I studied A-level psychology and wanted to become an educational psychologist. At that time you had to be a qualified teacher to do educational psychology, so I applied for and completed an undergraduate degree in education and sciences. However, I then discovered that the degree did not have graduate basis registration (GBR) to the British Psychological Society (BPS) — this is needed before you can apply for doctoral training in psychology. So next I had to complete a conversion course to get GBR. But, while I was completing the conversion course I decided I was more interested in clinical psychology. To do this most people first do a masters degree and then the doctoral degree, so the masters was my next step.
After the masters and before the doctoral degree I also needed to have some experience working in the NHS as an assistant psychologist in order to have a realistic understanding of what the job entails. This involves working alongside clinical psychologists and carrying out intervention under supervision. I got a job with the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) working with people with autistic-spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). More recently I have been seconded to work at Reading University for a few days each week to develop patient public involvement (PPI) within research projects. (See PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW, Vol. 22, No. 3 for a more detailed explanation of PPI.)
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