Criminal Law vs. Criminal Psychology: How Did a Clinical Forensic Psychologist Choose?
I always thought I wanted to be a barrister. Then I realised that actually I was only interested in criminal law. Then I realised I wasn’t interested in law at all… I was interested in criminals. Rather than defending or prosecuting those who commit crime, I wanted to know why they committed the crime in the first place. This was a subtle distinction, but it is an important one that has shaped my career prospects. I wanted to learn about the psychology informing people’s actions, as opposed to the law restricting them.
I knew nothing about psychology when I realised that it interested me. My mind was set on law, and I knew lots about the application process and career progression with regards to this. So, I set about researching both psychology courses and psychology itself. This was important, as I quickly learned that the psychology courses were not what I expected. My expectations had been a degree course that focuses on mental health and specific mental illness. However, it turns out this is just clinical psychology! In fact, psychology as a degree subject is so much broader than this. It covers everything from perception (e.g. how we see in colour) to memory (e.g. where might memory be stored in the brain) to social psychology (e.g. how do interpersonal and group dynamics impact behaviour). Whilst it wasn’t what I expected, the breadth of the course drew me in and sealed the deal for me.
Thinking carefully about what my interests were, and how potential university courses aligned with them, really supported my decision in terms of what to apply for. Whilst my course was completely unrelated to criminals or forensic psychology, it lay the foundations for later specialisation. It’s important to realise before you apply for psychology that there are certain criteria set by the British Psychological Society that the course must meet to receive accreditation. This accreditation is needed to be a registered psychologist later in life. So, if you’re considering psychology, have a look at these requirements and consider if you’re interested in all aspects as nobody wants to study for a degree they are not truly fascinated by!
Once I knew I wanted to apply to Oxford, I set about finding more about what Oxford was like and the application process. I learned that Oxford has a unique tutorial style of learning, something which I was not accustomed to. Resultantly, I signed up to study days and summer schools in Oxford. This gave me an insight into tutorials and the Oxford style of teaching. It also gave me something really important to talk about in my personal statement. Moreover, this meant that I was not shocked when my interview was conducted in a similar tutorial style way. I did not study psychology at A-Level. So, I started reading around the subject. I started off with chapters in text books and I received some great advice from an Oxford graduate. They suggested that I explore new research, particularly cutting-edge research in fields of interest. This gave me a springboard for discussion in my personal statement, where I even posed some rhetorical questions relating to the research. I also used multimedia – listening to podcasts and watching videos related to psychology. This kept it fresh and interesting, as reading academic papers and book chapters can be a bit dense! I also completed an extended project qualification that was somewhat related to psychology and in particular, schizophrenia. I had never conducted independent research before, and this was something that really prepared me for the style of working at university.
My undergraduate psychology degree was in no way linked to forensic psychology, however, this was where my interests lay over and above any other aspect of psychology. So, after 3 years of completing a course where my passion was barely mentioned (albeit a very interesting one), I wanted to go and explore this passion. My interests are specifically in the intersection between mental illness (clinical psychology) and crime (forensic psychology). So, I found a course entitled ‘Clinical Forensic Psychology’ – perfect! As well as wanting to know more about forensic psychology, the field of clinical psychology is very competitive. Clinical psychology typically involves working with those who are experiencing mental health difficulties and can be applied in forensic settings (e.g. prison, secure hospitals). The training route to be a clinical psychologist involves an NHS-funded doctorate, during which you work professionally as a trainee psychologist for the NHS as well as working academically. Due to the popularity of this doctorate, even though it’s not an official entry requirement, most applicants do have a Master’s degree. As a result, I thought I’d be best positioned obtaining a masters before applying to the doctorate.
In addition to needing academic experience for the clinical psychology doctorate, practical experience is also required. The gold standard for this experience is working as an assistant psychologist, supervised by a qualified clinical psychologist. Due to the high level of competition I just mentioned, many applicants to these jobs also have a Master’s degree despite it not being an official requirement. The Master’s course I completed fortunately had a practical element, offering a two day a week placement working as a ‘student psychologist’. This gave me some much needed practical experience so that I could build my CV. So, a combination of academic curiosity and (unofficial) requirements for pursuing the next stage of my career led me to my application to my Master’s.
My research project during my Master’s was entitled ‘admission duration and violence among psychiatric inpatients with severe mental illness: gender differences’. In order to inform methods to reduce admission duration, my research investigated the impact of several variables. In a country where mental health waiting lists are long and there is a shortage of inpatient beds, it is important to understand how we can support those waiting to access services. One way of supporting such people is to streamline the inpatient admission process. That is, make the inpatient stay as short as it needs to be (whilst still being clinically meaningful). This is in the best interests of both the service user being admitted and those waiting to access services. Unnecessarily long admission durations have adverse social impacts on both the individual being admitted to psychiatric services and wider society. For example, inpatients with long admission durations may experience relationship breakdowns, lose their job and cost the government money.
Using data from 17,893 admissions to one psychiatric unit between 2009-2013, I statistically analysed the impact of gender, violence, ethnicity, marital status, homelessness, self-harm and substance misuse on admission duration. The results found that male gender predicted longer admission durations, and this may be explained by demographic and clinical variables. For example, psychotic disorder is more common in men and has been demonstrated to be associated with longer admission durations. This has wider implications with regards to how we support those with psychosis, and how we can improve community services to reduce the necessity for inpatient beds. My current research relates to a number of contemporaneous issues and it is this that makes it so fascinating and important.
Chloe’s final tips
Exploration and enquiry are paramount to academic success and following your interests. Taking things at face value, especially in psychology, is simply not conducive. Curiosity is necessary not only for personal academic success, but also for wider academic development in terms of theories and practice. Without exploration and enquiry, there would be no new developments apart from those accidentally stumbled upon. We need to explore the bigger picture as it can contextualise what we learn. Not only does this give us more to talk about in an essay, for example, but it also helps us to better understand and remember the content that we are introduced to. Critical appraisal and consideration, in the form of exploration and enquiry, is a vital skill to develop for a successful career in psychology.
By Chloe (Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford)
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Discover the routes into clinical and forensic psychology.
Host: Chloe received a 1st Class degree from Oxford in Experimental Psychology and is currently undertaking a Master's in Clinical Forensic Psychology at King's College London. Chloe's latest research, ‘admission duration and violence among psychiatric inpatients with severe mental illness: gender differences,' focuses on informing methods to reduce admission duration, investigating the impact of several variables.
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