Private college

LegacyUser

hows it going.
Im doing the leaving cert this year and just want some opinions.
I have had a lot of struggles over the last couple of years with mental health issues.I missed alot of school becuase of this as I had to go to a counsellor to get help with these issues.The question I am asking is should I go to private college because they have the course I really want to do(psychology) or should I repeat with the fear of still not getting enough points to do it in UCD.In the long run I hope to set up a private practice.Does it matter if I went to somewhere such as DBS or ACD ?
Sorry if I sound insulting

*Honey*

I would say go to the college that offers you the course you want to do - no employer will care where you got your Degree from (unless you bought it off the net!). I would talk to the Student Advisors there about the problems you've suffered in the past as they should be able to provide you with assistance, should you require it.

Go for what you want to do and forget out the academic/intellecutal snobbery out there... if you want a private practice in the end, it really doesn't matter where you got your Degree, just that you did, you got it against the odds (given your situation) and you got good marks.

Good luck.

Fad

Unregistered wrote: »

hows it going.
Im doing the leaving cert this year and just want some opinions.
I have had a lot of struggles over the last couple of years with mental health issues.I missed alot of school becuase of this as I had to go to a counsellor to get help with these issues.The question I am asking is should I go to private college because they have the course I really want to do(psychology) or should I repeat with the fear of still not getting enough points to do it in UCD.In the long run I hope to set up a private practice.Does it matter if I went to somewhere such as DBS or ACD ?
Sorry if I sound insulting

If you can pay the fees go for it.

Contact either DBS, and ask, they wont lie to you

Fad

Fad wrote: »

If you can pay the fees go for it.

Contact either DBS, and ask, they wont lie to you

Does DBS not have a bad name?Considerably easier exams than unis?

Aloysius Flyte

Hi OP

It depends how you want your career to develop. If you want to go down the route of clinical psychologist, then a private college is not the way to go. Those courses are as far as I know, not recognised by the PSI (though this might have changed recently). So if you want to then do a masters, then do the professional qualification/doctorate you won't be able to get onto the professionally recognised courses.

However, as I'm sure you know yourself, there is no regulation in the world of private therpay, so you can set up on your own. There are moves for this to change down the line. However, also, as far as I am aware, there is also an age restriction, so once you grad from your BA, it will be a number of years before you are eligible to do one of those courses.

Depends what you want, but I'd always advise to go to the best college possible and the one that gives you the most options.

What_To_Do

The DBS BA in Psychology is the only psychology degree offered by a private college that has PSI recognition.

I'd say go for it. I did it and it's opened up loads of doors for me.

kmart6

Deleted User wrote: »

Does DBS not have a bad name?Considerably easier exams than unis?

Anything to back that up?!

sambuka41

Hey OP i was in a similar position to you back in the day!;) I studied psychology in DBS and i can tell you that IT IS PSI recognised,its a fatastic course. It covers psychoanalysis at undergraduate level which will help massively when choosing a masters.

Not everyone who studies psychology continues with it, there are other disiplines that are very closely linked such a psychotherapy. Having an understanding of psychoanalysis will help you if you choose that direction and it also features in the Clinical Psychology courses. So i cant stress enough the benefit of the DBS course.

It bugs me when ppl slag off private colleges based on nothing. The lecturers in DBS are some of the top in Europe. MANY of them also lecture in Trinity. I now work in the field of addiction and i can tell you amongst the health care professionals that i work with Rik Loose (head of Psychoanalysis courses in DBS) is considered to be a genius. He has written amazing books on the subject. He also happens to be a fantastic lecturer!

Sorry to rant but if Psychology is what you are interested in then DBS will open doors for you.

antiskeptic

Unregistered wrote: »

hows it going.Im doing the leaving cert this year and just want some opinions. I have had a lot of struggles over the last couple of years with mental health issues.I missed alot of school becuase of this as I had to go to a counsellor to get help with these issues.

The question I am asking is should I go to private college because they have the course I really want to do(psychology) or should I repeat with the fear of still not getting enough points to do it in UCD.In the long run I hope to set up a private practice.Does it matter if I went to somewhere such as DBS or ACD ? Sorry if I sound insulting

You sound alot like my fiance - who struggled with depression through her school years - which affected her leaving cert grades badly. She's as bright as could be but that was the way it was..

She's doing a psychology masters at the moment in preparation for future employment - with a view to own practice finally. I gather from her experience that you should be alert to the course you do ... in the sense of determining NOW what you need to be doing to achieve the goals you want to achieve THEN. What are the requirements of the agency governing the field you want to get into - in other words.

Her experience informs me that if you want to go down mainstream channels in psychology; counselling, CBT, forensic, clinical ... then not only do you need a top grade (1st or 2:1) degree from an established university, you'll also need to go on to do a masters in the specific field you're interested in.

What shook her (and astonished me) was that the degree in itself (she got a 1st) counted for effectively nothing. This she only found out after she'd completed the degree.

Point being: find out what the route is to where it is you think you want to go before embarking on it. And find out what it is you have to achieve at each stage on the way to getting there.

(tip: during her interview for Maynooth she was asked what she would do if she didn't get a place that year. "I suppose you'll be seeing me back again next year" she replied. She didn't get the place - so went out and worked in an "associated" field: a homeless shelter. The next year she attended interview and the interviewers remembered her. And gave her a place.

If at first..)