Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology is about helping people understand and reduce emotional distress, and supporting them to improve their wellbeing and quality of life.
Clinical psychologists work with individuals, families, and groups, using a range of approaches to help make sense of difficulties and to find ways forward that feel manageable and meaningful.
Assessment in Clinical Psychology
Assessment is an important part of clinical psychology. It involves taking time to understand the nature of the difficulties someone is experiencing, what may have contributed to them, and how they are affecting daily life.
This usually includes a combination of:
- Talking together in depth about your experiences;
- Using structured interviews or observations where helpful;
- Questionnaires, when these add useful information.
Assessment is not about judging or labelling, but about building a clear and shared understanding of what is going on.
Intervention and Support
Based on this understanding, clinical psychologists work collaboratively with clients to offer appropriate support.
Interventions may focus on helping to:
- Reduce emotional distress;
- Address unhelpful patterns of thinking or behaviour;
- Build skills and coping strategies;
- Improve wellbeing and resilience.
Examples of approaches used include psychotherapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), and skills-based training and interventions. The specific approach used will always depend on the individual and their needs.
Qualifications and Professional Standards
Clinical psychologists undertake extensive training. They complete an honours degree in psychology, followed by several years of supervised clinical
experience, perhaps as a researcher or Assistant Psychologist, and then complete their postgraduate training in clinical psychology.
More recently, this postgraduate training has taken the form of a Doctoral qualification. Clinical psychologists who completed their training after this change may hold the title Doctor of Clinical Psychology (D.Clin.Psychol).
All psychologists at Wiltshire Psychology Service are Chartered Clinical Psychologists (C.Psychol). This means their qualifications, training, and professional standards are recognised and verified by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Chartership is renewed annually and requires ongoing professional development, ensuring skills and knowledge are continually refined and remain up to date.
In addition, all of our psychologists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The HCPC is the
statutory regulatory body that protects the public by ensuring psychologists meet strict standards for training, professional practice, conduct, and health.
