There are several pathways to studying Psychology beyond the traditional undergrad. I didn’t decide to become a Psychologist until I was a bit older and had already been to college and gotten a degree in a different subject.

I wanted to learn more about Psychology so I did a 2-year conversion HDip, which was accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland, followed by a Masters in Applied Psychology. Next, I got work experience as an Assistant Psychologist, working with a qualified Senior Psychologist.

This gave me a better idea of the work Psychologists do and helped me to get onto a professional 3-year doctorate, which is necessary for qualifying as a Clinical Psychologist in Ireland. I worked as a ‘staff grade’ Psychologist for 3 years before becoming a Senior Psychologist.

I didn’t know any Psychologists personally, so I remember it being difficult to get reliable information at the start. When I started to work as an Assistant Psychologist, I was able to meet qualified Clinical Psychologists who gave me an insight into what the career involves and helped me to consider whether it was for me.

Not everyone who studies Psychology goes on to work as a Clinical, Counselling or Educational Psychologist; there is a wide range of career pathways. The Psychological Society of Ireland runs a mentoring programme for members at any stage of their career, but particularly students and early graduates of Psychology programmes.

I submitted an application form, with details of my qualifications and work experience, and was invited to an interview a few months later.

It was a competency-based interview and included questions about what I would do in a range of clinical scenarios working as a Senior Psychologist. The next stage of the recruitment process involved Garda vetting, qualification checks and occupational health checks.

There is no typical day, but in a typical week I would see a range of clients, attend meetings, deliver supervision, try to keep up with admin, and spend time developing service initiatives and managing our waiting list.

I like to have my lunch with colleagues and go for a walk in the lovely park next to our Primary Care Centre. Sometimes I attend online meetings with the HSE LGBTQIA+ Staff Network over lunch.

I work in a Primary Care team with Psychology Assistants and Trainee Psychologists. We work with people who have mild-to-moderate psychological needs in relation to difficulties like low mood and anxiety.

I work in a shared office with Primary Care administrators and clinicians from a range of other disciplines. A typical day could involve several appointments with service users for psychological therapy, assessment, or advice and consultation.

We keep detailed case notes, write psychological reports, and often work with other healthcare professionals, such as GPs. We also run therapy groups and psychoeducational talks in the local community. Senior Psychologists often give supervision to Psychology Assistants and Trainees; I really like this aspect of my role. I also attend my own supervision regularly.

I feel very passionate about working as a Clinical Psychologist. There is a high level of demand for our services and, upon qualification, we carry a lot of responsibility in our roles. This means that self-care and work-life balance are key.

It can be an honour to meet with clients and hear their stories. Psychologists have a lot of ideas and skills which can help people to understand themselves and make changes in their lives.

However, my clients are the experts of their own lives, and I get to learn so much by listening and paying attention.

Sometimes it can be frustrating to see misinformation about Psychology and mental health in the media!

One of my favourite skills, taught during Clinical Psychology training, is psychological formulation.

This involves the client and professional working together to make sense of any challenges the client is facing, propose working explanations for how they may have developed, and plan a way forward, drawing on psychological theories and concepts which feel relevant to the client’s situation.

My doctorate in Clinical Psychology qualified me to work as a Clinical Psychologist, and my HDip in Psychology (conversion course) was necessary to get onto the doctorate (although most people do an accredited undergraduate degree instead).

It is important for Psychologists to have a good grasp of research, statistics and the scientific method and the HDip covered these things. I found my primary degree in English useful because it taught me critical thinking skills.

The best thing about my career is that I have had the privilege of working with incredible clients.

I love working with people and that helps. I think that Psychologists have to try their best to be grounded, caring, curious, patient, encouraging, non-judgemental … the list goes on. We have to treat ourselves and others with compassion.

I would love to keep developing my skills as a Psychologist, delivering evidence-based psychological interventions, supervising future Psychologists, and helping to build services which are more trauma-informed and recovery-focused.

I work fulltime and find that my hours are similar to many of my non-Psychologist friends. Some of my Psychologist friends avail of parental leave or parttime contracts to make more space for family life.

I remember working very hard during my doctorate – often studying on evenings and weekends – and was happy to have more time to travel and pursue hobbies when I qualified: I started to learn Spanish! Pay scales for Psychologists in the public sector are publicly available.

Applied Psychologists are trained to work within a reflective-scientific-practitioner model. We also have an ethical responsibility to work within our competency.

This means staying up-to-date with recent developments in the specific areas we are working in. Since qualifying as a Clinical Psychologist, I have done trainings in a range of therapeutic approaches and assessment tools, as well as supervisor training.

For example, I have done trainings in Compassion Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing and Group Schema Therapy.