The journey of South ASian psychology students
Your (rough) guide to help you to get into the mental health and wellbeing profession
I want to be a psychologist.
I still remember the moment I knew that working as psychologist was what I wanted to do.
However the journey to getting to qualification is not easy.
I often get asked about how does an aspiring psychologist get into the world of psychology.
My experience* and journey started in 1998 (yes that long ago). I learnt about the profession and knew that I needed to understand the theory so I decided to take Psychology as an A level. Having done psychology I fell in love with the scientific element and didn’t love the statistics side of it (I thought I’d left maths at GCSE).
My psychology teacher at the time recommended that I try my best to get into the best university with the best research ranking psychology departments. The reason for this is that the university will teach you cutting edge research and you can get involved in this when you are conducting your own research. Plus it looks good to employers.
Another key element was to try to get as much experience working with a psychologist as possible. Many universities offer placement years which personally is the best way to get this real world experience and will set you apart from other graduates.
Once you have your degree and some experience, that is not the end of the road. Any summer jobs ideally need to be roles in which you are gaining skills in supporting, listening and applying psychological knowledge.
Examples of this include: Support worker, Advocate, Learning support worker, care worker.
You can get this experience in all types of sectors such as health, social care, and education (these help with clinical, counselling, health and educational psychology roles). If you are interested in organisational psychology then working in corporate and HR type roles would be what you are looking for (however this is not my area of expertise).
*My experience is based on UK education and training
Many universities look for masters qualifications for entry for their doctorates
The road into clinical psychology is tough, not only emotionally (because it can take years!) but also financially.
For many of us, including myself I could not afford to pay for a masters degree, however there is such increased competition that this has now become a prerequisite for some universities.
Check out the clearing house to see which universities offer clinical psychology doctorates.
The toughest part for many aspiring psychologists is getting experience working with qualified psychologists.
And I get a lot of questions about whether I can offer this. Unfortunately, when I was working in private practice, paying for and supervising an assistant psychologist was not possible due to the need to pay for insurance to cover the assistant psychologist and many private paying clients would not want to be supported by an assistant psychologist.
There are many privately owned psychology group practices that may be able to offer something, however it is at their discretion.
Most psychology students would be best placed to contact larger organisations such as MIND, the NHS or other mental health providers in the charity sector.
Sadly most placements or experience is often unpaid, which is a huge issue for psychology students and causes a disparity in the diversity of students that are able to reach and apply for the doctorate. Currently many universities are looking into this.
Having had conversations with many psychologists at varying points in their career, I have learnt that creativity is key.
Think about your network, leverage on getting to speak to psychologists and other people who work in sectors that interest you. There is a ton of activism and grass roots organisations that would welcome volunteers looking for experience in working mental health for minority communities, my favourites include Taraki, Cysters, Rights Collective and South Asian sisters speak.
Get involved in the things that matter to you.
Get talking to people, think of ways you can support the people you want to learn from e.g. (handling social media accounts, writing website content for psychologists etc).
And of course join the Brown therapist network to get involved in discussions.
And maybe, clinical psychology isn’t your desired route there are lots of ways you can practice therapy. Come and speak to qualified psychotherapists from across the world and learn together.
Key Points
Get into the best university you can - look at their research rating.
Try to make the most of university time and summer break jobs (inc volunteering at uni organisations, research assistant positions within psychology departments ands placement year).
Get creative with post graduate experience - think about roles that require basic psychological skills, empathy, communication, supporting others, advocating, admin, writing, activism and research.
Leverage social media networks - engage in organisations that inspire you and think of ways you can get exposure to professionals
Join BTN!