• Question: Why would studying A level psychology be beneficial to somebody wanting to work with people who have mental health?

    Asked by anon-188762 to Nadine on 16 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Nadine Mirza

      Nadine Mirza answered on 16 Nov 2018: last edited 16 Nov 2018 10:59 am

      That’s a pretty relevant and important question.
      So to work in mental health you are most likely going to need to get an undergrad in psychology because the study of psychology is all about the human mind and behaviour, which encompasses mental health. Now, all psychology programmes in the UK are supposed to be designed to start at the very basic knowledge of psychology because it assumes not everyone would have taken the A Level. From this people assume that the A Level clearly isn’t necessary because whatever you learn during it, it’s just going to be repeated in undergrad. However, there are some clear advantages:
      -Firstly, you may want to work in mental health but not necessarily as a psychologist. There are plenty of mental health roles you can get into without a psychology degree and having that base knowledge from A Levels, which covers a wide expanse of mental health matters, would really help with that.
      -Secondly, if you are going for the psychology undergrad, it makes it so much easier to adjust if you’re already on board with what’s being taught in first year. University is a learning curve and it’s not always the actual stuff you’re studying that’s the hardest part so whatever you can do to make your life easy right?
      -Thirdly, this might just be me personally but I found psychology to be the easier to study and learn than the other sciences so for me it was almost like a safety subject- one I knew I would do well in. If something feels like a sure thing probably best to add it to your subjects.
      -And lastly, if you plan to apply for a psychology undergrad your applications will need to show you have a genuine interest in the field – it’ll come off from your personal statements and the subjects you’ve chosen. Having psychology on your list of A Levels shows that you’ve focused on it and are interested.

      I hope this helps!

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