Phd in Clinical psychology

yoohoo

Hey was just wondering if anyone did the Clinical psychology course in Trinity? Jus finished my undergrad degree and came out wit a 2.1. I missed the deadline to apply for this year but hoping to get in next year. was just wondering if anyone had any advice on what I could do over the next year to give me a chance to get into the course. Thanks

Liquorice

Hi there, I'm only an undergrad in psychology but my tutor from last year runs the clinical doctorate program and he gave us a rundown of what's expected of you before you get into it. He said that getting into it straight after undergrad is impossible, instead you need to spend about 2-3 years getting experience; doing a masters or working in an assistant post. There aren't many posts in Ireland but the UK has plenty, according to him. A lot of people get rejected the first time they apply because of lack of experience.

Blueskye

Hi Yoohoo,

I'm actually coming to the end of my clinical training (I won't say at which university here). A minimum requirement is a year's clinical experience (preferably a post as an assistant psychologist) and most students also have a masters and some have a phd also. They want you to have research experience and work with clients of some description. So it's quite a long road. An undergraduate degree would not be sufficient to be granted an interview.

I recommend voluntary work to get some experience - ISPCC, Rape Crisis Centre, Samaritans offer good training in listening skills etc. or trying to get assistant posts/research assistant posts. The voluntary sector can be good, i.e. Brothers of Charity etc. But it is a difficult course to get on to, the competition is really tough and you'd want to be pretty sure it's something you want to do as it's a long road. As Liquorice said, you need a few years experience under your belt before you'll even make interview stage and it can take a few years tries to actually get on the course. Nevertheless, if you want to do it, go for it as it's a brilliant career

yoohoo

Thanks for the replies guys . I do volunteer in the NRH working with brain injured patients do you think this is enough?... I do plan doin some more volunteer work during the next year. I have also applied for a certificate course in sports psychology and foundation skills in counselling where I will get more experience working with people... I figured any extra courses would help I know they'r not masters courses but they cant hurt can they? also have you any idea how I would go about getting experience with research?

The Black Oil

You'll need a combination of work and research experience and probably a Masters. With the work experience it's worth having a bit of a range of experience so you can show you've built up a couple of skills. Someone in the year before us had what I've mentioned above and a Master's and still didn't get in.

Might be worth reading the clinical slides here.
http://www.psihq.ie/members_studentNews.asp