CPA accreditation with UK degree?

[EPC]

 I am a Canadian heading off to the UK to study the Existential approach because there aren't any schools here devoted to it and there are two training schools specifically devoted to it in London (Regents University London and The New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling). 

Degrees in the UK are set up differently and one can enter an MA program without prior psych training (my BA and MA are in literature). The MA at Regents is 4 years. The school's DPsych is 3 years but one must have a BA Psych to enter (or have done an MSc conversion program -- also a UK exclusive). 

In the UK it seems to make sense that MA and PsyD programs are the same length and same intensity because therapists and psychologists charge the same amount of money and do the same jobs there.

My intent is to return home to BC to work. The BC Psychological Society's website is vague about what international degrees they'll accept and just says doing a CPA/APA accredited program is your safest bet. 

I'm worried about picking the wrong route and not being able to be registered here -- I'd be spending a ridiculous sum of money on a 5 year degree only to find out I'd have to register as a counsellor instead and charge half as much per session alongside people who potentially did a 1-year online certificate.

My plan is to do an MSc Psychology this fall (already enrolled at Regents) and then do a DPsych starting in 2018. I'd graduate as a Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and my hope would be that the BC college would accept that.

If I could avoid doing the MSc and just do the 4-year MA program instead, though, that'd be more up my ally. I'm just worried that the BC  college wouldn't accept an MA even if it is twice as long as MAs here.

Any thoughts? 

[1%learnings]

hey! thanks for your post! could you please answer these questions as effectively as you can so that the best answer may be given?

* what are your goals?

* what exactly is your question?

* what exactly is the problem?

* what are the facts i should know?

* what research have you done so far on your question?

 

remember to bold anything important -- like your question

Edited June 18, 2017 by 1%learnings

[mattis]

On 6/18/2017 at 4:11 AM, EPC said:

 I am a Canadian heading off to the UK to study the Existential approach because there aren't any schools here devoted to it and there are two training schools specifically devoted to it in London (Regents University London and The New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling). 

Degrees in the UK are set up differently and one can enter an MA program without prior psych training (my BA and MA are in literature). The MA at Regents is 4 years. The school's DPsych is 3 years but one must have a BA Psych to enter (or have done an MSc conversion program -- also a UK exclusive). 

In the UK it seems to make sense that MA and PsyD programs are the same length and same intensity because therapists and psychologists charge the same amount of money and do the same jobs there.

My intent is to return home to BC to work. The BC Psychological Society's website is vague about what international degrees they'll accept and just says doing a CPA/APA accredited program is your safest bet. 

I'm worried about picking the wrong route and not being able to be registered here -- I'd be spending a ridiculous sum of money on a 5 year degree only to find out I'd have to register as a counsellor instead and charge half as much per session alongside people who potentially did a 1-year online certificate.

My plan is to do an MSc Psychology this fall (already enrolled at Regents) and then do a DPsych starting in 2018. I'd graduate as a Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and my hope would be that the BC college would accept that.

If I could avoid doing the MSc and just do the 4-year MA program instead, though, that'd be more up my ally. I'm just worried that the BC  college wouldn't accept an MA even if it is twice as long as MAs here.

Any thoughts? 

I would strongly consider contacting someone at the BC board with these specific questions based on the programs you're attending and see if they can provide any guidance for your case specifically. Especially if you want to do the MA. It wouldn't be a great feeling if the College viewed it as a North American MA and then you're unable to be licensed in BC.

[spunky]

Take this advice with a grain of salt because it’s of a second-hand source and about 3-4 years old (but it does seem to pop up very often). I used to tutor statistics to 2 ladies who got their PhDs in the UK (one from Leeds, one from Edinburgh) and both of them were re-doing their studies and getting MAs in Counselling Psychology at UBC because they just couldn’t cut through the red-tape and ended up giving up. From what I remember they explained to me, it was not like the requirements were impossible but mostly the overall lack of direction. Emails and phone calls that would go unanswered, the classic issue of going to person’s X office and inquiring, just to be directed to person Y who says person X is in charge of this, etc. Overall it seemed like nobody knew what to do and nobody really cared to help out. Eventually they gave up and resorted to becoming counsellors (and still needed to go back to school for that) because counselling in BC is less regulated. I do remember that the lady from Leeds kept pushing through a little bit more centred on the issue that they wanted her to have supervised hours in BC before she could be accredited. But it seems like most people are busy supervising their own doctoral students or other’s doctoral students. So, unfortunately, months or years could go by before a spot opens up for someone from the “outside”, and you also need to take into account that (a) they may not want to take you in and (b) you need live close to the person who is supervising you.

 

In my experience doing research with other people and hearing their own horror stories, it seems like if you’re going to work in some sort of health-related field (at least here in BC) your best options are either to study close where you plan on living because you’ll need those connections to get you “in the system” or make sure you know someone high enough that can get you “in the system”.

[EPC]

Thanks for the input.

Although Spunky I'm disappointed to hear that. I wonder why the hours would be any different here? Maybe their program required less hours than the college requires for registrants?

So far the BC College does seem pretty unhelpful and vague. They state on the website that they will not give out advice about non CPA/APA programs and they suggest getting an accreditation service (or whatever they're called) to look at the international degrees and determine if they're equivalent before applying. 

I don't know that that's even possible before I have the degree, and if it's possible to get them to look at a few different options.

I did ask my own therapist and she said it is a total crap shoot with accreditation with the college. Although somehow she is an RPsych with only an MA so I'm not sure how she swung that?... she did suggest I go for the DPsych, though, as it would be more likely to transfer to Canada (and elsewhere). 

It is terrifying embarking on this without being sure, though. I wouldn't want to be stuck in the boat that those other UK grads were and have to register as a counsellor. It seems like the counselling regulations are pretty lax and some of the counsellors around here have done online certificate programs from sketchy schools - I wouldn't want to be lumped in with those counsellors after getting a doctorate!

[EPC]

Wanted to add:

I have been wondering how important it is to study at a school that follows a specific approach or to get supervision from a therapist who uses that approach. Although obviously I'm not in school yet so it's possible my opinions are out to lunch, I feel pretty strongly about the value and importance of the Existential approach compared to others that I've read about (although I haven't experienced them). That is why I'm going to the UK instead of staying here in BC. But is it possible to explore ones own approach to therapy even if the school focuses on a different approach? How much influence does the training program have over that type of thing? 

My understanding is that programs here tend to be heavy on CBT.