Is it possible to practice psychology without a Master’s degree in Spain?

Is it necessary to complete a Master's degree to become a psychologist and practice as such? Let's see.

Since its birth, Psychology has been awakening more and more interest in the population, and more and more students have decided to dedicate their lives to the profession of psychologist.

However, despite the fact that in many other professions, university education alone is enough to start working, it has been observed that in psychology it is increasingly necessary to continue with postgraduate studies or even a master's degree. However, is it essential? Is it possible to practice psychology without a Master's degree in Spain?

Let's see it throughout this article going case by case, depending on the different professional opportunities that exist.

Being a psychologist without a Master's degree... is it possible?

In order to answer the question of whether it is possible to practice psychology without a Master's degree in Spain, it is first necessary to to see what is established by the current legislation and the existing training plans..

In this sense, and as indicated by the Official College of Psychologists, it is established that obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology qualifies the person who obtains it to practice professionally as a psychologist, something that legally allows the graduate to exercise all the competencies and functions of the profession with the sole exception of those linked to the health sector.. Thus, the answer to the question that gives name to this article is a great depends on what.

There are many sectors and branches of psychology in which a recent graduate can technically practice. One of them is the educational and psychoeducational field.The graduate or bachelor's degree can work in different types of centers and provide guidance and diverse training.

In addition to this, another field that can only be practiced with the degree is the field of Human Resources and organizational psychology, which allows you to enter into elements such asThis allows you to work in areas such as performance appraisal, counseling and guidance or personnel selection.

Research is also a sector to be taken into account, as well as legal, social and psychosocial psychology or areas such as sports psychology. In short, practically any field.

But the same is not true for what is probably the most popular field of psychology: clinical and health psychology. After all, many people who wonder whether it is possible to practice psychology without a master's degree do so based on the idea that this discipline is mainly oriented towards mental health.

Working in Clinical and Health Psychology.

In this case the degree or bachelor's degree is not enough to be able to practice (except for those who have received the health qualification before 2014, although getting it required meeting certain requirements). To work in the health field it is necessary to to have passed the Master's Degree in General Health Psychology or to have obtained the title of Specialist in Clinical Psychology after having passed the competitive examinations and the PIR training.

Beyond this, other professionals may work as psychotherapists as long as they do not carry out clinical activities (neither assessment/diagnosis nor intervention/treatment typical of clinical or health psychology) and carry out their work on the basis of a theoretical model and validated methodology.

Yes, but with difficulties

Can anyone with a university degree or bachelor's degree in psychology call themselves a psychologist? As we have seen above, technically speaking, a graduate in psychology is qualified to perform the tasks of a psychologist in most fields.

However, the fact that he/she can legally do so does not mean that a graduate has it so easy to do it.. At the end of the day, almost all companies will highly value the candidacy or the services of someone who can prove that they have been trained in a more specific and specialized way in the sector for which they are in demand than someone who has a general knowledge of the discipline.

Psychology is a discipline that arouses great interest in a large number of people, which means that every year there are a large number of students enrolled in the university degree in Psychology. This means that once they have finished their studies, there will be a large number of psychologists willing to look for employment.. Although they are increasingly needed in more and more fields, the demand for employment generally exceeds the supply: there are many possible candidates for each position, i.e. there is a lot of competition with a similar level of training.

This does not mean that it is impossible, because after all, not only education is important, but also work and life experience, personality and the suitability of the profile to the needs of the employer. But in most cases there is a strong screening process in job offers, which means that many candidates who do not have training beyond the bachelor's degree are not as highly valued as those who do.

In short, it is likely that sooner or later graduates will be able to find a job, but it is generally true that those with more training, such as those with a bachelor's degree, will not be as highly valued as those with a master's degree. those with more training, such as graduate and master's students, will have a great advantage when it comes to being hired. advantage when it comes to being hired.

One more requirement

In addition to all of the above, and regardless of whether we have a Master's degree or only a Bachelor's degree, we must bear in mind that professional practice as a psychologist requires a minimum requirement in addition to university training.

The fact is that it is established that the practice of psychology requires the registration of the professional in the Official College of Psychologists.The services provided by our services are dedicated directly to the citizen (other actions may not require such membership). And depending on the case, it may also be necessary to have a civil liability insurance (if we are working with patients) and/or to be registered as self-employed (if we are self-employed).