As an aspiring Psychologist you will understand the importance of learning and growth to become the best you can be and unlocking your full potential.
That’s why, at Elysium, two programmes are available for graduate and training Psychologists to provide the best start to your Psychology career.
The Psychology Graduate Programme is a unique academic programme for Psychology graduates recruited into new Psychology Support Assistant roles.
The Academy is designed for Psychology graduates who are interested in a career in Mental Health Psychology, Nursing or other professions. The aim is to build your experience, skills, knowledge and competencies in readiness for your career in Psychology and healthcare professions.
Then there’s the Doctorate Psychology Programme, an exciting and comprehensive training opportunity for training Psychologists. The placement is designed to provide hands-on experience and in-depth theoretical knowledge, equipping you with the skills necessary to become a highly proficient and compassionate Psychologist.
But that’s not all. There are career development opportunities with learning pathways and a huge range of courses that will help you grow and succeed in your Psychology career. Your determination and dedication are your driving force, and at Elysium we are here to provide the support and opportunities necessary for you to achieve your career goals.
In this article you will learn about the Psychology Graduate Academy and the Doctorate Programme from Karen Howell, Clinical Director for Psychology Projects and South/South West Regional Psychologist at Elysium.
What is the Psychology Graduate Academy?
The Psychology Academy has a split cohort of new and existing Elysium psychology graduates. Newly recruited psychology graduates will be placed in a unique role as a Psychology Support Assistant at one of our partaking services.
The purpose of this is twofold. Firstly, to encourage people with a psychology degree to work with us and gain a range of experience, not just in Psychology Departments, but also working in Nursing departments as well. Graduate members will work around 80% of their time in the Nursing department, with the additional 20% of time spent on development working in the Psychology Department working alongside qualified psychology staff in delivering interventions for service users, assessments, formulations, group work, perhaps even doing research and service evaluation.
The existing staff cohort is for people who already work for Elysium who have a recent Psychology degree. They could be working in Psychology Departments already or work in other parts of service like administration or Occupational Therapy Departments. The main benefit for internal candidates is they will get to attend CPD sessions and will have exposure to a wide range of core psychology skills and teachings.
What are the benefits of the Psychology Graduate Academy?
This is a great opportunity for Graduates to learn lots of new skills in real world applied Psychology with direct contact and direct experience working with service users.
Psychology graduates can take all those skills and apply them into the nursing environments they are working in and to help them in their nursing interactions and care planning with service users. For those working as a Psychology Support Assistant this will be the day-to-day life.
In addition, every month graduates will attend a specialist workshop, off site at a central location where they will be learning new skills and knowledge around applied Psychology issues. These issues are foundation stones of core skills that any Practitioner Psychologist will use on a day-to-day basis once they’re qualified. The lectures and workshops are delivered by Elysium Healthcare staff who are experts in the field.
The lectures, workshops and masterclasses cover a range of topics including different assessment methods, assessing risks, delivering group work interventions, therapeutic skills and techniques in group settings, types of therapy and working with different types of populations and issues for example working with people with learning disabilities or Autism, different types of offenders and people who self-harm.
At the end of the 12 workshops the graduates will then prepare a piece of work like a showcase to present their skills and knowledge that they have grown over their time at the Academy.
It’s really good grounding for any graduates coming into a role like this because they get experience above and beyond what they get in any other setting. But in a way that’s supervised and safely managed. So they’re learning gradually, but learning some amazing skills.
Not only will they have gained knowledge and experience they can also continue their employment within Elysium once they have graduated from the Academy after 12 months.
What is the Doctorate Programme?
It’s a Doctorate in Clinical and Forensic Psychology training, so this is a training programme run by the University of Birmingham, which trains people to be qualified in both clinical psychology and forensic psychology. So it’s the only course in the country that provides a dual qualification for anybody going on it.
The Programme started in Autumn 2023 in partnership with the University of Birmingham to develop roles for Assistant Psychologists who work within Elysium to train as clinical and forensic psychologists.
They undertake academic work at Birmingham University, having lectures and develop their knowledge base around clinical and forensic psychology. When they’ve finished the first teaching block, they start their placements. They undertake 6 placements in total over four years. These placements are working with adults of a working age, working with children and adolescents, a neurodiversity placement, a placement working with older adults. They will also have opportunity to work in a criminal justice setting and then they will finish up by coming back into Elysium again to do a final year placement.
At the end of the programme, the Trainees will be a qualified British Psychological Society Chartered Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with a guaranteed role within Elysium.
What are the benefits of doing the Doctorate Programme?
Throughout the program, candidates have the chance to work alongside experienced professionals in a multiple settings and specialisms, allowing them to gain valuable practical skills and insights. They will also have access to a supportive and nurturing learning environment, ensuring that candidates receive the guidance and mentorship needed to excel in their studies and future career.
What would attract someone to work for Elysium as a future Psychologist?
I would say the time is now to come and join us because there are a lot of different career development opportunities for Psychology graduates. We are financially supporting and training people as Trainee Psychologists – other Trainees on the forensic clinical doctorate course have to self-fund.
We’ve got the doctorate route, but also we’re looking to increase the number of Trainee Psychologists that we’ve got across Elysium, because there’s different routes into training for different types of Psychology.
There are also different types of roles that we’re investing in, so not just qualified Psychologists, but we’re also looking to develop more Clinical Associate Psychologists roles which is a new role altogether that the NHS has recently developed. The British Psychological Society accredited the role over the summer so it’s now a recognised role by the professional body and we are looking to invest more in this role at Elysium.
We’ve got the Academy programme, so we’re looking to invest more in our own Assistant Psychologists, whether they’re already with us or if they’re new through the external route.
There are also great networking opportunities for Psychologists with improved networks across the regions and the divisions. We are also running more CPD events internally and that includes the psychology conference as well.
There is so much positive change and growth, it’s a really exciting time for the psychology profession at Elysium.
If you are ready to take that next step, take a look on our careers page for all our live Psychology role opportunities, including the Psychology Graduate Programme. The Doctorate Programme is only for existing Elysium staff, so to have this opportunity, you will need to work within Elysium.
Is a Career in Psychology Right for You?
If you have a deep interest in understanding human behaviour, enjoy helping others navigate challenges, and have strong listening and problem-solving skills, then psychology could be the perfect career path for you. From clinical and counselling psychology to research and organisational roles, there’s a psychology career that fits your passion.
As an Elysium Psychologist you’ll develop expertise in mental health, behaviour analysis, and therapeutic techniques while making a meaningful impact on people’s lives. A career in psychology is insightful, fulfilling, and ever-evolving. If you’re ready to support others in achieving mental well-being, we’d love to hear from you.