Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner

[GoldfinchesInTheTree]

Hello!

Does anyone do this or know what it's like. There's a training post near me but it's only £25k a year and I'm an ex teacher so was hoping to move to something 35-40.

I've been running some wellbeing groups in my current role and just wondering if this qualification could lead anywhere further.

Who is running the training? Who is it accredited by? It sounds like a very carefully-worded job title to avoid any regulated/protected job titles while implying it is one.

If in doubt about career prospects, you could type the job title into Indeed and find out how many other recruiters are hiring for this and what qualifications they expect, i.e. how many people will potentially take you on once you've qualified.

It's a title in the NHS. The course is delivered through universies at a graduate level over a year sort of day release while you work on the job

https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/psychological-therapies/roles/psychological-wellbeing-practitioner

My caution is the low salary. I'm not in a position to train as clinical psychologist and this is the other end of the spectrum pay wise!

Id love to know if it is rewarding or if it's churning through basic cbt and frustrating /high burnout.

And if thees progression routes or if it's essentially capped at a lower level.

Here's the course.

https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/degreeapprenticeships/programmes/certificateinpsychologicalwellbeingpractice/
I have done a bit of googling but would love to hear from anyone in the role or working with those in the role.

Hi @GoldfinchesInTheTree. I'm a Clin Psych. My experience is that its a role that many, many folks do as a route into CP training. I think that the caseloads are massive, and it can feel extremely overwhelming at times. However, that is my experience in specific bits of London. Could well be different elsewhere.

Oh ok so it's a proper course run by a proper university that leads to a job (hopefully) later down the line. I'd definitely do an Indeed search (and an NHS jobs search) to see how in-demand they are. I'd never heard of this as a discrete role (IYSWIM).

I was going to train with ThinkAhead to do mental health social work but the lack of vacancies anywhere near me put me right off applying as I don't want to move. Would that be another option where you are? You could start earning straight away and in my experience caring for someone with MH difficulties, the MH social workers in community mental health do a lot of therapeutic/listening work, now. Otherwise, would MH nursing be a better fit in terms of salary/progression? They can progress quite high.

Ah thanks @TattyPhoenix that was my fear. I did a psych conversion 10 years ago with the aim of retraining in Clin or Ed Psych but we moved too far from the training unis to be practical around kids (both SEND).

Rethinking careers completely and looking at wfh civil service or trying to leap into something like this but don't want to take the drop in salary if it's not a good move.

It is a lot of low level interventions, so supporting self-guided work with patients who are on waiting lists for actual therapy. I have had a few friends who did it as a stepping stone to clinical psychology.
Once qualified and sufficiently experienced it is possible to then train as a CBT therapist, but it is competitive.

Thanks yes that would be more ideal I think as seems a more useful qualification and I did wonder about other routes into similar work but locally the funded socialwork training is 18month child services which I don't think emotionally I'd want to do.

Further away there is mhn but I wouldn't manage night shifts quote honestly.

I run some low key wellbeing groups in my current role which I absolutely love but that's going to end soon. I do really like that I'm not micromanaged and I have freedom how I deliver my courses which I guess would go with the NHS treadmill.

I might be too old to pursue Clin psych now (would be getting close to 50after a couple of years after training)

I so wish I'd been in a better position to retrain when younger 😳

Could it lead to other therapy type roles that aren't cbt?

Where are you at currently with qualifications? Has your first degree got any psychology in it? I'm wondering about art/music/drama/play therapy as a good fit potentially? I know there are more courses for these than there used to be and you could potentially set up as an indie outside of the NHS once you're experienced and set your own hours. This is another thing I've looked at.
You could potentially get a postgraduate student loan to cover fees for these (the PGCE doesn't count towards PG loan entitlement, or at least it didn't when I was applying for mine).

Or there used to be an EdPsy programme that counted PGCE and experience as a teacher towards the entry requirements, but IDK if it's still going.

This is the role my DD is applying for - she's currently a final year Psychology student at uni in the north west. From what she's told me most applicants will be psychology graduates and this is her route into clinical psychology.

I looked into when I was doing my counselling training. My understanding is that they deliver low level interventions to people experiencing mental health issues. This is usually in the form of CBT style therapy for short periods in one to one and group format.

My understanding is it can be quite a stressful job interms of juggling caseload/paperwork but I imagine not worse than teaching!

I have a psych degree and a pgce and a first degree (completely irrelevant one but good uni!)

Fair bit of teaching experience and now doing a lovely community job but it will be ending so not sure what direction to go now. And I'm old 😬. I'd really wanted to be earning more/sense of progression by now!

I was a PWP for 18m. I'd previously been a Counsellor but had a 15 year career break so started from scratch. Low entry pay but opportunities to progess to £32k within 24m & onto training in varous therapies eg EMDR.

I did 4 days p/w work, 1 day p/w Uni. whilst training. The training was very poor, Uni staff turnover was high & Lead Tutor almost cos-played his role.
(& was instrumental in setting up IAPT itself worryingly!) The charity where I worked routinely broke GDPR. They put young trainees straight out of Uni on unsuitable caseloads (eg chap with 30 years Bipolar who was experiencing a psychotic break & breaking into a house with kids in. I called Police & MHT. At a 'what we could do better' meeting after I was asked to sign an NDA. I refused & later left altogether as this was just one of many incidents)

In general the IATPT system is designed to take the caseload off GP's. PWP's are 'clinicians' who assess 'patients' then write to GP's, informing them if they meet criteria for GAD or a major Depressive Episode. We were not encouraged to tell clients we would do this (I did & it caused ructions).

The 'recovery stats' for the entry level CBT input are the same as for watchful waiting (ie, really no difference at all?) Patients would be assessed in 6/8 wks, then sit for many months on our caseload. I remember one poor guy, waiting 9m, who was in a poor signal area when I called. I suggested calling back but was told by my manager not to as 'put him down as "called but patient not committed to therapy".
I think that better help is provided further up the food chain though.

Some clients will find 'walking them through' basic CBT it helpful which is some recompense for the poor wages (for the work being done) & conditions.
Some will be referred up after they've been through the basics & will receive more appropriate help. I felt like I was in a CBT call centre (& mine so badly run it was dangerous) & I couldn't reconcile my previous professional standards with what I was expected to do.

Sorry that this is rather negative. I was unlucky in my setting but had concerns about the whole system. Forewarned & all that ... Best of luck in your decision.

I wish I was at least 10 years younger!!!

Its infuriating they're after graduates and paying so low.

Ed psych used to be a masters for teachers in the dark ages which would have suited me but is now 3 years full time and the uni is over an hour away. I'm also ND and wouldn't manage that now.

That was exactly my fear tbh. The churning through basic cbt that doesn't really help without flexibility to at least be a "caring person" who can listen.

I'm not too phased by the more extreme mh issues (relative that's regularly sectioned) if there's a procedure in place to acceas support but yes without the system in place (or pay) 8+its tough.

This looks like employment by a charity in conjunction with the training. Hmm.

Grrr. I need a job. If it could lead somewhere it would be worth it but I'd hate to be offering "support" which doesn't do anything but make them feel a failure for another thing not working...

Also I'd like some professional independence. I have no idea what I want to do.

@medianewbie what did you do now? If I played the game for a year would it be a useful thing to springboard elsewhere do you think?

I think I might struggle with delivering something that doesn't help.

@GoldfinchesInTheTree Yes, that was exactly my issue with it (also not phased by MH but dear me, the lack of safe practice - not fully appreciated by my 21 yr old fellow trainees). I'm currently a full time Carer so not able to work atm. When I can work again, I'll look into re-registering with BACP so I can work to professional standards that I'm more aligned with I hope.

Thanks that's giving me things to think about. And yes if the other trainees are young graduates they want have that experience you and I have. And I'm only OK with it in a work setting if I'm equipped to handle it/supported/clients supported/it's safe.

Hmm. I also need to progress. I did wonder about counselling training but that's so expensive.

There was a fab mh training role I would have liked locally but only open to hcp such as sw it mhn. I am guessing pwp wouldn't even count for that?

@GoldfinchesInTheTree you could enquire? x

Hi OP

i managed a team meeting of PWPs in Exeter about 4 years ago.
it can be a bit of a demoralizing role - there are high case loads, and a lot of clients won’t benefit from CBT but don’t meet the bar for other therapies.
however, the teams are usually very supportive and training is good.
the difficulty is that PWPs can’t go above a band 5 (or couldn’t 4 years ago anyway ). Those with a relevant degree ie psychology, MHN or social work with MH additional could potentially move up to B6 senior mental health practitioners.
IME PWP role is a great jump off for psychology graduates looking to get onto a clin psych course, but otherwise it’s very easy to get stuck there.

Have you looked at the roles Education Mental Health Practitiner or Children’s Wellbeing Practioner ? Similar in delivering GSH interventions to parents and young people but as part of a whole mental health support team and includes wider things like assemblies / workshops / groups etc
training paid at Band 4 and then role is band 5 so not sure if too low ?

@GoldfinchesInTheTree absolutely, categorically not too old to go for Clin Psy training. Your experience would be a huge asset. Just got to approach the courses that would see that (Salomons for example, but again, I'm London-centric)

And you'd be earning more what you need as a CP trainee