Post by Amanda Moses

The upcoming National Psychology Exam in February feels a little different to most. It is the first exam to run under the revised curriculum, which means there are fewer shared reference points to lean on as people prepare. As a result, preparation relies more on judgement. Candidates need to stay close to the framework in front of them, read questions carefully, and make decisions without much reassurance about how others have approached the same material before. That experience is not unusual in psychological work. Much of practice involves making considered decisions, sometimes in time-pressured contexts or when the stakes feel high. One thing I want to name for provisional psychologists preparing for this sitting is the importance of developing clinical judgement and reasoning, rather than relying too heavily on second-hand advice. There is a lot of noise in online spaces, and I regularly come across well-meaning guidance that is either inaccurate or poorly aligned with the reality of how most people experience the NPE. Comments like “just read *the book*, it’s all you’ll need” sound reassuring, but the official text is no longer based on the current curriculum and, even when read closely, is far too broad to support exam-level reasoning on its own. When uncertainty comes up, supervisors remain an important source of guidance, particularly for helping think through priorities and professional reasoning. It is also worth taking a moment to check that any preparation materials being used are genuinely based on the current curriculum, rather than assumed to align because of topic overlap. There are now many options for NPE preparation, so choice itself is not the issue. What matters is whether the material reflects the framework you are actually being assessed under. I spent a significant part of last year rebuilding my course to align with the curriculum changes, because meaningful shifts have occurred. Over the years, I’ve supported more than a thousand provisional psychologists preparing for the NPE, and what I have seen consistently is provisionals feeling overwhelmed, particularly in the final stretch. What I can comfortably say is to stay engaged with the task in front of you. Don’t let exam anxiety or self-doubt get the better of you. Keep building your clinical reasoning, and trust that the skills you are drawing on now are the same ones that will carry you through this exam, and hopefully through your career. #nationalpsychologyexam #provisionalpsychologist