how to become a clinical psychologist

tom15

Can any clinical psychologists out there tell me the steps in becoming a clinical psychologist?

Also what are the job prospects like for this?

Thaks:)

Nymeria

From my understanding it goes like this;

- Degree in Psychology , 3 years(need a 2.1 or higher), this degree must be accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland.
- Relevant work experience (volunteering, research assistant etc) and/ or Masters, leading to:
- DClinPsych in Clinical Psychology, 3 years (limited places)

this link tells you what you need.
http://www.psihq.ie/training_careerguide.asp

Its a long road, im only finished the first year of my degree, but I think it will be worth it :-)


Incidentally, Im studying in the UK, and they have a similar route to become a psychologist, however if you get accepted onto a DClinPsych course in Clinical Psychology (there are limited places), the NHS pays your fees and also a wage of around £25,000 a year for the 3 years. I'm not sure if you get paid for this if you do it here, I would for someone to clarify.

sambuka41

Nymeria wrote: »

From my understanding it goes like this;

- Degree in Psychology , 3 years(need a 2.1 or higher), this degree must be accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland.
- Relevant work experience (volunteering, research assistant etc) and/ or Masters, leading to:
- DClinPsych in Clinical Psychology, 3 years (limited places)

In Ireland it would be very unlikely to get into the clinical Phd without a masters, you most certainly will need a masters as well as a strong research portfolio. Also as far as I know you will need to have your thesis idea prepared (to the point of literature review) prior to the application? It is very difficult to get into the program, there are stories online of people who have applied several times who have not got in.

Nymeria wrote: »

the NHS pays your fees and also a wage of around £25,000 a year for the 3 years. I'm not sure if you get paid for this if you do it here, I would for someone to clarify.

Up till now there has been a payment, Im not sure if this comes from your placements or from the college? So I'd imagine it will depend on the finances and the future of the HSE. Actually everything is really at the mercy of the current economic climate.

But you do still have to pay for the course. To be honest it's a very long,expensive road to clinical and there is a lot of competition. If it's definitely what you want to work as then this won't bother you; but in terms of working within psychology, clinical is not the only option.

Best of luck

tom15

Thank you both for your feedback!

I am just curious what would your options be if you had a degree in psychology and a masters and were not able to get onto the PhD course!

Molecule

sambuka41 wrote: »

In Ireland it would be very unlikely to get into the clinical Phd without a masters, you most certainly will need a masters as well as a strong research portfolio.

This is true. Some of the courses e.g. UL, won't even interview you unless you have a Masters.

Also as far as I know you will need to have your thesis idea prepared (to the point of literature review) prior to the application?

This isn't the case at all. I'm on one of the clinical courses and I don't know anyone, either on my course or any of the others, who had their thesis idea prepared prior to application. This would be more the case for research PhDs I would think?

Up till now there has been a payment, Im not sure if this comes from your placements or from the college? So I'd imagine it will depend on the finances and the future of the HSE. Actually everything is really at the mercy of the current economic climate.

Currently, trainees are employed by and paid by the HSE. There are also a few places that are privately funded by organisations such as the Brothers of Charity and the prison service but these come and go from year to year. Some UCD places are sponsored by St. John of Gods. As Sambuka says, the pay situation may change in future depending on HSE finances.

But you do still have to pay for the course.

As it stands, the sponsoring body currently pays 60% of the fees and the student pays the other 40% (around €5k per year). Again, this may well change soon.

It is highly competitive to get accepted on to the doctorate but it's not impossible. You need to try and get as much experience in both research and clinical positions as you can, and supervision by a clinical psychologist is looked on VERY favourably during the selection process. In my cohort, most people who did psychology at undergrad were out of college around 6-7 years before being accepted. Those of us who did it as postgrads (via one of the HDip courses) usually had slightly shorter routes but we tended to have had relevant experience prior to being accepted for the HDip Psych.

It's hard to say if being a clinical psychologist is really worth all the effort and fuss. If you are specifically interested in a particular area that's impossible to work in without the qualification e.g. neuropsychology or autism assessment then it's probably worth it although be warned that HSE jobs are nowhere near as plentiful as they were and you may end up doing locum work or being employed somewhere far away from where you live. However, if you are interested in working therapeutically with, say, adult mental health clients then it might be worth looking at other avenues such as training in counselling or a specific psychotherapy, nursing, medicine (with further psychiatric specialism) or counselling psychology. Equally, with a psychology degree and/or Masters you can go on to do a research PhD or a PhD in organisational psychology, neuroscience etc.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!