Getting started
Completing an accredited degree course is one of the best ways to take your psychological education to a new level. When you’re considering a career in Psychology, you need to understand the various options available to you as well as the qualifications you will need.
Qualifications
To become a Chartered Psychologist, you will need to:
- gain GBC (Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership) by studying a BPS (British Psychological Society) accredited degree
- complete a further three years of BPS-accredited postgraduate training in a specific area of psychology
To research the various qualification routes for Chartered Psychology visit The British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Prospects website.
If your degree is not BPS accredited then you need to undertake a BPS accredited conversion course. For a full list of qualifying courses see the BPS Accredited Psychology Courses.
Areas of Psychology
Below are just some of the areas of psychology you can specialise in:
Clinical psychologists assess and treat clients with a range of mental or physical health issues, conditions and disorders.
Working together 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.
Your work as a forensic psychologist will mainly relate to the assessment and treatment of criminal behaviour.
You'll work with:
- prisoners and offenders
- professionals involved in the judicial and penal systems
- victims of crime
Educational psychologists work with children, young people, families and schools, using psychology to promote positive outcomes with wellbeing, communication and learning.
Educational psychologists work at various levels:
- With an individual: assessing a child's needs and working with schools to implement provision that meets the identified needs
- In groups: supporting a set of children with similar needs
- Supporting the systems: for example, supporting a school to develop their inclusion policy.
Occupational psychologists use their understanding of how people behave at work to improve productivity, job satisfaction and effectiveness within an organisation.
As an occupational psychologist, you'll apply psychological knowledge, theory and practice to the workplace. Providing support on an individual or organisational basis, you'll address issues such as performance, culture and change.
Counselling psychologists work with clients to help them improve their mental health and emotional wellbeing.
As a counselling psychologist, you'll use psychological theory and research in therapeutic work to help clients with a range of difficult life issues and/or mental health conditions.
Counselling psychology job profile
Health psychologists help patients respond to and manage the psychological and emotional aspects of health and illness.
You'll support patients on a range of health issues including:
- adjusting to a serious illness, such as cancer
- cardiac rehabilitation
- lifestyle choices associated with poor diet and lack of exercise
- management of diabetes or other long-term health issues
- pain management
- smoking cessation
- vaccination uptake
Sport and exercise psychologists use their skills to support the behaviours, mental processes and wellbeing of individuals, teams and organisations involved in sport and exercise.
You'll help athletes and teams involved in sports, from amateur to elite professional level, deal psychologically with the demands of the sport. You'll also help them improve their personal development and performance to reach their full potential.
Neuropsychologists work with people of all ages dealing with patients who have had traumatic brain injury, strokes, toxic and metabolic disorders, tumours and neurodegenerative diseases.
Neuropsychologists require not only general clinical skills and knowledge of the broad range of mental health problems, but also a substantial degree of specialist knowledge in the neurosciences.
Neurophyschologist job profile
Non-psychology roles
Studying psychology gives you a broad range of skills that opens up opportunities with a variety of employers. For job options not directly related to your degree in Psychology, have a look at the Prospects website.
Examples of other job roles include:
