DPsych Counselling Psychology - GCU

Me too! There wasn’t very much information that way online anywhere about how many applications the course receives and how many people get offered a place on the course

Hello, I have! Still waiting to hear back 😕

Has anyone applied to this course for 2023 entry?

Hello, fantastic well done! Hope you hear back soon! My interview is in another week. Excited and nervous. Any helpful tips to consider?

For those getting interviews, could I ask how much experience you had behind you and where? Good luck to you all!

I'm really sorry to hear the outcome for you, please try not be too disheartened.. I know that is easy to say though, especially if you set your heart on this course. So in terms of experience I'm not exactly sure what it is they are exactly looking for in terms of length or specific areas of experience. My undergrad degree is not in psychology, instead it is in social work. Pre qualifying I've worked in different support sectors including homelessness, additional support needs etc. My post qualifying experience has been in social work field for the last few years within different areas including mental health. Currently in the process of completing masters psychology conversion. Good luck with your future endeavors, I hope it won't deter you... I always say what's meant for you won't go by you and maybe the time just wasn't right for you this year.

Well done picking yourself up and not letting it deter you! What a great mindset to have!To gain a 2:1 in your undergrad is a fantastic achievement! The fact you can identify possibly gaps in your experience and your plans to enhance this demonstrates great determination and self -reflection. I'm sure voluntary or paid experience would hold the same merit so if you were able to compliment paid employment with even a couple of hours per month in a therapeutic role depending on your personal circumstances that might be enough. I think if you reapply that will also demonstrate your commitment to this particular course given you have reflected on their feedback, went away and looked to gain more experience and came back 12 months later. Regardless of the outcome I will also apply once more next year if unsuccessful, so perhaps might be talking to you again in 12 months time during application stage 😊

Yeah, that's great thanks. It's 100% my experience right now that is lacking at the moment when it comes to the competitive nature of positions on these courses...

Because you are right, nothing to get deterred about, it's just a case of if you want it pursue everything you need to do, to be given a chance. And in this field that pretty much amounts to... experience, experience, experience! Obviously a baseline academic standard/level is required, but that's arguably the "easy" bit here!

I'm building up working experience right now and have more opportunities lined up this year, so I'll be back again later this year/early next applying for courses.

Though I have not been involved in counselling psychology doctoral selection, I have been involved in clinical psychology selection, so there is likely to be some overlap. While the point you make about experience being essential is true, it's not the full story nor is it a case of "if you serve enough time as an HCA/AP you eventually get onto training". That mindset is why you get some assistant psychologists applying year after year with no success then pushing the story that it's impossible to get onto a doctorate.

The other part is the ability to reflect on that experience and being able to think psychologically, which usually is where good clinical supervision, being part of reflective practice and being able to tap into the various aspects of being a practitioner psychologist comes in. The more you can demonstrate you are a good fit with those core competencies the better your application is going to be. For instance, here is the Programme Spec for the Couns Psy Doctorate at City (which is fairly standard for a counselling psychology doctorate). https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/686531/DSDCPS-DPsych-Counselling-Psychology.pdf

There is a lot there to cover potentially, but if you are smart about it and have exposure to Clinical/Counselling Psychologists who can mentor and learn from it gets integrated into the day to day work while you are gaining that experience. If there is a gap, your next role should be looking to cover it, rather than just going for an area you like and feel comfortable with. Hope that gives you and other readers something to consider.

Hello, fantastic well done! Hope you hear back soon! My interview is in another week. Excited and nervous. Any helpful tips to consider?

Congrats on the interview! Hope it went well. I had mine recently and don't know how to feel about it, I felt quite nervous and like I was babbling at points but I guess they expect a degree of nerves from anyone. Did you get any idea on when we might hear back? Really crossing my fingers for this one, although I have no idea how competitive it is!