Clinical Psychology, risky road?

[dyl10]

I'm stuck in a tough dilemma at the moment, I'd appreciate if anyone with experience could give me a hand here.

I'm a year away now from finishing my undergraduate degree in a field that is unrelated to psychology.
During my degree I had quite a bit of interaction with psychologists and some personal experience with mental illness(family issues).

After attending a course on psychosis, I started to get a feel that this was an area I was interested in possibly working in.

After researching the route, I think I'm right in saying that the typical road to becoming a clinical psychologist is:
Degree -> Masters -> 2 years min work experience -> PhD in Clin. Psychology.
From what I can gather, gaining entry to the PhD course is extremely difficult and is rather competitive.

My dilemma lies in that I'm concerned that after vesting a minimum of 6 years and substantial money(college fees and lost earnings) in getting myself in a position to be eligible for the PhD course, it could turn out that I get refused. Potentially getting refused leaves me worried as I don't know where/what I could do then. I fully understand that it is a long tough road(Someone once told me that "persistence is key" in this field.)
Are there positions in that field for people who only have a degree and a masters in psychology or is all or nothing, in terms of the PhD course?

I'd appreciate if anyone could correct me in any miss assumptions I've made.

Thank you

[Grigzz]

you are roughly on the right track, whilst not always the case most people wont get accecpted to a clinical course without further post graduate study, masters or PhD, however it does happen on occasion.

the relevant clinical experience is possibly the most important requirement, and increasingly the need for publication also.

This means that many people beginning the clinical courses are late 20s at least, so taking someone who completed degree at 21 they are unlikely to get a place untill 28/29. As you were informed persistance is the key, many people get accecpted on their 3rd/4th time of application. So it may be more than the 6 years you had accounted for.

There are far more training places in the uk than ireland so that is another option. All timeframes and costs mentioned after are Irish examples

In regard to working in a health care setting, since the counselling psychology courses in Ireland are moving to 3 year doc. also, three year professional training is the minimum to work as a psychologist into the future. whilst many psychologists in ireland who are professionally qualified do not all have PhD's or Dpsych degrees, all current and future graduates of Clinical or Counselling Psychology will.

Other psychologists such as educational psychologists usually complete a 2 year masters in UCD and can then work as professional psychologists. In the Uk the Educational Psych course is a 3 year Dpsych course, so we may follow suit in the near future.

Dont let this put you off though, as professional psychology is an enjoyable and rewarding profession. Although it does require hard work and persistance in gaining experience and relevant training. Also as you mentioned, the costs are quite high, especially for Counselling and Ed. psychology as you do not currently get paid for your placements. In clinical psychology there is currently a training salary of circa 36k from which you must pay fees etc. this rises each year. You are also contracted to the agency HSE, SJOG who provides your placement for 3 years post graduation.

[Blueskye]

Hey there,

Yes you are right in saying that getting on a D.Clin.Psych course in Ireland is pretty tough, although they have increased the number of course places in the past few years which has helped. Saying that, it tends to be 100 - 150 people applying for circa 10 places on a course each year. But if it's something you would really like to do, I wouldn't let that put you off. Why not start with the degree and see how you get on? It's a long road and who knows where it could take you.

But as you say, persistence is key. People apply 2, 3 and 4 times if they are unsuccessful their first try and several of the universities will provide you with useful feedback on your performance so you will know what you need to do to improve. You also need to be able to take constructive criticism, and be open to some personal development.

Originally Posted by dyl10

Are there positions in that field for people who only have a degree and a masters in psychology or is all or nothing, in terms of the PhD course?

I'm not sure I understand the question. You can usually only get on the doctoral programme with a degree, masters and relevant experience. And quite a few people now also have phd's before even commencing D.Clin.Psych courses!! Counselling courses require less as far as I know. There's not a lot you can do in psychology with a degree only but there is quite a lot of work in the UK in research for those with masters. And, as mentioned, there are plenty of D.Clin.Psych courses in the UK, although most tend to be equally competitive. But it is a risk, who knows what the set-up will be like in 7 or so years time, particularly with funding issues and the HSE but there is a real need for psychologists in this country.


Just to clarify from Grigzz's post, the HSE, SJOG do not necessarily provide you with a placement post graduation. I think this is a grey area at present and can depend on positions available etc. This year there will be national interviews for at least some of the courses and no-one is sure exactly what is going to happen. It's an uncertain time.

But in agreement with Grigzz, it's a fantastic career path, very rewarding and challenging but takes a long time to become qualified and it's not necessarily easy to get relevant experience. But definitely worth it

[dyl10]

Incredibly educational advice there lads, much appreciated. You really clarified a lot in my mind.

Are there positions in that field for people who only have a degree and a masters in psychology or is all or nothing, in terms of the PhD course?

In the above quote I was questioning whether or not there were careers in the medical field for people who had only pursued their eduction to masters level(e.g. having not been accepted to the PhD course after completing a masters). Grigzz duly answered.