The reality of clinical psychology doctorate programmes

During their conversation, the twenty-three-year-old student informed Joe that she was nearing the end of her course and in the process of looking for work as an assistant psychologist (AP).

In order to have a better chance of getting a place on a clinical psychology doctorate programme, it is necessary for potential candidates to work in a supervised role as an Advanced Placement or psychology project worker to gain relevant experience. All of the assistant psychologist jobs available, however, were listed as intern positions on jobsbridge.ie.

A short time later, another master’s student called Caroline told Joe that, between university courses and internships, she had been working for nine years in psychology and was still not in a position to receive paid work as a psychologist.

While jobsbridge.ie is now defunct, the issue of assistant psychologists working for little to no pay remains a source of considerable frustration among students and graduates of psychology. With waiting lists for people with mental health difficulties reaching, in some cases, between 12 and 18 months, there is a clear need for more clinical psychologists in Ireland.

This lack of psychologists puts an extra burden on GPs. According to Eimear, a former AP, “people don’t see mental health as important as physical health. It’s unlikely that you would see other healthcare professionals working voluntarily.”

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