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Reply 60
Herein lies the issue which some individuals are getting confused with meaning the degree itself is useless.

I have people on my course that didn't realise that psychology would be quite as challenging and rigorous. They are struggling with the scientific standards and research methods elements of the course. Maybe because they believed the hype of psychology being the easy go-to course of study for those undecided about what career they wish to pursue. They have had a rude awakening and are floundering.

At the other end of the scale you have those that believe that simply by merit of passing the degree with flying colours they will be jumping into a pyschologists job. Nope! Pull your finger out, do some research about the post grad options and get some work experience under your belt alongside the course.
Original post by Lord Asriel
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is there a certain amount of DClinPsy courses you can apply for at one time?
Original post by chickenfoot
is there a certain amount of DClinPsy courses you can apply for at one time?


You can apply to up to four funded courses each year, you can apply to as many self funded courses as you wish. You can also apply to one course in Ireland, to make 5 (I think it's just one).
Original post by _Sinnie_
You can apply to up to four funded courses each year, you can apply to as many self funded courses as you wish. You can also apply to one course in Ireland, to make 5 (I think it's just one).


oh thank you.
are you/have you done the course?
I'm currently applying for the course.
Original post by _Sinnie_
I'm currently applying for the course.


nice.
hope you dont mind if i ask you some questions
where did you do your experience? and how do i even begin to get relevant experience?
Original post by chickenfoot
nice.
hope you dont mind if i ask you some questions
where did you do your experience? and how do i even begin to get relevant experience?


It depends which stage you're at currently? Are you doing A-levels, undergrad or have you graduated?

To get onto the doctorate there is no single 'best' experience. The courses want people who can demonstrate that they are ready to train as a Clinical Psychologist. Broadly, this is people who have taken the right knowledge, skills and understanding from the experience they've had. Typically this is working as an Assistant Psychologist or research assistant, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners are becoming more common. However people have got onto the courses with experience as support workers, other types of therapists, intervention workers and such.

My route was:
BSc
4 years part time/full time as a support worker in an Autism respite home for young people (from 2nd year to MSc)
Some experience with the youth offending team
MSc
3 years as an Assistant Psychologist in 2 roles

If I could go back and do it again, I'd get a support worker/nursing assistant role with the NHS in first year, try and get involved in some kind of research at uni and get my name on a paper, not take a year out to work and go straight onto an MSc.

Support worker roles are some of the best experience. You don't need qualifications and you work directly with individuals, which teaches you far more than a lecture ever could.
Original post by _Sinnie_
It depends which stage you're at currently? Are you doing A-levels, undergrad or have you graduated?

To get onto the doctorate there is no single 'best' experience. The courses want people who can demonstrate that they are ready to train as a Clinical Psychologist. Broadly, this is people who have taken the right knowledge, skills and understanding from the experience they've had. Typically this is working as an Assistant Psychologist or research assistant, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners are becoming more common. However people have got onto the courses with experience as support workers, other types of therapists, intervention workers and such.

My route was:
BSc
4 years part time/full time as a support worker in an Autism respite home for young people (from 2nd year to MSc)
Some experience with the youth offending team
MSc
3 years as an Assistant Psychologist in 2 roles

If I could go back and do it again, I'd get a support worker/nursing assistant role with the NHS in first year, try and get involved in some kind of research at uni and get my name on a paper, not take a year out to work and go straight onto an MSc.

Support worker roles are some of the best experience. You don't need qualifications and you work directly with individuals, which teaches you far more than a lecture ever could.


i'm A2 and going to uni in september.
i want to get some kind of mental health experience/colunteering for the 6 weeks holiday, even if it's not enough to be considered to clinical specifically, it'll show i want to try get into clinical and i will be able to talk about it at interviews for support worker roles and such.

the support worker with an NHS, i find and apply on their jobs website? is there a period these vacancies come out?
Reply 68
Original post by chickenfoot

the support worker with an NHS, i find and apply on their jobs website? is there a period these vacancies come out?


I find the Universal Jobsmatch site good. Put 'Psychology' in the search box and you get a mix of support worker and graduate roles from a wide variety of private companies, charities and public services.

https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/register.aspx?redirect=http%3a%2f%2fjobsearch.direct.gov.uk%2fhome.aspx
Original post by CCC75
I find the Universal Jobsmatch site good. Put 'Psychology' in the search box and you get a mix of support worker and graduate roles from a wide variety of private companies, charities and public services.

https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/register.aspx?redirect=http%3a%2f%2fjobsearch.direct.gov.uk%2fhome.aspx


thank you
Original post by chickenfoot
i'm A2 and going to uni in september.
i want to get some kind of mental health experience/colunteering for the 6 weeks holiday, even if it's not enough to be considered to clinical specifically, it'll show i want to try get into clinical and i will be able to talk about it at interviews for support worker roles and such.

the support worker with an NHS, i find and apply on their jobs website? is there a period these vacancies come out?


There is an nhs jobs website. Once you're signed up and set up, it's reasonably quick to apply to multiple jobs. Working as bank staff can work well with uni. Private support work is perfectly fine, just the nhs is a lot more robust in training, support and such.
I have just got a place on an accredited Psychology Conversion MSc. I will be starting working with The Samaritans in a couple of weeks. Ideally I'd like to go straight onto a Clinical Doctorate from my conversion. Do you think that it would be possible to do this if I find another placement over the 3 month summer break and if I take up another voluntary position at uni? Or is this unrealistic and would I just need to take a year out between courses?
Thanks
Original post by DanteSharp
I have just got a place on an accredited Psychology Conversion MSc. I will be starting working with The Samaritans in a couple of weeks. Ideally I'd like to go straight onto a Clinical Doctorate from my conversion. Do you think that it would be possible to do this if I find another placement over the 3 month summer break and if I take up another voluntary position at uni? Or is this unrealistic and would I just need to take a year out between courses?
Thanks


It will depend on your previous work experience. Generally you need at least a couple of years working (paid) in relevant fields (support worker, assistant psychologist, etc.). It is a very competitive course
I'm a psych grad myself and I'm applying for DClinPsy at the moment and I've found it's just all about getting as much experience as you can and making yourself stand-out because it can be so competitive! A few of my friends who have been accepted onto the DClinPsy in the UK did a Mental Health placement in Sri Lanka with SLV which sounded amazing for their applications - they were running therapeutic activities with service users with mental health issues but also with people with physical disabilities and learning difficulties too. Sounded hard but I think having that different cultural perspective on the mental health sector helped so much with their applications but also to get more experience here in the UK too.
Reply 74
There's been an increased request for people to understand the difference between counselling and being a clinical psychologist.

You can be a counsellor/psychotherapist with around four years of study and without a degree. The cost is substantially less and you spend 75+ % of your time with clients giving therapy. Cost of becoming qualified is around £6/7000 for all tuition. Courses are part time so can work. Additional costs are supervision for 40-60 pcm unless subsidised. Personal therapy, registration to professional body (which can be less on low income) and sometimes insurance which is about £40 for the year. You probably could go from no knowledge of counselling to fully qualified for the equivalent cost of 1 year's uni tuition. (A huge saving when you factor in the maintainence loan now too).

In contrast to be a clinical psychologist, you need to complete an UG degree which for the lowest income costs £15k per year in loans. So 45 at graduation. Then the cost/loan of post graduate. Pushing to 50+ and 1 or two years of study. Then the dclinpsy. Which is funded but another 3 years of study. So you've spent 8-9 years to get into a career which sees you delivering therapy for about 50% of your time.

That's fine if that's what you want, of course. But you should have an understanding of the difference if you're choosing to get into over £50000 of debt when you could spend less than 10k and offset it by working throughout your studies. As a trainee counsellor, you also get a placement much quicker. You study for a year and a half (in most cases) and then you're delivering therapy as a trainee. You're generally unable to deliver therapy until years into your training towards clinical psychologist because you wouldn't meet the requirements to safely practice therapy.

You don't necessarily have to become an assistant psych to understand this but you should talk to a clinical psychologist about their job. Are you prepared to spend the other half of your time delivering supervision, investigating colleagues for complaints and potential malpractice, meet the requirements for assessments. It can be an isolating job just because you're senior in the team you work in, and it can be difficult to keep boundaries between yourself and colleagues when you're their supervisor (ie person who listens to their difficulties with clients and offers choices advice etc...as basic description), colleague and also the person which potentially investigates them.

If you don't speak to them, how can you really decide if you need to spend 5 times as much money to get where you want to be..in at least twice the time
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 75
As an aside..I'm just about to qualify as a counsellor and I'm setting up a trauma recovery centre. my experience is trauma based so I've already worked with complex clients with a range of mental health difficulties. In theory, I'm getting everything I want without the dclinpsy. So I'm having to ask myself what I want from that. It's a question I'll be asked at point of application anyway so I best get the answer in my head :smile:

In the meantime I'm doing the undergrad because I want to. Even if I didn't take it further, the sense of achievement I would have would be immense. Doing a degree was largely about proving myself because I didn't pass my a levels and I never reached my potential. I would be happy but I've already got my eye on 2 masters possibilities so..yeah. Well and truly caught student bug. I love research.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by ~Tara~
As an aside..I'm just about to qualify as a counsellor and I'm setting up a trauma recovery centre. my experience is trauma based so I've already worked with complex clients with a range of mental health difficulties. In theory, I'm getting everything I want without the dclinpsy. So I'm having to ask myself what I want from that. It's a question I'll be asked at point of application anyway so I best get the answer in my head :smile:

In the meantime I'm doing the undergrad because I want to. Even if I didn't take it further, the sense of achievement I would have would be immense. Doing a degree was largely about proving myself because I didn't pass my a levels and I never reached my potential. I would be happy but I've already got my eye on 2 masters possibilities so..yeah. Well and truly caught student bug. I love research.


That sounds so interesting! I'm starting my undergrad this September at the age of 19, and although my goals may change as it's still early I've wanted to be a clinical neuropsychologist since I was 14!
Hi, in my final year atm. I've got some clinical experience (support work and I volunteer to listen and help people on an online therapy website - not sure if this counts) and I plan to get more once I finish. I'm taking a year or two out to work full time (I have an interview lined up as a learning assistant for a student with dyspraxia where I'll get trained in speech and occupational therapy), then do my masters, then do a 12 month placement as a psychology assistant.

My question is, I've worked in a pharmacy for years and was wondering if this could also count as experience? I mainly dispense meds so I'm not sure if this would count.
Original post by lucybuckleyy
Hi, in my final year atm. I've got some clinical experience (support work and I volunteer to listen and help people on an online therapy website - not sure if this counts) and I plan to get more once I finish. I'm taking a year or two out to work full time (I have an interview lined up as a learning assistant for a student with dyspraxia where I'll get trained in speech and occupational therapy), then do my masters, then do a 12 month placement as a psychology assistant.

My question is, I've worked in a pharmacy for years and was wondering if this could also count as experience? I mainly dispense meds so I'm not sure if this would count.


I'm pretty sure your pharmacy experience wouldn't count as clinical experience as its not directly related to clinical psychology, however it would definitely be something to make you stand out and reflect on which I'm sure could be applied to your application
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by A-LJLB
I'm pretty sure your pharmacy experience wouldn't count as clinical experience as its not directly related to clinical psychology, however it would definitely be something to make you stand out and reflect on which I'm sure could be applied to your application


Well, if it helps in some way then that's great. I've had mixed opinions on whether it counts as experience but I've thought about how I could use it in the hypothetical situation I had an interview :P because even though it's not psychology related, it's still technically clinical experience. Though I suppose it can be applied a little since I dispense multiple prescriptions for SSRIs a day, I would even say SSRIs are the most prescribed drugs.

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