Clinical Psychology FAQAs I have identified myself as a clinical psychologist, I quite often get messaged questions and notice lots of myths and misconceptions that float around. Inspired by GodspeedGehenna's brilliant Undergraduate Psychology FAQ, I thought I would post a similar one about Clinical Psychology in the UK.
What is Clinical psychology? What do clinical psychologists do?Clinical psychology is an application of the psychology in order to reduce human distress. It is an applied science, in that it uses the academic field of psychology to do things in the real world.
Many equate clinical psychologists as psychotherapists. While most of us do quite a bit of psychotherapy, we do a lot more too. Most of us will have involvement in working with other healthcare professionals (like medics, nurses and Occupational Therapists), providing psychological supervision and guiding the practice of others, teaching, research and leadership. Another big strand of what clinical psychologists do is neuropsychological testing. This is often done in brain injury or rehabilitation settings, but it can pop up in other areas
Most of us work in mental health services mainly in the NHS, but you can find us in physical health settings, child services, universities, charities and the private sector.
How are clinical psychologists trained?All clinical psychologists start out by getting an undergraduate degree (B.Sc.in Psychology) or a conversion course. This needs to give the person Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC). They then generally have to get a period of paid relevant work experience. There is no single way to get this, and many people take jobs as support workers and healthcare assistants when starting out.
A really good job to get is that of an Assistant Psychologist, where you will be directly exposed and assisting with much of the work clinical psychologists do. This is really good, as you get a better understanding of the field. Sometimes people (like me) do a clinically relevant PhD, which gives you a mix of clinical experience and research skills. Others have come through other routes like having a job in an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies service or similar mental health junior posts.
You then have to complete a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology training course (DClinPsy). This will last three years, and when you come out the other side you will be able to practice independently and be eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professional Council.
Please note, in the UK, that the DClinPsy is NOT the same as a Psychology PhD. A PhD is a qualification that is geared towards training people in research, and you don't get the trained in the skills needed to practice clinically.
What happens on a DClinPsy course?A DClinPsy is a combined programme of academic, clinical and research work. It is a vocational course (like nursing or medicine) where trainees have to juggle lectures (1-2 days per week), a clinical placement (2-3 days per week) and on-going research projects. The placements are held in adult mental health, child and adolescent mental health, older adult mental health, learning disabilities as well as an elective placement you get to choose yourself. In addition to the Trainees' work is closely supervised to pick up the assessment, therapy and other clinical skills they will need. Trainees typically work 37.5 hours a week (they are considered NHS employees), but may end up working beyond that fit everything in.
During these three years have to meet specific competencies needed by all clinical psychologists and finish a substantial dissertation at the end of it. Some courses have exams, others have coursework, but all are required to produce psychologists with similar competencies.
The DClinPsy is fully funded, at the moment, and trainees are paid on a Band 6 NHS Salary.
How competitive is it to get on a DClinPsy course?It is quite competitive, but not impossible. Last year there were 3857 applicants for 586 places, which was an overall success rate of 15%.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/chpccp/BasicNumbers.htmlBear in mind, there is no indication of quality of these applicants, and they will range in experience and capability. If you have a solid academic background, good research skills, empathy or people skills and some good clinical experience to reflect on, you will stand a decent chance. However, if you are lacking in any of these areas, your chances will reduce dramatically.
A lot of courses will demand a 2:1 as a minimum, as evidence of academic ability (ideally with some postgraduate stuff too). Some courses have recently set their own selection exam that will examine anyone with a psychology degree and take performance on the day into account.
What is the best experience to get?There is no best experience, although some jobs like assistant psychologist do give several advantages, as you will be directly supervised by a clinical psychologist. Anything that allows you to tick the academic, clinical and research boxes would do.
Is there a best undergraduate degree to do? What can I do to maximise my chances as an undergraduate?As long as a course gives you GBC, then you should be fine. There are many undergraduate courses that call themselves fancy names like "Applied Psych" or "Clinical Psych" but I haven't seen them provide any edges.
Most courses will want to make sure you can get through them with minimum of difficulties and will be paying attention to your research methods and stats marks, rather than if you did any particular special modules. One advantage though is 4 years sandwich courses, which include a year long placement. If you get a clinical placement, this counts as experience and may help you get your first job.
Where can I find out more about the job?What is Clinical Psychology?http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Clinical-Psychology-John-Hall/dp/0198566891A good overview of what a clinical psychologist does and how the profession came to be. It's a textbook, but it will answer most technical questions you may have about what we do.
How to Become a Clinical Psychologist: Getting a Foot in the Door http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Become-Clinical-Psychologist-Getting/dp/1583912428This is old favourite is a how-to-guide that gives you tips and advice about the sort of first jobs many of us do to get onto a DClinPsy.
Irrelevant Experience: The Secret Diary of an Assistant Psychologist.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Irrelevant-Experience-Assistant-Psychologist-ebook/dp/B00EQFE5JW/This is a new novel about the life of an assistant psychologist. It's an easy, funny read and written a bit like Bridget Jones Diary. It covers the whole application process from a perspective of someone going through it all. It triggered lots of memories for me.
Links
You can browse for further clinical psych info at:
www.clinpsy.org.ukwww.bps.org.ukThanks for reading. I will be happy to answer any questions, and I know there are a few others around here who know quite a bit about the field, so I hope they chip in too.