Health psychologist to clinical psychologist
A health psychologist already meets 62% of what the clinical psychologist role asks for. The move turns on 37 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.7/ 100
1 How much of what a 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 clinical psychologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A clinical psychologist role treats 62 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
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply organisational techniques
- assess healthcare users' risk for harm
What stands in the way is 37 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 72 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A 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 emergency psychology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held psychological healthcare services social sciences, journalism and information
- already held help healthcare users develop social perceptiveness communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held promote psycho-social education communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held psychosomatics social sciences, journalism and information
- already held assess healthcare users' risk for harm information skills
All 72 carried skills, including the 62 the clinical psychologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 48 missing skills fall into 8 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 provide psychological interventions to chronically ill persons required
- still to learn apply clinical psychological treatment required
- still to learn apply psychological intervention strategies required
- still to learn handle patient trauma required
- still to learn organise relapse prevention required
- still to learn provide a psychotherapeutic environment required
- still to learn provide clinical psychological support in crisis situations required
- still to learn refer healthcare users required
- still to learn use psychotherapeutic interventions required
- still to learn work on psychosomatic issues required
- still to learn provide clinical psychological counselling required
- optional, not held apply hypno-psychotherapy optional
- optional, not held apply psychoanalysis optional
- optional, not held apply systemic therapy optional
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- still to learn provide strategies of differential diagnosis required
- still to learn carry out psychiatric assessment of child required
- still to learn evaluate clinical psychological measures required
- still to learn identify mental health issues required
- still to learn monitor therapeutic progress required
- still to learn record healthcare users' progress related to treatment required
- still to learn record the outcome of psychotherapy required
- still to learn conduct psychological research required
- still to learn manage psychotherapeutic relationships required
- still to learn provide clinical psychological assessment required
- still to learn provide clinical psychological expert opinions required
- still to learn use psychoeducation required
- still to learn provide testimony in court hearings required
- optional, not held conduct forensic evaluations optional
- optional, not held provide clinical advice to team members optional
- optional, not held work with healthcare users under medication optional
- optional, not held work with healthcare users' social network optional
- still to learn expert services in clinical psychology required
- still to learn clinical psychological treatment required
- still to learn conditions for professional practice of clinical psychology required
- still to learn creation of clinical psychological opinions required
- still to learn history of patient's psychotherapeutic problems required
- still to learn methods of differential diagnosis required
- still to learn diagnosis of mental health issues required
- still to learn multi-professional cooperation in health care required
- still to learn primary care required
- optional, not held clinical social work optional
- optional, not held forensic psychiatry optional
- optional, not held neuroscience optional
- still to learn decide upon a psychotherapeutic approach required
- still to learn promote mental health required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a clinical psychologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 expert services in clinical psychology study this
- 02 methods of differential diagnosis study this
- 03 provide psychological interventions to chronically ill persons 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 72 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held assess healthcare users' risk for harm skill
- already held clinical reports knowledge
- 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 consultation knowledge
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held counsel clients skill
- already held counselling methods knowledge
- already held crisis intervention knowledge
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held diagnose mental disorders skill
- already held diagnose psychiatric symptoms skill
- already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
- already held emergency psychology knowledge
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held employ cognitive behaviour treatment techniques skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held evaluation of psychological performance knowledge
- already held first aid knowledge
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy skill
- already held health care occupation-specific ethics knowledge
- already held health psychology knowledge
- already held help healthcare users develop social perceptiveness skill
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held interpret psychological tests skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held neurology knowledge
- already held perform therapy sessions skill
- already held prescribe psychotherapeutic treatment skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held promote psycho-social education skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held psychiatry knowledge
- already held psychological diagnostics knowledge
- already held psychological healthcare services knowledge
- already held psychological interventions knowledge
- already held psychological treatment measures knowledge
- already held psychology knowledge
- already held psychopathology knowledge
- already held psychopharmacology knowledge
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held respond to healthcare users' extreme emotions skill
- already held support patients to understand their conditions skill
- already held test for behavioural patterns skill
- already held test for emotional patterns skill
- already held therapy in health care knowledge
- already held use clinical assessment techniques skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held use techniques to increase patients' motivation skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held work with patterns of psychological behaviour skill
- already held apply caseload management skill
- already held experimental psychology knowledge
- already held occupational health knowledge
- already held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health skill
- already held psychosomatics knowledge
- already held research design knowledge
- already held sexual disorders knowledge
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
- already held work on the effects of abuse skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn drug interaction management required
- still to learn scientific literature required
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply hypno-psychotherapy optional
- optional, not held apply psychoanalysis optional
- optional, not held apply systemic therapy optional
- optional, not held clinical social work optional
- optional, not held conduct forensic evaluations optional
- optional, not held forensic psychiatry optional
- optional, not held neuroscience optional
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- optional, not held provide clinical advice to team members optional
- optional, not held work with healthcare users under medication optional
- optional, not held work with healthcare users' social network optional
22 held skills the clinical psychologist role does not ask for
- 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 analyse psychological aspects of illness skill
- not needed by the target role apply a holistic approach in care skill
- not needed by the target role apply health psychological measures skill
- not needed by the target role conditions for professional practice of health psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role encourage healthy behaviours skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate psychological health measures skill
- not needed by the target role manage health promotion activities skill
- not needed by the target role provide health counselling skill
- not needed by the target role provide health psychological advice skill
- not needed by the target role provide health psychological analysis skill
- not needed by the target role provide health psychological concepts skill
- not needed by the target role provide health psychological diagnosis skill
- not needed by the target role provide health psychological treatment advice skill
- not needed by the target role provide psychological health assessment strategies skill
- not needed by the target role psychological concepts knowledge
- not needed by the target role psychological counselling methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role psychological measures in working with other health care professionals knowledge
14 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 expert services in clinical psychology required
- still to learn methods of differential diagnosis required
- still to learn clinical psychological treatment required
- still to learn conditions for professional practice of clinical psychology required
- still to learn creation of clinical psychological opinions required
- still to learn diagnosis of mental health issues required
- still to learn drug interaction management required
- still to learn history of patient's psychotherapeutic problems required
- still to learn multi-professional cooperation in health care required
- still to learn primary care required
- still to learn scientific literature required
- optional, not held clinical social work optional
- optional, not held forensic psychiatry optional
- optional, not held neuroscience optional
Common questions about this move
Can a health psychologist become a clinical psychologist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A health psychologist already covers 62% of what a clinical psychologist is expected to do: 72 skills carry over, 62 of which the clinical psychologist role treats as required.
What skills does a health psychologist need to become a clinical psychologist?
37 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is expert services in clinical psychology.
How hard is the move from health psychologist to clinical psychologist?
Its learning distance is 61.7 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.