Clinical psychologist

Clinical psychologists assess and treat clients with a range of mental or physical health issues, conditions and disorders

The main purpose of your role as a clinical psychologist is to reduce the distress and improve the psychological wellbeing of your clients.

Working in partnership with your clients, you'll diagnose, assess and manage their conditions. Assessment can be done through a range of techniques including interviews, observation and psychometric testing. Once assessed, you'll provide a treatment plan that may include counselling, advice or therapy.

You'll work with individuals, including children, adolescents and adults, as well as families, couples and groups in a range of settings. Liaising with other professionals such as psychiatrists, social workers and counselling psychologists over your clients' complex issues.

Types of conditions and disorders

You'll work with a range of mental and physical health conditions, including:

• anxiety
• depression
• mental illness
• adjustment to physical illness
• neurological disorders
• addictive behaviours
• challenging behaviours
• eating disorders
• personal and family relationship problems
• learning disabilities.

Responsibilities

As a clinical psychologist, you'll need to:

• assess your clients' needs, abilities or behaviour using a variety of methods, including psychometric tests, interviews and direct observation of their behaviour
• plan, monitor and adapt appropriate treatment programmes and interventions, including therapy, counselling or advice, in collaboration with colleagues
• offer therapy and treatments for issues relating to a range of mental health conditions
• evaluate the efficacy and outcome of treatments
• provide consultation to other members of the multidisciplinary team, encouraging a psychological approach in their work
• counsel and support carers
• develop and evaluate service provision for clients
• carry out applied research, adding to the evidence base of practice in a variety of healthcare settings
• provide clinical supervision to less experienced psychologists and members of the wider multidisciplinary team
• provide psychology teaching and training to other members of the team.

More experienced clinical psychologists may be called on to write legal reports and act as expert witnesses. In these cases, you'll keep detailed paperwork about clients in order to monitor the progress of their treatments.

Salary

• Trainee clinical psychologists start at £35,392 (Band 6) of the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) pay rates. After qualification, salaries within the NHS start at £43,742 (Band 7).
• More experienced psychologists can earn between £50,952 and £57,349 (Bands 8a and 8b).
• Consultant-level clinical psychologist roles typically range from £70,417 to £96,376 (Bands 8c and 8d).
• Heads of psychology services may earn in the region of £99,891 to £114,949 (Band 9).

The NHS pays a London high-cost area supplement at 20% of the basic salary for inner London, 15% for outer London and 5% for fringe areas.

Salaries in private hospitals and private practice vary.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Working hours are typically Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, although you may do some extra hours in the evenings or at weekends. Occasionally, you may work as part of an on-call system covering emergency situations.

What to expect

• You'll work as part of a multidisciplinary team alongside doctors, nurses, social workers, education professionals, health visitors, psychiatrists and occupational therapists.
• Jobs are available in most cities and large towns, with fewer opportunities in rural areas. Self-employment or freelance work is possible in private or clinical practice and for industrial or commercial consultancy.
• The work can be challenging as it involves contact with different types of people who are often distressed in some way. Occasionally, you might encounter situations of potential personal risk.
• Supervision by colleagues is important throughout your career.
• You'll often need to travel during the working day to visit clients. However, you're unlikely to spend time away from home overnight or work abroad.

Qualifications

To practise as a clinical psychologist in the UK you must be registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC), which involves training at Doctorate level.

To begin training you'll normally need Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), which is achieved by completing a psychology degree or conversion course accredited by The British Psychological Society (BPS). For a full list of GBC qualifying courses see the BPS Accredited Psychology Courses.

You'll then complete a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology that is accredited by the BPS and approved by the HCPC. Currently, most places on clinical psychology doctorate courses are funded by the NHS. This situation may change, however, so check when applying for a place whether funding is available.

You'll usually need a first class honours degree or a 2:1 (some courses will require an upper 2:1) to get a place on a Doctorate course. Some providers may accept a 2:2 (or a lower 2:1) if you have a relevant Masters or PhD. You'll also need relevant clinical/research work experience. For details of entry and work experience requirements, check with individual course providers.

You'll also need to have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme in Scotland).

Applications for most doctorate courses are made through the Clearing House for Postgraduate Courses in Clinical Psychology. However, the University of Hull and Queen's University Belfast operate their own admissions process. Applications usually open during September and close in November. Most courses are full time over three years.

You'll be employed throughout the course by the NHS as a trainee clinical psychologist and will receive a salary. Training follows a structured programme of learning which combines academic and practical training, including clinical placements and research.

On successful completion of your Doctorate, you're eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC and chartered status with the BPS.

Skills

You'll need to have:

• excellent communication and interpersonal skills for dealing with people in distress
• empathy and a person-centred approach to clients
• the ability to apply your knowledge of academic psychology and research to clinical problems
• the ability to recognise your own limitations and respond to difficult situations
• the capacity to be critical and analytical and to work in a self-motivated, independent way
• the ability to think clearly in challenging situations
• the ability to collaborate with colleagues from other disciplines
• the determination to succeed
• time management and prioritisation skills
• good general IT skills
• a strong understanding of the profession and the role of a clinical psychologist, and an awareness of current NHS issues
• driving licence - is useful for local travel.

Work experience

You'll need relevant work experience, often a minimum of 12 months, to get a place on a Doctorate course. Most course providers have specific requirements on the amount and type of experience they want or give advice on how to go about gaining the necessary experience.

Some course providers are particularly keen on experience gained as an assistant psychologist in an NHS clinical psychology department under the supervision of a clinical psychologist. Competition for these posts is particularly fierce.

Experience in clinically-oriented research that contributes to your understanding of clinical psychology practice is also relevant. It's helpful to have a good balance of experience in both academic and clinical areas.

Paid or voluntary work in other areas such as nursing, social work, care work, mental health work or services for individuals with disabilities can also be useful. Relevant jobs include graduate primary care worker, nursing assistant, healthcare assistant or support worker and psychological wellbeing practitioner,

Any experience you get should be with groups and services that are directly relevant to clinical psychology and must provide you with the opportunity to interact with people with health or psychological difficulties. Mental health charities such as Mind and Rethink may have relevant opportunities as well.

For free mentoring resources and experiences designed to support aspiring healthcare and legal professionals - including virtual work experience that is accepted by medical schools, see Medic Mentor.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Most clinical psychologists are employed by the NHS. Opportunities are available in a range of health and social care settings, including:

• hospitals
• psychiatric units
• local clinics and health centres
• community mental health teams
• children and young people's mental health services (CYPMHS)
• social services
• schools and universities
• prisons
• Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services.

There are also opportunities to work on a self-employed basis and in private practice.

Look for job vacancies at:

• Healthjobsuk.com
• Jobs in Psychology
• NHS Jobs
• NHSScotland Jobs

Specialist recruitment agencies such as Pulse and JobMedic also advertise vacancies.

Professional development

Once qualified, you must keep your skills up to date and follow ongoing developments in research. Continuing professional development (CPD) is an essential part of continued registration with the HCPC and chartered membership of the BPS, and should include a mixture of directed and self-directed activities.

Activities can include:

• taking post-qualification training courses that help to develop your knowledge of different theoretical approaches or specialist areas or work
• clinical supervision training
• attending conferences, workshops and events
• writing articles or papers for journals
• carrying out and presenting research and papers at conferences
• lecturing or teaching
• mentoring, supervising or assessing trainees
• developing expertise with a particular client group.

You'll need to keep an up-to-date and accurate record of your professional development activities, showing that your CPD contributes to the quality of your practice and service delivery and is beneficial to your clients.

More information can be found at the BPS Professional Development Centre.

Career prospects

There is a structured career path within the NHS, and you should be able to progress through the pay bands as you gain experience and move into new roles.

You may choose to specialise in a particular area of clinical psychology, such as:

• addiction
• clinical neuropsychology
• clinical health psychology
• forensic clinical psychology
• oncology and palliative care
• psychosis and complex mental health.

With experience you may move into a supervisory or clinical management role, taking on more responsibility for both staff and clinical psychology services.

Clinical psychologists with the right combination of skills and experience may be eligible to apply for consultant-level positions. From here, a small number of heads of specialty posts are available (in areas such as adult mental health) with progression to overall head of a psychology service.

With experience, you may become involved in the teaching, supervision and training of other clinical psychologists. You may also choose to move into clinical academic research.