Transition from psychology to psychiatry??

Khajit

I'm a BA Psychology student nearing the end of my degree at the moment, and have realised that the area I really want to work in is psychiatry. The only way that I know of to get into psychiatry is to do Medicine and then specialise later on, but that isn't really an option for me financially.

I was wondering if anyone knows of any other ways to get into psychiatry? Perhaps through masters programmes, etc? Any help appreciated

Molecule

I'm afraid studying medicine and then specialising is the only route to being a psychiatrist. There aren't any alternative ways of doing it.

JuliusCaesar

Do you want to be a psychiatrist, or to work in mental health?

If the former, then yes, studying medicine followed by specialising in psychiatry is the only way; if the latter, there are many roles for workers in mental health.

steoin

Beside the prescription of drugs what is the difference between a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist?

Would a clinical psychologist have a more hands on role counselling? or are both more foccused on assessment?

Molecule

steoin wrote: »

Beside the prescription of drugs what is the difference between a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist?

Would a clinical psychologist have a more hands on role counselling? or are both more foccused on assessment?

The medication side of things would be the main difference in Ireland (in some - very few - places there is a specialism called 'medical psychology' and these psychologists can prescribe particular psychotropics). Also broadly speaking psychiatrists tend to 'diagnose' (to criteria specified in the DSM-IV-TR or ICD-10) while psychologists are trained to 'formulate'. Apart from that it changes from place to place (and sometimes between public and private).

IN GENERAL, psychiatrists get to spend less time with patients. They might see 10 or 20 at an OPD clinic in a day, whereas psychologists would see far fewer clients but for a longer amount of time, that is unless the psychology dept runs a drop-in service. Talk therapy is usually the preserve of psychologists (although there are a lot of other disciplines who run CBT programmes these days e.g. anxiety management, particularly nurses). Some psychiatrists would also have an interest in psychotherapy and might use particular techniques with patients; equally some clin psychs would have a good knowledge of pharmacology, even if they're not prescribing. In terms of assessment, psychologists are the ones who carry out formal, detailed neuropsych/cognitive assessments. Psychiatrists would use some brief formal assessments e.g. MMSE, but you wouldn't get a psychiatrist doing a WAIS or a WMS. Psychologists are also more likely (in Ireland) to run therapy groups. Psychiatrists here are far more likely to be the ones on-call and doing liaison work with people admitted through A & E etc.

I have also found in public adult mental health services that the consultant psychiatrist tends to head the MDT, and has final call on the patient's care plan. In one private hospital I can think of this position as head of the MDT is sometimes held by other AHPs, including the clin psych.

magicherbs

Can anyone outline and explain how a person with a psychology degree becomes a clinical psychologist?

puddles and umbrellas

magicherbs wrote: »

Can anyone outline and explain how a person with a psychology degree becomes a clinical psychologist?

The golden question Magicherbs!! I assume you mean how to become a clinical psych in Ireland (I'm not too familiar with the British system). To practice as a clinical psychologist in Ireland you need to complete a clinical psychology doctorate. However, it is a bit of a journey before you get to that level.

Step 1. Obtain a 3/4year PSI accredited undergraduate degree. Here's the current list (http://www.psihq.ie/accred_UnderGradList.asp). The degree NEEDS to be PSI accredited! You will not be able to apply for the doctorate in the future without accreditation.

OR: you could have a degree in another discipline and convert it to a psych degree by doing a PSI accredited psychology conversion course (usually ranges for 1-2 years dependent on how many psych modules you did or lack thereof was in your undergrad).

Step 2. Clinical Psychology doctoral programmes require at least 1 year experience in clinically relevant 'employment'. I use the term employment loosely as this usually means (but not always) working for free. Employment could range from shadowing a psychologist (in the public or private sector), volunteering with charities (ISPCC, Aware, headstrong, samaritians etc.), or working as a research assistant (in a university, HSE, etc.).

The "golden standard" in term of experience are the assistant psychologist positions (which are like gold-dust even in the current climate) wherein you shadow a clinical psychologist usually in a hospital/clinic/local health office/medical settings and actively work as part of a multi-disciplinary team. These positions usually require you having completed or in the process of completing a Masters in psychology (of which I will return to further on in the text). I suggest you join the assistant psychologist Google group where listings for such positions are usually posted.

Step 3. (Optional - but increases your chances of entry into a doctoral programme!) The entry requirements for all the clinical psych doctoral programmes in Ireland are generally 2.1 PSI accredited psych degree and 1 year minimum of relevant experience. However, the more qualified (in terms of academia - especially on research methods, stats, etc) and knowledgeable (in both academia and scope of experience) you are in psychology, the better your chances of entry are. You need to remember that there are only a few doctoral programmes in Ireland and to say competition is fierce would be an understatement!! (think a couple of hundred applications every year for something like 50 places nationally). So many applicants (it has almost become the norm tbh) complete postgraduate psychology masters such as applied psych in Trinity and UCC, Psychological science in UL and UCD, health psych in NUIG, etc. to gain entry. Oftentimes applicants may have completed a PhD by research in psychology as well.

Similarly, many people find that having a publication or 2 in a psychology journal also increases their chances of entry - i.e.publishing your undergrad/masters thesis. Also presenting your work at different conferences also looks good on your application!

Step 4: Apply to one of the clinical doctorate programmes that are on offer in UCD, TCD, NUIG and UL. Queens also offer a prog but afaik (correct me if I am wrong!) their application requirements, etc. fall under the BPS - which I am not too familiar with.

It needs to be appreciated at this point that even if you do all of the above (and then some) you are still not guaranteed entry to a doctoral programme. Many applicants have applied several times with no success and many gained entry on their first application. I know for def that one programme compares the applications for the given year against each other before short-listing for interviews - so you may not be suitable for one year given the standard of applications, but might be the next (confusing I know).

Anyway I hope that helps somewhat - feel free to ask more questions is you require further info

The Black Oil

puddles has given a good outline above. Main thing would be to get experience in areas like mental health, intellectual disability, adult and youth services, etc - areas that psychologists deal with...show that you've not just stuck with learning one skill in different settings. Research experience and working as an assistant psych (possibly not easy to find) also seem to be important.

Check out this, also.

magicherbs

thank you (pl)