How to become a Clinical Psychologist in the UK – Elysium Careers Blog

If you are passionate about learning, mental health, and helping others and are looking for an extremely rewarding career, then clinical psychology could be the perfect role for you. Elysium is here to help you understand what it takes to build a career in clinical psychology and give you exclusive insights into the day-to-day life of one of our psychologists, Dr Rebecca Doyle.

We’ll be walking you through how to get the suitable qualifications, what work experience could be beneficial, doctoral training and its registration process, as well as future career pathways you could follow in this field. But first, some quick facts:

It takes about six years to become a clinical psychologist
Clinical psychologists earn on average £48,000 to £63,000, with trainee roles starting at £35,000
Working hours are typically 9-5 Monday to Friday
Clinical psychologists work in lots of different settings, including hospitals, private practices, mental health clinics, and schools.

Your guide on how to become a Clinical Psychologist

Navigating which courses you need to obtain to begin a career in psychology can be tricky, so here’s all you need to know about what you should look out for when applying for a degree or course.

Education and Training

Obtain a British Psychological Society (BPS) Accredited Undergraduate Degree in Psychology:

The first step is acquiring a British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited undergraduate degree in psychology that confers Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC). Applicants typically must achieve a minimum of a 2:1 (upper second-class honours). However, it is possible that some doctoral programmes will accept a 2:2 if it is accompanied by a relevant Master’s degree or extensive experience.

Complete a BPS Accredited Conversion Course (if applicable):

For those whose undergraduate degree is not in psychology or whose degree wasn’t BPS-accredited, there are BPS-accredited conversion courses available. These courses are usually at a Master’s level and are necessary to show your knowledge for GBC.

Dr Rebecca Doyle stated, “During my undergraduate degree and the Postgraduate Diploma I learned a lot more about Forensic Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Legal Psychology, and became very, very interested in those.” Find out more about Dr Doyle’s experience completing a BPS-accredited course in her Career Journey interview.

Gaining Essential Relevant Work Experience

Importance and Nature of Experience

Relevant work experience is essential to obtaining a place in a doctoral programme due to the highly competitive nature of them. Your work experience should demonstrate an understanding of clinical psychology roles, including work with relevant client groups and offer exposure to clinical settings.

Dr Rebecca Doyle emphasised the importance of gaining relevant experience when telling us her best advice for those looking to get into psychology: “the first thing I would say is if you are studying psychology and you think that it’s a field you want to go into in the future, it’s never too early to think about how you’re going to do that. It’s never too early to think about different kinds of experience that you can get or that you might need. It’s never too early to reach out to people already working in that field.”

At Elysium, we aim to develop opportunities for as many aspiring psychologists as possible. Our Global Graduate Programme offers unique academic programmes and further training that provide valuable experience for graduates interested in a career in healthcare.

Types of Valued Experience

There are many types of valuable experience available to help you progress your career in clinical psychology, some examples are:

Becoming an Assistant Psychologist – these roles are highly sought after and offer great hands-on experience and supervision from qualified psychologists.
Research Assistant roles – these will allow you to understand evidence-based practice and show that you can demonstrate research skills.
Healthcare Assistant posts – this experience highlights your ability to work with individuals with psychological or physical health issues, an example of this would be working as a nursing assistant.
Volunteering for charities or organisations working with vulnerable groups.
Other roles – there are many roles in related fields that could provide valuable work experience, for example, social work.

Duration and Quality of Experience

A minimum of 12 months of experience is usually required to secure a spot in a doctoral programme, but the more experience you can gain, will significantly increase your chances of getting a place. Course providers will often detail their own requirements about the types of experience necessary and the duration.

It is important to focus on gaining work experience that gives you an insight into clinical and academic areas, and that allows you to carry out supervised learning and reflective practice.

Applying for and Undertaking a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy/ClinPsyD)

Understanding the Doctorate Program:

Doctorate courses are a three-year, full-time postgraduate degree that combines academic coursework, supervised clinical placements and a research thesis.

In the UK, most DClinPsy programmes are funded by the NHS (National Health Service), which means that trainees will receive a salary and their tuition fees are covered.

The Application Process

Applications are managed centrally in the UK by the Clearing House for Postgraduate Courses in Clinical Psychology. It requires you to demonstrate strong academic credentials, relevant experience, research skills and clear communication skills.

The admissions process is highly competitive and involves an application form, academic transcripts, references that are both academic and experience-based, as well as a range of tests and interviews.

When applying, showing that you have an understanding of NHS values is essential, such as expressing that you have a commitment to quality of care and exhibiting respect and dignity.

Key Components of Doctoral Training

There are three main components to doctoral courses:

Academic modules – cover psychological theories, assessment and research methods, therapeutic interventions and professional ethics.
Clinical placements – provide supervised, practical training with experienced clinical psychologists in diverse areas that allow you to work with a range of client groups
Research – culminates in a doctoral-level thesis that contributes to the evidence base of clinical psychology.

Registration and Commencing Practice

On successful completion of an approved Doctorate clinical psychology programme, graduates are eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

The HCPC is the statutory regulator for practitioner psychologists in the UK, and it is a legal requirement to register for those wanting to practice with the title “clinical psychologist”. The registration process involves submitting proof of qualification and meeting standards of proficiency.

Chartered Membership with the BPS (Optional but Recommended):

Many individuals also choose to apply for Chartered Psychologist status with the BPS (The British Psychological Society) after graduating. This helps practising psychologists to demonstrate further professional competence and commitment to their role.

Career Pathways and Continued Professional Development

Employment Opportunities

There are a lot of opportunities for clinical psychologists in the NHS, private or clinical practices, academia, research institutions, charities and forensic settings. Check out our Elysium Careers page to see what clinical psychologist roles we have on offer.

Specialisation

Obtaining your qualifications to become a Clinical Psychologist opens up many opportunities for specialisation. Specialisation is available in multiple fields such as neuropsychology, child and adolescent mental health, forensic psychology and health psychology.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

To maintain your HCPC registration and BPS Chartered status, CPD is a requirement. It involves partaking in ongoing training, clinical supervision and demonstrating engagement with new research (this could include attending workshops, writing papers or carrying out and presenting research). By doing this, you ensure that your practice remains up-to-date and effective.

Here at Elysium, we understand that progressing your career is vital, as we believe a better you means better care. That’s why we offer all Elysium employees a range of opportunities to develop their careers.

What to expect from a career in Clinical Psychology

Working hours

Most clinical psychologists work 9 am – 5 pm, Monday to Friday. However, in some circumstances, you may be required to work some evenings or weekends, or some roles have on-call systems in the event of an emergency situation.

Daily duties and responsibilities

Some day-to-day tasks a clinical psychologist may carry out are planning and adjusting therapy or counselling sessions, monitoring the success and efficiency of treatment programmes and evaluating clients’ needs through testing, interviews and direct observation. Not only will you need to focus on your client, but you must also demonstrate your ability to work collaboratively with other professionals.

In clinical psychology, each day is different, as Dr Rebecca Doyle mentions, “One of the things I like about working in secure care is that every day is very different. I think when you’re working somewhere and you know what each day is going to bring, I think you stop sort of learning really in some ways.” This can bring its own challenges, but is a great way to learn and grow in your role.

The types of conditions and disorders you’ll work with

As a clinical psychologist, you will work with a range of both mental and physical health conditions. This could include: eating disorders, learning disabilities, anxiety and depression. If you choose to pursue a career in clinical psychology, there is a wide variety of patients you may get to work with. This could be helping people adjust to physical illnesses, addictive behaviour, neurological disorders and people struggling with personal or family relationship issues.

What is the average salary of a clinical psychologist in the UK?

Whilst the salary of a clinical psychologist varies due to experience levels and the location of the role, the average annual salary in the UK is around £50,500 a year. However, for trainee clinical psychologists, it typically starts around £35,000 a year.

Ready to start your journey to become a clinical psychologist?

Becoming a clinical psychologist takes extreme dedication to learning and perseverance to acquire the relevant work experience and education. But it is also a career filled with passion that allows you to help individuals overcome mental health and physical challenges. So now you know how to become a qualified psychologist, are you ready to kickstart your career?

Here at Elysium, you can trust us to help you progress and build specialist skills, all whilst working in an uplifting environment. Whether you see yourself in a healthcare, academic or forensic setting, we have a career for you. Make a difference today, apply at Elysium.