As an adult psychotherapist, you'll provide talking therapy to help people to change the way they think and behave or find better ways to cope. You would address common mental health difficulties like anxiety and depression, or complex issues like psychosis or a personality disorder diagnosis. You may work with individuals, couples or groups.

As a child and adolescent psychotherapist you'll work in the community and in hospitals, with young people who are experiencing all types of psychological difficulties. You would use specialist psychoanalytic skills to assess and treat children, their families or carers, through a combination of talking, playing and drawing.

As a family and systemic psychotherapist, you'll use psychological approaches to understand patients' difficulties and challenges. This would guide the therapies and interventions you provide, usually involving several members of a family. You might work with specific populations, like looked after children, people with learning disabilities or people with dementia.

Watch Faye tell us about her career journey. 

As a CBT therapist, you'll assess and support people using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT is a talking therapy which aims to help people overcome emotional difficulties by changing the way they think and behave. As a CBT therapist, you would address common mental health difficulties like anxiety and depression, or less common issues like psychosis, a personality disorder diagnosis, or eating disorders. You may work with individuals, couples or groups.

Watch Shiku tell us about her career journey. 

Counselling offers people a safe and confidential space to talk about their feelings and concerns. As a counsellor, you would help people to understand themselves better and find their own solutions and make positive changes. Counselling can draw on a range of different methods and always prioritises the relationship between the counsellor and the client.

As a children's wellbeing practitioner, you'll assess and support children and young people with common mental health difficulties. This will include mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety, depression and behavioural difficulties. You will also offer a range of interventions that are based on cognitive behavioural therapy and guided self-help.

As an education mental health practitioner, you'll assess and support children and young people with common mental health difficulties. These young people may have mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety, depression and behavioural difficulties and you'll offer short-term cognitive-behavioural approaches to help them. You'll also promote mental health within the school community, and provide information workshops on mental health and wellbeing.

Watch Beth tell us about her career journey. 

Mental health and wellbeing practitioners work with patients to help them manage their mental health while also offering evidence-based psychological interventions. 

The first intake of trainees started their training in March 2022. The one-year training programme will see them, under supervision, develop knowledge and practice skills to employ interventions and care planning for adults with severe mental health problems. 

Youth intensive psychological practitioners provide psychological assessment and psychologically informed interventions support for young people (13–17 years old) with severe mental health problems. Generally, you would be based in an inpatient and intensive home treatment service, and you would support young people’s recovery.

Assistant psychologists work in a variety of roles to support people with mental health conditions.  You will be supervised by a practitioner psychologist. Your role would include supporting with:

• assessments
• behavioural observations
• intervention programmes
• research or service evaluations

This would involve working with individuals or groups of patients, carers, relatives, and colleagues. It’s also likely that you’ll work as part of a multidisciplinary team. 

As a clinical associate in psychology, you’ll provide psychological interventions within certain specialised areas under the supervision of a qualified practitioner psychologist.

You’ll provide evidence-based psychological interventions to a specific population or group of people. You'll aim to identify the needs of people experiencing longstanding and complex difficulties, considering their age, culture, beliefs and other important factors.

Watch Rochelle tell us about her career journey and experience as a trainee clinical associate psychologist.