In this episode of The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast, we explore the realities of life after qualifying as a clinical psychologist. I’m joined by trainee clinical psychologist Taniya Wellmillage, and together we discuss job uncertainty, unemployment after qualification, fixed-term contracts, stigma, and the emotional impact of moving from trainee security into an unpredictable job market. I share my own experience of signing on after qualifying, and we explore NHS versus private practice, moral injury, imposter syndrome, and the pressure to appear successful. This episode is essential listening for trainee and newly qualified clinical psychologists, and for anyone wanting an honest, compassionate insight into post-DClinPsy life.

Timestamps

1. 00:00 – The myth that qualification guarantees a job
2. 01:41 – The bittersweet reality of finishing training
3. 03:18 – Being unemployed and signing on after qualifying
4. 04:42 – Stigma, shame, and fear around not having work
5. 05:31 – Fixed-term contracts and the shock of losing security
6. 06:14 – Course expansion, funding, and job availability
7. 07:23 – The false promise of the training “ladder”
8. 08:06 – Competing roles and widening applicant pools
9. 09:09 – Part-time posts and juggling multiple jobs
10. 10:25 – Private practice as necessity, not choice
11. 11:38 – Anxiety about going independent too soon
12. 12:10 – First qualified posts and clinical responsibility
13. 14:09 – Why support matters after qualification
14. 21:03 – Reclaiming identity, interests, and values post-training

Links:

📲 Connect with Taniya Wellmillage here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniya-w-8a010a169/

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💡 To check out or join the aspiring psychologist membership for just £30 per month head to: https://www.goodthinkingpsychology.co.uk/membership-interested

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📱Connect socially with Marianne and check out ways to work with her, including the Aspiring Psychologist Book, Clinical Psychologist book and The Aspiring Psychologist Membership on her Link tree: https://linktr.ee/drmariannetrent

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For three years, trainee psychologists believe they're climbing a ladder that leads straight to a qualified post. But in reality, that ladder can stop abruptly. You might step off into a job market where roles are scarce, jobs are part-time, and some psychologists even find themselves signing on at the job centre, not because they aren't skilled, but because the system really isn't designed for this. Today, we are pulling back the curtain on what it's really like at this stage from someone who's living it right now as an end stage trainee and someone who's been through it already as a qualified clinician. If you want the truth about what it's like to jump from trainee to qualified, this is the episode for you. And if you find it helpful, please do like and subscribe for more. Hi, welcome along to the podcast. I'm Dr. Mariana, qualified clinical psychologist, and today I'm welcoming back Taniya Wellmilligage to the podcast.

Hello again, Taniya.

Hi, Marianne. Thank you for inviting me back for another one. So yeah, looking forward to speaking today.

Absolutely. And we really wanted to think about what it's like when you are nearing the end of training, or maybe even when you've qualified and then you are having to apply for jobs, which may or may not be there. Certainly in my own experience in 2011, they were not there. Of a cohort of 16 when we qualified, I think three of us had jobs to go to when the course ended, and I was not one of those people. How is the landscape looking currently, Taniya?

Yeah. So from my ... And I guess this is all through my own experience as a trainee and coming towards the end of it and in third year, it's quite bittersweet because like you said, coming towards an end, the end is in slight. We're kind of looking forward to finishing, qualifying, not having the pressure of the course and the thesis on us anymore. But then also that means that then we go into the real world and kind of go into qualified life and stepping into a job. And I think if three years ago someone said that you might struggle to find a job as a qualified psychologist, maybe that would make me think a little bit before. I'd have maybe a few more conversations and think about employment prospects post qualifying. So I think that's something that myself and my fellow trainees and trainees in third year and other universities are having conversations about is the availability of those jobs because our friends in cohorts above us have struggled a little bit to find employment and secure a job.

Sometimes it's possible to do that in your last placement to secure a job. And as you mentioned, you had three trainees in your cohort that were able to do that. But for others, we're talking a couple of months of interviewing and kind of going through the process, and that can be really tricky and a little bit anxiety provoking. If we have other commitments like children or mortgages to pay other responsibilities that mean that being out of work for an extended period of time is very tricky and costly.

Yeah. And something I did not envisage in my very newly qualified doctor days was joining the queue at the job centre and going and signing on, having to do certain job seeking responsibilities every week and going physically to the job centre to have meetings and be able to claim that money. And for me, it was important that I did do that because I didn't know how long I was going to be unemployed. And I wanted my kind of national insurance stamps to kind of show the system that I was still existing. And yeah, it was interesting conversations to have with people in the job centre when they're like, oh, you could apply for this, you could apply for that. And it's like, I know the jobs are coming. Just give me a little bit more time. Yes, I know I could potentially go and apply to ALDI, but I don't think I'm quite at that stage yet.

I really would like to just look for qualified psych jobs and please just allow me a little bit more time. Yeah. So please de- shame that process. If you are out of work, a fixed term contract has ended, there are benefits available, but yes, certainly not what I expected.

Yeah. Thank you, Marianne, for sharing that because I think there is a bit of a stigma around it. It's like, "Oh, do you have something lined up? Have you done your interviews?" And maybe if people feel like they might need to pivot around psychology for a short time or to think about alternative options, yeah, there may be a little bit of stigma around that. And I think, like you said, the training is a fixed term contract and it's been three years of obviously a lot of change, but in some ways a lot of consistency because we knew for the next three years we'd be on a fixed term contract. It's a salary job, we would get paid every month. And so there was security in that over the last three years. And arguably before that, in assistant psychology post or RA posts, there is that consistency.

And to training, it's like a step ladder and you're kind of going up that. And when you get to the top, it's like, well, I imagine it's going to keep going, but unexpectedly you might not see that next bit. And I think that does cause a little bit of anxiety. And so yeah, I mean, we were speaking a little bit about how courses are increasing and how it can be difficult, I guess, with funding through the NHS to fund more positions for qualified psychologists. So I guess that's something to think about as well. I mean, we're a cohort of 56 now, so I'm not sure if there'll be 56 jobs in London, but it's those kinds of conversations that we're having at the moment.

Yeah. And of course you're not the only London course. And what we often forget is that other qualified psychologists might have applied last year and might be looking to apply for those jobs as well. And of course, if they've got a one-year post-qualification experience, they might be more likely to get that job. So you're not necessarily just competing with your cohort. It's an open market. And yeah, we had a little look before we started recording at the clearinghouse data for how course places have changed over the years. And when I trained, there was 15 of us. And it's interesting that actually, even though the numbers have gone up over time, currently they're at 15 again, the course that I trained with and your course has got much bigger and then has come back down again to 56. And it's sustainability. So I think they do try and predict and plan, but I think a lot of that is, it feels like it's more linked to budgets, how much money they've got to be able to train psychologists rather than necessarily looking at job forecasting.

And yeah, it's really hard because I think you kind of think, "Oh, well, I've taken lower paid work to be able to get onto the doctorate." And maybe it's this naive hope or trust in the system that you'll be looked after ultimately or eventually. And then when you get qualified, you will have a job. But yeah, getting a trainee psychologist role is not a guarantee of employment. It's hopefully that if you jump through all the right hoops, it's a guarantee that you'll come out the other end as a qualified psych, the rest is not promised.

Yeah, totally. And I think something that we're finding more is, as we've been saying, that the courses have been increasing, but also posts have become more broader in terms of what they're looking for. So you might have in one job advertisement, clinical or counselling psychologist or clinical or counselling or practitioner or CBT therapist. So it's like the pool becomes bigger as well. And so not only are you kind of competing against other trainees, but also qualified psychologists, there are other practitioner psychologists who fall under that. And so there's a lot more to it than maybe rounds of interviews. I don't know. I'm not sure how they do that now. And also a lot of positions being part-time can cause a lot of strain on the individual if they're having to juggle more than one job. Or I know a friend of a friend is working two NHS posts part-time and doing private work because they've recently just bought a house.

So it's like having to juggle all of those things maybe wasn't something that we'd anticipated prior to applying and doing the training. So yeah, it's kind of opening up this whole other world of post-qualified life and I think it's causing a bit of anxiety.

Yeah. And private practise always used to be something that you probably perhaps thought about starting as you were winding down to semi-retire maybe. And that's not the case these days for sure. And maybe it was never the case that might've just been my own assumption. But yeah, I think for my own imposter syndrome, I didn't start my private practise until 2019 and I'd qualified in 2011. So I definitely felt like I needed some qualified years under my belt. Even then, I still had this imposter syndrome about doing that with eight years post qualification experience and I'd also become a mother during those times. So I felt like I'd kind of learned about very new and different ways of understanding psychology in the real world as well. But yeah, people are having to think about private practise as a way of primarily paying the bills. And this is not necessarily a free choice.

When I started training, I hand on heart would've said, "I will be working for the NHS until I retire."That is what I thought I would be doing. That is not what has happened at all. So it's having to make different choices than that which we thought to be able to live our lives.

Yeah, totally. And I think there is this kind of moral injury when we think about the NHS and private practise. And I mean, this can be a whole conversation in itself, isn't it? But yeah, and I think the anxiety also is from a trainee perspective through some of the conversations that I've had of going into it too early. I know you mentioned you spent eight years in the NHS before considering private work. And I've heard that people are one year in post-qualified and have already started their own practise or renting rooms in London for their own private practise. So yeah, I think that causes me a bit of anxiety because I'm like, wait a minute, this is my fourth placement and so I've had a taste of this job role in four different places, but is that enough? And it's not qualified case role that I've been doing.

I've been doing a trainee cases and caseload. Am I confident enough? Do I feel like I need more support? I'm going to miss that from the NHS, that supervision, the kind of clinicians coming together, the MDT, like there's a lot of valuable things there that maybe so early on to leave and to move and become more independent again is maybe a bit daunting, but I do appreciate that some people might be in that position as well if it feels like there aren't as many jobs going around.

Yeah, absolutely. This isn't an ideal scenario. And I definitely learned so much from my first qualified post about being qualified and about being a clinical psychologist within that team and finding my feet, finding them quite quickly, I have to say, because they definitely wanted me to be up and running. There wasn't this kid gloves that actually at the time I thought I needed, but actually I don't think I did. They were like, "Amazing. We've wanted someone in this role for so long. We're delighted to have you. Off you go. " And that was probably quite empowering actually because it kind of like, oh, okay, they see me as competent and ready and able to do this rather than ... It's not like ... So my experience when I came back from bereavement leave after my dad died is that yes, I was given a slower pace.

I was more thought given about my capacity and what I could give and what would be maybe a bit too much. It's not like that when you're qualified, that it wasn't like that. And that's what I thought I wanted, but in hindsight, I didn't get that and I'm glad I didn't, because that would have fed into the narrative that I couldn't do it. But that said, whilst I might never have applied for that job that I did get and was in for almost four years, if there'd been more jobs available closer to home, so glad I did that work. I loved it. I love, love, loved it. I learned so much and it was ... Yeah, I think back very fondly to those times working in those two services because it was split posts. But yeah, I definitely am pleased that I didn't go straight into private practise because there's something about holding a clinical caseload as a qualified member of staff that did take a bit of adjusting, I would say.

Suddenly, when you're signing your name and you have clinical responsibility, I definitely felt like I needed some support leaning into that aspect. And had I just been trying to set up my business, do all of those things, think about referral, think about marketing and holding clinical responsibility and working out what was okay for private practise and what wasn't and what needed bumping up. For me personally, that would have been a stretch too far. So I'm very pleased that I had that period of employed life to be able to allow me to make that transition. Have you got any thoughts on that, Taniya?

Yeah. It just reminded me of this lecturer that came into our university a couple of weeks ago and I think she worked inpatient and I think she said that when she qualified, she was the only psychologist in the trust and it's a trust towards the south of the country and we were all shocked. We were all like, "How?" Her supervisor was not in the trust. They had to externally hire a supervisor and kind of pay for that through the NHS. And she'd been in that role since she qualified and she's still in that role. And it really is amazing because I think she's doing such amazing work and clearly so needed in inpatient setting. And I remember she said when she qualified, she thought, "I've got a job, so that's great. I'm going into inpatient. I don't have that experience." Or like she didn't feel like her placements were that relevant to her qualified role, but she kind of said that's okay.

So she took up private work almost as a way to top up her experiences, which was the first time I heard of that, which was really interesting because she said, "Well, I've never really done OCD during my placements. So let me just privately work to find an OCD client to kind of explore that, gain that to a certain competent level, understand how to deliver the intervention." And so when it comes to in my inpatient work, I know how to do that and it doesn't feel like it's first time round, which I found really interesting. So I didn't think that the private work could also supplement some of the things that you wouldn't necessarily get in certain qualified NHS posts to kind of boost up your experience.

Yeah, that is interesting. And I think I tend to only work with people using the skillset that I had in the NHS or I might've done some additional training, but it's certainly in those areas that the passion was ignited for me in my kind of client work in the NHS. But yeah, imagine being the only psychologist. Oh, I think I'd find that quite lonely. I really enjoyed our kind of wider psychology kind of away days and events where we could all be inspired by one another's practise and eat biscuits. And yeah, I definitely like the energy of being around other people. And I guess this is why I've curated this aspiring psych community really in the membership. I like learning from others and being inspired by others. I think I would find it quite difficult to be the only. Yeah. Not something I've considered.

Yeah, definitely. And I think there is, we kind of spoke about having that bond as trainees, but also I think under the NHS, you do have that kind of shared identity. And if it is going on away days or just even now we're thinking about planning our Christmas due, like these are like things that you'd get in the NHS, which obviously we do pay for. It doesn't get funded. We don't have the money for that. But if there is something in that, I guess in that struggle of working things out in the NHS that really ties you together, which is really nice that maybe you wouldn't have to have or you have to kind of curate a little bit more in private work for sure.

Yeah, we definitely do have to fund it all ourselves. And it's reminded me of a post I saw on social media the other day, I don't know if you saw it. Someone was celebrating their long service award. It was either 30 years or 50 years in the NHS and they'd been given a little plastic window, little plastic cellophane bag with a single circular tea bag in it. And it said, "Thank you for your 50 years of service or 30 years of service," whatever it was, "Here's a little treat." And it's like, never more have I remembered what it's like to work for the NHS than that gift. And to someone who's worked in corporate industry where you get your choice of sparkling drinks or a lovely coffee machine and this, that and the other, and would you like some whipped cream on that? Yeah, never more has there been a stark comparison of, "Oh yeah, I get it.

I remember."

Yeah, totally. That's hilarious. And yeah, it just made me think about how at this stage we are also thinking about where we want to be, if that's in the NHS or if we're thinking about private work at some point and just pulling upon our interests. So maybe if I could, yes, I think the next thing I wanted to maybe just mention is how, again, that kind of reframe on this situation about trainees figuring out what they like and what they don't like in terms of clinical work and how that can inform what they do. Yeah, I think that's sort of-

Yeah, absolutely. Are there any kind of last reflections or things we could consider before we finish today, Taniya?

Yeah. I guess I've been thinking a little bit about, again, a positive reframe about this kind of situation with post qualifying options for us trainees. And I guess placement is a good time where we can figure out what it is we like and don't like. And for some of us, me included, I think having such varied placement experiences, I'm not quite sure where I'd want to go to be qualified, but I think I've realised that that's okay and I can use qualified life as an opportunity to kind of explore that a little bit more. But it's also leaning into interests. And so over training, I've been becoming more and more interested in yoga and I've been maybe thinking about if I could integrate that into therapy and do a yoga therapy course or do yoga teacher training and see how that can inform clinical practise or kind of vice versa.

I have a really good friend who's an artist and so she's thinking a little bit about integrating art into her work or doing any extra training. So I think although we have this training that kind of gears us up to a certain level, we are still humans, we are still individual, we have our interests. And so maybe now that we're thinking about post qualified options, we're thinking how can we become individuals again? How can we find that route that we want to take individually as well as having the back of being clinical psychologist, but integrating some of those things. And I've also found that LinkedIn has been really helpful to speak about some of those things and kind of enter into a world of networking and trying to find kind of like- minded people, people who align with those interests. And I think that's really helpful maybe thinking about post-qualified options and building that network and finding certain opportunities.

So I think LinkedIn has been helpful and that's also how we got introduced. So I think helpful in many ways.

Absolutely. I love LinkedIn. And at the time of recording, I think I'm about 19 and a half thousand connections on there. So I really do love the variety of conversations. And we've also, just yesterday, I've recorded an episode entirely on using LinkedIn as a kind of psychology and mental health professional. So yeah, if people are like LinkedIn, really, do listen out for that one. Taniya, I've loved our conversation. It's been so useful to think about what this evolving landscape of kind of qualified life looks like right now. Thank you for your thoughtful time and consideration and wishing you all the best with your thesis, with the rest of your final year, and with securing a job that feels like a bit of you.

Thank you, Marianne. Yeah, it's been a pleasure speaking today and having your reflections about qualified life. So thank you. Appreciate it.

Thank you so much. Stay in touch. Take care. Thank you so much again for Taniya's time in speaking with us. Has it resonated with you? What stage of your career are you at? Let's go wild in the comments and please do let me know whether you're watching on YouTube or whether you're listening as an MP3. I love this chance to connect with you and I hope that you like being here too. If you do, please like, please subscribe, please show me your support. That really is the kindest thing you can do for any podcast or creator that you rate, and it doesn't cost you a penny. And the other day someone even said that when they're watching on YouTube, they choose to watch the adverts because they know that's their way of giving back in a way that doesn't cost them, but does help me to cover my costs to create this content for you.

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