Placement
“It may be possible to provide a placement for you in my department.”
Never has such a simple sentence brought such a sense of relief! Of course nothing is confirmed yet but just to hear that much is a lifeline when I have felt like I am helplessly drowning.
So far my unsuccessful attempts to find a placement have included:
*Anna Freud Centre
*Collingham Child and Family Centre
*Ruislip Early Intervention in Psychosis Team
*Hillingdon Early Intervention in Psychosis Team
*Hillingdon CAMHS
*Three separate wards of Hillingdon Hospital
*Pembroke Mental Health Centre
*West London Mental Health Trust (via dedicated placement and work experience office)
*A number of other placement opportunities, via my university careers centre, who never got back to me at all.
*I have even sent desperate pleas out by Facebook and Twitter (a number of my contacts work in mental Health)
I have had no luck with any of the above, due to insufficient experience, lack of available placement positions, and even once because “we feel that this placement is not what you are looking for”.
After months of trying I am getting very close to my deadline, and I was seriously considering dropping to a three year course. Although that would be easier and cheaper, I will never again get the opportunity to complete a placement within the NHS and have student loans supporting me. Although a lot of charity and other work can be done through volunteering once a week, nothing compares to months of experience within the NHS and hopefully this is what will make the difference when I come to apply to the Clinical Psychology postgrad.
I won’t go into any details for now, since it is earliest stages and I don’t want to count my chickens. But please have your fingers crossed for me!
