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Help - Psychology & Nutrition?

I'm starting my A levels in September but they're already encouraging us to think about uni and career options. I'm really interested in psychology and nutrition, as well as mental health. Is there any way to combine these fields? What are good uni courses or jobs I could look into? Any advice appreciated.
Original post by maniccrammer
I'm starting my A levels in September but they're already encouraging us to think about uni and career options. I'm really interested in psychology and nutrition, as well as mental health. Is there any way to combine these fields? What are good uni courses or jobs I could look into? Any advice appreciated.

It is possible to do degrees in Psychology and Nutrition at University - as an example, Newcastle uni offer it and require you to have at least one A level in Maths or Science. You could also research the role of a Dietitian, they are often employed by the NHS - an entry requiremant for this degree is Biology or Chemistry A level.

Reading Uni run an interesting course (BSc Nutrition with Food Consumer Sciences) that combines nutrition with the psychology behind consumer choices. They also want a Science A level (or maths) so there is a bit of a pattern becoming apparent here!
Original post by harrysbar
It is possible to do degrees in Psychology and Nutrition at University - as an example, Newcastle uni offer it and require you to have at least one A level in Maths or Science. You could also research the role of a Dietitian, they are often employed by the NHS - an entry requiremant for this degree is Biology or Chemistry A level.

Reading Uni run an interesting course (BSc Nutrition with Food Consumer Sciences) that combines nutrition with the psychology behind consumer choices. They also want a Science A level (or maths) so there is a bit of a pattern becoming apparent here!

Thanks will have a look. I've always wanted to attend Oxbridge and the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences course at Cambridge is one I'm seriously considering - do you think it'd be possible to study this course and then specialise in a field more focused on nutrition, health psychology for example? Do you know anything about salary or job opportunities in this field?
Original post by maniccrammer
Thanks will have a look. I've always wanted to attend Oxbridge and the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences course at Cambridge is one I'm seriously considering - do you think it'd be possible to study this course and then specialise in a field more focused on nutrition, health psychology for example? Do you know anything about salary or job opportunities in this field?

There is a very good careers website called Prospects - if you google Health Psychologist Prospects you will find a wealth of information on job opprortunities in this sector, salary etc. You can also research related careers.

As far as the specific course you mentioned, you are better off asking Cambridge directly about the sort of things that students go into after the course. Start by asking the department about it, although they may refer you to the Cambridge Uni careers team, who will have statistics on destination information. As the course is accredited by the BPS, I see no reason why you wouldn't be an excellent candidate to progress onto a relevant Masters - such as the MSc in Health Psychology run by UCL, for example.
Reply 4
Avatar for lou987
lou987
8
If you want to work in mental health directly, I’d consider doing Mental Health Nursing. It provides a direct route into working in mental health, you get lots of practical experience, something you may not get with a psychology degree. After I finish my MHN degree I’m considering doing a UCL MSc in eating disorders and clinical nutrition/ or the public health and clinical nutrition one. Feel free to ask more if you have any questions :smile:
Original post by lou987
If you want to work in mental health directly, I’d consider doing Mental Health Nursing. It provides a direct route into working in mental health, you get lots of practical experience, something you may not get with a psychology degree. After I finish my MHN degree I’m considering doing a UCL MSc in eating disorders and clinical nutrition/ or the public health and clinical nutrition one. Feel free to ask more if you have any questions :smile:

that sounds really interesting. Can you tell me more about what it involves? What qualifications did you have to do beforehand?
Reply 6
Avatar for lou987
lou987
8
Hello! I did Psychology, Sociology and English Language alevels. Biology would also be a good choice. it’s a varied mixture between placements and theory. I’m actually doing children’s nursing as well (two qualifications) as mental health because I’m looking to work in CAMHS when I qualify (I’m doing it at https://www.southampton.ac.uk/health...al-health.page - although it’s changing to an MSc next year, just MH on its own would still be BN/BScalthough you can work in camhs with just MH nursing.

Placements wise for mental health , I’ve had a community mental health team (CMHT), and older adults inpatients. Next year I’ll have an acute inpatient, CAMHS, and possibly specialist placements like drug/alcohol/substance misuse, eating disorders, homeless mental health team etc. You get more variance with the single field MH degree. As i’m doing child nursing as well I’ve also done a health visiting placement (as well as neonatal unit.) on the health visiting placement I spent time with the lead health visitors for mental health which was so informative.

Theory wise, the teaching at Southampton is really good, and in depth. We get taught general medical anatomy and physiology but also applied to mental health like differences in brain functioning, neurotransmitters etc, there’s also a lot on personality development, main mental health issues, medication, trauma, research methods, acute care and long term conditions.
The range of options you can go into is really wide. I was actually thinking of doing a nutrition and dietetics degree instead and specialising in mental health from that, but I found my passion in general mental health, clinical psychology etc. I also considered doing a psychology degree then going into clinical psych, but in reality the options for working directly in mental health is much better and more likely if you do mental health nursing)
Original post by maniccrammer
that sounds really interesting. Can you tell me more about what it involves? What qualifications did you have to do beforehand?

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