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

JuliusCaesar

The old thread was locked and a couple of years out of date.

Would any regular contributors like to do a flow chart of how to become a counsellor/therapist/psychologist?

Would anyone like to review recent courses they've undertaken?


Some helpful links in no particular order:

TRAINING COURSES

GENERAL COUNSELLING
BA (Hons) Evenings Counselling & Psychotherapy, DBS


PSYCHOANALYSIS
IIPS - Irish Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies


COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPIES

CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy):
Foundation, PG Dip, M.Sc at TCD (Requires pre-existing professional mental health qualification - psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, mental health nurse, psychiatric social worker etc etc etc + post qualification experience in that field + access to clients.

PG Certificate in CBT at UCC

PG Diploma in CBT at Queen's Belfast - 18 months, and provides accreditation with BABCP at graduation.

ACT (Acceptance and Committment Therapy): ActNowIreland

REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy): ICBT- Ireland




PROFESSIONAL BODIES (see also How to Find Help sticky)
Please be aware that there has been a proliferation of these bodies. Some are more reputable than others. Some are longer-established than others. If in doubt look for a body with affiliations to other bodies, especially European level; and with a larger membership. THIS IS MY OPINION, to use as a rule-of-thumb.

UMBRELLA BODIES
ICP - Irish Council for Psychotherapy. Umbrella body for a number of different professional bodies, and affiliated to EAP:

1. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (6 bodies): Irish Analytical Psychology Association; Irish Forum for Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy; Irish Forum for Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy; Irish Group Analytic Society; Irish Psycho-Analytic Association; Northern Ireland Institute of Human Relations
2. Constructivist Psychotherapy (1 body): Irish Constructivist Psychotherapy Association
3. Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (1 body): Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy
4. Couple and Family Therapy (1 body): Family Therapy Association of Ireland
5. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (1 body): National Association for Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy

COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY BODIES
ACI - Addiction Counsellors of Ireland

IAHIP - Irish Association for Humanist and Integrative Psychotherapists - registration with IAHIP is after a minimum of 3 years course, and moving to 4 years. Affiliated with umbrella body ICP (see above)

IACP - Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - registration with IACP is after a 2 year course


CBT BODIES
IABCP - Irish Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies; affiliated with the BABCP and EABCT. Has about 300 members.

NACBT - National Association for Cognitive Behavioural Therapies; affiliated with ICP, see above.


PSYCHOANALYSIS:
APPI -Association for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in Ireland.
Also see 6 bodies affiliated to ICP.

Primary Care:
IAPPC - Irish Association for Psychotherapy in Primary Care List of practitioners is open to GPs and other primary caregivers.


Sex Therapy:
COSRT - College of Sexual and Relationship Training .

Addictions: Irish Association of Alcohol and Addiction Counsellors 01-7979187 www.iaaac.org

Family Therapy:
(Family Therapy includes couple counselling/marriage counselling)

FTAI Family Therapy Association of Ireland, affiliated with ICP (see above)

Accord is a Catholic Marriage Care Service.

Biofeedback aka Psychophysiology: AAPB - Association of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback; doesn't have an Irish branch, but has Irish members.


PSYCHOLOGY
PSI - Psychological Society of Ireland: How to become a Registered Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, Educational Psychologist, Occupational Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist etc.

British Psychological Society also has a wealth of information for people thinking of becoming a psychologist.

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.

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!

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

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 ;-)

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.

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

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

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.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

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

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.

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?

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).

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)

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.

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?

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!

:-)

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.

dar100

CORU is years away

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

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.