A week in the life of a Clinical Associate Psychologist in training

With Rochelle McKenzie, Clinical Associate Psychologist in training, Adult Mental Health services

Rochelle is a Clinical Associate Psychologist in training here at CWPT and takes us through what a typical week looks like in her role.

Before taking on my current role, I previously worked as an Assistant Psychologist in a private hospital that specialised in eating disorders for children and young people, and I loved it. I loved being an Assistant Psychologist and was eager to find the next step before undertaking the necessary training to become a fully qualified Psychologist.

The role of Clinical Associate Psychologist in training came up at CWPT and I jumped at the chance and moved to Coventry to start my training. This role seemed like the perfect next step for me and would give me an opportunity to develop my skills.

The training is 18 months in duration, and a typical week is structured around my placements on Monday-Wednesdays, with lectures on Thursdays and study days on Fridays. The structure of the week means that I can put my learning from the Thursday lectures into practice at the start of the week, and I’ve found this real-time application and experience incredibly insightful. I’m currently specialising in psychosis, but there are other clinical associate psychologists in training spread across other services.

I am currently learning a lot more in this role; more about myself and the areas I want to work in. I’ve also started to understand how there is a gap in knowledge between an assistant psychologist and a psychologist, and this role is proving really beneficial to me in providing additional safety measures and knowledge to what I learned as an assistant psychologist.

It's really exciting to be a part of the first cohort of Clinical Associate Psychologists in training, and there is a lot of scope for the future within these roles and within psychological professions.