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The demand for mental illness treatment is increasing rapidly in the United Kingdom. Mental health issues can exist in any individual from different age groups and gender. This article will help you understand how to become a psychological wellbeing practitioner.
Also, people are getting more cautious about their mental health now. It explains why there is so much demand for mental health professionals.
Who is a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner?
Psychological well-being practitioners assist people going through mental health problems. They also help them recover through various treatments and therapies. Their patients are usually sufferers from prolonged depression, anxiety, and mental trauma.
Anxiety and depression are major causes of suicide and mental health issues among all age groups. People and society neglect these issues, most of the time. They think that it is futile to waste time and money on mental health issues.
Also, most people worldwide do not even find it necessary to consult a therapist or a practitioner. One of the main reasons for not consulting them is that people think it will only last for a short period, just like sadness. But, depression and anxiety attacks are much worse than sadness!
Many young people suffer from depression, too. It is because of peer pressure, hormonal changes, etc. Unfortunately, young adults and middle-aged people commit suicide as well. Reasons include- career issues, relationship problems, marriage issues, etc.
Thus, suicide rates are the highest for people between 25-49 years of age in the UK. That is why these psychological wellbeing practitioners help spread mental health awareness and help anyone who is suffering from mental health problems.
Now, let us look in-depth at what medical science has to say about depression and anxiety in human beings.
Depression and Medical Science
To begin with, medical science defined depression as a “chemical imbalance in the brain.” The research was conducted recently by a professor. He is a UK-based psychiatrist named Tim Cantopher. It was found out that there is a strong connection between depression and genetics.
Therefore, if this disease is present in the gene pool, it will pass on to the future generation. Cantopher also mentioned a part of the brain called the limbic system. It acts as a thermostat, i.e., it controls various body functions, including mood.
In addition, there are two chemicals in the human brain – serotonin and noradrenalin. A person going through depression has a deficit of these two chemicals. In addition, depression and anxiety symptoms can range from mild to severe, depending on the chemical imbalance in that individual’s brain. Some symptoms include:
Depression and Suicide
Depression and suicidal thoughts are often interlinked, if left untreated. Suicide is a prevalent symptom for a depressed person. It starts building up from self-injuries that they cause to themselves. According to research, 7% of men & 1% of women commit suicide when they go through depression. Sometimes, when individuals suffer from internal pain, they try to cope with it by harming themselves physically. They try to bring out their emotions and pain clustered inside, but this isn’t a healthy way to deal with mental illness.
Gradually, a depressed person starts having the feeling of helplessness and wants to end their lives. Suicide is the most extreme side effect of depression when a person feels like there’s no meaning in life any more. The most surprising part is that some individuals suffering from depression are very good at hiding their emotions inside. At times, it is tough for a third person even to guess their situation.
However, all of these gets escalated at the last stage of depression when left untreated, which is why anyone suffering from depression or anxiety should consult a psychological wellbeing practitioner.
How to become a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner?
Around the globe, 1 in 4 people suffer from mental health issues. According to MHFA England, the cost of mental health treatment is around £105 billion in the UK.
However, this increasing demand for mental health treatments means a massive demand for psychological wellbeing practitioners in the UK. Thus, we will now be mentioning the pathways on how to become a psychological wellbeing practitioner in the UK.
Get Academic Qualifications
Having an accredited course or degree completed is the stepping stone to get into this particular field. After that, you can get enrolled in any college or university, as per your choice. This step will be your first teacher on how to become a psychological wellbeing practitioner.
Initially, you must complete your A-levels under the UK education board. Secondly, to qualify as a PWP (Psychological Wellbeing Practioner), you must complete a PWP training course or an IAPT low-intensity course. These courses must be accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
An example of a PWP course is a Certified Psychological Wellbeing Practioner Course.
This course includes all the fundamentals of psychotherapy and other psychological therapy methods required to treat psychological issues in the modern world.
If you already have an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree in psychology or any other disciple, you can get enrolled in a PWP training course. These training courses give you the professional licence to practice as a psychological wellbeing practitioner, psychologist, or mental health nurse.
Manage Training or Apprenticeship
After getting an accredited degree or course to practice as a psychological wellbeing practitioner, you need to find an internship or get professional-level training. It is the most crucial part because this is a critical profession.
PWP professionals have to maintain their mental sanity before treating any patients constantly. It requires a lot of practice, which is why their professional training is very crucial. You can look for trainee PWP jobs at any local IAPT service in the UK or any job sites such as Seek or Indeed.
On the other hand, you can also consider working under an apprentice. You can look for local PWP professionals and reach out to them. They can be your supervisor or apprentice.
PWP Apprenticeship means working under a professional by assisting them. It has its pros and cons. You do get paid while working as an apprentice, but the amount would be significantly less.
However, there is no age limit to apply for an apprentice in the UK; you just need to be at least 16 years of age and have the relevant certificates. Once you have the credentials, you can apply for a PWP apprenticeship quite easily!
One main difference between apprenticeship and training is that training might take less time than apprenticeship, making you get professionally ready more quickly. Your mentor will give you a good recommendation or a reference letter after your apprenticeship ends. It will help you work as a professional PWP for any company.
Once you have both degree and professional experience as a PWP, you can even start your practice! Working as a psychological well-being practitioner is the best part of working as self-employed after building a good client case.
Build a Solid Client Base
If you are self-employed, having a solid client base can play a prominent role in your career. It is also one of the critical criteria for becoming a successful psychological wellbeing practitioner.
But, how can you build a solid client base for your business? The answer is – by using correct marketing techniques and strategies to outshine the industry. It is the part when you have to think like a businessperson, not just as a mental health professional.
Getting clients to work with is very important to kickstart your career as a PWP. Digital media is a very powerful way of taking your service to the target audience who needs your service. Here are a few helpful tactics for you to Market your service on Digital media.
Blog Writing
Blogging is a great way to attract potential clients. You can write blogs addressing various mental health concerns, include all the symptoms and levels of mental health issues in every age. Try to address people of all age groups and write different segments focusing on each of them. Finally, make your mental health blogs easily accessible for people.
You can post your written blogs to different mental health awareness pages. Write it in straightforward language and make it accessible for everyone. Include all your business details and contact information. This would help a lot on how to become a psychological wellbeing practitioner.
Build a Website
Building a decent website can play an essential role too. But it isn’t sufficient to draw individuals to your treatment practice. You should make sure that the content you post is unique and overshadows your competitor’s. Thus, an intensive competitor analysis is critical.
Clients should have the option to explore the site effectively and rapidly. You must also make sure that the website is mobile-friendly. Therefore, you can hire an IT expert or a Website Developer to help you construct your site for your potential benefit.
Google my Business
You can list your business under “Google my business’’. It will make sure your business address and contact details are readily available for locals clients. And attracting local clients is a great way to publicise your business amongst the local community.
Then, you can ask your existing clients to post online reviews on your website. People gain a sense of trust for businesses if they see good reviews from others. Reviews give credibility to your company and act as a good marketing tool.
Social Media Presence
Most importantly, building a solid social media presence is essential. Web-based media has become a stage where individuals from various foundations meet and offer data. Showcasing on these stages allows you to meet your potential customers.
Also, stay in touch with your existing clients through emails or text messages. People are more likely to open the emails if the mental health issue they face is addressed there. You can also send emails if you have any promotions or discounts going on that they might be interested in.
Similarly, you can include any new services that you are currently offering, upcoming events, and online tools for mental health patients in your email or message. Always remember that you have to target the patients. That’s why you can address broader mental health issues that impact an individual’s personal and professional well-being.
What does a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner Do?
Since we have established an idea on how to become a psychological wellbeing practitioner, let us discuss what they do on a daily routine.
Interview Patients
As a psychological wellbeing practitioner, you will have to interview your patients regularly. Interviews would help you analyse their issues and help you find out the root causes of them. Then, based on the answers during the interview sessions, you can make a to-do list for yourself regarding that particular client.
You could also note down the behavioural changes that they wish to make in them. For example, a client might want to lessen their overthinking attribute. To help them accomplish that, you can focus on this particular criteria and keep it your key priority while designing a treatment.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is frequently for mental health treatments. It is a widely used therapy to treat depression. It involves focusing more on problem-solving rather than digging into their past. CBT helps individuals focus on the positive sides of their lives and not think about negativities.
Online Counseling treatment
Online and face to face psychological treatments are two of the most common treatment procedures for mental health patients. The main objective behind these two therapies is quite similar. The only difference is their delivery method.
It involves counselling the patient and getting more information out from them regarding their feelings and emotions. You might also need to speak to the individual’s family and peers to get more information regarding their family life (if anyone in their family was affected by depression), relationship issues (if they had any), career, etc.
How Much do Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners Earn?
The average base pay per year for Psychological wellbeing practitioners is £42,937, accordion to Glassdoor UK.
However, this amount is an estimated amount. A professional in this field can earn more or less, depending on their work hours, client base, and employability.
Furthermore, you can also look into the NHS Website to look at the pay scale for healthcare professionals in the UK. Up to the present time, according to the NHS plan, trainee PWP’s earn £24,157 annually. The different band levels mentioned on the NHS site for healthcare workers reflect their expertise level. The more experience you gain, the higher the band you fall under.
For instance, a trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practioner will generally fall under NHS band 4, but a senior PWP is more likely to fall under band 7 or 8. These salary figures would also vary on your location.
However, if you are situated in the inner London area, you will get paid more than those outside the central city.
Closing note
To conclude, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners are an essential part of our society. They help people get out of trauma and help maintain their mental sanity. One of the main reasons for their increasing demand is that people live a very fast-paced and robotic life. Therefore, they are more vulnerable to heartbreaks, deceiving, family issues and peer pressure—all of these start building up mental illnesses gradually.
Learn how to help others through this Certified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners Specialist bundle course
