What next for a clinical psychologist wanting a change?

[Juicecharger]

Clinical psych for over 25 years. Have worked in NHS, private and corporate settings doing therapy but also managerial i.e. head of service in a London borough. Now feeling burnt out with that line of work (mainly therapy side) and looking for something new and preferably more uplifting. Sound professional skills: socially skilled, managerial skills, meticulous attention to detail, great time management etc. Is there anything anyone can think of? Having worked in that sector for so long I'm finding it hard to thinks of things outside of it but would like to work in a different field. Thanks for all help.

I’m a teacher thinking of retraining in Psychology! I empathise with that feeling of just having had enough of it all.

When I’m in a whimsical mood, I often look at jobs in government. There were a few working for the Children’s minister recently that I thought looked interesting. Might be worth a nosy.

Do you have experience in neuro psychology? Maybe something to consider. You could do the testing side for those that need testing as they have epilepsy or brain injuries.

HR?

Thanks for your reply. Do you know where those jobs were advertised? The other thing I should mention is that I'm late 50s - still totally up for going into a completely different field though.

That's an interesting idea. Assessing people would be OK as long as I'm not expected to make them better - just can't do that side of things anymore.

Vetting Officer for the police, defence or intelligence services

Do you know anything about that side of things e.g. how long it takes to do training in neuropsych as it would be a new area for me.

www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/vetting-officers

Along the lines of helping people, if you have excellent social skills -

Career adviser/Life coach; Hypnotherapist; Holistic therapist; Acupuncturist; Advocate for elder care; Civic Celebrant for Weddings/funerals; Financial planner/adviser; Mediator; Weight loss consultant; Colour stylist/consultant.

Maybe some kind of project management?

This sounds super-interesting. Thanks!

Thanks for all of these. I think I'm in the strange place of not wanting to 'help' people anymore. That sounds brutal but I think I need something where there's no expectation of 'giving' to people be that in dealing with their mind, their hair - anything.

Ah, I understand. It sounds like you might possibly enjoy trying out roles that don't involve much interaction - at least for a while?
Why not try out some non- professional roles with minimal training to take off the pressure until you find something that suits you:

• dog walking, pet sitting, plant nursery/ garden centre assistant; internet shopper; clinical coder; data entry; medical transcriber; exam invigilator; lab technician; actuary/insurance assessor.

I don't. I wonder if you could shadow someone for a day. Your trust will likely have this service. If not, you could try and contact the brain injury Trust or look up a private neuro psychologist who might be willing to share they own education journey with you.

How about commissioning local services as part of your local authority or ICB. Your experience of working in a service would be very helpful in that kind of role.

https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi

Obviously the world's your oyster if you just go on a job site and search all local jobs for inspiration or whatever you fancy but if you need to earn reasonably the civil service might be one to look at.

Clinical adademic? Or academic?

You don’t fancy doing court assessments as an expert witness? You could pick and choose what you want to do and there’s no having to try and make people better.

There's a private Facebook group called UK Based Clinical Psychologists. There was a long and detailed thread on there ages ago asking this question, and lots of people responded with advice and solidarity. Could you join the group and search for the thread?

(My own solution has been to go part-time and establish a creative side-hustle.)

Good luck, OP.

Can totally relate to you juicecharger. I'm in a very similar situation- 25 years as a Psychologist and feeling like I've had enough of the bureaucracy and limitations of working for a local government yet tied because of pension and reasonable salary. I'd love a job that's more optimistic. Afterall no-one sees a Psychologist because their life is tickety- boo. I've enjoyed my career and to have helped so many has been a privilege but now I feel a change is needed too. Good luck 🍀

@Juicecharger what's your specialism? I'm CAMHS and from your position a year ago, I moved to becoming a full time Expert Witness for the court. Game changer. Never been happier!