How to Become an Occupational Psychologist

Stephen Woods, Binna Kandola

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781317197737
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Psychologie
• Categoría: Geschichte & Theorie in der Psychologie

The business world is increasingly aware of the value of psychology. And as organizations turn to Occupational Psychologists to help build positive, effective and healthy workplaces, so an increasing number of psychologists are choosing this fascinating area of work to make their impact as a practitioner. But how do you qualify, and what is the job really like?

How to Become an Occupational Psychologist is the first book to provide an overview of the educational and professional pathway to becoming an Occupational Psychologist. Providing a summary of what the role entails, and what training is required, it is written by people currently working in the field, sharing not only what helped them in their careers, but also what they learned along the way.

Occupational Psychologists Professor Stephen Woods and Professor Binna Kandola have a wealth of experience in both education and consultancy, which they have brought to life in this edition, a perfect companion for anyone interested in moving into this exciting profession.

1
Introduction

David Murphy – Series Editor

Welcome!

First, I would like to welcome you to this book, which is one of a series of seven titles each of which focuses on a different type of practitioner psychologist registered as a professional in the UK. One of the things that has always appealed to me about psychology is its incredible diversity; even within my own primary field of clinical psychology there is a huge range of client groups and ways of working. The books in this series are all written by practitioner psychologists who are not only experts in, but also hugely enthusiastic about, each of their areas of practice. This series presents a fascinating insight into the nature of each domain and the range of activities and approaches within it and also the fantastic variety there is across the different areas of practice. However, we have also made sure that we have answered the practical questions you may have such as “How long does it take to train?”, “What do I need to do to get on a training course?” and “How secure will my income be at the end of it all?”. We very much hope that this book will be interesting and answer all your questions (even ones you didn’t know you had!) and further information and resources are available on our series website (www.routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/howtopsy/default.php).

Psychology as a profession

Psychology is still a relatively young profession compared to many long-established professions such as law, medicine, accounting, etc., however it has grown incredibly rapidly over the last few decades. One of the first people to use the title “Psychologist” in a professional context was Lightner Witmer who, only just over a hundred years ago, established what is widely recognized as the world’s first psychology clinic in Pennsylvania. Witmer came to study psychology after taking a degree in economics and postgraduate studies in political science and then working for a time as a school teacher. He went on to study experimental psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and then at a famous laboratory in Leipzig in Germany. He subsequently became a pioneer the application of experimental psychology ideas to the treatment of children with specific learning and speech difficulties.

At the beginning of the twentieth century these early psychologists saw great possibilities in applying psychological concepts to help people achieve their potential. However, even they could scarcely imagine the scale and range of applications of psychology that would exist by the beginning of the twenty first century. Psychologists now have well-established roles in schools, mental and physical health services, prisons, police and security services, multi-national companies, sport training centres; essentially almost anywhere where there is a focus on understanding and changing human behaviour, which, of course, is pretty much everywhere!

This book, along with the other six titles in the series, is intended to provide people who are at the beginning of their careers, or those who are thinking about making a change, an insight into the different areas of professional psychology. We hope that you will not only gain an overview of the specific domain of psychology entails, but also a sense of what it is like to work as a practitioner on a day-to-day basis. We also aim to explain how to become qualified to practice in the area of professional psychology, right from school until being fully qualified. Furthermore, we hope to provide an idea of how careers in the different areas of psychology can develop over time and how the profession of psychology might change as it continues to develop in the future.

Studying psychology at school or college

One thing that many people love about psychology is just how broad it is. As an academic discipline it encompasses physiological workings of the brain and the nervous system, how we perceive sounds and language, how we make decisions and the treatment mental health problems, to name just a few areas. In recent years psychology has become the second most popular first degree subject at UK universities, indeed, figures from the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) show that a total of 80,000 students were studying, either full-time or part-time, for a first degree in psychology in the academic year 2016–17.

Psychology has also become not only a popular A-level choice but also increasingly an option at GCSE level. It is therefore now possible to take the first step on a career journey in psychology at an early age, and, if you are considering A-levels or GCSE subjects, we would certainly encourage you to look at psychology options if they are offered at your school. However, it is by no means required to have studied psychology at either GCSE or A-level in order to follow a career in psychology. If psychology isn’t offered at your school, or you opt to go for other subjects, this won’t stop you going on to become a psychologist, if you decide that this is what you would like to do. On the other hand, contrary to some myths, psychology is considered a valid A-level choice for many other degrees apart from psychology, indeed it is listed as a “preferred subject” by University College London in their general list of A level subject choices www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate/application/requirements/preferred-a-level-subjects

The only GCSE subjects that are specifically required by UK Universities to study psychology are maths and English. A-level Psychology is usually listed as a “preferred” subject but is currently not required by any UK university for entry to a psychology degree course and there is no indication that this will change. Therefore, overall, our advice would be that psychology is an interesting subject choice which can provide a good foundation for further study in psychology, or other subjects. However, psychology at A-level is by no means essential for a career as a psychologist, so we recommend basing the decision on what your strengths and interests are and also what subjects are required for any other degree options you want to keep open to you.

Studying psychology at university

The first compulsory step on the road to a psychology career is attaining “Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership” of the British Psychological Society commonly known as “GBC” (in the past this was called “Graduate Basis for Registration” or “GBR” for short). You will see this referred to a number of times in this book and the other titles in the series. The British Psychological Society (BPS) is the professional body and learned society for psychology in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1901 to promote both academic and applied psychology and currently has over 60,000 members, making it one of the largest Psychological Societies in the world. There are two possible routes to attaining Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society on the basis of UK qualifications.

The most common route is to complete an undergraduate degree in psychology that is accredited by the BPS; a lower 2nd class degree classification or above is required for GBC. This doesn’t need to be a single honours degree in psychology; it can be a joint degree with another subject. However, in order to be accredited it has to cover a core curriculum that is specified by the BPS and the provision must meet certain other standards. At the time of writing there are 578 BPS-accredited undergraduate courses offered at 126 different higher education Institutions within the UK. Many are of these courses are general psychology degrees however some focus more on specific domains such as forensic psychology, health psychology, abnormal psychology, sport psychology, business psychology and so forth. About a third of all accredited undergraduate programmes are offered as a psychology combined with another subject, and the array of possible options is extensive including; business, English literature, education, maths, history, philosophy, physics, zoology and criminology, to name but a few. This range of choice could be a bit overwhelming, but, it is important to bear in mind that virtually all psychology degrees do offer a signifi-cant choice of options within them, so two students doing the same generic psychology degree at the same institution may actually take quite a different mix of courses, albeit still with the same core psychology components. Moreover, it is also important to remember that even if the title of a degree appears very specific, the course will still cover the same core psychology content, if it is BPS-accredited.

For a career in professional psychology, the most important issue is attaining GBC, the subtle differences in the individual course content are far less important. Our advice would be to consider all the factors that are important to you about the choice of university and the psychology course rather than getting too focused on the specific content of a course. You may wish to do a degree that allows you to specialize in the area of psychology that you are particularly interested in, and of course that’s fine. However, in reality, all postgraduate professional training courses need to cater for people with a range of different psychology backgrounds, so whilst having done specialized options at undergraduate level might provide a good foundation to build on, it’s very unlikely to mean you can jump ahead of those who didn’t do those options at undergraduate level.

My own experience was that I did a joint degree with psychology & zoology (I have to confess that I wasn’t really sure what psychology was when I was choosing so I hedged my bets!). Fairly early on I became interested in clinical psychology, but I still got a great deal out of studying other subjects that weren’t anything to do with clinical psychology, including many of the zoology subjects. In my final year, I did an option in vertebrate paleontology (better known as the study of dinosaurs!) mainly because it sounded interesting. In fact, it turned out to be one of the most stimulating and useful courses I have ever studied, and the lecturer was one of the best teachers I ever had. I learned how to interpret inconclusive evidence by using careful observation and deduction, rather than jumping to conclusions, and that generic skill has been very useful throughout my clinical psychology career. So my personal advice would be not too feel under any pressure to specialize in a particular branch of psychology too soon. I suggest you choose degree options because they are stimulating and well taught, not because you think they will look good on your CV. In reality, if you are applying for professional psychology training courses, what will stand out more on your CV will be really good grades which come from being highly engaged and developing a thorough understanding of the areas you are studying.

Some psychology programmes offer a “professional placement year” within the degree. Such courses are often marketed on the basis that graduates have a higher employment rate on graduation, however it is important to bear in mind that you will also be graduating a year later than people on a three-year course, and during the placement year most people will be receiving little or no pay and still paying fees (albeit at a reduced rate) to the university. My own personal opinion is that degrees with professional placements don’t necessarily offer a significant advantage overall. On the one hand, if the course does have well-established placement opportunities, this can make it easier to get that first step on the ladder; however, there are many opportunities for getting postgraduate experience relevant to professional psychology some of which are voluntary but many of which are paid.

As well as choosing a specific course, you will also need to choose individual universities to apply to. A detailed consideration of the different universities offering undergraduate psychology programmes is beyond the scope of this series but there is a great deal of information freely available on the web (starting with the UCAS website) and from schools and colleges. It is true to say, however, that universities do vary somewhat and, of course, the area in which they are located is also a factor to consider. The Unistats website (www.unistats.com) is the official website providing data gathered from the National Student Survey and other independent sources which can be used for comparing universities and individual courses. One particular issue that prospective applicants can be confused about is what is meant by a university being in the “Russell Group” and what the significance of this is. The Russell Group is a self-selected association of 24 research-intensive universities across the United Kingdom that was formed in 1994. Although they only account for 15% of all UK Higher Education Institutions, Russell Group universities receive nearly 80% of all UK research funding. However, it does not follow that it is always better to do your psychology degree at a Russell Group university; indeed some of the most highly rated universities for psychology, such as The University of Bath and The University of St Andrews, were not members of the Russell Group at the time of writing. Whilst it is understandable to think that going for a well-known name or the Russell Group “brand-name” must be a safe bet, in order to find the best fit for YOU, there really is no alternative to doing bit of research into individual universities, and the specific course options they offer, and then going to visit to get the feel of the institution and the local area. After all, you will be investing three (or in some cases four) years in your life in this decision, so although it’s certainly not something to stress out excessively about, it is worth putting a bit of time into.

Once you have chosen universities and specific courses you wish to apply for, you will need to apply via the University College Admissions Service (UCAS) website (www.ucas.com). This site contains a great deal of advice and you should also access advice about applying from your school or college. One of the things you will be required to do is to submit a personal statement (PS). The UCAS website has comprehensive general information about writing a personal statement including a mind map and worksheet. The key principles of writing a PS are the same regardless of what course you are applying for, i.e. demonstrating you understand what the subject is about, conveying why you are interested in it and demonstrating that you have the skills required to successfully complete the course and make a positive contribution to the learning process. Providing evidence of things you have done which demonstrate your interest, enthusiasm and your abilities will inevitably carry more weight than simply saying “I am passionate about psychology”. Furthermore, admissions tutors will also pay attention to how well-structured and well-written your personal statement itself is, since academic writing ability is important to success as a psychology undergraduate. If at this stage you are particularly interested in one career path within professional psychology then you will certainly want to mention this, although it would also be helpful to demonstrate that you understand what the career path involves and that an undergraduate degree is one step towards this. Sometimes people’s own experience of mental health or emotional difficulties or that of a close friend or family member has influenced their interest in psychology and/or pursuing a career in psychology. Again, don’t feel shy about mentioning this, although only if you feel comfortable doing so. However, don’t lose sight of the purpose of the PS and what an admissions tutor will be looking for; lived experience can really help to understand the perspective of people with psychological difficulties but you will also need to cover the other skills required. Furthermore, since psychology is such a broad subject, it’s important to bear in mind that you will need to study a whole range of topics most of which will be unrelated to any one specific psychological problem. The Which? University website has a useful article about writing a PS for a psychology degree application (https://university.which.co.uk/advice/personal-statements/personal-statement-advice-psychology-students)

If you are studying for, or have completed, a psychology degree at a University outside of the UK, then your course will not have been accredited by the BPS (at the time of writing the BPS does accredit a small number of undergraduate programmes delivered outside the UK but these have to be awarded by a UK university). However, it is possible to apply for GBC on the basis of a psychology degree undertaken anywhere in the world and the applications are assessed on an individual basis to establish whether the criteria are met (for further information see the www.bps.org.uk/membership/graduate-membership).

People who have done a first degree other than psychology (or those whose psychology degree did not meet the criteria for GBC) can still pursue a career in professional psychology, this route involves attaining GBC by doing a conversion course. At the time of writing there were 78 BPS-accredited conversion courses in the UK. Most of these lead to an MSc, although some lead to a graduate diploma; most are quite general in their content and are titled simply “Psychology” or “Applied psychology”, whereas others are more focused in specific areas like child development, mental health or even fashion. However, if they are BPS-accredited, all of these conversion courses will still cover the core psychology curriculum regardless of their title.

Since the core components are common between all BPS-accredited degree programmes, you certainly will not be committing yourself irrevocably to any one area of professional psychology through your choice of psychology undergraduate or postgraduate conversion course. In the clinical psychology programme that I run, we take people who have a range of different experiences at undergraduate level, and some who did different first degrees altogether. Of course, when you come to postgraduate qualifications you do have to make more fundamental choices about the area of psychology you wish to focus on.

The different areas of psychology practice

The authors of each of the seven books in the series are, as you would expect, experts in, and very enthusiastic about, their own area of psychology practice, and the rest of this book will focus pretty much exclusively on this specific area. Our aim across the series is to provide information about what is each domain is about, what it is like to work in this area on a day-to-day basis and what the route to become qualified is like. What we have not done, and indeed could not do, is say which one of the domains is “best”. The answer is that there is no one “best” type of psychologist, instead we hope you will be able to find which area of practice seems to fit your own interests and strengths best. This can be difficult and we would encourage you to keep an open mind for as long as you can; you might be surprised to find that an area you hadn’t really thought much about seems to be a good fit.

Once you have identified an area of practice that seems to fit you best, we would certainly recommend that you try and meet people who work in that area and talk to them personally. Even after you have embarked on postgraduate training in a particular field, don’t feel it’s too late to explore other areas. Indeed, there are areas of overlap between the different domains so that psychologists with different training backgrounds might well end up working in a similar area. For instance, clinical and counselling psychologists often work together in psychological therapy services in the NHS, whereas health psychologists and occupational psychologists might work alongside each other in implementing employee health programmes.

My own journey in professional psychology started with my degree in psychology & zoology and led onto postgraduate training in clinical psychology and then working in the National Health Service. However, my jou...

Índice

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Is Occupational Psychology the right career for you?
• 3 What do you learn about to be an Occupational Psychologist?
• 4 What do Occupational Psychologists do?
• 5 How to become an Occupational Psychologist
• 6 Starting-out and managing your trajectory
• References
• Index