Completing our accredited psychology degree is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist. The British Psychological Society states that after your undergraduate degree you need to undertake an accredited postgraduate degree and further training or successfully carry out doctoral psychology research.
There are several areas that you can specialise in as a Chartered Psychologist:
- Clinical psychologists work to improve the psychological wellbeing of clients with mental and physical health diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress, addiction, and neurological disorders.
- Educational psychologists support children and young people with socio-emotional and learning difficulties to achieve their potential, by carrying out various activities like assessing learning needs, developing methods to support learning and development, and developing and delivering well-being interventions.
- Forensic psychologists work within the justice system to assess and treat criminal behaviour, often conducting criminal profiling and assessment, implementing rehabilitation programmes, and contributing to policy and associated research.
- Health psychologists help people manage the mental health impact of illness, such as those who have a chronic condition or have suffered a lifechanging injury. You can also support people make changes to improve their long-term health, such as stopping smoking.
- Occupational psychologists enable positive change in organisations to improve job satisfaction for employees. This can be a diverse field to work in because there are many aspects of employment that affect employee satisfaction, from relationships with colleagues to work-life balance.
- Sports and exercise psychologists work with athletes and coaches to help them mentally prepare for competitions, or apply psychological research to improving public participation in exercise.
If you want to improve people’s psychological wellbeing but aren’t able to commit to the Chartered Psychologist pathway, then a career in counselling could be a good option.
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) offers a range of courses that can lead to a qualification in counselling, or you could consider an accredited postgraduate degree such as a Masters degree.
Counsellors use psychological theory in therapeutic contexts to help clients (e.g., young people, families, couples) with challenging personal issues and mental health difficulties, including domestic violence, relationship difficulties, depression, and psychosis.