what qualifications do you need to be a psychologist?

Question

uk

Answer 1

You need to get onto an MA/BA/BSc (honours) degree in psychology at a university. To make sure the British Psychological Society accredits the university's psychology degree program (which is important!) check the BPS website for a list of the Uni's. It doesnt matter if the degree is an MA, BA or BSc so long as it results in honours and is in psychology. This will take 4 years full time to study.
Being registered on an honours programme does not guarantee that you will get to go onto study honours in third and fourth year, even if you pass first and second. At my University you had to get a CAS grade of 16 (20 is the highest grade and a 9 is a pass) from your psychology courses at second year to be allowed to study honours. If you get less than 16 you do not do honours and instead leave after third year. This is known as a designate degree and with one of these it is highly unlikely that you would ever work as a 'psychologist'. Gaining honours is therefore crucial.
However, again simply having an honours degree in psychology is not all that is needed. Firstly, your degree needs to meet the graduate basis for registration through the BPS (this is NOT the same as your degree being accredited by the BPS). To gain GBR the BPS states that you must hold an honours degree of second class honours or above from an accredited uni. It used to be of third class honours or above but this was recently raised to second class, so they are really raising the standards that need to be met.
Once you have an honours degree which is registered with the BPS or at least meets the requirements to be registered you need to study further in your chosen field of psycholgy which is usually in the form of a masters degree (often an MSc which is a masters of science). This is usually at least 1 year full time at a university followed by about 2 years work experience under a psychologist already chartered in that field in order for you to receive your own chartership (this is the case for forensic psychology for example). Other fields such as a doctorate in clinical psychology are done 'on the job' and take 3 years full time. Whether you carry out post graduate study at a uni or entirely on the job as in clinical psychology, you will likely be at least 3 years before you can be classed as a 'psychologist' in your field. Before hand you would be known as an assistant psychologist. Forensic, clinical, developmental, research, educational, occupational and counselling are a few of the fields which require further study afer gaining the honours degree in psychology.
Again though, entry to post grad study and assistant psychologist jobs are competitive. Not only must you have an honours degree which meets the guidelines for GBR, it is common that you will also need to have gained upper second class honours (2:1) or above to get onto courses. This is even higher than the second class honours (which is a 2:2 or above) which you need to gain GBR! It may also be likely that you will have to show some form of work experience in the field you are interested in. This often means you have to volunteer for organisations with a similar purpose to what you want to do as a career. A uni careers advsior can help set you up with something appropriate. Basically you can have an honours degree in psychology but to actually use it within psycholgy it needs to be a bloody good one of 2:1 or higher, AT LEAST a 2:2 anyway.
So to recap you need:

An MA/BA/BSc Psychology (hons) of AT LEAST a 2:2 (4 years full time)

Some form of post grad study (MSc/Mres/doctorate in clinical psychology etc) (1-3 years full time)

Apologies if this seemed like a long winded way of telling you it takes around 7 years of full time study at undergraduate then post graduate study/work but so many people think that having an honours degree means they can easily get into work/further study but its the QUALITY of the degree sprinkled with a little work experience that gets you access to further study and work. There are far more psychology graduates than jobs and post grad places available to them so to get into them you really must stand out from the crowd. Only after you have specialised in a field of psychology in this way can you then claim to be a psychologist in whatever field you specialised (a forensic psychologist for example).
I hope this helps you a little bit-dont be put off by the effort and will power required to succeed in becoming a psychologist, it'll pay off in the end!
All the best!

Answer 2

Hi,

You need to complete a PhD in clinical psychology, before you can register to practice in the UK. This course is quite difficult to get onto. I would suggest first taking a degree in psychology, then getting a job as an assistant psychologist. There is also quite a bit of competition for these posts, though. Only when you have this level of experience would you be considered to take your PhD.

I'ts a long journey, but very rewarding (and well paid) once you get there.

Good luck!

Answer 3

You would need to ask yourself a few questions to start off with, such as 1.Why exactly am I doing this? 2. How will it make me feel spending time around depressives? 3. Will it empower me? 4. Do I want to move in or out of mental health as a field of study? 5. What do I want to put into this to gain professional, recognized qualifications? 6. Do I ahve the ability to show empathy and sympathy yet be "cruel to be kind" where it is needed? Im really pleased that you ahve come "out of the other side" it is indeed a testament to your strength and resilience. SOmetimes it may ormay not come back, have pateince with it and yourself, and accept that it will go, just like the weather. You would need counselling qualifications to be registered and practise as an *official* counsellor. I would recomend that you look at your local college brochure and gain some basic qualifications and pherhaps have a look at doing some voluntary work for a local NHS Day Treatment centre. Occupational Health, Art Therapist, CBT Therapist, Counsellor are some of the many jobs available. Btw, i noticed that you dont like the idea of exams. Youve predicted by magically fortune-telling the future, that you will fail as you did as a child? How do you know this? I mean, how do you really know this? It might be worth really challenging your ideas and having a go at a very basic counselling course, or maybe another basic course to get used to education. This would be slightly daunting to anybody after spending a long while out of education anyway. You could at least have a go at a night course, whilst still working at your job. BTW you might also like to look at the area of "NLP" and read the books "Insiders Guide To Submodalities" and "Using your brain for a change"by a guy called Richard Bandler, which are books on self-change. A book that really helped me is "A Guide To Rational Living" by Albert Ellis. BTW IVE JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING- You are a joiner right!? I dont know where you live but here in the uk there are plenty of NHS day treatment centres that use "woodwork therapy" as a therapeutic tool- you would be teaching basic woodwork i.e simple stuff for those with no experience/confidence righ up to cabinet making stuff i.e chairs etc with those with either experience and more confidence. There are facilitators employed to do this, you could be doing woodwork whilst helping people, helping them to have a laugh, throw in the odd bit of advice. How does that sound? Contact your local NHS community centres and day treatment services. best of luck mate

Answer 4

you need a degree that grants you GBR status (Graduate Basis Registration - need at least 60% of degree to be psychology or you can sit an exam if your degree isn't sufficient) , then you need to do a masters and a phd, sometimes you can bypass masters but this is becoming increasingly harder. make sure your degree gives GBR as most phd applications require GBR status. takes 7 years if you study full time from degree (3yrs) to phd (3yrs) and thats if you are lucky enough to get onto masters (1yr) and phd straight after degree.

Good luck.

some of the NHS websites offer phd and clinical training along side eachother, these are great ways in as you are fully funded and are gaining practical experience as well as qualification.

Answer 5

To be a licensed psychologist, it is a state by state qulaification. Many states require a PhD and the passing of a qualifying exam. Some merely require a graduate degree in psychology.

Answer 6

To be a registered psychologist you normally need a Ph.D in clinical psychology.

That's in North America.

Answer 7

in the USA you need a PhD or PsyD to be a licensed Psychologist

An MA or MS can get you a license as a Professional Counselor

Answer 8

got to have a license. but if u are talking about planning of taking a degree, first, u must be a good listener, observative, patience, can keep a secret and strong enough to empathize with patients.

Answer 9

At least a masters degree

Answer 10

no qualifications guy, just u need to be a little crack mind and scrutinize things in a different manner.