Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
How to become a child psychologist
Help troubled children to lead more emotionally fulfilling and happier lives by becoming a child psychologist. You’ll use your psychoanalytic abilities and in-depth knowledge to support youngsters and their families through their mental and behavioural issues, identifying the root cause and devising effective treatment plans.
What is a child psychologist?
A child psychologist works with children and adolescents, their parents and carers, along with a wide range of other health, social care and educational professionals. Through assessment and intervention, child psychologists help patients to overcome complex challenges such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, anti-social or aggressive behaviours, trauma, phobias and gender dysphoria.
How do I become a child psychologist?
If you want to become a child psychologist, you’ll need a degree, a Masters or Doctorate and a lot of hands-on experience.
- Undergraduate degree - To start your training in child psychology you’ll need to undertake a British Psychological Society (BPS) approved psychology course
- Postgraduate degree - You’ll usually need a BPS approved psychology degree at 2:1 or above to move onto an approved one year Masters and, depending on your career intentions, you may also then need to complete a further three year doctorate degree. If your degree is in an unrelated subject, you can undertake a conversion course or take the BPS qualifying exam
- Work experience - You’ll also need to amass at least two years’ worth of voluntary and / or paid experience in an appropriate health, education or social welfare environment
- Clinical training - A mixture of theoretical study and supervised practice in an appropriate clinical setting which lasts four years – after which you you’ll be a fully qualified child psychologist
What would I do as a child psychologist?
A child psychologist uses their in-depth knowledge of children’s emotions, psychology and behaviour in order to support them - and their families - as they learn to overcome or adapt to the problems they’re facing.
Everything you do will be centred on the patient’s mental health, development and wellbeing. You’ll use a variety of techniques in order to understand, analyse and assess their problems, and deliver tailored short or long-term therapy and treatment programmes to help.
As a child psychologist, you’ll work on both a one-to-one and family group basis, while also collaborating and liaising with other parties involved in the individual’s care. These will include psychiatric nurses, paediatric psychiatrists, social workers, family therapists and services such as CAMHS.
Some other common day-to-day duties of a child psychologist include:
- Using cognitive testing techniques to observe and assess children
- Drawing on psychological knowledge to interpret and understand reactions and behaviours
- Conducting consultations with patients and parents – as well as other connected professionals
- Staging interventions where necessary
- Identifying the right tools and techniques to encourage communication with children e.g. drawing, games, informal chats
- Training and supervising postgraduates, health visitors, teaching staff, youth workers etc.
- Attending (or even presenting at) seminars, conferences and workshops
Becoming a child psychologist could be for you if...
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You're interested and empathetic
To help youngsters cope with complex emotional issues, you need to be genuinely interested in supporting them while dealing with them with tact, sensitivity and empathy.
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You're an excellent communicator
You’ll need to be able to communicate with children of all ages on their level, their families and other professionals.
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You're resilient
As a child psychologist you’ll be dealing with strong displays of emotion, trauma and behaviour, and will also see people at their most confused and vulnerable – so you need to be strong.
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You're confident and supportive
To guide children towards a better understanding of their emotions and situation, you’ll need to support them with confidence and clarity, helping to gain their trust along the way.
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You're autonomous and collaborative
You’ll need to work under your own initiative, while also collaborating with a wide network of third parties to ensure the best patient outcomes.
What are the typical working hours for a child psychologist?
On average a child psychologist works a fairly standard week of around 37 hours, Monday to Friday.
However, you may occasionally be required to work evenings and weekends in order to attend / deliver training or meet with families who are unable to be available during standard working hours.
A child psychologist’s salary varies depending on experience and position:
- £32,306 to £39,027– average salary for trainee child psychologists
- £40,057 to £45,839– average salary range after qualifying, from beginner to experienced child psychologist
- £47,126 and rising to £90,387 – for principal senior child psychologists
There are also opportunities to become a privately practicing child psychologist of you wish to work outside of public health.
