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New 2015 Shiny How-To-Become-A-Counsellor/Therapist/Psychologist Thread

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    #2
    fannymagee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,230 ✭✭✭fannymagee


    MSc in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy

    I did the 4 year MSc in Turning Point/DCU. (Now accredited by UCC) http://www.turningpoint.ie/education-training/courses/

    It was expensive and at times I thought the pressure of all the requirements would break me, but I loved it. It was incredibly experiential, I trained with the most amazing group of people and made some incredible friends.

    LOTS of experiential work, group process, personal process, heavy emphasis on personal therapy work. Lots of focus on Psychosynthesis, Person-centered therapy & Gestalt.

    Year 1: focussed on personal readiness & group/personal process, minimum requirement of 20hrs personal therapy, 40 hrs peer therapy, monthly 2 hour study group, plus one Fri/Sat/Sun weekend per month.

    Year 2: focussed more on theories and practice of therapy. Min 40 hrs personal therapy, 40 hrs peer, monthly 2 hr study group & Fri/Sat/Sun weekend.

    Year 3: Client work begins. min 100hrs client work, 50 hrs supervision (50 client reports), 40 hrs personal therapy, 40 hrs peer, monthly 2 hr study group & Fri/Sat/Sun weekend.

    Year 4: Option of clinical year 4, and/or academic (MSc) Year 4.

    Academic: 20,000 word research thesis, plus academic supervision.
    Clinical: 100hrs client work, plus 50 supervision (50 client reports). IAHIP are apparently moving towards a preference for Clinical Year 4, make of that what you will ;)

    It's a huge HUGE commitment, both in time and finances, but it is doable- even though halfway through third year you will believe its impossible. It's headed up by some strong characters, and can feel incredibly strict and inflexible at times, but that's part of the ethos- how you deal with it is up to you ;-)

    To be honest, if I'd known what was involved in the beginning I probably wouldn't have signed up. I'm debating whether I've provided too much info here or not- even as I read back on it I can't believe I actually did all that! But I did, and I survived to tell the tale. If you want a really thorough training programme and you can handle being put through a psychological wringer (!), go for it :-)

    PS If I hadn't chosen Turning Point, I would probably have done either Tivoli or Gardiner St (DCTC), they both sound like excellent courses too, really experiential, and I've met some great therapists from them.


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    #3
    Valmont
    Registered Users Posts: 5,856 ✭✭✭Valmont


    I did my undergraduate at a private university in Dublin, followed by a masters specifically focused on research at a much bigger university in the U.K. Clinical psychology training courses place a strong emphasis on research skills due to clinical psychologists technically being 'research-practitioners'. Following my masters (I have a publication from this) I gained a job teaching evening courses in abnormal psychology which I did for about a year while I also volunteered at the samaritans. This was all while I was holding down a full-time office job and was quite tough.

    This is when I started applying for an endless series of assistant psychologist positions. Rejection after rejection without even an opportunity to interview despite my very strong C.V. Crucially, I moved to a larger city and posted letters to every psychologist I could find asking for work and one replied offering a voluntary position/ work placement where I could sit in on individual sessions, help with group sessions, and score assessments etc. Another seven assistant psych applications later I gained an interview last Wednesday and they phoned me the next day offering me the job and a one year contract. Every assistant psych they've had has gotten onto the clinical psychology training course after a year so I'm *almost* there - the hard part is done anyway.

    Lessons learned:

    1. NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK. Things only started taking off for me when I posted letters, introduced myself to people, and started contacting anyone I thought could help me. I aced my interview in part because I had a tip off about the lead psychologists ideas for the post from a PhD student my girlfriend met a party!

    2. Focus on research skills. Ask around your department to see if anyone needs help recruiting or running an experiment. If you do the boring part for them you might get an author's credit on their paper.

    3. Don't give up. I've applied for more assistant psych jobs than I can even remember but I got there in the end.

    Good luck!


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    #4
    dar100
    Registered Users Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭dar100


    [B]Some links for accreditation bodies [/B]

    http://iahip.org/

    http://www.addictioncounsellors.ie/

    Some training providers of counselling and psychotherapy


    IICP- Institute of Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy Dublin, Dip BA MA

    PCI- Dublin, Dip BA MA

    ICHAS Limerick, BA MA

    Will add to this later


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    #5
    fannymagee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,230 ✭✭✭fannymagee


    dar100 wrote: »
    Some training providers of counselling and psychotherapy


    IICP- Institute of Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy Dublin, Dip BA MA
    Edited quote to shorten the text -JC

    Be careful with the IICP acronym- it used to be used by Turning Point, but they changed to TPTI, and now it's used by Killinarden in Tallaght- I'm not sure which one you mean in this post. Just a heads up- it can cause confusion ;-)


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    #6
    dar100
    Registered Users Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭dar100


    fannymagee wrote: »
    Be careful with the IICP acronym- it used to be used by Turning Point, but they changed to TPTI, and now it's used by Killinarden in Tallaght- I'm not sure which one you mean in this post. Just a heads up- it can cause confusion ;-)

    Killinarden is the institute I'm speaking about, the have that name for at lest the last 9 years's.


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    #7
    fannymagee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,230 ✭✭✭fannymagee


    dar100 wrote: »
    Killinarden is the institute I'm speaking about, the have that name for at lest the last 9 years's.

    I know, and Turning Point have had it since 2001. That's what I mean, it's confusing :)


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    #8
    Cork_Clinpsych
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭Cork_Clinpsych


    Clinical Psychology - D Clin Psych

    If you are interested in training as a clinical psychologist then it's worth knowing some hard facts from the outset:

    - Realistically it takes at least 8 - 9 years to become a qualified clinical psychologist.

    - Clinical psychology is exceptionally competitive and you will need to work hard. This means making sacrifices (e.g. working evenings and weekends/moving county/country for relevant work experience) so that you can stand out over other candidates. You will likely have to find at least 2 assistant-psychologist posts of 12 months duration each. .....In my training I had to move around the UK quite a lot. (Website address edited as it's considered advertising. JC)

    - You will be working with people who are suffering with trauma, loss, abuse just to name a few. And this will be your bread and butter for the rest of your life. So it's important to have a resilient disposition and good coping strategies of your own so that you are not adversely affected by your work. Forewarned is forearmed.

    On the flipside, clinical psychology can be very rewarding and is certainly no regular office job. Seeing an individual recover from any range of emotional difficulties because of your input can be very enriching.

    In terms of the actual route you take, my approach was quite typical:
    1. Bachelors degree in psychology (3 years)
    2. Masters (1 year; any area of psychology/your interests. Also can help if you do a masters in a university where they provide clinical training).
    3. Assistant-psychologist posts (x2; 2 years total)
    4. Doctor of clinical psychology (3 years)

    Hope this synopsis is of some help to aspiring psychologists in Ireland. Good luck!

    Jamie


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    #9
    Valmont
    Registered Users Posts: 5,856 ✭✭✭Valmont


    Cork_Clinpsych wrote: »
    You will likely have to find at least 2 assistant-psychologist posts of 12 months duration each. .....In my training I had to move around the UK quite a lot...
    3. Assistant-psychologist posts (x2; 2 years total)
    I don't think two years as an assistant psych is necessary, not in the UK at any rate. Many courses explicitly state at least one year in a full time capacity under a clinical psychologist. I recently interviewed for an assistant psych position and they pointed out that they have a track record at this particular hospital of taking in assistants on a year's contract and then shipping them successfully onto the training course. Realistically, considering the intake for the training course is only once a year, applicants will spend between one and two years working as an assistant psych before getting onto the training course.


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    #10
    Crann na Beatha
    Registered Users Posts: 11,763 ✭✭✭✭Crann na Beatha


    This post has been deleted.


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    #11
    KatieD93
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭KatieD93


    Anybody know of a good website or such that would help me find internships/ voluntary positions that would help with getting experience in the field? I'm 22 (many voluntary organisations have age restrictions, usually 23 or 25) and I just finished my BA in Psychology and need some experience before I apply for a masters. I think I'm interested in clinical or maybe counselling/CBT or something similar. Any other advice also appreciated :)


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    #12
    Mindful
    Registered Users Posts: 43 ✭Mindful


    IICP (Institute for Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy) in Killinarden.

    I got my BA here, and I often recommend the institute. AFAIK it's still the fastest and least expensive (though still not cheap!) route to accredited qualification in Counselling & Psychotherapy.

    Some colleagues of mine have joined the teaching faculty, and by all accounts the new MA programme is top notch.


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    #13
    eveningpeasant
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭eveningpeasant


    fannymagee wrote: »
    MSc in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy

    I did the 4 year MSc in Turning Point/DCU. (Now accredited by UCC)

    It was expensive and at times I thought the pressure of all the requirements would break me, but I loved it. It was incredibly experiential, I trained with the most amazing group of people and made some incredible friends.

    LOTS of experiential work, group process, personal process, heavy emphasis on personal therapy work. Lots of focus on Psychosynthesis, Person-centered therapy & Gestalt.

    Year 1: focussed on personal readiness & group/personal process, minimum requirement of 20hrs personal therapy, 40 hrs peer therapy, monthly 2 hour study group, plus one Fri/Sat/Sun weekend per month.

    Year 2: focussed more on theories and practice of therapy. Min 40 hrs personal therapy, 40 hrs peer, monthly 2 hr study group & Fri/Sat/Sun weekend.

    Year 3: Client work begins. min 100hrs client work, 50 hrs supervision (50 client reports), 40 hrs personal therapy, 40 hrs peer, monthly 2 hr study group & Fri/Sat/Sun weekend.

    Year 4: Option of clinical year 4, and/or academic (MSc) Year 4.

    Academic: 20,000 word research thesis, plus academic supervision.
    Clinical: 100hrs client work, plus 50 supervision (50 client reports). IAHIP are apparently moving towards a preference for Clinical Year 4, make of that what you will ;)

    It's a huge HUGE commitment, both in time and finances, but it is doable- even though halfway through third year you will believe its impossible. It's headed up by some strong characters, and can feel incredibly strict and inflexible at times, but that's part of the ethos- how you deal with it is up to you ;-)

    To be honest, if I'd known what was involved in the beginning I probably wouldn't have signed up. I'm debating whether I've provided too much info here or not- even as I read back on it I can't believe I actually did all that! But I did, and I survived to tell the tale. If you want a really thorough training programme and you can handle being put through a psychological wringer (!), go for it :-)

    PS If I hadn't chosen Turning Point, I would probably have done either Tivoli or Gardiner St (DCTC), they both sound like excellent courses too, really experiential, and I've met some great therapists from them.

    Would it be okay to ask you some questions about this course?


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    #14
    Speedwell
    Registered Users Posts: 3,809 ✭✭✭Speedwell


    Hey, folks, I'm a "layperson", but I'm an American, and as you're aware, people there have a far wider acceptance of mental health issues and therapy than they do here. I mentioned "my therapist" to my Irish mother-in-law, and she asked, "Oh, now, what's wrong wid ye then?" in a tone of sincere concern, lol. I'd only realized that, due to a not-really-optimal childhood and undiagnosed high-functioning autism, I lacked some coping skills that other people learned as children, and I "graduated" from therapy after a thirteen-month stint. Despite my (really very mild and borderline) autism, I've always been sought out by others for counselor-type conversations, and teenagers in particular have passed my name around as "cool adult who talks straight" online. I thought I might be of some use here in Ireland, particularly since I heard that teen suicide was becoming increasingly problematic. My heart goes out to the young people and I wondered if there was a place for me to work with them in my off-time (IT tech woman has to eat, too). :)


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    #15
    HiGlo
    Registered Users Posts: 561 ✭✭✭HiGlo


    Speedwell wrote: »
    Hey, folks, I'm a "layperson", but I'm an American, and as you're aware, people there have a far wider acceptance of mental health issues and therapy than they do here. I mentioned "my therapist" to my Irish mother-in-law, and she asked, "Oh, now, what's wrong wid ye then?" in a tone of sincere concern, lol. I'd only realized that, due to a not-really-optimal childhood and undiagnosed high-functioning autism, I lacked some coping skills that other people learned as children, and I "graduated" from therapy after a thirteen-month stint. Despite my (really very mild and borderline) autism, I've always been sought out by others for counselor-type conversations, and teenagers in particular have passed my name around as "cool adult who talks straight" online. I thought I might be of some use here in Ireland, particularly since I heard that teen suicide was becoming increasingly problematic. My heart goes out to the young people and I wondered if there was a place for me to work with them in my off-time (IT tech woman has to eat, too). :)


    Hi there,
    I am involved with a teen support charity here in Dublin (I'm not sure if that's where you're located) so if you might be interested, I could PM you with some more details...
    (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post details here)


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    #16
    Speedwell
    Registered Users Posts: 3,809 ✭✭✭Speedwell


    HiGlo wrote: »
    Hi there,
    I am involved with a teen support charity here in Dublin (I'm not sure if that's where you're located) so if you might be interested, I could PM you with some more details...
    (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post details here)

    Hello, HiGlo. I'm in Sligo and not really able to commit to the drive to Dublin at the moment, but yes, please feel free to PM me if you feel there's something you think might be a good match.


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    #17
    eveningpeasant
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭eveningpeasant


    fannymagee wrote: »
    MSc in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy

    I did the 4 year MSc in Turning Point/DCU. (Now accredited by UCC) http://www.turningpoint.ie/education-training/courses/

    It was expensive and at times I thought the pressure of all the requirements would break me, but I loved it. It was incredibly experiential, I trained with the most amazing group of people and made some incredible friends.

    LOTS of experiential work, group process, personal process, heavy emphasis on personal therapy work. Lots of focus on Psychosynthesis, Person-centered therapy & Gestalt.

    Year 1: focussed on personal readiness & group/personal process, minimum requirement of 20hrs personal therapy, 40 hrs peer therapy, monthly 2 hour study group, plus one Fri/Sat/Sun weekend per month.

    Year 2: focussed more on theories and practice of therapy. Min 40 hrs personal therapy, 40 hrs peer, monthly 2 hr study group & Fri/Sat/Sun weekend.

    Year 3: Client work begins. min 100hrs client work, 50 hrs supervision (50 client reports), 40 hrs personal therapy, 40 hrs peer, monthly 2 hr study group & Fri/Sat/Sun weekend.

    Year 4: Option of clinical year 4, and/or academic (MSc) Year 4.

    Academic: 20,000 word research thesis, plus academic supervision.
    Clinical: 100hrs client work, plus 50 supervision (50 client reports). IAHIP are apparently moving towards a preference for Clinical Year 4, make of that what you will ;)

    It's a huge HUGE commitment, both in time and finances, but it is doable- even though halfway through third year you will believe its impossible. It's headed up by some strong characters, and can feel incredibly strict and inflexible at times, but that's part of the ethos- how you deal with it is up to you ;-)

    To be honest, if I'd known what was involved in the beginning I probably wouldn't have signed up. I'm debating whether I've provided too much info here or not- even as I read back on it I can't believe I actually did all that! But I did, and I survived to tell the tale. If you want a really thorough training programme and you can handle being put through a psychological wringer (!), go for it :-)

    PS If I hadn't chosen Turning Point, I would probably have done either Tivoli or Gardiner St (DCTC), they both sound like excellent courses too, really experiential, and I've met some great therapists from them.

    Thank you so much for this informative post. I am seriously considering doing this course, but one question I have in mind: what is employment like after this course? Would you mind me asking if you and your peers successfully got careers in the area upon completing your studies?


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    #18
    fannymagee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,230 ✭✭✭fannymagee


    eveningpeasant wrote: »
    Thank you so much for this informative post. I am seriously considering doing this course, but one question I have in mind: what is employment like after this course? Would you mind me asking if you and your peers successfully got careers in the area upon completing your studies?

    Yes the course is very well regarded, but dedicated psychotherapy jobs are thin on the ground so I wouldn't make the decision based on employment prospects!

    Basically, be prepared to be self-employed in private practice. I would HATE to be employed as a therapist by the HSE or any other body who dictated my practice, so I'm prob no the best to ask, but others on my course work in psych services etc. I've worked in HSE addiction services for years, but not as a therapist. A HSE therapist job sounds like hell to me ;-)

    Also bear in mind that it will take you another year or two after qualification to get accredited. Pay close attention to the MSc/Clinical Year decision, and decide what's best for you. If you want IACP accreditaton, you only need to do 3 years. For IAHIP you need 4, and the 4th MUST be clinical with supervision. (SO that means 3rd and 4th are clinical years). You can do the clinical and masters simultaneously in 4th year, or to the clinical first, followed by masters.

    It's stupid, IAHIP have made it ridiculously complicated.

    My advice to you is that if you want to do it, just do it. You'll figure it out as you go and you'l incorporate it into your work somehow.

    If you're imagining a lucrative, high flying career- do something else!

    :-)


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    #19
    KevinJoseph
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭KevinJoseph


    Hi guys,

    I originally did a psychology undergrad and I'm looking to get into counselling/therapy as opposed to the clinical route.
    I'm 26 now, I graduated three years ago and since then I've made a living in entry-level jobs to make ends meet
    Firstly I wanted to ask about the realistic prospects of making a living, whether through some combination of related social work plus private practice, or something similar. I'm braced for negative responses here!

    Secondly, I know that typically you'd want to look at criteria for accreditation with IACP/IAHIP etc. However, I've been told by ICHAS (the college) that all future accreditation will be determined solely by CORU on the basis of QQI qualifications, and specifically that being part of a professional body will not enhance one's right to practice (they attached a statement from Minister Simon Harris to back this up). Is it me or is the whole process of regulation very much up in the air? I just want to make sure I don't waste time and money on a wrong course.

    Any help is much appreciated.


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    #20
    dar100
    Registered Users Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭dar100


    CORU is years away


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    #21
    Dee24
    Registered Users Posts: 49 ✭Dee24


    Hi All

    Can I ask what the requirements are for becoming a private practice counsellor/psychotherapist are?

    Am I correct in reading it as follows:

    1. Complete 4 year BA hon degree in DBS in Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) what are the current fees per year roughly?

    2. Complete a further Masters (is this 1, 2 or 3 years? Also how much per year?)

    3. Complete IACP Accreditation (how many years is this? What cost?)

    4. Complete a certain amount of work experience? How much and is this paid or unpaid?

    If you have completed each of these for steps, can you then practice as a psychotherapist privately?

    Or is there any of these steps that aren't manadtory to practice (obviously you need the degree first)

    Also is this all possible to do while working a full time job?

    How many years in total?

    Its something I'm hugely interested in, but have a lifelong history of taking the easy option in life, and don't want to start something I'm not going to finish.

    I'm trying to find out as much as possible beforehand



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    #22
    pheasant tail
    Registered Users Posts: 941 ✭✭✭pheasant tail


    Hi Dee

    1) Fees are between €4000/5000 per year, but this can be easily checked out.


    2) You do not need a masters to work in private practice. If you already have a level 8 however, there is the other route in DBS which is also 4 years, (2 year HDIP followed by 2 year Masters).


    3 & 4) You are unable to apply for accreditation until you have completed your client hours, 450 for IACP and 500 For IAHIP. You can’t get paid while studying but once you qualify, you can get paid when your enter pre accreditation stage (usually a lower rate).


    It can be confusing but I hope that helps.



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