All Posts By PsychAspire
Reflecting on my first week in the NHS
Following some lovely R & R over a lockdown Christmas, I was looking forward to starting my new role. Other than a few usual apprehensions, I felt reasonably relaxed and excited to start. It can be dauting for anyone being the newbie, however I find some reassurance in reminding myself that it is quite likely…
Keep going – keep applying
It can be really difficult knowing when to consider applying for new roles, particularly Assistant Psychologist (AP) posts, and especially within the NHS. The competition is fierce, and it can be such a disheartening experience when we are unsuccessful. Or sometimes just really frustrating when we do not hear whether we are invited to the…
When is the the right time to try something new?
As aspiring psychologists, we can often feel a pressure to apply for new roles, gain more experience in a new sector or sometimes just need a change. Considering myself as a committed and conscientious person, leaving a role or considering moving i have realised is quite a challenge for me. I dislike the feeling of…
Learning to love psychology again
Since leaving university and joining the working world, although enjoying my roles, at times I did start to feel part of the ‘rat race’. Striving to get an Assistant Psychologist post, determined to get into the NHS and praying to get on the doctorate. All of which have felt impossible at times. They are exciting…
Clinical Doctorate Applications
Being an Aspiring Clinical Psychologist is hard. I do not just mean hard work getting into the field or managing potentially challenging roles or environments, but mainly I feel the perseverance. Having had several unsuccessful doctorate applications, the consideration for no longer putting my life on hold became very apparent for me during the previous…
Challenges of an Assistant Psychologist
I am sure that even for those who love their job, there are still likely to be some challenging aspects to their work. Every role, even as an Assistant Psychologist (AP) is different. This can depend on which field we are in, whether this is private practice or NHS, in house or community and the…
My Story of Loss and Learning to Heal
Having been given the opportunity to provide a brief case study about grief, here is a snapshot of my story. I was fortunate that my reflective piece became part of ‘The Grief Collective: Stories of life, loss and learning to heal’ By Dr Marianne Trent. Within the last 5 years, I have experienced two significant…
Formulation and the 5 P’s
In addition to my most typical work and in a separate part of the role, I also support the psychological consultation pathway for looked after children in residential care homes. This has given me the opportunity to observe and be a part of the assessment and formulation process as part of their care plan which…
A Typical Week (for me) as an Assistant
Before starting, I met with the previous AP in post to have a brief handover and I recall that she expressed that it was common to feel a bit of a fraud when offered your first AP role. To be honest, I had not really noticed this feeling as other than a natural apprehension, I…
I finally got my AP – so it is possible!
As previously discussed, I had been applying for Assistant Psychology posts since graduating however I was not offered any interviews until after I was in my therapeutic intervention role. During this time, of all the applications I made I was only invited to two interviews and was still unsuccessful in being offered a position. I…
- 1
- 2