Counseling Psychology PhD from the UK?

[Yiannis021174]

Dear all,

This might sound like a very 'exotic' question but i hope i might someone who can shed some light

I am well aware that a PhD in counseling / clinical psychology which is APA accredited will provide all that is necessary for licensure requirements in US state(s). This is of course vital for anyone who wishes to practice as a therapist either as an employee of some therapy center or as self employed private therapist.

Lets assume that a person has obtained a BPS (equivalent to APA) accredited PhD in the UK. Let us also assume this person wishes to move to the US and apply for licensure in order to then apply for a therapist position at a private therapy center there.


The question is: Is this remotely possible? Does anyone know of any cases where people have done this? Any bits of info in this area would be very much appreciated.

I know that the opposite does happen. I am aware of a number of US educated and accredited counseling psychologists who emigrated and work in the UK quite comfortably.


Many thanks for your thoughts

Y

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[PsyDr]

the short answer: yes, but it is not as easy as you make it out to be.


long version:

the degree would have to be charter eligible and one would have to get comparable hours under the supervision of a chartered psychologist.


you would then have to obtain a post doc in your state and obtain enough supervised hours to obtain a license in the relevant state. then take the EPPP, possibly followed by an oral exam ( not required in all states). at that point you could be licensed. hours obtained outside the states would not count.

if you are asking if there is a way around the post doc hours and EPPP: there is not.


i would contact my state board and ask how one goes about this before pursuing this degree.

and yes, i do know someone who did this. she got her degree in the UK, did her post doc in her state and then applied for licensure.

 

[Yiannis021174]

Many thanks for the clear and informative answer...
I was suspecting it is not easy or fast ... So i understand that any course which leads to BPS chartered status is the basic first step followed by the hours, post doc, more supervised hours and then the licensure exam.
Not easy but do-able

 

[toroharo]

Very timely thread...I have just been to London and absolutely loved the city! What is the process like for an APA-accredited PhD degree holder to practise counseling psychology in the UK?

 

[Yiannis021174]

Very timely thread...I have just been to London and absolutely loved the city! What is the process like for an APA-accredited PhD degree holder to practise counseling psychology in the UK?

It is definitely easier than the opposite (my initial question). The UK does not have licensure restrictions as the US (although this might change in the near future). This means that anyone with qualifications ranging from a simple certificate in counseling to a full blown PhD in counseling psychology can open up a private practice. This is both a potential problem and an opportunity but it definitely means that there is a lot of variance in the quality of therapy that is practiced in the UK. Accreditation DOES exist however and it goes without saying that the most exclusive and demanding accrediting body will also correspond to better job prospects and therapy fees. This body is the BPS (British Psychological Society) which is the direct equivalent to APA. A person who has completed a BPS accredited psychology degre and a BPS accredited doctorate and the corresponding supervised hours, will have the 'chartered counseling psychology' tag in his / her CV. This person will have access to the best paying Hospital / counseling centers / private practice jobs. The non licensure requirements in the UK will of course permit others to work as therapists. BACP and UKCP are psychotherapy accrediting bodies which are slightly similar (but not as strict) to the ACA. The main difference is that licensure is not a legal requirement in the UK.

Assuming you wish to become accredited as a BPS chartered counseling psychology, you would need to submit your APA accredited qualification and supervised hours for evaluatin by the BPS (http://www.bps.org.uk/). The US counseling / clinical qualifications are very structured and rigorous and hence they are considered of very high quality. While looking for a good counseling psychology doctorate here in the UK i have come accross a number of faculty who have emigrated from the US with APA degrees and which work in UK doctoral programs after having been accredited by the BPS. More specifically i have seen such people in the faculty of City and Regents college which are both London unis / colleges.

The only thing which i am a bit unsure about is whether you might have to practice under BPS supervision for a few hundred hours before receiving the accreditation. Maybe the APA supervised hours will be enough...

The first step would be to go through the bps website and even contacting the appropriate section for more accreditation info.

Alternatively, you can always start practicing in the UK without BPS accreditation and in time get BACP / UKCP accreditation.

The fact that BPS accreditation is not a legal requirement creates the opportunity for more flexibility and even innovation in the profession of counseling BUT it also means that a client might be much less protected from bad therapy.

I hope this was helpful

All the best with your endeavour

Yiannis

 

[toroharo]

Thanks so much for the informaion, Yiannis! It's a good point to start looking up the various requirements and prepare for the unpredictable future!

Cheers,
Harold

 

[revised123]

Hi this post has been extremely helpful to me! I am handling a tough situation myself and hope that Yiannis and PSYDR, aka the psychologist, could shed some light on my current dilemma.

My Background: I had a top tier BA degree and Master degree(Psychology) from the U.S. My BF is doing his PhD in Switzerland, and personally I would like to stay in Europe, at least for a few years too.

Hoping to become an "internationally recognized/mobile" counseling psychologist, I am debating whether I should pursue option 1 or option 2 below,

However, I am facing some major obstacles in my decision-making: tuition, language barrier, and possible future relocation ( I am from Asia and my family would like to immigrate to Canada one day). For the last few months, I have researched many accrediting government bodies/organizations as well as asking as many professionals as I could. Despite the effort, I still could not find the solution.

Option 1: BPS recognized Doctorate in Counseling Psychology.

Pros: pursuing my passion!

Cons: tuition cost(family burden), and in addition, it seems that Canada-College of psychologist ontario- is not granting the psychologist license to someone who has the UK BPS chartered status. (I could be wrong about this)

Option 2: 3 years Funded Research PhD in developmental Psychology in Switzerland + additional BPS(British psychological society) self-directed QCoP "Qualification in Counselling Psychology"

Pros: attractive salary package for PhD student in Switzerland,
acquire research skills(which is neccessary for attaining BPS QCoP also) , internationally recognized PhD (although I am not interested in academia)

Cons: As the BPS QCoP is NOT a taught program, only a self study program with supervision, I could risk my chance to practice as a therapist as there would be no other country(besides UK) who recogize such a self study course.

I am completely lost. please help!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

You'd need to contact the licensing boards of the respective countries, as there is probably some variance in the requirements. If you have an opportunity to get into a program abroad, that may be far easier than trying to get into a Canadian program, which are just as competitive as the US programs. You are probably best off getting a Ph.D. and then get additional training from another university, though I'll defer to someone who better understands European training programs.

 

[Yiannis021174]

Hello revised123,

I think I can offer some info which might be helpful to you.
After research, asking, asking again etc... I found out that a Chartertered Psychologist (BPS) has a lot of mobility within the EU. Switzerland is another story. In other words, EU law stipulates the mobility / recognition of qualifications associated with professions and the right to practice. In other words, a chartered counselling psychology from the BPS can submit their chartership license / status to Germany for example and exchange it for an equivalent license to practice in that country. There might of course be some details to address such as supervised hours etc but the license to practice as a psychologist does carry over. This means that a Doctorate in Counselling psychology from the UK, which leads to BPS chartership will be a good ticket to mobility, at least with the Eurozone.

The BPS qualification is indeed quite a strange situation as it is not a taught programme. What I found out however is that as you go through this path, the may ask you to attend and complete various courses and maybe even a masters in counselling or counselling psychology. Difficult to predict this as the programme of study is created for each person and may be unique. One thing is for certain, the BPS qualification is less easy to pre plan for. It might also take a long time due to the lack of structure. If however you have a part time job and do the BPS qualification on the side, things might be good financially.

The other option for you is a part time BPS approved Doctorate in counselling psychology. The UK offers them. The advantage is that you are able to work part time alongside them. The lead to the BPS Counselling psychology doctorate and chartership. The disadvantage is that they last longer (5-6 years). After contacting a few, it turns out that you can have a job for 3 days a week and dedicate 2 for the programme. This means one full day class contact and 1 full day placement. Study time will of course be extra (evenings/ weekends).

Hope this helps

Yiannis

 

[valentinaz]

Hello

I am a student obtaining her graduate degree in NY, USA at Long Island University. I will finish my Master's degree by summer 2011, and would like to apply for my PsyED in Clinical Psychology in London, UK for September 2011.
1) Is this possible?
2) Will I be able to transfer my two degrees, or ?
3) What schools offer a PsyED in Clinical Psych. in London, UK?
4) What additional information do I need to know if I am an international student from the US?

My undergraduate degree was from the Univ of Miami in Florida, (English, with a minor in Philosophy and Journalism)
My graduate degree will be from LIU in NY, USA with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy.

 

[stigmata]

I do not see that anyone has addressed the 1st thing that would need to occur. For any foreign academic degree to be considered acceptable in the USA it needs to be independently evaluated for equivalency. Many British PhDs is psych-related fields would likely not receive this equivalency due to the fact they have no clinical training as part of the program, but you never know. I know BPS is quite a bit stronger now than it was when I was in the UK (1994-1996), but I am pretty sure the degree would need to be independently evaluated by an American agency. This is actually quite easy to do.

 

[EU UK GR]

I do not think that option B is necessarily too much of a problem. It would be good if your PhD (at least in the discussion section) includes counselling psychology references: publications at counsel(l)ing psychology peer reviewed journals somewhat linked to your research and some key counselling psychology textbooks; I imagine that this woud be manageable as, anyway, you would be doing such reading for the QCoP. Of course, you would need to also complete a psychological therapy training course of substantial duration and tutor-student contact hours (as specified in the QCoP regulations) but this could be done in Switzerland; your Coordinator of Training for the QCoP should be able to help you put this together (the BPS can provide a list of people who could fit that function for you). The QCoP has been done by people who live in Greece and Italy, I believe. In addition to your Coordinator of Training you need to have a sizeable hours of supervision by a "counselling psychologist"; if you do not manage to get a counselling psychologist supervisor in Switzerland, you could get a supplementary supervisor in the UK who provides supervision over skype or phone (I have done that in several instances in the past). For more info you can also use the email address at www.eacp.eu; there are several alternative options to the above

PS. The UK Statutory Regulator for Counselling Psychologists (the Health Professions Council) recognises the QCoP alongside the DCounsPsychs, so at the end you would get your license by the HPC as well as Chartered status by the BPS and with your Ph.D. and your QCoP, you should be highly respected as a counselling psychologist across the world.

Hi this post has been extremely helpful to me! I am handling a tough situation myself and hope that Yiannis and PSYDR, aka the psychologist, could shed some light on my current dilemma.

My Background: I had a top tier BA degree and Master degree(Psychology) from the U.S. My BF is doing his PhD in Switzerland, and personally I would like to stay in Europe, at least for a few years too.

Hoping to become an "internationally recognized/mobile" counseling psychologist, I am debating whether I should pursue option 1 or option 2 below,

However, I am facing some major obstacles in my decision-making: tuition, language barrier, and possible future relocation ( I am from Asia and my family would like to immigrate to Canada one day). For the last few months, I have researched many accrediting government bodies/organizations as well as asking as many professionals as I could. Despite the effort, I still could not find the solution.

Option 1: BPS recognized Doctorate in Counseling Psychology.

Pros: pursuing my passion!

Cons: tuition cost(family burden), and in addition, it seems that Canada-College of psychologist ontario- is not granting the psychologist license to someone who has the UK BPS chartered status. (I could be wrong about this)

Option 2: 3 years Funded Research PhD in developmental Psychology in Switzerland + additional BPS(British psychological society) self-directed QCoP "Qualification in Counselling Psychology"

Pros: attractive salary package for PhD student in Switzerland,
acquire research skills(which is neccessary for attaining BPS QCoP also) , internationally recognized PhD (although I am not interested in academia)

Cons: As the BPS QCoP is NOT a taught program, only a self study program with supervision, I could risk my chance to practice as a therapist as there would be no other country(besides UK) who recogize such a self study course.

I am completely lost. please help!

 

[cjwilson1]

Hello,

I am new to the forum. I came across the forum due to this old thread so I hope somebody might be able to find it. I basically have the same question as Valentinaz above from a couple years ago. I am currently doing my MA in counseling psychology in the US (I am a US citizen) and I am very interested in completing my PHD in the UK. It has essentially been a life long dream of both my wife (who is also studying to be a psychologist) and myself to move to London. Our biggest concern is that we would obtain BPS certification and have terrible luck finding jobs which would land us back in the US with higher student debt, broken hearts and without APA certification.

I would so appreciate to hear back from anybody who has done this and how it went.