r/ClinicalPsychologyUK

Hello!

I've just completed an UG placement in a community team with a substantial amount of risk and was able to soak up some great experiences within the ~9 months I was there. I'm considering applying to Oxford + Surrey as both allow UGs to apply. I have little hope I will even be considered for an interview but my thinking is that I can use this year as a trial run and get to grips with how to apply. The reason I'm considering applying is because of the experience I got from my UG placement. I was able to complete 1:1 interventions around anxiety management, phase 1 trauma stabilisation, behavioural activation, Increasing self-compassion, ND screens/referrals and work in an MDT. All of my work was DBT/CBT informed. I also co-facilitated two groups focused on compassion and coping with suicidal thoughts, helped create and deliver 3 different staff trainings and completed a service evaluation.

Like I said, I don't have much hope I'll even be considered and have heard people say that they wished they had applied for the doctorate later so they had more time to build up experience. I'm interested to see what everyone thinks and whether it's worth me applying or not!

Hi everyone! I am currently an AP working within the NHS, and in my team there are three full-time APs all supervised by one part-time Clinical Psychologist.

We have been informed that our Clinical supervisions (as well as line management supervison) are now going to be routinely recorded, transcribed, and uploaded somewhere on the supervision system (which us APs do not have access). Although, it appears that they are first saved to our supervisors OneDrive.

We have been told in these exact words, that it is not optional therefore we cannot provide/withdraw consent. It has been framed as a policy to keep everyone safe and protected in case someone were to make any claims or to do/say something that could cause serious issues.

When I asked about polices and data governance etc, my supervisor was vague and said he did not have all the details. He stated that this information was just passed on to him by his line manager and "phrased in a way that indicates we do not have a choice". He said that he will look to see if there is a policy around recordings, and if not, he will write one himself? This makes me doubt whether it is a trust wide policy or just something that is being implemented specifically for our small team.

Overall this has made me feel very uncomfortable. If I had a choice, I would not want my supervisions to be formally recorded and put into CoPilot AI for transcription, even if the AI we use is confidential to the NHS trust and not used to train the model etc. I also feel uncomfy with not knowing how it's stored, who can access it, what happens when I leave the job, etc.

My question to you all is, does anyone here have any experience with supervision being recorded in any way? What are your thoughts on it? I have told my supervisor that it makes me feel less psychologically safe and could impact my ability to be open about myself or personal struggles which impact work.

I’m coming to the end of my first year of training and just found out I’m pregnant. For context, me and my partner moved away from our families for me to start training and though I’d love to have kids, it feels impossible to finish training with a child without family support. For those who are / have been parents whilst on the DClinPsy, what has made it easier / harder for you to manage training with children? Were you able to negotiate any adjustments with your course to manage childcare responsibilities? I’m concerned I won’t be able to manage and may end up dropping out. Thank you!

I'm in an extremely fortunate position where I have interviewed for 3 trainee PWP roles and have been offered all of them! I am trying to decide between two of them and feel very conflicted...

One role does the training with the university of Exeter and the other does it with UCL. Both roles would require me to travel into central London for teaching and I currently live within an hour's drive of both services. The service attached to UCL's course is a slightly further drive than the other one but would benefit from London weighting.

I guess I'm considering which of the two courses would be better and whether the extra pay is worth the extra travel. I'm aware that the training year can be intense so I might find having the extra time is more valuable than the higher salary. Both roles are with an NHS service and as far as I'm aware, both roles are fixed term contracts for the training year (I would go for a permanent contract regardless of everything else if that was an option).

I would appreciate any thoughts or reflections on either of the courses and any advice which may help me to decide! Thank you :)

I have an interview for a trainee clinical psychologist role. Would love to hear peoples opinions of the role as I do not know much about it. Finding it hard to choose the right path to the DClinPsy as I have also been offered a trainee EMHP role and Senior Assistant Psychologists role. I have not got the best grades so I am thinking further training would boost my application.

Looking for some career advice within clinical psychology/psychology adjacent field in the UK.
Currently a team lead at a coffee shop while volunteering with childline.
I have a psychology undergraduate and a year of experience as a supply SEN Teaching Assistant.
Ideally would love to get a trainee PWP position but currently living in Cardiff and the closest position was Bristol, i did apply for this but got rejected as well as some assistant therapy roles. I am thinking of moving back to london (moved to Cardiff to live with my partner who lives here). In hoping there would be more positions to apply to, although i do understand that is a mixed bag initself.
Currently : Do i just keep applying to these roles or shall i attempt to change my current position (which pays pretty well, haha) to a support worker/hca role to get my foot in the door?
Any advice is appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I am currently an AP, in my second AP position with 3 years in the NHS.

This will be second time applying for the dclin and I feel I have enough clinical experience, but I do not have a masters and I have a pending publication of some research work I did within my current NHS role.

I’ve been told by a supervisor that I’m losing marks on my application for not having a masters and for not being published. Is there anything I can do to help with my application from a research side? I have completed audits and presented at meetings and completed some work creating booklets for the service. Does this count?

Are there specific universities where masters and published research is weighted less that I would have a good chance of getting an interview for?

Thank you all for your help!

Hi there

I qualified as a clinical psychologist around 3/4 years ago. Since qualifying I’ve noticed a shift within nhs working. There seems to be never ending red tape, less and less funding and seemingly more dangerous working. I have made the decision that I desperately need to leave my current role for my own wellbeing however the job market isn’t all that great at the moment.

I am looking for general advice really. I feel so stuck and am not sure where to go/what to do. All I know is I will continue to experience more and more symptoms of burnout if I don’t make a change and will end up more unwell.

What alternative career routes are out there that aren’t going solo within private practice? Is the jump away from the nhs worth it? I would be grateful for any advice

Hi guys,
Can anyone tell me is it necessary to be a member of the BPS when you’re applying to AP, TEMHT, TCWP and TPWP roles?

I’ve read mixed advice and my applications are getting rejected with no feedback. I was wondering if it’s because I haven’t got membership.

I did a degree which qualifies for BPS membership but I didn’t sign up. Will I stand a better chance when applying for these roles if I’m a member?

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’ve just finished my PWP training and will be starting a qualified PWP role next month. I’m hoping to complete a Master’s conversion course in Psychology alongside working sometime in the near future, but I’m unsure how realistic it is to balance the two as they are not integrated with each other like the PWP training was.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has worked full time in a clinical role whilst completing a Master’s degree (especially a Psychology conversion) or similar

How did you manage the workload alongside clinical responsibilities, assignments, studying, and maintaining a work-life balance?

Were there particular universities or course structures that made it more manageable alongside work? Is there anything you wish you had considered before starting?

I’d love to hear about your experiences!

Hi, I’ve been offered a place on a Trainee PWP course in England, but I’ve also been invited to interview for the NHS Psychological Intervention Assistant Trainee (PIAT) course in Scotland.

I was wondering if anyone has completed the PIAT course and would be willing to share their experience. How did you find the training and the role overall?

I’ve seen a lot of discussion online about PWPs experiencing high levels of burnout, so I’m curious whether the same is true for the PIAT role.

I’m also hoping to pursue Clinical Psychology in the future, so I’d love to hear which route people think is better for progressing onto a Clinical Psychology doctorate

Hi,

Just curious and looking for inspiration in my job search.

What were your roles or volunteering before landing a AP job?

Hi everyone!

I have been offered an interview for an AP role within a forensic inpatient service. There are 2 roles available: one in the men's low secure service and another in women's low+medium secure service. I've never interviewed for an AP role before and would really appreciate some advice. In particular:

• What types of questions are commonly asked in forensic AP interviews?
• What makes a candidate stand out at interview?
• What do interview panels tend to look for beyond meeting the person specification?
• Are there any questions you wish you'd prepared for beforehand?

I'm planning to prep some STAR examples for each point on the person spec and make sure I can be reflective on my experiences but I'm nervous that I'm missing something.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I have my first ever AP interview in a couple of weeks. I’m really excited but also very nervous! I’m just wondering what you would all suggest to wear for a female? I don’t have many smart clothes (I’ve only had two interviews before that were both online) so I’m not sure what I should wear/buy.

If you also have any other tips I’d really appreciate it. It’s honestly my dream role but I’m worried I’m going to mess it up or like I don’t have the right experience for it.

Thank you :)

I feel very grateful to have received two job offers and now I’m trying to decide which one I would be better suited to/what would help me in the long run of getting onto the dclin.

First role is a community outreach worker in an eating disorder service so I’d have a caseload that I monitor and support. It is a client faced role and in the NHS, which I’ve been trying to get into for some time.

My previous role was in a pupil referral unit for two years. I did an MSc in developmental psychology and psychopathology before that.

The second offer is for an assistant educational psychologist role, the pay is a bit better but that’s not my priority. It is not client facing as the role is part of a project to improve SEN and SEMH support in mainstream schools so that children can stay in mainstream and thrive rather than pushed towards alternative provisions more and more. So it is a training/consulting role and is interesting to me as having worked in an alternative provision, I know what children need and how the system is lacking in providing them before they end up there.

But I’d prefer a client facing role and my aim is not educational psych but clinical.

I can see the positives in each role and honestly have no idea which one to choose, both of the teams seemed lovely and people I’d want to work with so I’m at a loss. I don’t want to waste their time so I feel like I should make a decision quickly and would appreciate any guidance.

Hey all, I'm really hoping someone can give me some advice about interviewing with EveryTurn for an upcoming trainee CBT role. I have tried other platforms, but haven't had many responses! I'd like to know the general theme of questions asked, as my two interviews before this have been different, as well as any experiences people have had! Thank you in advance ❤️

I've been struggling for a while to get an application through to the next stage for AP roles. I was fortunate enough to get an interview next week where they said we will be given vignettes and need to present about it. I haven't done anything like this before and have been researching.

This is for a Dementia Service, Band 5 role. To be honest, I am surprised I got an interview because I've mainly done CAMHS and young people services in Band 4, so feeling really out of my depths at the moment! The only relevant experience I had was volunteering at a care home a while ago for a few months.

So far I was thinking on prepping around:

• Risk and safeguarding assessments
• 5Ps
• Older Adult cognitive assessments
• Different dementia types
• Looking at what services/support the team provides
• Trust values

Could anyone advice one what else I should prepare for?

Hi everyone,

I have an AP interview coming up in a community DBT service. Could anyone give me some advice about the potential questions and service user group?

I currently work in an inpatient setting and don't have previous experience in the community.

Thank you!