Becoming a Psychologist Rachel Marfleet

The plan for today… Careers in psychology How I got into psychology Educational Psychology Clinical Psychology How I got into psychology Being a trainee clinical psychologist Useful tips

Educational Psychology Occupational Psychology Careers in psychology Counselling Educational Psychology Forensic Psychology Family Therapy Mental Health Nurse Health Psychology Occupational Psychology Clinical Psychology Sport Psychologist Researcher Art/music therapist

What is Clinical Psychology? Concerned with assessment, treatment and understanding of mental health problems, behaviour problems, learning disabilities Problems encountered: Anxiety, depression, phobias, eating disorders, learning disabilities, dementia, psychosis, social emotional and behavioural difficulties…

Roles of a Clinical Psychologist Psychological assessment and formulation Therapeutic interventions Supervision Consultation with other professionals Research Management, policy development Evaluation of clinical practice Teaching/training

The road to clinical psychology Relevant work experience: Paid: Assistant Psychologist, Learning Mentor, Nursing Assistant, Research Assistant Volunteer work: Play schemes, charities, Nursing homes Undergraduate degree in Psychology BSc or BA Recognised by the British Psychological Society Usually a 2:1 or 1st Applying for the course Getting an interview A Postgraduate degree Masters or PHD in a relevant area Getting on the course! 3 Year postgraduate Doctorate course in clinical psychology

What is Educational Psychology? Concerned with helping young people who experience difficulties in education settings and supporting staff to help those young people Carry out assessment, interventions and consultation to support the staff or student and offer advice Problems encountered: Learning disability or difficulty, social emotional or behavioural problems

Roles of an Educational Psychologist Direct work with children: assessment, intervention Indirect work: Assessment, consultation and advice with parents, teachers and other professionals Teaching/training Research Management Policy development

The road to educational psychology Undergraduate degree in Psychology BSc or BA Recognised by the British Psychological Society Relevant work experience with children Assistant Educational Psychologist In schools (classroom assistant, learning mentor…) In community settings (playschemes, care worker) Applying for the course Getting an interview A Postgraduate degree Teaching degree Masters or PHD in a relevant area Getting on the course! 3 Year postgraduate Doctorate course in educational psychology

Clinical vs Educational Works mainly in health settings (NHS) 3 year doctorate training Trained to work with children, adults, older adults, opportunities to specialise on training Assessment and intervention Educational Works mainly in schools, educational settings 3 year doctorate training Client group are children (0-16 years), indirect work with parents and teachers Assessment and intervention

My story! Applied for Psychology degree at York University Year 12: Work Experience with a Clinical Psychologist Year 9: Interested in Clinical Psychology Assistant Psychologist job (with Clinical Psychologist), children with learning disabilities Graduated from York University BSc Psychology Summer job at a playscheme Mental Health Specialist job (with Educational Psychology), supporting children and parents of children with social emotional and behavioural problems Accepted as a Trainee on the Sheffield Clinical Psychology Course! Research assistant job: investigating predictors for development of antisocial behaviour

Being a trainee 3 years, full time paid employment /student 1 day a week in University, 3 days a week on placement in NHS Placements: Adults, older adults, children, learning disabilities, specialist placements Course work: Case Studies, Review papers, Service evaluation, literature review, Scientific single case Thesis: 3rd year project

Cases I’ve worked on Dementia assessments Anxiety Depression Behaviour problems Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Eating Disorders Learning Disability assessment Selective Mutism Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome Family problems Attachment Disorder

Therapy Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Narrative therapy Person Centred Counselling Solution focused therapy Systemic therapy Play therapy

Tips for wannabe psychologists Be proactive: get some relevant work experience visit and speak to different psychologists Be patient - it can take a while Be prepared - patients, coursework, statistics

Useful websites British Psychological Society: www.bps.org.uk Educational Psychology training: www.lge.gov.uk (employment link) Clinical Psychology training: www.leeds.ac.uk/chpccp