How to become a health psychologist in the UK

To become a health psychologist in the UK, you need three things in order: Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS), a BPS-accredited MSc in Health Psychology (Stage 1), and doctoral-level Stage 2 training. Stage 2 is either the BPS Qualification in Health Psychology or an HCPC-approved professional doctorate. Once you finish it, you can apply to join the HCPC register as a health psychologist.

Most people take at least three years after their undergraduate degree, often longer.

Step 1: Get GBC

GBC is the BPS's baseline for postgraduate psychology training. You usually get it from a BPS-accredited psychology degree, or from an accredited conversion course if your first degree was in something else.

Some MSc courses will take you without GBC, but you still need it for Stage 2. The University of Stirling says GBC is preferred but not required for its MSc, and that if you don't have it and want to go on to Stage 2, you will need to complete an accredited conversion course afterwards. The University of Westminster says its route to Stage 2 is only open to those who hold GBC.

So if you don't have GBC yet, sort that out first.

Step 2: Complete a BPS-accredited MSc in Health Psychology (Stage 1)

This is a taught master's covering the theory and research behind health, illness and health behaviour. It is usually 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time. That is what Stirling and Westminster both currently list.

Entry requirements vary by course. Westminster usually asks for a 2:1 in a psychology degree that gives GBC, but says it may consider applicants with a 2:2, weighing up their academic profile and health-related work experience. Check the specific course page before you apply.

Make sure the course is accredited by the BPS as Stage 1 in health psychology. A general psychology MSc will not count.

Step 3: Complete Stage 2 training

Stage 2 is doctoral level and supervised. You have two options.

Option A: the BPS Qualification in Health Psychology (QHP)

The BPS says you need GBC and a BPS-accredited MSc in Health Psychology to enrol. You can enrol at any point in the year.

The QHP involves at least two years of structured, supervised practice, or the part-time equivalent. You find your own Co-ordinating Supervisor through the BPS Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors. The BPS recommends contacting more than one supervisor before agreeing terms. You are assessed at the end through a Portfolio of Competence and an oral examination (viva).

The QHP depends on you having, or finding, work where you can actually show the competences. That is often the hardest part to arrange.

The competences

According to the BPS, the QHP is assessed at doctoral standard across five areas:

• Professional practice
• Psychological interventions
• Research
• Consultancy
• Teaching and training

QHP fees

The BPS currently lists these fees:

• Enrolment: £123.60 (£103 plus VAT), non-refundable
• Qualification: £6,375 (£5,312.50 plus VAT), paid in full or by interest-free Direct Debit over 12, 24, 36 or 48 months
• Accreditation of Existing Competence, if you apply for it: £360
• Re-submission, if work is referred: £360

The BPS offers a 20% reduction if you receive state benefits or a state pension. Supervision, travel, accommodation and professional indemnity insurance are not included, and supervisors set their own rates. The BPS says it reviews fees every year and that they can change from 1 January, so check the current page before you budget.

Option B: an HCPC-approved professional doctorate

Some universities run doctorates in health psychology that the HCPC has approved. The HCPC approved programmes list currently includes, for example:

• Liverpool John Moores University, Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology (part-time, first intake April 2017)
• University of Stirling, Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology (part-time, first intake September 2018)
• University of Staffordshire, Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology (part-time, first intake September 2021)

The HCPC list also includes older programmes that have closed, so check the intake dates. The HCPC also tells you to contact the university directly for current details.

Doctorates are usually part-time and assume you are working in a health-related role. As one example, UWE Bristol describes its Doctor of Health Psychology as three years, part-time and mostly distance-based. It asks for an MSc Health Psychology at merit or above, GBC, and a paid or voluntary health-related job where you can cover most of the Stage 2 competences. Course structures and fees differ, so compare a few.

Are BPS Stage 2 qualifications changing?

Yes, but this is what the BPS has published so far.

The BPS consulted on the future of its own qualifications, including the Qualification in Health Psychology. On 29 July 2025 it reported that the Board of Trustees had decided the evidence supported continuing its Stage 2 qualifications, provided their operations and assessment design were reformed.

In an update on 23 February 2026, the BPS set out four phases: standards mapping, qualifications design (due to start in Q2 2026), qualifications delivery (due to start in Q3 2026), and launch of the redesigned qualifications, planned for 2027.

The BPS has not published specific changes to the health psychology qualification yet. If you are about to enrol, check the BPS qualifications pages and ask the qualifications team how any changes would affect current candidates.

Funded and salaried trainee posts

Some people self-fund Stage 2 or fit it around a job. There are also some salaried routes.

NHS Scotland. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) describes Trainee Health Psychologist posts as two-year fixed-term NHS posts that let trainees complete BPS Stage 2 training. The NES page says the posts are funded by PSD Scotland in partnership with Scottish health boards. It says the next places are advertised from 5 November 2026, the date of this post's last check, and hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Grampian and NHS Lanarkshire. Interviews are expected in early January 2027, with start dates towards the end of April 2027. Posts are advertised on the NHS Scotland jobs website, so check there for the current position, as the NES page may not have been updated recently.

England. An article in The Psychologist (BPS, June 2024) described a pilot programme funded by NHS England Workforce Training and Education. It had seven trainees in band 6 Trainee Health Psychologist posts, one in each NHS region, due to finish in May 2025. We could not find an official page confirming whether it has continued or expanded. Individual NHS trusts sometimes advertise trainee health psychologist posts on NHS Jobs, but these appear one at a time.

I could not find a national, centrally funded training scheme for health psychology in England equivalent to the one for clinical psychology.

Where health psychologists work

NHS Health Careers lists settings including:

• Clinical teams in hospitals and community services, often multidisciplinary, working with individuals or small groups
• Public health programmes
• Universities, in teaching and research
• Advisory roles with NHS trusts and local authorities

NHS Health Careers also mentions working for a range of other healthcare providers.

Is "health psychologist" a protected title?

Yes. The HCPC lists "health psychologist" as a protected title. It is illegal to call yourself a health psychologist unless you are on the HCPC register under that title.

Both the BPS QHP and the approved doctorates lead to eligibility to apply for HCPC registration. Completing Stage 2 makes you eligible to apply. It does not register you automatically.

Pay

NHS Health Careers says trainee health psychologists are usually paid at band 6 while they train, and at band 7 once qualified, with higher bands possible with experience.

For current figures for each band, check the NHS Employers Agenda for Change pay scales, which are updated each April. Pay outside the NHS, and in self-funded routes, varies a lot, so check the specific job advert too.

https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/pay-scales-202627

If you want to see which competences your current experience already covers, you can map it free at https://www.clarifio.co.uk

Official sources checked

Last checked: 5 November 2026.

BPS, Qualification in Health Psychology (Stage 2) https://bps.org.uk/node/862

BPS, BPS qualifications Board of Trustees review (29 July 2025) https://www.bps.org.uk/news/bps-qualifications-board-trustees-review

BPS, BPS qualifications update (23 February 2026) https://www.bps.org.uk/news/bps-qualifications-update

HCPC, Qualification in Health Psychology (Stage 2), approved programme https://www.hcpc-uk.org/education/approved-programmes/education-programmes/qualification-in-health-psychology-stage-2/

HCPC, Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University https://hcpc-uk.org/education/approved-programmes/education-programmes/professional-doctorate-in-health-psychology8

HCPC, Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology, University of Stirling https://www.hcpc-uk.org/education/approved-programmes/education-programmes/professional-doctorate-in-health-psychology11

HCPC, Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology, University of Staffordshire https://hcpc-uk.org/education/approved-programmes/education-programmes/professional-doctorate-in-health-psychology13

HCPC, The professions we regulate (protected titles) https://www.hcpc-uk.org/about-us/who-we-regulate/the-professions/

NHS Education for Scotland, Applied psychology professional training programmes https://nes.scot.nhs.uk/our-work/applied-psychology-professional-training-programmes/

NHS Health Careers, Health psychologist https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/psychological-therapies/roles/health-psychologist

NHS Health Careers, Agenda for Change pay rates https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/working-health/working-nhs/nhs-pay-and-benefits/agenda-change-pay-rates

The Psychologist (BPS), The evolution of NHS-based health psychology training in Scotland and England https://bps.org.uk/psychologist/evolution-nhs-based-health-psychology-training-scotland-and-england

University of Stirling, MSc Health Psychology https://www.stir.ac.uk/courses/pg-taught/health-psychology/

University of Westminster, Health Psychology MSc https://www.westminster.ac.uk/psychology-courses/2026-27/september/part-time-day/health-psychology-msc

UWE Bristol, Doctor of Health Psychology https://courses.uwe.ac.uk/C84141/2026/health-psychology

Entry criteria, fees and qualification rules change, so always check the current BPS, HCPC and course or employer pages before you apply.