Health Psychology is the practice and application of psychological research into behaviour relevant to health, illness and healthcare.
What qualifications in Health Psychology does the Society offer?
There are currently two qualifications in Health Psychology:
The Stage 1 Qualification in Health Psychology provides the necessary underpinning knowledge (equivalent to an MSc, and the alternative route to gaining Stage 1 for those who are unable to undertake a Society-accredited MSc in health psychology)
The Stage 2 Qualification in Health Psychology consists of structured and assessed supervised practice and the demonstration of competence in Health Psychology through written assignments, supervisors reports and oral examination (2yrs minimum-4yrs maximum). This is the alternative route to completing Stage 2 training for those who are unable to attend a Society-accredited doctoral programme in health psychology.
Completion of both stages confers eligibility to apply to the Health Professions Council (HPC) for registration as a health psychologist.
How can I find out more about these qualifications?
To find out more about the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Qualifications, you may find it helpful to visit the Downloads webpage, where you can download many useful documents such as the current Candidate Handbook.
When do I need to register for Stage 1?
Please note that January 2010 will be the final diet of Stage 1 examinations as
the Stage 1 Qualification is being withdrawn after this date. All candidates for the written examinations
must register no later than 1 October 2009. Further dates can be found in the Candidate Handbook for the Stage 1 Qualification, section 10. After January 2010, candidates wishing to complete Stage 1 will need to undertake
an accredited MSc course.
What is the status of the Stage 2 Qualification?
The
Board of Assessors in Health Psychology is currently revising the regulations
for the Society’s Stage 2 Qualification in Health Psychology, which is the
"independent route" to eligibility for Registration as a Chartered Health
Psychologist, with a view to launch the new Stage 2 Qualification in Autumn
2009. It is expected that many
candidates will want to transfer to the new Qualification when it launches, and
transfer procedures are currently being drawn up for those who wish to transfer.
The
work and time involved in drawing up a plan of training in conjunction with the
supervisor is substantial and the candidate could incur significant costs
during this process. For someone who
might embark on this process over the next few months and then request to
transfer to the new Stage 2 Qualification in Autumn 2009, the combined process
of enrolment and transfer would be very protracted and potentially quite
costly. The Board of Assessors has
therefore agreed to temporarily close the current Stage 2 Qualification to new enrolments only until launch of
the new Stage 2 Qualification later in the year. All candidates who are already enrolled for
the Stage 2 Qualification remain unaffected and will be informed of transfer
procedures to the new Qualification in due course.
Who is the Society qualification for?
Candidates for the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Qualifications must have the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the Society before enrolling on the qualification, and will usually be working in a health setting.
IMPORTANT: The information on this page may change when statutory regulation
for practitioner psychologists is introduced (1 July 2009). Please note that
while most of the general information is likely to apply post statutory
regulation, the continued validity of specific information cannot be
guaranteed. In particular, visitors to our webpages should note that changes to
the terminology used in the Society’s membership structure (e.g. Chartered
Membership, instead of registration as a Chartered Psychologist; Graduate Basis
for Chartered Membership, instead of Graduate Basis for Registration) remain
subject to formal ratification and may therefore change. Visitors should also
note that whilst the specific information on these pages is accurate at the
time of writing, the validity of information contained within any linked
documents cannot be guaranteed.
The Qualifications Team is currently updating documentation
relating to Society Qualifications to reflect these changes and revised
versions will be uploaded to the Qualifications webpages as soon as they are
available. Please contact the Qualifications Team with any queries.