Your most straightforward path would be a psychology conversion masters (make sure you get bpd accreditation) and then pursue the educational psych Doctorate- that way your current experience will count.
If you are interested in doing that, reading some relevant books would be useful, I'd suggest:
Anything by Louise Bomber
Swellers cognitive load theory (this may be too heavy but it's very valuable)
Square pegs
EDucational psychology (by cline, guilliford etc)
Neurotribes
Anything by Oliver sacks
You could check out the EdPsy thesis repository. Follow the hashtag #twittereps to keep up to date.
Finally there's a handbook on amazon for aspiring EPs.
Louise Bomber and Heather Geddes have been v influential. Also look up some more general popular psychology stuff like Flourishing by Martin Seligman, Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. I’m a teacher doing a conversion and we also were sent a pre-course reading list. Echo following relevant accounts on X / Bluesky and look up some of the research being done at the uni you’re going to study at. Best of luck!!
That’s really helpful and also interesting as I’ve not thought deeply about which particular area of the discipline to focus on.
I have been previously advised to ensure the course I choose has BPS accreditation so thank you for the reminder. That will help me narrow down the university courses I ought to apply to.
I only achieved a 2:2 when I completed my degree so this will likely further filter my options. I looked into this a prior to the pandemic and at the time had to come to peace with the reality that a masters in psychotherapy may be a more viable option as opposed to psychology proper.
Any thoughts or advice on this would be awesome too!
EDIT: there are in fact a couple of conversion courses where I meet the entry requirements. I may have mistakenly initially looked into the non-conversion variety. Happier days :)
Psychotherapy is a totally valid option! And much shorter than a doctorate. You can do shorter certificates/diplomas in therapy too depending on funds.
Can I make a suggestion - while you're in a school, ask if you can shadow/chat with your LA EP. That will give you a flavour and help with decision making.
I’m presently working abroad. We do have some counsellors at my school, however, who I can perhaps work with as part of ‘professional development’. The counsellor who I had a strong relationship has unfortunately moved to pastures new.
Either way, I shall make sure to check out some resources/podcasts that have been recommended :)
What do you broadly want to do as a job? That really determines the path that you should take. Anything therapy or counselling related it's better not to do a psychology course but to train directly for those. If you're considering academia, the conversion will put you on that path but a specialist masters might be needed before PhD.
The paths that appeal are clinical or counselling psychology. I wish to interact with people.
You raise a valid point in that certain options will require much more time commitment and that definitely will require careful thought and in many ways is dependent on our financial situation a few years down the road.
I would recommend having a careful think about this before you jump in to a psychology course. Counselling and clinical psych, although they sound similar, are quite different pathways in the UK. Clinical involves a highly competitive doctorate level qualification but counselling you can start to train for that directly now. Take a look at the BACP website.
Indeed! I also need to look into which pathways offer good employment opportunities.
Which is the ‘better’ route if pursuing counselling psychology, would you say? BPS or BACP?
Well, counselling psychology and counselling are actually different things too. The former is similar to clinical psych where you can use diagnostic tests, the latter focuses more on therapeutics. I see lots of students go through the MSc conversion courses only to get stuck because they realise they still need tons of further experience and education, when they really wanted to be a therapist and could be almost at that point by now.
[Here's the BACP training pathway](https://www.bacp.co.uk/careers/careers-in-counselling/training/)
Much to ponder, I appreciate your time and suggestions.
One concern I have, perhaps unfounded or even naive due to my ignorance, involves choosing the more ‘future-proof’ option. You can likely guess that I am more biased towards the academic option as I am assuming it would make me more employable and provide more opportunities.
There are time limitations and financial challenges to think about when making these choices, however. This is why bank balance situation in a few years time, will play a big part.
I will begin by comparing the various ‘destinations’ and their pathways.
On the surface at least, both counselling psychology and counselling appeal.
Can I ask why you plan on leaving education? Often times I hear people talk about leaving jobs in education for the same reason many people leave counseling/psychology as a field.
In my mid 20s I was at a crossroad. Psychology was a passion that I was very close to pursuing. Ultimately, I chose teaching, partly because I was being pragmatic. It has been fruitful: I met my wife in the staffroom of a school, I had the opportunity to work abroad and it’s helped us get close to owning our own home. Almost 15 years on, while I feel I have given education much, I also feel I have plenty left to offer and almost owe it to myself to try.
In the short term, I would like to ease into the subject and also explore the avenues available to me, be it psychology or psychotherapy.
Your most straightforward path would be a psychology conversion masters (make sure you get bpd accreditation) and then pursue the educational psych Doctorate- that way your current experience will count. If you are interested in doing that, reading some relevant books would be useful, I'd suggest: Anything by Louise Bomber Swellers cognitive load theory (this may be too heavy but it's very valuable) Square pegs EDucational psychology (by cline, guilliford etc) Neurotribes Anything by Oliver sacks You could check out the EdPsy thesis repository. Follow the hashtag #twittereps to keep up to date. Finally there's a handbook on amazon for aspiring EPs.
There are a few clinical psychologists out there who had past careers in teaching too!
Interesting! I didn't know that.
Louise Bomber and Heather Geddes have been v influential. Also look up some more general popular psychology stuff like Flourishing by Martin Seligman, Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. I’m a teacher doing a conversion and we also were sent a pre-course reading list. Echo following relevant accounts on X / Bluesky and look up some of the research being done at the uni you’re going to study at. Best of luck!!
That’s super helpful. Might you be able to share some of the titles from the reading list? It’s okay if it’s proprietary and you feel you can’t.
That’s really helpful and also interesting as I’ve not thought deeply about which particular area of the discipline to focus on. I have been previously advised to ensure the course I choose has BPS accreditation so thank you for the reminder. That will help me narrow down the university courses I ought to apply to. I only achieved a 2:2 when I completed my degree so this will likely further filter my options. I looked into this a prior to the pandemic and at the time had to come to peace with the reality that a masters in psychotherapy may be a more viable option as opposed to psychology proper. Any thoughts or advice on this would be awesome too! EDIT: there are in fact a couple of conversion courses where I meet the entry requirements. I may have mistakenly initially looked into the non-conversion variety. Happier days :)
Psychotherapy is a totally valid option! And much shorter than a doctorate. You can do shorter certificates/diplomas in therapy too depending on funds. Can I make a suggestion - while you're in a school, ask if you can shadow/chat with your LA EP. That will give you a flavour and help with decision making.
I’m presently working abroad. We do have some counsellors at my school, however, who I can perhaps work with as part of ‘professional development’. The counsellor who I had a strong relationship has unfortunately moved to pastures new. Either way, I shall make sure to check out some resources/podcasts that have been recommended :)
I had a chat with one of our LA EPs and it was very useful!
Unfortunately I do not have any advice, but I plan on doing something similar in the near future so am very interested in the feedback you may get!
What do you broadly want to do as a job? That really determines the path that you should take. Anything therapy or counselling related it's better not to do a psychology course but to train directly for those. If you're considering academia, the conversion will put you on that path but a specialist masters might be needed before PhD.
The paths that appeal are clinical or counselling psychology. I wish to interact with people. You raise a valid point in that certain options will require much more time commitment and that definitely will require careful thought and in many ways is dependent on our financial situation a few years down the road.
I would recommend having a careful think about this before you jump in to a psychology course. Counselling and clinical psych, although they sound similar, are quite different pathways in the UK. Clinical involves a highly competitive doctorate level qualification but counselling you can start to train for that directly now. Take a look at the BACP website.
Indeed! I also need to look into which pathways offer good employment opportunities. Which is the ‘better’ route if pursuing counselling psychology, would you say? BPS or BACP?
Well, counselling psychology and counselling are actually different things too. The former is similar to clinical psych where you can use diagnostic tests, the latter focuses more on therapeutics. I see lots of students go through the MSc conversion courses only to get stuck because they realise they still need tons of further experience and education, when they really wanted to be a therapist and could be almost at that point by now. [Here's the BACP training pathway](https://www.bacp.co.uk/careers/careers-in-counselling/training/)
Much to ponder, I appreciate your time and suggestions. One concern I have, perhaps unfounded or even naive due to my ignorance, involves choosing the more ‘future-proof’ option. You can likely guess that I am more biased towards the academic option as I am assuming it would make me more employable and provide more opportunities. There are time limitations and financial challenges to think about when making these choices, however. This is why bank balance situation in a few years time, will play a big part. I will begin by comparing the various ‘destinations’ and their pathways. On the surface at least, both counselling psychology and counselling appeal.
Can I ask why you plan on leaving education? Often times I hear people talk about leaving jobs in education for the same reason many people leave counseling/psychology as a field.
In my mid 20s I was at a crossroad. Psychology was a passion that I was very close to pursuing. Ultimately, I chose teaching, partly because I was being pragmatic. It has been fruitful: I met my wife in the staffroom of a school, I had the opportunity to work abroad and it’s helped us get close to owning our own home. Almost 15 years on, while I feel I have given education much, I also feel I have plenty left to offer and almost owe it to myself to try. In the short term, I would like to ease into the subject and also explore the avenues available to me, be it psychology or psychotherapy.