Psychology?

Hello all, I've been trying to find information on becoming a psychologist in the near future. Do you have to complete a degree in medicine before doing psychology? If so, does anyone know the steps to become a psychologist. I've seen you can do a degree in psychology (Aberdeen) which is only four years so I wasn't entirely sure about this.Any help/support would be great, thanks

Best site for advice on careers in psychology is the British Psychological Society as they accredited degrees and professional careers: https://careers.bps.org.uk/

First step is a BPS accredited degree in psychology. Most professional roles (clinical, forensic, occupational, sports, educational, academic) then require further postgrad degrees and training.

I’m doing psychology at uni starting September and I’ve done some research. You don’t need a medicine degree, I’m pretty sure you have to have a BPS accredited undergrad degree, and then you need to complete a doctorate, which are usually easier to get onto with a masters or some sort of work experience. Basically it’s a loooonggg process!

The only psychology role you'd need a doctorate for is a Clinical Psychologist, everything else (thankfully) only usually requires a Masters

No. You have to do a medical degree if you wish to specialise in psychiatry.

Despite the similar sounding names, psychology and psychiatry are very different - the most fundamental difference being that psychologists are not medically qualified doctors and psychiatrists are. More info on the differences here:

https://cardinalclinic.co.uk/difference-psychologists-psychiatrists/

Many degrees in Scotland are four years long, especially at the ancient universities - I don't think that by itself means anything special.

Becoming a clinical psychologist (one whos sees patients, but again, in a different way to a psychiatrist) involves obtaining a DClinPsy doctorate in psychology and completing relevant work experience and placements. Most people who do a psychology degree do not become clinical psychologists.

If you think that you actually want to become a psychiatrist rather than a psychologist then the first step would be to get into medical school - you can find a lot of information about that on here:

https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors

Not true. Health psychologist, academic, educational psychologist, counselling psychologist (rather than counsellor), sports psychologist, and neuropsychologist all require a doctorate or equivalent qualification at higher level than Masters.

You don't need a doctorate for Sports Psychology. It's a Masters and then Stage 2 of the BPS qualification, same for Forensic Psychology.

I’m doing psychology at uni starting September and I’ve done some research. You don’t need a medicine degree, I’m pretty sure you have to have a BPS accredited undergrad degree, and then you need to complete a doctorate, which are usually easier to get onto with a masters or some sort of work experience. Basically it’s a loooonggg process!

Best site for advice on careers in psychology is the British Psychological Society as they accredited degrees and professional careers: https://careers.bps.org.uk/

First step is a BPS accredited degree in psychology. Most professional roles (clinical, forensic, occupational, sports, educational, academic) then require further postgrad degrees and training.

Hello all threaders,
I have just had a look at our Pscychology MA, which is the four year undergraduate degree (Scotland) and it is BPS accredited upon completion.
We also have a BSc, and some joint degrees in:
Psychology and Sociology MA
Psychology with Counselling Skills MA (this is a major/minor) - this means your main subject is Psychology, but you also have an element of Counselling Skills in your degree. What this can mean in practice after you graduate is that you can either choose to go into Pschology based employment, or you can choose work which is counselling based. There have been many people who go on to pursue a career in their minor subject successfully either after graduation or further into their careers. There are further joint and major minor degrees with disciplines such as French, German, Anthropology, Business Management, Economics, Legal Studies, Neuroscience, and Philosophy.

We have postgraduate taught degrees in Psychology, Foundations of Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology, Psychological Studies, and PhDs in Psychology.

There is a lot to choose from potentially so it really depends upon what you want to do when you graduate. Prospects give you some useful guidance about what you can do with a Psychology degree. They tell you what you can do as a Counselling Psychologist.
I came across a really useful website called 'Verywellmind' which you may also find helpful. It describes all of the types of Psychologists you can find across most industry areas. This may also help you decide about what to study. If you have a careers advise service it might be worth visiting. Alternatively you could ask practicing Psychologists to help you choose the best area for you. You may also be able to spend some time with some professionals if you ask in your local area.

Good luck with your studies!