Career change- clinical or ed psychology at 45?

[AngryPurpleSleepingBag]

I’m thinking of a career change. I am currently a teacher, earning 38K in an independent school. I’d like to work for NHS mental health services in some way and whilst I could take a slight pay cut temporarily I need to earn a bit more than this in the long run.

if I were to do a psychology conversion msc (I’ve figured out this much is doable) does anyone know what my chances are of getting an assistant ed psych or assistant clinical psychologist job in my late 40s and then being accepted onto a doctorate training for either of those professions? Are any mumsnetters doing these jobs and could you advise?

I am fairly confident I could handle the academic side of the doctorate training but it’s more the working life that I have questions about. Also do they give bursaries/ train people my age? I’d have about 20 years of service to give once trained, not sure if this is considered enough.

Alternatively is there a quicker route to being a cbt practitioner or similar in the NHS?

Yes same in year 3.. it’s a funded course - bursary through the DfE. Clin Psy doctorate is also a bursary funded through NHS but higher amount (not sure how much). Counselling doctorates are not funded.

The second and third year bursary/ salary arrangement is one of the things I couldn’t seem to find out. On here it says it varies, I don’t suppose you know how widespread second and third year bursaries are? As I couldn’t consider it without https://www.aep.org.uk/EPFT#second

Arrangements vary between those 2 alternatives - bursary or salaried post- for government funded trainees.

ah so as long as it was a minimum of the 15 or 16k bursary I think I could survive.

before we left the EU (another Brexit bonus) it was possible to do something called a lateral transfer and become a dual registered psychologist.

This may have been possible in the days before HCPC registration but it certainly hasn't been possible since the two training routes were doctorates, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Brexit.

I am not sure about that

I have never heard of this and I qualified ten years ago

My good friends in Ireland who did their doctorate there are dual qualified ed and clin psych

Bloody amazing

To be fair they paid a shed load to do it whereas mine was fully covered by bursery

I was in a similar position. I was advised I could pick a therapy and do that instead. I chose to do that as I am of the "Drop the Disorder" school of thought.

That's sort of true regarding lateral transfer.....the process since Brexit now exists for all non UK applicants but is known as equivalence, and the HCPC do still oversee it. I appreciate that you are a practitioner psychologist like myself (well a trainee) and you have good insight into the training routes too.

And whoever said about the Irish system - I agree, I think it is the way forward for the dual trained routes. I know there were talks of doing a 'child' and 'adult' route in 2016, but this was rejected at the time and I think people should have the right to be an all age clinical psychologist, or a child, educational and community psych who can work in the LA, social care and NHS and do the full range of work for 0-25 from CBT to neurodevelopmental. The divide to me seems to arbitrary

I am not sure about that

I have never heard of this and I qualified ten years ago

My good friends in Ireland who did their doctorate there are dual qualified ed and clin psych

Bloody amazing

To be fair they paid a shed load to do it whereas mine was fully covered by bursery