appointments, which has details of jobs at all levels. Job vacancy information is also available online at www.psychapp.co.uk.
  • The Guardian, especially in Wednesday’s ‘Society’ section http://jobs.guardian.co.uk.
  • Local press – for Merseyside, Thursday’s Liverpool Echo usually has a large NHS section.
  • Psychology specialist sites e.g. www.psychminded.co.uk.
  • Mental Health job sites e.g. www.mentalhealthjobs.co.uk.
  • Health job sites e.g. the NHS website www.jobs.nhs.uk.
  • On the NHS Jobs website www.jobs.nhs.uk search for jobs titled ’Psychological Well-Being Practitioner’- part of the government’s plan to improve access to psychological therapies (IAPT). There are also roles called ‘Graduate Mental Health Worker’ ‘Primary Mental Health Care Practitioner’ and ‘Primary Care Graduate Workers’ (use the search facility).
  • Community Care jobs site at www.communitycare.co.uk.
  • Local Authority websites. Go to www.lgcareers.com/local-council-az/ to find a list of all local authority websites in the UK. Most will have a job vacancy section.
  • Specialist sites for local government recruitment e.g. www.lgjobs.com
  • Jobs go Public www.jobsgopublic.com
  • Specialist recruitment agencies for social care staff www.rec.uk.com
  • Research posts – most universities and research institutions have a section on their website for job vacancies and research opportunities. See www.jobs.ac.uk for jobs in the academic community.

Where can you find volunteer experience that is considered relevant?

Contacting your local NHS trust directly is a good way of finding out about volunteering opportunities in your area. Many trusts have a voluntary service manager or a team of people responsible for co-ordinating volunteers.

Visit the website of your local trust for more information on how to volunteer or contact them directly to find out more. For details of local trusts visit www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/AcuteTrustListing.aspx.

If you are currently a student at the University of Liverpool, look at opportunities available in the area www.liv.ac.uk/volunteering. Also contact Liverpool Student Community Action; ask in The Base on the ground floor of the Guild.

Volunteering Liverpool is an online database for volunteers and organisations, specifically for the Merseyside area. It has been developed as a partnership between the Volunteer Centre Liverpool, Liverpool Guild of Students, Liverpool Hope University and Liverpool Community College. For current opportunities visit www.volunteeringliverpool.org.uk.

There may be a volunteer bureau where you live. For Liverpool, this is Volunteer Centre Liverpool, 151 Dale Street, Liverpool L2 2AH Tel: 0151 237 3975 www.volunteercentreliverpool.org.uk

The Careers & Employability Service

Get in touch; ask questions, we’re here to help. We’re located on the first floor of the Student Services Centre, next to the Guild of Students. You can also find us in Careers Express in the courtyard of the Guild of Students.

Call in, give us a call, drop us an email or visit our website if there’s anything else you need to know.

Careers & Employability Service University of Liverpool
Tel: 0151 794 4647
Email: careers@liv.ac.uk www.liv.ac.uk/careers

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© University of Liverpool Careers & Employability Service, August 2011. This document is available in alternative formats. Please ask us for details.

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