Becoming a Chartered Psychologist requires an approved Honours Degree in Psychology plus a further three years approved training and supervised experience. Remaining Chartered involves being subject to the British Psychological Society's Code of Conduct and Ethical Principles.
The British Psychological Society is the scientific society and professional body for psychologists, incorporated by Royal Charter in 1965. The Society is a learned and professional body controlled by the Royal Charter. This means that their primary duty is to preserve and nurture the discipline on behalf of the nation. Their main objective is to advance and diffuse knowledge of psychology.
All of our Chartered Psychologists require a practising certificate from The Health Professions Council, a regulator set up to protect the public. They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards for training, professional skills, behaviour and health.
Psychologists work in almost every area of human endeavour. As psychology is the science of mental life and behaviour - its actions, reactions and interactions - it seeks to understand how we work. Psychology is also an applied discipline. It seeks to help individuals, groups and organisations overcome difficulties, solve problems, be more efficient and have a better quality of life.
Types of Psychologist
At The Keil Centre we currently employ three types of Chartered Psychologist: Occupational, Clinical and Counselling. We also have access to Child, Educational and Forensic Psychologists, and other specialisms.
Occupational Psychologists
Occupational Psychologists are concerned with people in relation to work in the widest sense, both paid employment and other constructive and cooperative activities.
Their concern is how work tasks and conditions of work can affect people, and how their characteristics determine what and how work is done. Occupational Psychologists are concerned with:
- selection, training and personal development to ensure effectiveness;
- the basic design and modification of equipment, work procedures and the structures of an organisation;
- solutions which enable people at work to participate in the process of modifying the workplace for greater effectiveness and satisfaction.
The main areas of occupational psychology are:
- job and work environment (including ergonomics, health and safety at work and environmental psychology);
- assessment and development (including competency analysis, selection, assessment appraisal, counselling and systems for personal development);
- organisational development (including motivation in the workplace and employee relations, team building, the study of organisational cultures, the management of change in organisations and the development and modification of reward systems);
- training (including training needs analysis, the design, conduct and evaluation of training, open and distance learning, computer-based training and the training of trainers).
All occupational psychologists will have a knowledge of the concepts and findings in all of the above areas, but usually each will have developed an expertise in one or two of them.
Clinical Psychologists
Psychologists in this speciality provide services to people across a broad spectrum. Presenting difficulties include anxiety, depression, phobias, obsessions, ruminations, anger control, alcohol-related problems, eating disorders and sexual and marital problems. Clinical psychologists working in adult mental health may also deal with more enduring personality or skill problems, and the psychological elements of psychotic illnesses.
Counselling Psychologists
Counselling psychologists represent a relatively new psychological specialism in the UK. As a group within The British Psychological Society they are represented by the Division of Counselling Psychology. Counselling psychologists are employed in diverse fields, including occupational, educational and healthcare settings.
The principles of Counselling Psychology are:
- The underlying humanistic value system views the client's difficulties in developmental terms, as adaptations rather than pathology.
- The therapeutic relationship and process are given primacy, emphasising "being with" the client rather than "doing to". This attitude is seen as an important factor whichever model of therapy is practised.