Psychology Work Experience Help sheet - AQA B Psychology Online

18 Pages·2005·0.4 MB·English

Work Experience Guide
for
Psychology Students

This guide has been created so for you to:
• Get an insight of what are typical career choices for psychology
graduates;
• Provide help on finding the work experience.
The first part will help you finalise your career choices if you still are deciding
on what you’d like to do when you graduate. Also, second part of this guide
will provide contact information where you can look for work experience. It is
purely intended as a guide and should not be regarded as complete collection
of all the work experience job contacts, there are thousands out there.
However, I hope that this will give you some starting point as to where look
for work experience jobs and make your research much easier. Remember,
you will need to move fast as the best places are filled very early, and you will
need to be persistent to get what you want. There is no guarantee that you
will find the ideal job for you in this guide and if it happens so, don’t give up,
just look around, browse on www and you definitely will find something that
will suite you.
Typical career paths requiring
psychology degrees

There are many career opportunities open to students considering making the
most of their Psychology degrees. Many employers in these areas will find
any relevant work experience you’ve gained highly attractive, and really give
you that lift up the career ladder!

Psychologists practice in following areas:
• Clinical psychology;
• Consumer psychology;
• Neuropsychology;
• Counselling;
• Criminal/ Forensic psychology;
• Educational psychology;
• Health psychology;
• Occupational psychology;
• Research;
• Sports and exercise psychology.

For information on careers using your psychology degree the British
Psychological Association have very useful information and links, see:
www.bps.org.uk also check www.prospects.ac.uk or go to CAS library where
you will find extensive information on the subject. BPS website also lists
postgraduate courses recognised by the BPS which are essential if you want to
become a Chartered Psychologist.

Above list is one where psychologists do both practise and development (self
research), meaning that you could not work as a psychologist in health, sport,
clinical etc if you would not keep up with the latest discoveries and
innovations, hence you would not just practise what you have learned in
university but also would keep learning and researching for rest of your
career.
As you might notice the above list is not nearly exhausted, other well suited
occupations for psychology students are:
• Consumer psychology, Market Research, Social Work, Environmental
psychology, Community and Youth Work, Nursing, Sales, Personnel,
Management and Careers Guidance.
• Advertising, Broadcasting, Accountancy, Banking and Management.
• Some of you may also be interested in teaching in various sectors from
schools through to Further and Higher Education.

Clinical psychologist
Clinical psychology aims to reduce psychological distress and to enhance and
promote psychological well-being. A wide range of psychological difficulties
may be dealt with, including anxiety, depression, relationship problems,
learning disabilities, child and family problems, and serious mental illness.

To assess a client, a clinical psychologist may undertake a clinical assessment
using a variety of methods including psychometric tests, interviews and
direct observation of behaviour. Assessment may lead to therapy, counselling
or advice.

Clinical Psychologists work largely in health and social care settings
including hospitals, health centres, community mental health teams, child and
adolescent mental health services and social services.

The most sought after experience by clinical courses is that of 'assistant
psychologist' or 'research assistant'.

Neuropsychology
The clinical side of neuropsychology overlaps with academic
neuropsychology, which provides a scientific understanding of the
relationship between brain and neuropsychological function. This in turn
helps form the basis for assessment and rehabilitation of people with brain
injury, or other neurological disease. Neuropsychologists work with people of
all ages with neurological problems, which might include traumatic brain
injury, stroke, toxic and metabolic disorders, tumours and neuro-degenerative
diseases. Neuropsychologists require not only general clinical skills and
knowledge of the broad range of mental health problems, but also a
substantial degree of specialist knowledge in the neurosciences. Specialist
skills are required in the assessment of neurological patients, and
rehabilitation encompasses a broad range of specialist behavioural and
cognitive interventions not only for the client, but also for the client's family
and carers. Neuropsychologists are also to be commonly found in the
management of rehabilitation facilities, and in individual case management.
Leadership of multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams is frequently part of their
clinical role.
Neuropsychologists most commonly work in:
• Acute settings
Working alongside neurosurgeons and neurologists and the allied
disciplines, usually in a regional neurosciences centre. They are
concerned with the early effects of trauma, neurosurgery and
neurological disease
• Rehabilitation centres
Providing post-acute assessment, training and support for people who
have sustained brain injury, or who have other neurological problems.
The neuropsychologist will play a central role in the multidisciplinary
team which aim to maximise recovery, minimise disability, and
prepare the client for return to the community or to a residential
placement.
• Community services
Performing a similar role as above but support those who have
returned to community living

Experienced neuropsychologist also commonly act as expert witnesses for the
Courts, and research is an important aspect of neuropsychological practice.

Counselling
Counselling psychologists are a relatively new breed of professional applied
psychologists concerned with the integration of psychological theory and
research with therapeutic practice. The practice of Counselling Psychology
requires a high level of self-awareness and competence in relating the skills
and knowledge of personal and interpersonal dynamics to the therapeutic
context.

Counselling psychologists work almost anywhere there are people. For
instance counselling psychologists are currently employed in industry,
commerce, the prison service and in all layers of education from primary
school to university. About half of all counselling psychologists are employed
to do clinical work in health and social care settings. Other career paths can be
found in teaching and research for academic bodies. Counselling
psychologists can also practice privately as organisational consultants.

It is often an entry requirement of the Counselling psychology courses to have
completed a basic counselling skills course.
Criminal/ Forensic
Forensic Psychology is devoted to psychological aspects of legal processes in
courts. The term is also often used to refer to investigative and criminological
psychology: applying psychological theory to criminal investigation,
understanding psychological problems associated with criminal behaviour,
and the treatment of criminals. Key tasks undertaken by forensic
psychologists include piloting and implementing treatment programmes;
modifying offender behaviour; responding to the changing needs of staff and
prisoners; reducing stress for staff and prisoners; providing hard research
evidence to support practice; undertaking statistical analysis for prisoner
profiling; giving evidence in court; advising parole boards and mental health
tribunals; crime analysis.
The largest single employer of forensic psychologists in the UK is HM Prison
Service (which includes the Home Office Research and Development Unit as
well as prisons). However, forensic psychologists can also be employed in the
health service (including rehabilitation units and secure hospitals), the social
service (including the police service, young offenders units, and the probation
service), and in university departments or in private consultancy.
In the treatment of offenders, forensic psychologists are responsible for the
development of appropriate programmes for rehabilitation. They may include
anger management, social and cognitive skills training, and treatment for
drug/and or alcohol addiction. In the support of prison staff, forensic
psychologists may be responsible for the delivery of stress management or
training on how to cope with understanding bullying, and techniques for
hostage negotiation.

Educational psychology
Educational psychologists tackle the problems encountered by young people
in education, which may involve learning difficulties and social or emotional
problems. They carry out a wide range of tasks with the aim of enhancing
children's learning and enabling teachers to become more aware of the social
factors affecting teaching and learning. Reports may be written about children
for allocation of special educational places, or as part of court proceedings or
children's panels.

Local education authorities employ the majority of educational psychologists,
working in schools, colleges, nurseries and special units, primarily with
teachers and parents. They regularly liaise with other professionals from the
departments of education, health and social services. A growing number
work as independent or private consultants.
The work of an educational psychologist can either be directly with a child
(assessing progress, giving counselling) or indirectly (through their work with
parents, teachers and other professionals). Direct work involves some form of
assessment to uncover the problem through consultation with professional
colleagues, observation, interview, or use of test materials. Interventions
might plan learning programmes and collaborative work with a teacher.
Recommendations are then made to determine the most appropriate
education provision for children experiencing educational difficulties.
Indirect work requires consultation and careful discussion, as the
psychologist's contribution needs to be seen as relevant to people who know
little about psychology.

In their role within a local authority, educational psychologists are often
called upon to advise or join working/consultation groups on issues
concerned with organisation and policy planning. With their research
background they are in an ideal and often unique position within the
education authority to plan and carry out research activities.

Examples of settings in which relevant experience is likely to be gained
include work as: a teacher, a graduate assistant in an Educational Psychology
Service, a Learning Support Assistant, an Educational Social Worker, a
Learning Mentor, a Speech and Language Therapist, a Care Worker, a worker
in early years settings.

Voluntary experience of various kinds may assist applicants in demonstrating
a breadth of relevant experience. Whatever kind of work has been done,
courses will be primarily interested in what applicants have learnt from their
experiences that is relevant to work as an educational psychologist, and how
they have been able to apply the knowledge of psychology gained through
first degrees.

Health psychology
Health psychologists work in a relatively new field of applied psychology.
Psychological principles are used to promote changes in people's attitudes,
behaviour and thinking about health and illness. The breadth of the discipline
is far-reaching, including:
• the use of psychological theories and interventions to prevent
damaging behaviours (such as smoking, drug abuse, poor diet), and
the change health-related behaviour in community and workplace
settings.
• promoting and protecting health by encouraging behaviours such as
exercise, healthy dietary choice, teeth brushing, health checks/self
examination
• health-related cognitions; investigating the processes which can
explain, predict and change health and illness behaviours.
• processes influencing health care delivery; the nature and effects of
communication between health care practitioners and patients,
including interventions to improve communication, facilitate
adherence, prepare for stressful medical procedures and so on;
• psychological aspects of illness; looking at the psychological impact of
acute and chronic illness on individuals, families, and carers.
Psychological interventions may be used to help promote self-
management, facilitate coping with pain or illness, to improve quality
of life, and to reduce disability and handicap.

Health psychologists are represented in a number of settings, such as
hospitals, academic health research units, health authorities and university
department. They may deal with problems identified by health care agencies,
including NHT Trusts and Health Authorities, health professionals such as
GP's, nurses and rehabilitation therapists, and organisations and employers
outside the health care system.

Psychology graduates can also use their skills in clinical audit in health
services (also called quality improvement). The work is with health clinicians
and health service managers, in putting research evidence into practice. Staff
are supported in measuring their activities and implementing appropriate
improvements.

Occupational psychology
Occupational Psychology is concerned with the performance of people at
work in training, how organisations function and how individuals and small
groups behave at work. The aim is to increase the effectiveness of the
organisation, and to improve the job satisfaction of the individual. The
speciality is broader in scope and less formalised than most other areas of
psychology, and it touches on the diverse fields including ergonomics,
personnel management, and time management. Work can be in an advisory,
teaching and research roles, and to a lesser extent, technical and
administrative roles.
Occupational Psychologists often work for large companies (in both the
private and public sectors), in government and public services, in
management training centres and for private consultancies. They usually
work alongside other professionals such as managers, trade union
representatives, training offices and specialist staff from the firm or industry
concerned.

The Civil Service is one of the largest single employers of occupational
psychologists: the prison service, the Home Office, the Employment
Department Group (including the Employment Service), the Ministry of
Defence, and the Civil Service Commission all employ occupational
psychologists.

Teaching and Research
Teaching and research in psychology usually go hand in hand. Some teaching
staff will have qualified in one of the applied psychological professions
already mentioned. They may return to teaching to develop professional
practice and conduct research, or simply to share their knowledge. All
university lecturers are expected to help extend their subject by gathering
psychological evidence on key research questions, and tell others what they
have found by publishing articles.

Administration is a large part of a lecturers' life, and can take up a great deal
of time. It includes student selection, devising new teaching programmes,
sitting on committees, which allocate resources and co-ordinating aspects of
the life of the department.

Many schools and sixth-form colleges of further education now offer
psychology as a subject at GCSE, A level, A/S level and as part of a general
studies programme. Teachers prepare students for published syllabuses set
by the examining bodies, so their work is not as flexible as that of teachers of
undergraduates. Nevertheless, there is considerable choice in what to offer
within the syllabus and an enormous range of possible studies in practical
and laboratory courses.

Lecturers and researchers work in universities, colleges and schools. 'Research
scientists' may also work in research units (such as the MRC Applied
Psychology Unit). However, few people are able to develop careers consisting
solely of research.
Sports and exercise psychologists
It is relatively rare for individuals to practice in both sport and exercise
psychology; typically, though some exceptions exist, they specialise in one or
the other.

Sport psychologists work with sports participants across a range of both team
and individual sports and from amateur to elite levels of competition. The
aim is predominately to help athletes prepare psychologically for competition
and to deal with the psychological demands of both competition and training.
Examples of the work they carry out include counselling referees to deal with
the stressful and demanding aspects of their role, advising coaches on how to
build cohesion within their squad of athletes and helping athletes to deal with
the psychological and emotional consequences of sustaining an injury.

An exercise psychologist is primarily concerned with the application of
psychology to increase exercise participation and motivational levels in the
general public. Examples of the work they do include optimising the benefits
that can be derived from exercise participation and helping individual clients
with the implementation of goal-setting strategies.

Sport and exercise psychologists work in a wide range of sport and exercise
settings and with a diverse range of clients. Most sport psychologists combine
consultancy work with teaching and research or psychological consultancy in
other areas such as the clinical and occupational domains. Some sport
psychologists do hold full-time positions with professional sports teams or
national governing bodies and opportunities to work as a full-time sport
psychologist are constantly increasing in number.

A similar scenario exists for exercise psychologists, with most practitioners
combining consultancy with teaching and research careers. The work of
exercise psychologists might involve GP exercise referral and setting up and
evaluating exercise programmes in employment, prison and psychiatric
contexts.

The work of a sport or exercise psychologist is centred on people and can be
extremely varied. Although consultancy work may be office-based it is
equally likely that consultants will work in field settings such as team
premises, competition venues, clinical rehabilitation and recreational exercise
settings
Work experience in psychology
related fields

The information provided below will provide you with ideas and contacts for
gaining some practical work experience during the vacation or term time.
While some may be directly related to the career path you’ve considered –
others will be in indirect but just as good to gain valuable experience.
All the contacts are classified under particular career area so that it would be
easier for you to find relevant information.

Clinical Psychology
Postgraduate study is a pre-requisite for this career, and there is stiff
competition for the 3 year doctorate, so having work experience as well as a
strong degree classification is compulsory!
• Look out for opportunities as an assistant psychologist with the NHS.
Try talking to clinical Psychologists within your local NHS service or
use back issues of the NHS Memorandum to get contact names and
addresses. You will find some of these old issues in the careers service
or in your department.
www.nhs.uk
• You may also find that youth work or gaining experience working with
children with learning disabilities or social constraints useful, check
out www.bigissue.co.uk
• Look at local classifieds and some of the addresses related to
community and youth work.
Once you have qualified and practised as a Clinical Psychologist, you can
often specialise further e.g. Neuropsychology or work with children.

Educational Psychology
Teaching experience is compulsory for a career in Educational Psychology, at
least two years in a teaching post.
In order to gain experience as an undergraduate:
• Check out your local schools and see if there are any opportunities to
work as an assistant, as well as homework clubs, Social Services,
Banardos, the Autistic Society and other voluntary organisations.
• Keep your eyes peeled for opportunities in the Times Education
Supplement and the Guardian (Tues)
• Look at http://www.voluntarywork.org/go.htm
• Look at www.oneworld.org/autism_uk