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Career into Occupational Therapy/Psychotherapy

Hello,

I have some questions regarding with career into occupational therapy and psychotherapy.

I know this two discipline is somehow related but different, but at the moment I am not sure what exactly I want to do. But I know I wanna pursue my career into this healthcare field.

I'm thinking of getting a job as HealthCare assistant as I thought I will be able to gain insight and experience into that field. I graduated from psychology but have no previous experience of healthcare sector.

Do you think working as healthcare assistant would be a good idea, that could be a beneficial experience to further pursue career into Psychotherapy/counselling or Occupational therapy?


I would be great if you could give me any advice or opinions ><

thanks!
Reply 1
Original post by VitaminDrop
Hello,

I have some questions regarding with career into occupational therapy and psychotherapy.

I know this two discipline is somehow related but different, but at the moment I am not sure what exactly I want to do. But I know I wanna pursue my career into this healthcare field.

I'm thinking of getting a job as HealthCare assistant as I thought I will be able to gain insight and experience into that field. I graduated from psychology but have no previous experience of healthcare sector.

Do you think working as healthcare assistant would be a good idea, that could be a beneficial experience to further pursue career into Psychotherapy/counselling or Occupational therapy?


I would be great if you could give me any advice or opinions ><

thanks!


Hi,

As far as I understand it Occupational Therapy requires a first degree in the subject itself so that may be more difficult to enter.

For Psychotherapy there are lots of variations. For psychoanalytical work it is neccesary to follow a specific pathway involving undertaking therapy yourself for a certain period (costly!) and post-graduate studies. There are lots of available courses and you would looking at those involving 'psychodynamic' techniques. Most of these require you to already be in practice/have access to patients. Have a look at UWE and Exeter for their professional studies. There are many, many more and an internet search will show you the range and requirements.

There is also work available as a therapist specialising in CBT or systemic (family) work in addition to counselling and of course Clinical Psychology. All these require further training at post grad level. Usually a psychology graduate would certainly have some experience of working with target groups. Health care assistant would give you some insight and be useful for applying for trainee psychology posts later.

It is quite a complex subject. Many psychology graduates find it difficult to enter clinical work as the competition is so fierce. My friend has a private practice as a psychoanalyst. He managed this by working as a mental health nurse and getting promoted to nurse consultant which gave him enough money to undertake his personal therapy which does take AT LEAST two years or so. He didn't take a Masters but already had a lot of experience anyway.

There is a big push for CBT trained people in the NHS at the moment as this is the favoured approach. There is also work as a drama or music therapist if this is your thing (again needs a specialist masters)

Basically more research needed!!! If you actually want to work in health you could also consider post graduate Health Psychology courses.

:smile:
Reply 2
Hi Catoswyn,

Thank you so much for your prompt reply.
Yea I am prepared to go on for further study, to either pursue into OT or psychotherapy/counseling psycho. I registered with this healthcare agency few days ago where it will allow me to work as healthcare assistant, will be staring in 2 weeks time with training to start with. But at the same time, I have an interview coming up for the position of Assistant support worker in Long-term mental health. So I wasn't sure if being a healthcare assistant would be a best idea to build up some relevant experience, so that even either going OT or psychotherapy career path, it will be beneficial.

As for approach in psychotherapy, i obviously have no preference or specific approach i wanna do, so idea was to pursue into university or college that offer psychotherpy course after working as healthcare assistant etc.. For career path in OT, as I am graduate degree holder, I was thinking of going into 2years accelerated master course. Either way, I wonder if I am making the right choice working as healthcare assistant,
I will have a look for those professional studies you suggested in the mean time as well :wink:

For now, I am confused, whether I should be working as healthcare assistant or assistant support worker (assuming that I get through the interview and be offered the position of course ;P)

sorry for this lengthy message!! ><
Reply 3
Original post by VitaminDrop
Hi Catoswyn,

Thank you so much for your prompt reply.
Yea I am prepared to go on for further study, to either pursue into OT or psychotherapy/counseling psycho. I registered with this healthcare agency few days ago where it will allow me to work as healthcare assistant, will be staring in 2 weeks time with training to start with. But at the same time, I have an interview coming up for the position of Assistant support worker in Long-term mental health. So I wasn't sure if being a healthcare assistant would be a best idea to build up some relevant experience, so that even either going OT or psychotherapy career path, it will be beneficial.

As for approach in psychotherapy, i obviously have no preference or specific approach i wanna do, so idea was to pursue into university or college that offer psychotherapy course after working as healthcare assistant etc.. For career path in OT, as I am graduate degree holder, I was thinking of going into 2years accelerated master course. Either way, I wonder if I am making the right choice working as healthcare assistant,
I will have a look for those professional studies you suggested in the mean time as well :wink:

For now, I am confused, whether I should be working as healthcare assistant or assistant support worker (assuming that I get through the interview and be offered the position of course ;P)

sorry for this lengthy message!! ><


I think healthcare assistant would be useful if you decide to go into work as a Health psychologist and for OT. The assistant support worker post would be excellent for future therapy training as it would give you direct and practical experience of working with people with psychological difficulties. I would personally consider the support worker position if you get it as this would be directly relevant to future applications for assistant psychology posts etc and also for training courses. For instance entrance onto many training courses require you to be working in the field somehow which is always a catch22! For example to get onto UWE's Professional Doctorate in Counselling you need to have done their certificate in counselling and to get onto that it says: 'This certificate course is designed for people who work in a setting which involves offering help, support, or guidance to others. People working in education, the National Health Service, voluntary agencies, social services, government schemes or in the private sector will find the course provides invaluable skills and knowledge.' Well, your work as a support worker or a health care assistant may well qualify. There are lots of courses like this with similar requirements not only in counselling.

There are other full time courses that require you to have a degree and then some work experience to get on them. I think you are going the right way in targeting health care and psychology support services. It isn't the level of work you get so much as the experience and insight it gives you. In the end though you should be hoping for future posts that have a training element in them. For instance some psych. grads retrain as a mental health nurse (NHS bursaries available) and then in post take professional training courses in counselling or therapy. Others work as assistant psychologists etc and get sent on training courses. Some people work in mental health services for two years or so and try to get onto Clinical Psych. courses (which are fully funded). There are many pathways and options but the jobs you are considering now are certainly very useful to start the process.

I know very little about OT apart from the basic principles. Its good to know you can do a conversion/accelerated course in it.

Hopefully your research will go well!

:smile:
(edited 11 years ago)

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