Hi,
I know this is easier said than done, but try not to stress about it too much. When I did my interview years ago for the Doctorate I was so anxious. But it wasn’t scary at all.
For my interview I was asked to prepare a short presentation (up to 10 minutes) about my therapeutic work with one client. This was not a PowerPoint or anything, so you just have to remember it off by heart. I chose a simple CBT case and talked about how important it was to value the therapeutic relationship, and work collaboratively with the client to support them. The Teesside Counselling Psychology Doctorate is really focused on the therapeutic alliance, so they love that.
Next, they asked me if I had any ideas about future thesis research. I told them the areas I was interested in, and they said that was good (You don’t need to give them lots of specific details. They just want to see that you have a field of interest that would fit with the course).
Finally, they asked a few self care questions to check that I would be able to manage the stress of the course. I just pretended that I eat and sleep regularly etc. They love hearing about how you manage boundaries.
The interview is with 2 members of the teaching staff. It is quite relaxed and informal, but obviously try to come across as professional as possible. I’m assuming any interviews over the next few months will be done remotely by video call due to Covid-19. The first couple of months of lectures will probably be similar, as the uni is keen to avoid the risk of students getting unwell.
If you really want to get into the Doctorate, I would recommend making your application as strong as possible. If you have training/experience with therapy, focus on all of that. If not (I actually didn’t have so much as I came straight from a psychology undergrad degree), I would recommend doing an online course for an extra qualification. I paid about £50 for a diploma in CBT course and completed it all in a month. I also had experience on my cv working with people, but I believe the CBT diploma ticked the therapeutic knowledge box for them.
I hope that makes sense. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.
And Good Luck. You can do it!