What is a clinical psychologist?

There are a plethora of health professions, which can be confusing. Here is a bit of background to clinical psychology:

In brief, Clinical Psychology is a branch of psychology that incorporates the science of human behaviour into the understanding and treatment of mental health problems.

In the United Kingdom, clinical psychologists are required to complete an undergraduate degree in psychology and a doctoral degree in clinical psychology to qualify and register (“Clinical Psychologist” is a protected title by law in the UK and any practitioner has to be HCPC-registered). However, many clinical psychologists would also have completed a Masters degree. It typically takes a minimum of eight years from start to completion of studies.  

Training placements are conducted in a number of NHS mental health service settings (e.g. child & adolescent, adult, older adult, learning disability, neuropsychology) and there is training in a range of psychological assessment and treatment approaches. This usually includes an emphasis on cognitive-behavioural therapy, but is not restricted to it. Candidates receive instruction in research methods and statistics, and have to conduct a scientific research study, which is submitted as a dissertation.

The overseeing and regulatory bodies are the Division of Clinical Psychology of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). They distinguish seven “Practitioner Psychologist” categories: Clinical / Counselling / Educational / Occupational / Forensic / Health / Sport & Exercise, each with expertise in a specific area of psychology and different training requirements.