resolved

DisheartenedStudent

This has now been resolved

daytona0

Googled the blurb and it came up Derby University.... Is that right?


If so, I'm of mixed opinion!

- The final module you speak of doesn't seem to be mentioned!

- The MSc course has specific entry requirements, and it doesn't necessarily suggest that someone in your position couldn't apply...

- The blurb for your course does state: "It could be your first step toward becoming an accredited psychotherapist; this qualification alone will not give you a licence to practice but may help you decide if this is a career you wish to pursue.". Seems about right to me?

Sicard

When I worked at a mental health drop-in centre we had a counselling department which offered up to 12 free sessions per client. The counsellors were trainees but on counselling courses and were properly supervised by an experienced counsellor. The hours the counsellors counselled went towards their accreditation so they could attain their experience and required accumalitive hours.

Although I was a qualified psychodynamic psychotherapist I was not qualified in CBT but used this technique with the clients in the drop-in section who were mostly paranoid schizophrenics and a few who were OCD, all of which were not suitable candidates for psychotherapy. Bascially it all comes down to changing negative thought processes into positive and improving self worth, plus changing unusual behaviour patterns into 'normal' ones.

It might be worth having a word with some mental health charities to see if you can train on the job as a volunteer.

agrinnall

For some reason the OP has decided to start this thread as a duplicate of the one that has been running for several days on the student board and already has a number of replies.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5600992

Manxman_in_exile

I've read this and the other thread.


I take it you are not the only one to complain to the academic lead and that others have too? If others are in the same boat as you it would strengthen your case.


I think what may matter is what are the entry criteria for the MSc you want to do. It's not clear to me from your post whether you specifically asked if there were any "practical experience" requirements or whether you simply asked if your existing degree met the "academic" requirements. Although I would have expected them to explain this fully to you even if it wasn't the question you asked.


FWIW I used to be involved(15 years ago!) in managing NHS training contracts with several universities. I suspect that you shouldn't have been allowed onto the diploma if you couldn't demonstrate the experience necessary for the MSc. Unless you had a purely academic interest in the subject.


I left the NHS 5 years ago and at that time the route into CBT therapy for a psychology graduate (if that's what you are) would have been to get a post as what was then called an Assistant Psychologist and to get supervised experience whilst working towards a relevant qualification. Have you tied your local mental health trust? Although vacancies are probably rare.


Unfortunately, I suspect CBT is a difficult area to get into without a health-related first degree. It's a chicken and egg situation.


Best you can do is wait until the academic lead replies to your complaint and take it from there.

daytona0

Sicard wrote: »

I was not qualified in CBT but used this technique with the clients in the drop-in section who were mostly paranoid schizophrenics and a few who were OCD, all of which were not suitable candidates for psychotherapy.

You weren't qualified in CBT but used that technique on clients?

I mean I don't doubt your ability per se, but isn't that a bit dodgy?

If I was a client then I would fully expect someone to have CBT qualifications if they were using that treatment on me!

Sicard

daytona0 wrote: »

You weren't qualified in CBT but used that technique on clients?

I mean I don't doubt your ability per se, but isn't that a bit dodgy?

If I was a client then I would fully expect someone to have CBT qualifications if they were using that treatment on me!

No, not dodgy at all. I'm not talking about a private practise using CBT, although I did have one as a psychotherapist. This is working in a drop-in centre with a large mix of people with various conditions. I gave those that I could work with useful tools to aid them outside of the centre in the real world. The project workers didn't have qualifications but could work with clients assisting them. If you ever have the chance to visit a drop-in centre you'll see first hand the way things work and I'm sure if you volunteered to work there in your free time they would be very appreciative.

The main aim is to make people feel better about themselves and to lead a life as normally as possible. Using CBT with, say, an OCD who washes their hands non-stop for two hours until they're red-raw is to use the systematic desensitisation method where you make an agreement they will only wash them for one hour and fifty minutes and gradually reduce the amount over time. That's just one example. With an OCD who literally takes hours to lay the table, making sure everything is laid out exactly and precisely is to use the same method. All it boils down to in a psychodynamic analytical way is at source there is a guilt complex which can either be controlled by CBT or resolved by a talking therapy. I hope that helps.