My Tips for Writing Your Doctorate Application

Disclaimer – this is just my perspective and different courses may look for different things, but I have noticed that when reviewing people’s applications I have noticed improvement in how far through the process they get when they take on board these suggestions. However, your application needs to reflect you – your personality, your individual experiences, and your interests.

1.????? Apply At The Right Time

Lots of people start applying for the doctorate far too soon, thinking it won’t have a negative impact. I would disagree. I see a lot of potentially great candidates who have become disheartened, resentful and desperate, due to applying multiple times and not getting anywhere. Bare in mind that for the average successful candidate to get onto training, they have had 3+ years experience/further study following their undergraduate degree (in my cohort most people were in late 20s/early 30s so had much more than this). This experience needs to reflect different facets of working as a Clinical Psychologist, so working in a similar role for 2 years e.g. as a support worker, with no clinical supervision or academic opportunities (teaching, training, research, audit, report writing...), is unlikely to qualify as ‘ready enough’ experience. The impact of going through multiple applications is likely to have a detrimental effect on you, so don’t put yourself through it until you have a solid chance of proceeding to the interview stage. It is such a shame when people give up because they become disillusioned with the process, when they could have saved themselves a lot of heartache if they had waited a few more years before applying. You are incredibly unlikely to proceed to interview if you apply right after finishing your undergraduate degree.

Similarly to this – really consider if this is the right time for you to get onto training. Even if you get onto your local course, placements can be very far away across the county or even in neighbouring counties. Lots of early starts and late nights, a big commitment to teaching which is physically and mentally draining, and the pressure of assignments. It does take over your life for much of the 3 years. My cohort reflected that we were so preoccupied with getting onto the course, we didn’t stop to consider what it would be like to actually be on the course. The sacrifices of pre-training life are clear, but the sacrifices you have to make for 3 years+ whilst on training are often less considered. Is this the right thing for you, at this time? As you may be offered a place, after all!

2.????? Application vs Experience

Off the back of point 1, consider that no matter how well-written your application may be, it might be that you just don’t have enough breadth of experience. ‘Experience’ can encompass a wide variety of relevant jobs and further academic study. I personally would be looking for at least 2 types of experience as a bare minimum, which are sufficiently rich enough to give you experience of multiple domains of Clinical Psychology (more on this below). For example, working as a support worker in one job to get ‘hands on’ experience, being able to deal with a crisis, risk assessing situations etc – all very valuable. However, I would then be looking for another type of experience either in another field (working with children/older adults/inpatient mental health/learning disabilities/a specialist area etc) where you can also experience a different job role. If you already have the ‘hands on’ experience as a support worker, can you then build on your research skills by pursuing a Masters degree or a research post? Or could you look for a role where you can experience delivering structured therapy/application of theory, for example, as a PBS Worker or SEN Assistant? If you are planning to apply up to 2 years after finishing your undergraduate degree, a few hours volunteering across two different fields is unlikely to give you enough opportunity to develop your skills and reflective capacity, so bare this in mind. Your experience needs to be of both a depth and breath which is sufficient enough to stand out from the crowd.

Also, consider where you are applying. Look at the Alternative Handbook (published by the BPS) and consider what the course culture is. If a course is particularly academically-inclined and wants a high 2:1 and above at undergraduate level, or a Masters degree, and you don’t have this, don’t waste the application. It is impossible to tailor 1 application for multiple courses, but you might find you are naturally drawn towards a certain ethos – emphasise this in your application (e.g. if most of the courses have a strong psychodynamic component, or particularly promote qualitative research then say why you care about this).

3.? Lack of Assistant Psychologist Experience Does Not Mean You Are Doomed

Statistically, there is more competition for Assistant Psychologist posts than places on Clinical Psychology doctorate training. This can be incredibly disheartening when you are trying to get your foot in the door. I remember applying for over 200 Assistant Psychologist posts over about 3 years, just to get 4 interviews during that time (3 of which I travelled very far for!). Between my 3rd and 4th interviews, I became so worn down and disheartened that I started looking at alternative career paths. I needed a break from applying for those posts, and I needed to know I could have an enjoyable career without depending on them (more on this below). I had an 18 month break from applying for Assistant Psychologist posts before applying for another one, which I managed to get, but now there are many people who successfully get onto training without this experience. I would say around a third of my cohort had not worked as an Assistant Psychologist but had other fantastic experience, for example, as a Mental Health Nurse, PWP, PBS Worker, Occupational Therapist/OT Assistant, Counsellor, Masters/PhD graduate…lots of options. Invest your time in other types of experience rather than being worn down by this process, if this is how you feel.

?There is much more of a recognition now that Assistant Psychologist posts are not necessary to be a successful candidate, but they provide excellent experience because of the breadth and depth of the skills required to fulfil the role, and with formal clinical supervision and reflective space. Therefore, consider how you can meet these requirements in other roles when looking for other job opportunities. Being able to at least work alongside a Clinical Psychologist and show you understand the role, is really important. If there is a Clinical Psychologist in your team, ask if you can shadow them and say what you learned from this in your application. I also think that having some form of NHS experience even if it is a few hours volunteering alongside your substantial role, is important in demonstrating you understand the pressures and ways of working in the NHS.

4.????? Writing The Application

Let’s get down to it.

·??????? Don’t just throw in buzz words and assume that gets you the points – prove it. Reading ‘scientist-practitioner,’ ‘evidence-based,’ ‘reflective capacity’ repeatedly is quite boring, and anybody can write those words. What you need to have in your mind is “prove it, reflect on it.” Taking statements from merely “I am a reflective practitioner” to “I used supervision to honestly reflect on a difficult dynamic whereby I was aware of transference and counter-transference processes” shows that you actually know what you are talking about, can back up your claims, and is a much more interesting and stand-out way of demonstrating your point. Similarly, instead of simply writing “I used evidence-based models in my therapy” - make it interesting and prove it. Adding in something like “I used CBT and DBT interventions to support people with anxiety and found it…[add in brief reflection here]” is much more effective and will get you extra points. Word counts are notoriously tight, but this is worth a few more words investment rather than simply listing buzz words.

·??????? Consider the different facets of being a Clinical Psychologist. There can often be a big emphasis on therapeutic interventions. I recommend you recap BPS guidelines on working as a Clinical Psychologist to give you some ideas about what else the job entails. Think about assessment, formulation, interventions, evaluations, research and audit, teaching and training, using supervision…remember that things like ‘assessment’ do not need to be formal assessments into services. ‘Assessment’ can encompass a whole number of things, such as ability to engage in an intervention, risk assessment, holistic assessments…be creative in thinking about how your experience matches onto this. Similarly, research and audit does not need to be a formal piece of work – what have you read recently that you considered in your work? How did you critically appraise this? And most importantly…PROVE IT and REFLECT!

·??????? What DO you want from training? Really? Please avoid just listing things that Clinical Psychologists commonly do…everyone does this. Own where you feel the gaps are in your experience. Show you are excited about certain aspects of training, and be genuine in this. Are there client groups you are really excited to work with? Why? Are you looking forward to pushing yourself with public speaking and delivering training? Certainly link this to some of the facets of being a Clinical Psychologist, but be genuine and let them get an idea of who this person is. Where are you bringing valuable and interesting experience, and where do you need some more skills and training? This will show in itself you are reflective and self-aware, and know what the different aspects of training are.

·??????? Inject some personality. Sadly, it is easy to be forgettable to people reviewing hundreds of applications. The ‘prove it and reflect’ approach will certainly help with this, but try and inject some of your personality into your application too. I find the easiest place to do this is in the question, “Other information about yourself eg activities/interests apart from psychology”. This is the Personality Question – be interesting, show you aren’t just obsessed with getting onto the doctorate, there is more to you. Remember that people reviewing applications want to know you are going to be able to cope with the stress and pressure that comes with training.

Something I recommend is to try and loosely make a psychology-related reference here…so, why do you go for long walks and make cakes? Is it because you know self-care is important? Are you most mindful when attempting to wrestle a muddy dog into a bath? When you completed the London marathon, why? Is it because you find running a great way to decompress as a way to manage stress? Do you find personal sporting achievements add a lot of value to your life? Do you find it’s the only way to stop rumination? Was climbing a mountain a great way to try out graded exposure on yourself as you were previously too scared of heights?

What I am trying to say, is show that you are aware of how you self-care and relax, you invest and actually use helpful techniques (which is especially self-aware when you are aware how demanding training will be), and that you practise what you preach. You push yourself, you connect to your values, you are aware of your ‘buttons’ and you care about self-improvement. But...prove it and reflect. A very loose link to some kind of psychological concept or theory does not go amiss here, but do really focus on the personality side of things. Again, listing common hobbies can get quite boring to read hundreds of times (I am so sorry to sound so harsh! I don’t have any interesting hobbies myself! But I named and owned this in my application, and said why the things I do enjoy work for me personally). ?

5.????? Feeling Burnt Out? Look At Other Options

As I type this, I fully acknowledge that as a qualified Clinical Psychologist, it is easy for me to say this. But as I mentioned above, I had to go on a bit of a 360 degree journey before even applying for training. Being a Clinical Psychologist is not the only career you will enjoy and really thrive in. There are lots of other options. Sometimes you just need to know that there are other options, even if you aren’t in a place of seriously looking at these. Sometimes you need a break from applying. There are other types of Psychologist (e.g. Counselling, Forensic, Health, Education…) and there are lots of other roles which encompass different parts of being a Clinical Psychologist. Figure out what draws you to the role and look at other similar options. On the clinpsy.org.uk website there is a huge list that people have compiled of other related careers. If being a therapist appeals to you most, for example, there are lots of different types of therapist you can be, and which will actually offer much more 1:1 client work than most Clinical Psychologists are able to offer. If it’s the research element, you could consider a PhD or teaching path. If it’s leadership, there are lots of Allied Health Professional roles that actively encourage this and can lead to management positions etc.

6. Don't Let This Consume You

Please don’t let this engulf your entire life. The people who feel the most desperate and resentful are often in jobs they are not happy in which they just consider to be an inconvenient ‘stepping stone.’ Invest in looking for job roles in the interim that genuinely fulfil you and align with your values (as much as possible). Again, if it is patient/client contact you really enjoy or want more experience in, look out for jobs which will offer you this and help challenge you in a different way. Lots of people feel they put their lives on hold whilst applying, and there is frequently definitely some truth to this. But does it have to be your whole life? Can you also invest in things that make you feel good? What are the other areas of your life that don’t just revolve around this? Is it helpful to talk about it a lot with other aspiring Clinical Psychologists or is it making you feel resentful/anxious/competitive/drained? Listen to your body, and adjust boundaries accordingly. The less high the stakes are for you personally, the better you will perform, especially at interview. And I think when you are happy with your ‘for now’ plan, or have a good back-up plan, it really takes some of the pressure off and you don’t have to write off these few years as “just getting through, stepping stone jobs I hate, until I finally get on the doctorate.” You spend far too much of your week and life at work, please find a job you enjoy in the mean time. And if you feel dread and drained when the next year comes round, consider taking a break out of applying and focus on looking after yourself and building up your life in other ways so you feel more fulfilled generally.

This does not define you as a person. Your ability to get onto training does not define how good at your job you are, or how good a Clinical Psychologist you could be. The work you do now can hugely impact people in lots of different ways. You can change people's lives in a number of roles, and this is a privilege, but only if you want it. Someone on my cohort took a couple years out to go travelling, do volunteer work, and do a completely unrelated and fun job - best thing she ever did. And she said it helped her feel less resentful and less like she was putting her life on hold. I thought that was pretty smart.

I hope this helps, I know there will be lots of exceptions to the above and in all honesty I think it also includes a sprinkle of luck on the day as to who is reading your application. But I have found the above to help generally, and people have given feedback that it improved their chances. I also work alongside lots of application reviewers who have said similar things.

Just please know that you are enough, exactly as you are.

Best of luck!

Sophie