Health psychologist to assistant clinical psychologist
A health psychologist already meets 64% of what the assistant clinical psychologist role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
45.8/ 100
1 How much of what an assistant clinical psychologist is expected to do is already part of a health psychologist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the assistant clinical psychologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An assistant clinical psychologist role treats 15 of its required skills as things a health psychologist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- apply context specific clinical competences
- assess healthcare users' risk for harm
- comply with legislation related to health care
- comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 32 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An assistant clinical psychologist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a health psychologist background worth leading with.
- already held analyse psychological aspects of illness assisting and caring
- already held evaluate psychological health measures information skills
- already held provide health psychological analysis communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held provide health psychological concepts management skills
- already held provide health psychological diagnosis information skills
- already held provide health psychological treatment advice communication, collaboration and creativity
All 32 carried skills, including the 15 the assistant clinical psychologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assess the patient's therapeutic needs required
- still to learn identify mental health issues required
- still to learn conduct psychological research required
- optional, not held carry out neuropsychological testing optional
- optional, not held evaluate clinical psychological measures optional
- still to learn apply psychological intervention strategies required
- optional, not held apply clinical psychological treatment optional
- optional, not held provide clinical psychological support in crisis situations optional
- optional, not held provide clinical psychological counselling optional
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
- still to learn assist psychologist required
- optional, not held provide clinical psychological assessment optional
- optional, not held provide clinical psychological expert opinions optional
- still to learn diagnosis of mental health issues required
- still to learn decide upon a psychotherapeutic approach required
- optional, not held clinical psychological treatment optional
- optional, not held human psychological development optional
- optional, not held paediatric psychology optional
- optional, not held cognitive psychology optional
- optional, not held developmental psychology optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an assistant clinical psychologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assist psychologist practise this
- 02 apply psychological intervention strategies practise this
- 03 assess the patient's therapeutic needs practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 32 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held assess healthcare users' risk for harm skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held conduct psychological assessement skill
- already held evaluation of psychological performance knowledge
- already held psychiatry knowledge
- already held psychological concepts knowledge
- already held psychological diagnostics knowledge
- already held psychological interventions knowledge
- already held psychology knowledge
- already held therapy in health care knowledge
- already held work with patterns of psychological behaviour skill
- already held analyse psychological aspects of illness skill
- already held clinical reports knowledge
- already held consultation knowledge
- already held counsel clients skill
- already held diagnose psychiatric symptoms skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held evaluate psychological health measures skill
- already held first aid knowledge
- already held formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy skill
- already held health psychology knowledge
- already held interpret psychological tests skill
- already held prescribe psychotherapeutic treatment skill
- already held provide health psychological advice skill
- already held provide health psychological analysis skill
- already held provide health psychological concepts skill
- already held provide health psychological diagnosis skill
- already held provide health psychological treatment advice skill
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held carry out neuropsychological testing optional
- optional, not held apply clinical psychological treatment optional
- optional, not held clinical psychological treatment optional
- optional, not held evaluate clinical psychological measures optional
- optional, not held human psychological development optional
- optional, not held paediatric psychology optional
- optional, not held provide clinical psychological assessment optional
- optional, not held provide clinical psychological expert opinions optional
- optional, not held provide clinical psychological support in crisis situations optional
- optional, not held cognitive psychology optional
- optional, not held developmental psychology optional
- optional, not held provide clinical psychological counselling optional
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
62 held skills the assistant clinical psychologist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- not needed by the target role advise on mental health skill
- not needed by the target role advise policy makers in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role analyse health damaging behaviours skill
- not needed by the target role analyse large-scale data in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role analyse processes influencing health care delivery skill
- not needed by the target role apply a holistic approach in care skill
- not needed by the target role apply caseload management skill
- not needed by the target role apply health psychological measures skill
- not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role conditions for professional practice of health psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role contribute to continuity of health care skill
- not needed by the target role counselling methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role crisis intervention knowledge
- not needed by the target role deal with emergency care situations skill
- not needed by the target role develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose mental disorders skill
- not needed by the target role educate on the prevention of illness skill
- not needed by the target role emergency psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role employ cognitive behaviour treatment techniques skill
- not needed by the target role encourage healthy behaviours skill
- not needed by the target role ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role experimental psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role health care occupation-specific ethics knowledge
- not needed by the target role help healthcare users develop social perceptiveness skill
- not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role manage health promotion activities skill
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
- not needed by the target role neurology knowledge
- not needed by the target role occupational health knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform therapy sessions skill
- not needed by the target role promote inclusion skill
- not needed by the target role promote psycho-social education skill
- not needed by the target role provide health counselling skill
- not needed by the target role provide health education skill
- not needed by the target role provide psychological health assessment strategies skill
- not needed by the target role provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health skill
22 further entries not listed here
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn diagnosis of mental health issues required
- optional, not held clinical psychological treatment optional
- optional, not held human psychological development optional
- optional, not held paediatric psychology optional
- optional, not held cognitive psychology optional
- optional, not held developmental psychology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a health psychologist become an assistant clinical psychologist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A health psychologist already covers 64% of what an assistant clinical psychologist is expected to do: 32 skills carry over, 15 of which the assistant clinical psychologist role treats as required.
What skills does a health psychologist need to become an assistant clinical psychologist?
7 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is assist psychologist.
How hard is the move from health psychologist to assistant clinical psychologist?
Its learning distance is 45.8 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.