Are you a counsellor, psychologist or psychotherapist in the UK?

[Reearry]

I am 35 years old and looking to moving into a career as a counsellor or psychologist in in the UK. I have been looking up courses online but I am not very clear as to best way of moving forward. I have a bachelors in accounting (3 year course) from a country outside of the UK. I have worked in the field of training and development mostly in tech and financial sectors (outside UK only a year here) for more than a decade and am currently not working. I am also a trailing spouse so whatever degree/ course I choose to pursue it would have to be something that would fulfill requirements for me to practice outside of the UK. I want to work with adults and provide counselling services but other than that I do not have an area of focus as of now. I have no experience in working with mental health so I have a few questions:

1. What is the difference between clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, counsellor and psychotherapist? My understanding is that clinical and counselling psychologist require a Phd to qualify and a bachelors degree in psychology …is that correct?
2. Which qualification/ course is globally recognized and will let me work in other countries?
3. What would be the best way for me to move into the profession?
4. What degree/qualification would be the fastest way to get into the profession?
5. As I am looking for work, what jobs should I apply for (that do not require qualifications) which will help me in the future or give me an understanding of what’s to come?

1. Which courses would you recommend for me?

7. What is your role, how long have you worked in it and what is a typical day for you? 8. What is the best part of your role? 9. What do you like the least about your role? 10. What are the required qualifications and training for entry-level positions in your role? 11. Are there specific courses to take to be qualified to work in your role? 12. How much does a person in your role expect to make in their first year, 5 years? 13. What attributes does it take to be good at your work? 14. What are the various career paths available in your role? 15. Can you suggest websites, publications, blogs that will provide a better understanding of the industry?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to respond

What is the difference between clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, counsellor and psychotherapist? My understanding is that clinical and counselling psychologist require a Phd to qualify and a bachelors degree in psychology …is that correct?

Ok your post is really too onerous to answer, sorry. Which ever route you take you’re looking at min 5-6 year training to get qualified as a psychologist.But you may need to factor in getting work experience too

Psychology is one career route into MH , you could also consider Nursing, OT, Social work Specialist in MH train as an approved mental health practitioner AMHP. Nurse, OT, SW all have direct front line contact.

Essentially It’s about you, your attributes,skills and suitability to work in a demanding job. Are you resilient? Do you have a realistic grasp of what’s required

clinical psychologist and counselling psychologist you need BPS accredited degree and PG, BPS accredited courses

counsellor is not a protected title and training often self funded. You need a course that’s BACP accredited
psychotherapist usually self funded and you don’t need to have a psychology degree (though it’s helpful).
a degree in psychology or a related subject.
an accredited postgraduate qualification.
450 hours of practice to be registered as a licensed psychotherapist by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)

To progress to clinical or counselling psychology You need an undergrad degree or a PG conversion MSc And then the Doctorate in clinical psychology all approved by BPS

One can qualify as a clinical psychologist or counselling psychologist.They are different courses leading to different career paths. Clinical is fierce to get a place on. Applying 2-3 times is usual

2.Which qualification/ course is globally recognized and will let me work in other countries? BPS is well regarded

3.What would be the best way for me to move into the profession? You need to do a degree and PG or conversion course and then a PG

4.What degree/qualification would be the fastest way to get into the profession? You could do a conversion MSc and proceed to the PG

5.As I am looking for work, what jobs should I apply for (that do not require qualifications) which will help me in the future or give me an understanding of what’s to come? HCA on a mental health ward or support workers in a Mental health setting. Try get an NHS role so you interact with other professionals and see a range of mental health

1. Which courses would you recommend for me? It needs to be BPS to fulfil professionally recognised qualifications

7.What is your role, how long have you worked in it and what is a typical day for you?

8.What is the best part of your role?

9.What do you like the least about your role?

10.What are the required qualifications and training for entry-level positions in your role?
A PG degree and professional registration with HCPC

11.Are there specific courses to take to be qualified to work in your role? BPS approved degree and post grad.

In order to use the title Clinical Psychologist, you will need to be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

12.How much does a person in your role expect to make in their first year, 5 years? Pay Start at B7 with NHS and progression is quite fast

13.What attributes does it take to be good at your work?

14. What are the various career paths available in your role?

15.Can you suggest websites, publications, blogs that will provide a better understanding of the industry? Look at BPS website to get started

My understanding is that your training will be valid in other countries but not necessarily recognized. You will be more likely to have to work privately- not part of the countries that you live in health sector. Eg in Switzerland a psychologist can work privately and be paid out of pocket with Uk qualifications but cannot be a therapist for someone paying with Swiss health insurance because they do not have all the qualifications required by Switzerland’s health care system. It is also the same for speech therapists

@HeelsHandbagPerfumeCoffee thank you for taking the time to provide a detailed response. I thought I would be able to do a conversion course and a masters degree which would be adequate. I was mistaken and it requires much more time which makes it quite unlikely under current circumstances. I now regret not pursuing my graduate course in psychology and opting for accounting Are there any other options to pursue roles similar to counselling in the UK that can be achieved with a degree under 3 years and with my background?

@Serenschintte thanks for your response. I do not mind working privately as long as the qualifications are recognised.

You could look into graduate courses to be a
Mental health Nurse
Occupational therapist work in mental health
Social worker then specialise as an amhp

It partly depends on where you are moving to.

You can qualify as a counsellor in the UK with a 2 year diploma but depending on where you are moving to other countries often require a masters.

You can do a postgraduate diploma or masters in counselling which would allow you to qualify in one or two years.

The counselling tutor facebook page has loads of info about courses and progression.

A suitable way to get experience would be working as an occupational therapy assistant, support worker in a mental health setting (normally in the community) or any other kind of health care related role. You could also volunteer as a befriender or with somewhere like The Samaritins.

No,it’s not that straightforward.she’d need to arrange placements, and pay for her own supervision to do an accreditated counselling course

Counsellor isn’t a protected title so yes one can undertake a counselling course in a year but whether that is adequate or will secure employment is debatable

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4123152-A-degree-in-counselling-Worth-it-Posting-for-traffic

More about counselling (not counselling psychology).
To be able to take the qualification abroad your best bet would be psychology degree+ Relevant doctoral qualifications in clinical or counselling. I’m not sure how well the BACP qualifications travel (not a counsellor, open to correction on this one). Even for clinical psychology converting U.K. qualifications to work abroad can be onerous process .

I have a Masters in Counseling. It does not qualify me to work in my US state as a counselor but I could possibly use the college credits against a Masters here. It was too much of a palava so I didn’t bother. I was looking at about $50k to requalify locally.

There is a Group on Facebook called Two Fat Expats. Might be worth asking on there. Lots of members. Give an indication (if possible) of where future job postings will be and see what response you get.

I was considering staying back for a few years to get the necessary qualifications but if the qualifications are not recognised and I will have to do a master's or additional coursework every time I move then it doesn't add up. I looked into social work and occupational therapy as advised but I will most likely have to deal with language barriers. Counseling works to my strengths and interests and my plan was to set up a practice geared towards expats so I will not have issues with language. The linked thread did not paint a very positive picture for someone who will be working in the UK and coupled that with my potential move is making me think it is not a right path for me as much I would really like to pursue it. For people asking me where I am going to move....I have no idea. I lived in an Asian country before moving to the UK and my husband has had stints in the US, Middle East and Far East. I wanted to pursue my education in the UK and get into an occupation that interests me and will let me work and continue my career without stressing about looking for work at every move. Unfortunately being a Pilates/ yoga instructor, hairdresser or beautician, IT, or
perhaps a teacher might be more sensible career options to pursue in my situation but none of those interest me. Back to the drawing board. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. It has saved me what could have been years of wasted study and effort. I will think of studying counseling for my own interest and pleasure once I am older and settled in a single country and do not need a paycheck

@Serenschintte thank you for the recommendation. I am not active on Facebook but will join the group... Might give me more ideas for potential work and study options

Not sure what you mean about language barriers ?your posts are understandable
Do you mean your spoken and written English wouldn’t be of an adequate standard to do a degree in uk?

Counselling is largely self funded and costly id not particularly recommend it

Have you looked into being an interpreter eg Big Word interpreting service and language line are both used in govt,nhs and public sector

The majority of counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK work in private practice - self-employed. There are very few paid jobs available and it's very competitive as there are so many training courses around... it takes time to build a practice after you qualify.

Counselling and psychotherapy training also requires personal therapy as part of the training. If you've never had therapy yourself before, it would be a good starting point to find an experienced therapist and have some therapy to get a feel for what it's like. There are lots of different approaches and theoretical modalities.

Many countries have different requirements so it's not possible to say a specific training or qualification would be suitable for being able to work anywhere- some countries have stricter requirements than others and require a licence, others like the UK don't technically require any specific training at all but part of the difficulty may be getting suitable insurance abroad.

@HeelsHandbagPerfumeCoffee

Not sure what you mean about language barriers ?your posts are understandable
Do you mean your spoken and written English wouldn’t be of an adequate standard to do a degree in uk?

I was talking about the potential language barriers to be faced when working outside of UK as an occupational therapist or social worker. It will be very important to be able to speak in local language as I doubt there will be many (if any) opportunities where you cater only to the expat or English speaking patients.

Thank you for the links of translation services. I am looking into it . I do speak two other languages other than English but don't think they are in demand.

@viccat I have had therapy before ( not for too long) but I am familiar with the process when it comes to being a patient. I didn't think about the insurance... Something else to look into...