ABSTRACT
Trainee clinical psychologists are usually employed by a host National Health Service (NHS) trust or board as full-time employees on a three-year fixed-term contract. Trainees are also registered postgraduate students with the university that operates the training programme on which they are registered and, as such, have access to most of the benefits and opportunities that student status offers. The majority of trainee clinical psychologists are in their late 20s when they begin their training. Some trainees become parents during their training and as salaried employees of the NHS, trainees receive full parental benefits and rights – maternity leave, adoption leave and parental leave. As NHS employees, trainees also have access to support from their employing Trust, and some forms of support and reasonable adjustments may be provided by the NHS. The panel will usually consist of a mixture of programme staff/academics, NHS clinical psychologists and Experts by Experience involved with the course.
