Clinical Psychologists support a wide range of physical and mental psychological issues such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders.
Clinical Psychologists work with young people experiencing a wide range of psychological issues, including anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, addictions, learning disabilities and relationship issues.
You will need a degree in psychology, followed by postgraduate training in psychological problems, specialist assessment and their treatment.
During your postgraduate training you will spend the majority of your week on clinical placements supervised by a qualified clinical psychologist, but also attend university and complete academic and research components.
Lived experience of mental health difficulties is seen as an advantage, and excellent interpersonal skills are essential.
- Working with individuals, families and groups of different ages experiencing psychological distress or behavioural problems which disrupt their everyday functioning and wellbeing
- Assessing patients problems using direct observation, interviews and psychological techniques
- Delivering psychological interventions that require partnership with service users and shared decision making with the individual, and often their carers and family members
- Enhance and promote psychological well-being, minimise exclusion and inequalities and enable service users to engage in meaningful relationships and valued work and leisure activities
- You will train practitioners and other supervising staff, undertake research and lead teams of clinicians
- Some Clinical Psychologists go on to work at very senior level leadership positions
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I support children and young people up to 18 and their families or carers in a community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). I work with a range of complex emotional and mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression and self-harm.
Prior to completing my clinical psychology training I worked as an assistant psychologist in CAMHS. I then chose to complete a specialist placement in my current CAMHS team and stayed for a qualified role after enjoying it so much. There is something very rewarding about this age group and being able to work more creatively, as well as the potential to positively impact people earlier in life.
Most days I see children and young people at CAMHS for assessments, psychological formulation (understanding their experiences, strengths and difficulties in a psychologically-informed way) and therapeutic sessions. I also contribute to our autism and ADHD assessment pathway and offer clinical supervision to other members of the team including Trainee Clinical Psychologists. Sometimes I attend meetings to share aspects of my work or help the team and other professionals think psychologically about something.
Ongoing continued professional developed (CPD) – whether that be delivered locally in our team or more specialist therapeutic training helps me to continue learning in my qualified role. I am also still in touch with supervisors and colleagues from previous research I completed during my clinical psychology training and enjoy keeping up to date with the latest research in this more niche area on ‘X’ (formerly known as ‘Twitter’).
I like a challenge, so when I first meet a young person who isn’t so sure about my role and whether seeing me can help them, I’m always really happy when they finish our first appointment saying that they are open to meeting with me again. I also like the feedback I get from them about when I have made them feel listened to and understood.
Children and young people are all so different and often find themselves in very complex systems, so flexibility is key, for example arranging appointments around studies and exams or being responsive to risk and safety concerns. A good sense of humour and following through with what you say you will do are also key, as these tend to be the things that get young people to open up and come back to you.
I would say that as I have gained more experience supporting young people I have become more comfortable being authentically myself in sessions rather than trying to be this idea of what ‘a Clinical Psychologist’ should be. Young people have told me that they like how I speak to them “like a normal person” rather than trying to show-off with lots of psychology jargon.
There are some therapeutic models specific to working with young people that I have trained in and use every day, including Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). These models make a lot of sense to me and the young people I see – offering a more compassionate view of what they are struggling with as well as some helpful ideas about what may help.
I generally do prefer to see people face-to-face and I’d say most of the children and young people I support would say the same; however, having online, video appointments as an option can be useful for those who can’t make it into CAMHS for practical reasons or if they are really struggling. Online options are also very handy for when I need to attend meetings with other professionals (e.g., Schools/ Colleges, Social Workers) as it offers me more flexibility in my day.
I have very approachable, responsive managers and team members who are always on hand to offer formal or informal support to me when I am feeling stuck. I also really do see it as a privilege to be able to support people to get through tough times in their life and go on to do the things they enjoyed before or thought weren’t possible when we first met.
The video below published by NHS Health Careers describes the role of a Clinical Psychologist working within the NHS psychological professions.
- Association of Clinical Psychologists
- Health and Care Professions Council
- NHS Careers – Clinical Psychologist
- NHS Careers – Psychological professions
- NHS funding for psychological professions training programmes
- The British Psychological Society
- Video about the role of a Clinical Psychologist published by the Psychological Professions Network
