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Qualifications for a career in mental health

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Work & Study
I was wondering if anyone might be able to help me. I did my undergraduate degree in Classics, then did a PGCE and decided that teaching wasn't for me. I am very interested in mental health and would like to work in that field, so have found a Master's degree that I could do to hopefully enable me to work in this area. However, I don't really know what kind of job I'd be qualified for when possessing a Master's degree in Mental Health - I would be overqualified to be a support worker, but wouldn't have the skills to become a therapist. A job entitled 'Psychological Wellbeing Practioner' sounds interesting to me, but having looked into it, it seems you need to do a course accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPA) and I don't know how to go about doing this. Could anyone give me some ideas on either whether the Master's will actually lead me to a job and whether I should be doing some other specific qualification acknowledged by the BPS? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • AoifeAoife Community Manager Posts: 3,228 Boards Guru
    Hi cj326, welcome to the forum :)

    That is great that you a looking for a career in mental health. I am also! What type of area in mental health are you looking to work in? It is such a broad area so I think that is possible for you with your degree and PGCE to find work relating to mental health. There is some great advice on Prospects which might be useful in exploring different roles to do with mental health. There are many types of therapy that people looking for a career in mental health decide to specialise in, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. There are also other areas e.g. working with Autistic individuals in schools, working as a Research Assistant, or working for charities. It is definitely worth looking into support work to gain some experience and make your future applications look great.

    It is important to do a masters degree that is accedited by the British Psychological Society. This will help you find a job after because most jobs, particularly those with the NHS require you to have this accreditation.

    I know a little bit about the route to being a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner. To become this you need to do a 6 month course through IAPT (http://www.iapt.nhs.uk/). I think a Psychology background is required for this because it is extremely competitive.

    Hope this is helpful.

    Any other questions just let me know.
    Maybe somethings don't get better, but we do. We get stronger. We learn to live with our situations as messy and ugly as they are. We fix what we can and we adapt to what we can't. Maybe some of us will never fully be okay, but at least we're here. We're still trying. We're doing the best we can. That's worth celebrating too ❤
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thank you so much for such a helpful reply. The Master's I want to do doesn't seem to be accredited by the BPS so I think I will need to rethink my options. I already work as a volunteer Social Support Worker for Mind so I do have experience, I just need a qualification. Hmm. Lots to consider. Thanks again - I really do appreciate it. I may think of other questions once I have done some more research - would you mind if I asked them on here? You seem very knowledgeable about this and I am pretty clueless!
  • AoifeAoife Community Manager Posts: 3,228 Boards Guru
    Hello,

    Yes of course ask any questions about a career on mental health on this thread :) I'm looking for a career in Mental Health and Clinical Psychology. It is all about experience also, so it is great that you volunteer as a Social Support Worker for Mind. What is that like?

    I hope the research goes well :)

    Maybe somethings don't get better, but we do. We get stronger. We learn to live with our situations as messy and ugly as they are. We fix what we can and we adapt to what we can't. Maybe some of us will never fully be okay, but at least we're here. We're still trying. We're doing the best we can. That's worth celebrating too ❤
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