Building experience is key to starting your career in psychology. Volunteering is a very good way to start gaining this experience while you are at Sussex. There may be part-time work opportunities, too.

Working in a supportive role with relevant client groups is the best way to gain experience for all qualifying routes. This will be particularly important to get onto clinical, educational or forensic psychology postgraduate courses.

Quality, relevance and the application of psychological knowledge may be more important than the quantity or length of experience.

Clinical and Counselling

Try volunteering with Mental Health/Brain Injury, Illness organisations. Also, befriending, teaching assistant in a special school (working with learning disabilities), care assistant/support worker (in mental health or learning disability settings), research assistant in a relevant area, graduate mental health worker, assistant psychologist (clinical) and psychological well-being practitioner.

Educational

Work with children in schools (after school clubs, homework clubs, breakfast clubs or classroom assistant), volunteer with youth organisations or vulnerable/excluded groups, work in nurseries and playgroups (voluntary, private or public sector).

Forensic

Volunteering with offender/victim organisations, prison visitor schemes, youth worker, volunteer for substance misuse organisations, volunteer for homelessness organisations, volunteer for refugee, asylum seeker and migrant groups, assistant psychologist (forensic setting).

Check CareerHub for other psychology placement opportunities: