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Do I need a masters, doctorate or both? (Clinical/Forensic/High Intensity Psych)

Can someone please send help my way because the more I look at it the more confused I am getting...

I'm currently doing an Open University Psychology Degree and I am struggling to make my mind up on what to do once it is completed.
I am really torn between clinical and forensic psychology.

Would I have been better off choosing before I started my undergraduate degree and doing that course and then continuing from there because I had the option to do Forensic Psychology or Clinical as undergrad but went straight for just psychology as I didn't want to tie myself down to a route I didn't want to take.

Once I have finished my degree would I be better to then go on and do a Masters Degree in whatever subject I do choose in the end or would it be better to go straight to the Doctorate.

I've read that to go onto being a qualified Clinical Psychologist that I would have to do a doctorate in clinical psychology but if I got on with the NHS this would be paid for through them and that I would be employee as a trainee... I can't find anything though for what to do between getting my undergraduate degree and applying for the Doctorate with the NHS. Would I just go straight from one to the other or is there something else to do in between? Anything that would make me more competitive and stand out?
Has anyone not gone down the NHS route because I am interested to see how that pans out and what I would have to do then.

On the other hand, I have found that there are two options for Forensic Psychology; to get a Masters followed by a Stage 2 BPS Qualification or get a doctorate.
With doing the Masters & BPS Qualification I read you would need to do a minimum of two years supervised practice but I could do this whilst being trained so I would essentially be being paid to become qualified, is that right?
The doctorate would be quicker though but much more intense.
Has anyone got experience in either of these and can tell me how they are finding it and made up your mind for the route you took? I am so confused off these articles and entry requirement lists that an actual opinion would be nice.

Finally, to train as a High Intensity Psychologist would I have to have qualified in another form of psychology eg.clinical before I can access the needed courses? Some articles I have read say I would do and others say it is just general experience in the industry needed which is getting me all sorts of confused.
The vast majority are saying that you need to be in the industry for a good few years first which makes sense which is why it is confusing me there may be a more direct route.
If I do need to be qualified in another form of psychology would it have to be clinical or would I be considered if I did forensic because I am struggling to find this out as it isn't very specific.

I don't want to regret my choice later so would like to be as informed as possible :smile:

Congrats to to anyone who made it to the end of this because I'm p.sure it is a whole load of waffle xx

Reply 1

bones-mccoy

Most people don't specialise until Masters level as you don't really ~know~ a subject until you've studied it at degree level, it's totally normal. It's good to keep things broad and have your options open. Obviously there are Forensic Psychology undergraduate courses out there but it makes little difference whether you do that to start with or just a general Psychology degree and then specialise.

I'm starting a Masters in Forensic Psychology in September, you're right about the two years of supervised practice afterwards but I'm fairly sure you get paid for it. The Doctorate is essentially the Masters and the Stage 2 qualification rolled into one but there's less courses and probably more competition. It's generally much easier to get onto a Masters than a PhD as funding comes from SFE rather than the university itself so it's less of a risk for the department.

Can't say much about Clinical but I do know it's very, very competitive and most people need at least a couple of years experience before being accepted onto the course.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 2

marinade

Original post by Bwoodywoods

Once I have finished my degree would I be better to then go on and do a Masters Degree in whatever subject I do choose in the end or would it be better to go straight to the Doctorate.

I've read that to go onto being a qualified Clinical Psychologist that I would have to do a doctorate in clinical psychology but if I got on with the NHS this would be paid for through them and that I would be employee as a trainee... I can't find anything though for what to do between getting my undergraduate degree and applying for the Doctorate with the NHS. Would I just go straight from one to the other or is there something else to do in between? Anything that would make me more competitive and stand out?
Has anyone not gone down the NHS route because I am interested to see how that pans out and what I would have to do then.

Most people don't know precisely how to get 'between' undergrad and the clinical doctorate.

Classically the standard routes are Assistant Psychologist and more recently Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner.* In reality this is a gross simplification because if you look at people who have got on the clinical doctorate there is a richness and variety in the experience whichever role. Each provider is different and tailored, some people spend a lot more time being research assistants, others do different types of AP and support worker and other voluntary specialist experience is far more common than people make out.

*As these are the classic routes it does mean that these are reasonably competitive themselves. Some people are a volunteer assistant psychologist and then an assistant psychologist. Also quite a lot of people spend a lot of hard months after they graduating convincing themselves they can't get a PWP role because it's impossible (it isn't).

If you are open minded then read all 25 pages of this thread https://www.clinpsy.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=145

So obviously the thread starts off in 2007 and runs to the present day and details grades, experience age etc when people got on the doctorate. You will notice a lot of people who get on the doctorate don't have a master's degree...

Linkedin also have loads of trainee clinical psychologists where you can read their CVs.

Also, it's not just the experience, it's how you tell them (the stories, not jokes). A lot of interviews for various roles are quite focused and want specific examples and evidence of learning along the lines of reflective practice. I see this myself where a lot of grads who'll tell you that they'll give you a field of ponies Sir Alan, are really quite poor in telling you about their experiences (it is a hard thing to do) and get absolutely caned in early interviews for PWP/AP etc.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 3

Lord Asriel

Original post by Bwoodywoods

Would I have been better off choosing before I started my undergraduate degree and doing that course and then continuing from there because I had the option to do Forensic Psychology or Clinical as undergrad but went straight for just psychology as I didn't want to tie myself down to a route I didn't want to take.

As others have mentioned your undergrad degree title doesn't matter as long as it gives you BPS basis for chartership. And you get good marks in it.

Once I have finished my degree would I be better to then go on and do a Masters Degree in whatever subject I do choose in the end or would it be better to go straight to the Doctorate.

If you can get straight onto a doctoral programme do so. No one 'needs' a masters (I don't have one for instance). However, that is far easier said than done.

I've read that to go onto being a qualified Clinical Psychologist that I would have to do a doctorate in clinical psychology but if I got on with the NHS this would be paid for through them and that I would be employee as a trainee... I can't find anything though for what to do between getting my undergraduate degree and applying for the Doctorate with the NHS. Would I just go straight from one to the other or is there something else to do in between? Anything that would make me more competitive and stand out?
Has anyone not gone down the NHS route because I am interested to see how that pans out and what I would have to do then.

Almost all UK DClinPsy places are funded by the NHS as Band 6 posts. The route to that point is varied, and Marinade sums it up nicely and ClinPsy.org.uk is the best place to go to discuss the routes with fellow aspirants. There are tiny number of places on DClinPsy courses that aren't NHS funded, but these are broadly intended for international students who aren't intending to practice in the UK and are quite pricey.

With doing the Masters & BPS Qualification I read you would need to do a minimum of two years supervised practice but I could do this whilst being trained so I would essentially be being paid to become qualified, is that right?
The doctorate would be quicker though but much more intense.
Has anyone got experience in either of these and can tell me how they are finding it and made up your mind for the route you took? I am so confused off these articles and entry requirement lists that an actual opinion would be nice.

The route to Forensic is far more messy and varied. The traditional way is to do your Stage 1 MSc and have Stage 2 paid for as a trainee forensic psychologist in a prison or secure unit. However, this rarely took 2 years, as the way the BPS requirements panned out people would have to demonstrate core competencies , and trainees would have to focus on the duties given to them by their workplace (as they are employees with jobs) rather than the work that they needed to qualify. They need to fit to the work needs of their employers, rather than gaining the needed experience for their portfolios. The DForensPsy was supposed to be a way of doing this in a more joined up and quicker way, and to be fair I think it does result in FPs getting their quicker.

Finally, to train as a High Intensity Psychologist would I have to have qualified in another form of psychology eg.clinical before I can access the needed courses? Some articles I have read say I would do and others say it is just general experience in the industry needed which is getting me all sorts of confused.

Routes to High intensity IAPT therapists are either a) people coming off a DClinPsy who want do work in IAPT, b) have training in other core profession (e.g. nursing, social work, Occupational Therapy) c) trained PWPs who are able to demonstrate core competencies (KSA) and are supported to move up to higher intensity training posts.

From your questions I think you would be better off talking to a local Clinical Psychologist who can explain things more clearly and can see your individual needs. Some of the questions you have are already answered on ClinPsy though and searching through that forum via the Search function may be useful. Good luck.