A story of unexpected twists, Google searches, and finally finding the right fit.
To catch up on where it all began, click here
In Russia, psychotherapy is most commonly practised by psychologists because, by law, psychotherapists must go through medical school and become proper doctors to call themselves psychotherapists.
As you can probably imagine, that’s not the most appealing path for people who ‘just’ want to practise psychotherapy. Since I had personal therapy with a psychologist, that’s what I wanted to study — psychology — and I was ready to start from scratch.
In 2017, I was finally granted New Zealand residency, which meant I could study at much cheaper rates. Paying 30 grand per year for three years wasn’t exactly tempting. (Back then, I thought I’d only be studying for three years. I was very naïve.)
So, there I was, all excited about being accepted to the University of Auckland as a psychology undergrad, sharing the news with my colleagues. That’s when one of my managers asked, “Are you prepared to study for seven years?” And I went, “Wait, what??? Seven years? I didn’t sign up for this.”
I turned to my dear friend Google, and sure enough, to become a clinical psychologist, the crème de la crème of psychologists, you do need to study for seven years: a three-year undergraduate degree, a one-year Honours degree, and a three-year Doctorate.
To make things even more complicated, Auckland Uni only offers around 11 doctoral spots per year, with about 400 applicants. I did the math and realised my chances were slim. I’m smart, sure, but as an immigrant with English as my second language, I probably wouldn’t make the cut.
Google came to my rescue once again. Turns out that to be a psychologist, you don’t necessarily need to be a clinical psychologist; a counselling psychologist will do. And if I went to Massey University (another university in Auckland), I could get the qualification in four years.
Since I already had a higher education degree, I’d need to do a Graduate Diploma in Psychology — essentially an undergraduate degree condensed into one year — followed by a two-year Master’s degree and a one-year Postgraduate Diploma. The postgrad degree in psychology is a bit unusual because it typically ranks lower than a Master’s, but not in this case.
Then, for some reason, I decided to check out what Auckland University of Technology (AUT) had to offer. Don’t ask me why. I don’t remember. Maybe because I had already studied there (that’s how I got to New Zealand in the first place, might tell that story one day). Maybe there was some kind of attachment formed. Who knows?
Anyway, AUT had a similar programme to Massey’s, four years, and I could call myself a psychologist. But then, I stumbled upon something else: a degree in psychotherapy. And I thought, Hmm, interesting, let’s look into it.
That was my second lightbulb moment. I realised I wanted to be a psychotherapist, not a psychologist. (And no, don’t ask why I didn’t think to Google what I actually wanted to do in the first place, just don’t.)
Not only was it exactly what I was looking for, but AUT promised I could become a psychotherapist in just three years: a one-year Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy, followed by a two-year Master’s with clinical placements and all. Woohoo! I couldn’t believe my luck, sign me up!
So I applied. First, an individual interview. Then a group interview, AUT wanted to make sure I had what it takes to be a mental health practitioner.
And I was in.
I was absolutely beside myself with joy — it was finally happening!
To be continued…