How I became a Clinical Psychologist

Name: Dr. Emmah Jassim

Age: 26

Job: Clinical psychologist

1. What made you want to be a Clinical Psychologist?

“I wanted to become a Clinical Psychologist as it allows me to be able to work with people to help to improve their lives and learn new things about themselves.

2. What do you enjoy the most about your job?

“I enjoy the variety of the problems my patients bring to me – no two people are the same. I find it rewarding to work with the person to understand their difficulties and how they may have developed or been maintained.”

3. What qualifications do you need?

“You need an undergraduate degree in Psychology, then you need to apply to do a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. You normally need several years’ worth of experience as an Assistant Psychologist, Research Assistant etc. to be successful in getting onto the doctorate. However, I trained at the University of Hull who have a fast-track option where you could go straight onto the doctorate from undergraduate if you are a University of York or University of Hull student.”

4. What does a typical day as Clinical Psychologist look like?

“There’s lots of variation to the role so no two days are the same. Typically, it involves seeing patients for one-to-one therapy sessions, as well as initial assessments. As psychologists we use a variety of different methods to best help our patients.

There are a lot of meetings with your team and of course admin work to do like typing up session notes and writing reports and letters. Other duties include conducting research, as well as leadership responsibilities.”

5. What advice would you give to anyone who wants to be a Clinical Psychologist?

“Try and speak to a Clinical Psychologist to learn about the role. You need the degrees explained above and it would be also good to get experience in healthcare in general. For example, I worked as a Support Worker for a few years when I was an undergraduate student to decide if I wanted to go into a helping profession.”