I work as a Clinical Psychologist, ask me anything (within reason)

Hi, hope you’re doing well. I have done my bachelor’s in psychology from Pakistan and now i have applied for a MSc Mental health: psychological therapies at QMUL but i have heard that a non-BPS accredited masters in UK is worthless. I also want to become a clinical psychologist but i didn’t want to do psychology masters conversion course to gain GBC membership to become eligible for DClinPsy. Is it possible that pakistani students be given this membership if they try to apply for it?

Hi, hope you’re doing well. I have done my bachelor’s in psychology from Pakistan and now i have applied for a MSc Mental health: psychological therapies at QMUL but i have heard that a non-BPS accredited masters in UK is worthless. I also want to become a clinical psychologist but i didn’t want to do psychology masters conversion course to gain GBC membership to become eligible for DClinPsy. Is it possible that pakistani students be given this membership if they try to apply for it?

Only if you can get your undergrad retrospectively approved by the BPS (https://www.bps.org.uk/faqs/does-society-accredit-international-degrees). Otherwise yes you will have to do a conversion.
Good luck,
Greg

If I am not wrong, you need to have at least a master's conversion course accredited by the BPS, otherwise your degree will not fulfil this requirement for any DClinPsych course you are applying, the same goes for other psychology courses beyond bachelor.

Can you help me out, I hate y sister some days so bad I wish she died and some days I feel normal to her but I really resent her for a specific reason and it could be related to anger but idk what this could be and it affects e daily

HI.I am going to go into year 13 (17 yrs old)and would like to be a clinical psychologist and aspiring to go up and be a consultant clinical psychologist.I am very anxious for going onto this career as apparenlt its very challenging but excited as i will be stronger...I am hoping to apply to KCL of QMUL for psychology bsc with placement year.Could you please tell me the whole pathway that i need to take to be a clinical psychologist...and at what age i will most likely be done with education...realistically .Thanks.

Realistically probably around the age of 29 (the average age of acceptance is mid to late 20s). For most people it is;
18-21/22 Undergrad (placement can add a year)
21-23/24 practical experience and most likely one postgrad qualification (most people 3 plus years of experience, of course some are quicker and some are much longer).
25-28 Doctorate
On my course the average starting age was 30, so qualified at around 33. These figures will of course mask the different journeys that people make, such as coming to psychology later on after another career.
The quickest you can probably do is accepted on to a doctorate is 12 months post undergrad (but obviously have to wait for start for around 6 to 8 months depending on course). However, it is very unlikely. Even if it was possible i dont think it would be a good idea (i explain why earlier on the thread).
Hope this helps,
Greg

Do you know what i can do when i start uni to gain more experience and be ahead of everyone to be a clinical psychologist quicker like what can i do to get accepted quick?what places(experiences) are very highly admired by employers?Thank you btw

Just prioritise getting a 2.1 or a first, these are most important thing you can do at uni.
As i said you should not try to rush for the key reasons i have mentioned in this thread. Trust me the process cant and shouldnt be rushed. Its not just about time or jobs it is also about you and how you grow through these experiences. The doctorate isnt just another degree it is a paid role where you will be expected to work with some really complex people and problems, as well as produce and publish high quality research independently. These may sound like boxes to be ticked but we are talking about human beings, and so it is much more complicated than that.
Greg

oh okayy.Thank you so much.You are really helping me right now.do u recommend for me to take a placement year for uni undergrad?bc im going to apply for unis soon.

Any advice for going into first year of psychology bsc?

As above please feel free to ask my any burning questions around how to get into this field.
Take care,
Greg

Hi Greg,
So I’m just wondering if you could offer any insight as to whether there is a route into counselling psychology from mental health nursing. I know it’s not your speciality but I’m wondering if you have any advice. So I know obviously you’d have to complete an MSc conversion course, and you’d need a counselling qualification. Would nursing experience be relevant when applying for the doctorate or applying for roles such as PWP. I know you said you trained in CBT, how did you go about this? Sorry there’s lots of questions, essentially I would just like to know your advice for someone making this transition.

Thanks for your reply.
Yes I was talking about counselling psychology specifically as opposed to just counselling. As I wanted to know how relevant mental health nursing experience is in regard to applying for the counselling psychology doctorate or if I would need other more relevant experience such as being a PWP.
Also, are you able to elaborate on which pathway they may be phasing out? Did you mean counselling psychologists altogether?

Yes, it looks highly likely that the ability to train as a Counselling Psychologists will be effectively phased out. I say this as most of the universities who offered it are now closing the courses (https://www.clinpsy.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22367). You can google more yourself, as there are statements from the division online also.
So if i were you i would not waste too much time considering it.
Greg