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Student at the Open University
Open University
Milton Keynes
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Looking for some general advice

Hi everyone

I'm looking to start a degree with the OU studying Psychology with Counselling and eventually be working as a Psychotherapist / Clinical Psychologist (unsure at this time whether I'd be looking towards a masters)

I'm a mature student at 29 and already have a degree in an arts related subject which I did when I was (in hindsight) much less mature and really unknowing of where I wanted to be in the world or what I wanted to do. I've worked in recruitment for a few years and as of now I'm unemployed and due to COVID i've obviously done a lot of soul searching and know that my passion for people and deep curiosity would be great for a career in Psychology. Plus, as I enter my 30s next year I'm really looking to set myself up into my "life career"

So anyway, that was just a bit about my background! All I've done is enquired with the OU - I like distance learning and in my final year of uni (the first time round!) I studied at home due to health issues at the time and the distance learning worked really really well for me.

What has put me off is the idea of more debt, but I'm becoming less and less phased by this really. I'm thinking I should just go for it. Does anybody have any general advice or thoughts about this? Any experience would also be valuable! I'm also a bit worried I'll stuggle - I don't have A-levels in Psychology or any science based studies but I do have a very deep interest so I'm hoping that'll carry me through.

Sorry if this post is a bit long winded but I really would appreciate any words! I really do want to go for it but the thought of applying again feels overwhelming and I really don't know where to start!
Reply 1
You may find that a conversion master’s in psychology is cheaper. In fact, you’ll definitely find that. There are a number of conversions that would probably allow you to graduate debt free, especially if you did it part time.
However, becoming a psychologist is not as easy as just saying “I’m going to be a psychologist.” If it’s the clinical route you’re wanting to go down, you’ll need at least a year’s paid clinical experience, ideally NHS to get anywhere close to having a shot. Likewise, if you want to do educational, you’ll need at least a year’s working with children. Bear in mind that this is a minimum. People can plug away for years at this career path and never get anywhere. It’s a very, very risky path to invest in. You’d find it easier to get into medicine, statistically speaking.
I would urge you to really consider if this is right for you. Plenty of people say they want to be psychologists without any real understanding of what this means. Many people don’t realise they can achieve the goals they want in alternative careers that allow them to qualify much faster and with more of a guarantee of their investment of time and effort paying off.
If you’ve never studied psychology before, you might find yourself in for a bit of a surprise. A lot of people find it’s not what they expected. You need good maths skills, good abstract thinking skills and something approaching tolerance for computer based models. If you’re interested in people, maybe veer toward something that really puts people at the heart of the degree, like mental health nursing (good route to becoming a counsellor) or occupational therapy or speech and language therapy ie something vocational. Those degrees could have you working inside three to four years. Psychology could be up to seven or eight if ever.
Just think very carefully. If you’re risk averse or debt averse, psychology may not be the route for you. I would urge you to pick up a psychology A level this year, see if it’s really for you. Plenty of distance learning options available. The good thing about that option is that it would also prepare you for studying any of those other options as well.
Student at the Open University
Open University
Milton Keynes
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Reply 2
Original post by giella
You may find that a conversion master’s in psychology is cheaper. In fact, you’ll definitely find that. There are a number of conversions that would probably allow you to graduate debt free, especially if you did it part time.
However, becoming a psychologist is not as easy as just saying “I’m going to be a psychologist.” If it’s the clinical route you’re wanting to go down, you’ll need at least a year’s paid clinical experience, ideally NHS to get anywhere close to having a shot. Likewise, if you want to do educational, you’ll need at least a year’s working with children. Bear in mind that this is a minimum. People can plug away for years at this career path and never get anywhere. It’s a very, very risky path to invest in. You’d find it easier to get into medicine, statistically speaking.
I would urge you to really consider if this is right for you. Plenty of people say they want to be psychologists without any real understanding of what this means. Many people don’t realise they can achieve the goals they want in alternative careers that allow them to qualify much faster and with more of a guarantee of their investment of time and effort paying off.
If you’ve never studied psychology before, you might find yourself in for a bit of a surprise. A lot of people find it’s not what they expected. You need good maths skills, good abstract thinking skills and something approaching tolerance for computer based models. If you’re interested in people, maybe veer toward something that really puts people at the heart of the degree, like mental health nursing (good route to becoming a counsellor) or occupational therapy or speech and language therapy ie something vocational. Those degrees could have you working inside three to four years. Psychology could be up to seven or eight if ever.
Just think very carefully. If you’re risk averse or debt averse, psychology may not be the route for you. I would urge you to pick up a psychology A level this year, see if it’s really for you. Plenty of distance learning options available. The good thing about that option is that it would also prepare you for studying any of those other options as well.

Thank you very much for your thought out and detailed response - it did give me an awful lot to think about!

Maths isn't one of my best skills and something I try to stay clear of as much as I can!! Id say im useless at it! I don't necessarily or specifically want to be a clinical psychologist but when I had a look online at counselling related degrees at OU the closest I found was Psychology with Counselling. Ideally I'd want to be working and practicing as Psychotherapist / Counsellor. Having the Psychology credentials would be nice but it is not essential - especially as I am now 29, and I am a believer that it is never too late but certainly being set back 7-8 years is something I need to take seriously and consider.
Reply 3
I know a number of mental health nurses who have gone on to get CBT training as part of their CPD and a number of them have peeled off into private practice as counsellors/therapists, using mental health nursing as their base. You’ll find a lot of therapy clinics have a mix of psychologists, counsellors and mental health nurses providing therapies.
MHN is one of the more secure routes into therapies as you’re guaranteed the supervision. Taking a counselling route often means that you have to source your own supervision and/or pay for it and that can be challenging. It can be three to five years post grad training with some vocational routes and then it can be quite challenging getting a job. There’s not really a set career path for counselling and it can be quite costly. Often the people doing the Master’s route into psychotherapies have a professional grounding in something else prior to going into it.
I would say again the first thing to look at is a psychology A level to test the waters. You don’t have to commit yourself to anything yet and you can take the time to maybe find a job in the area. Neuro rehab, support work, nursing auxiliary, health care assistant, teaching assistant: all good routes in to getting a flavour of the sort of work psychologists and mental health professionals and Ed psychs do.
Reply 4
Original post by giella
I know a number of mental health nurses who have gone on to get CBT training as part of their CPD and a number of them have peeled off into private practice as counsellors/therapists, using mental health nursing as their base. You’ll find a lot of therapy clinics have a mix of psychologists, counsellors and mental health nurses providing therapies.
MHN is one of the more secure routes into therapies as you’re guaranteed the supervision. Taking a counselling route often means that you have to source your own supervision and/or pay for it and that can be challenging. It can be three to five years post grad training with some vocational routes and then it can be quite challenging getting a job. There’s not really a set career path for counselling and it can be quite costly. Often the people doing the Master’s route into psychotherapies have a professional grounding in something else prior to going into it.
I would say again the first thing to look at is a psychology A level to test the waters. You don’t have to commit yourself to anything yet and you can take the time to maybe find a job in the area. Neuro rehab, support work, nursing auxiliary, health care assistant, teaching assistant: all good routes in to getting a flavour of the sort of work psychologists and mental health professionals and Ed psychs do.

Thanks for this! I've been looking at Mental Health Nursing and also a Foundation degree in Counselling/Psychotherapy.

Ultimately no I don't really want to be a Psychologist - if it was the only route I would commit but I just want to be working with adults who need support via therapy and counselling, being able to provide a mixture of therapies including CBT, exposure etc - that's the real goal. Not necessarily mental illness related I'd happily work through marriage, financial and personal issues and also with individuals who are more vulnerable mentally and need to learn coping skills (anxiety, depression, personality disorders etc).

I can apparently look at Credit Transfer as I have a previous degree so I'm just waiting to my previous uni to get back to me with what I need.

I know I want to make this work but I just don't know how! Feeling a little overwhelmed.
Hi, CBT Therapist here. I’m sure you already know but this can be quite a long road and experience rather than generic psychology qualifications will be more valuable.

If I was in your position, I would contact local counselling services and ask if they have any voluntary positions available. If you are looking for work perhaps look for admin and clerical roles in mental health departments, you can build relationships with management and when a therapy role comes up you are more likely to get it. A lot of these roles in say IAPT might involve carrying out a telephone assessment which is a clinical skill. You could do a cbt certificate straight away if you are interested but I wouldn’t invest a lot of money at this stage as the cbt training course is around £10,000 if you self fund.

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