Today at a glance:
Intro to who I am.
My training route
The mainstream British psychological society route
Takeaways
The question I ALWAYS get asked is “what qualifications did you do?”.
As this is one of my most frequently asked questions it’s only right it deserves a post! I want to start by saying (The BPS would kill me if I didn’t), the title ‘Sports and Exercise Psychologist’ is a protected term in the UK. Unless you are fully qualified you cannot use the full title!
Who am I?
Let me start by introducing myself! I’m Jodine a charted sports and exercise psychologist based in the UK. I am charted with the British Psychological society (BPS) and Health Care professions council (HCPC) registered!
My journey has given me the pleasure to work in both sports and exercise spaces (yes we can work in the exercise world!). And across a large number of settings, including curling, dance, and football!
But it wasn’t a quick or easy journey! Let me tell you about the route I took!
Photo of working with Watford FC Women’s team!
My training route:
I will start from university as that’s usually when I get asked about my route! Just for transparency, I have GCSE’s and A levels!
1st: I studied a BSc in sports psychology and performance
2nd: Because my undergrad wasn’t BPS accredited I had to do a conversion course in psychology! My BSc was followed by a PGDip in Psychology.
3rd: Then I underwent a MSc in The psychology of sports and exercise (this was accredited)
4th: Finally I did the BPS QSEP on the 3 year route (during Covid)
My route isn’t the traditional route! During college there wasn’t guidance and knowledge given for this route! I assume because it was a niche field. I look back now and I’m more than happy with it. You can never be too qualified right!
Main stream route (BPS):
Now let’s talk about the mainstream route that is ALOT shorter than what I did!
1st: You will need to undertake a BPS accredited psychology degree. Generally, you will see something like ‘The Psychology BSc is a three-year, BPS accredited course’ on the enrollment page! Make sure you check because you don’t want to take a longer journey than you need too! This will give you Graduate Membership with the Graduate Basis for Chartered membership!
2nd: You will then need a BPS accredited MSc. On the enrollment page, you will see wording similar to ‘Our programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS)’.
3rd: Then you can either do QSEP (Not at a uni) or Professional Doctorate in sports and exercise psychology (at a uni). For the Prof Doc you will generally see on the page ‘The programme is designed to meet BPS Stage 2 requirements in Sport and Exercise Psychology and eligibility for HCPC registration’. For QSEP you will need to have access to a suitable placement (paid or voluntary) when you enrol.
If you are not sure if courses are accredited do not be afraid to contact course leaders or universities to ask!
Following step 3 you can apply for BPS chartership and apply to be a practitioner psychologist with the HCPC.
p.s I know there is also a BASES training route and I will do a comparison post later down the line.
Takeaways:
The training route you take will depend on where you are in your training journey, your qualifications, the country you are in/want to work in, and of course costs.
Your training journey won’t be easy but it will shape you as a practitioner
Look at both BASES and BPS routes! Read the handbooks, email them if you need and ask as many questions to get clarity!
Find which route works for you
Until next time!
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