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This week MSc Developmental Psychology graduate Alia Awan joins The Psychology World Podcast again to talk about applying for psychology PhDs, how to apply for PhDs for psychology students and she offers a whole bunch of valuable, insightful and fascinating tips and tricks for psychology students looking to apply. If you want to learn more about PhD applications then this will be a brilliant episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Applied Psychology: Applying Social Psychology, Cognitive Psychology and More To Real World Problems.  Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Who is PhD Student Alia Awan? Alia Awan has just completed her Masters in Developmental Psychology at the University of Kent (where she also completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology). She is currently a PhD student in Applied Health Research focusing on adolescent social media use and health. Her research interests also include children’s play, imagination and the science of reading. In her spare time she like to play badminton, read, do some colouring and spend time with family and friends. What Is It Like Applying For PhD As A Psychology Student? Connor: So we're coming up to the 38-minute mark. To be honest, we probably are going to split this in, like, two different episodes. But in September, you're going to be starting something very exciting. Did you want to tell us about it? Alia: Yes, I do. Because it's kind of, like, a full circle moment as I was saying before. So I'm going to be starting a fully funded PhD with the Centre for Health and Service Studies at Kent University. I'm pretty sure I got that right. I'm still learning to get it right. But I should note, actually, I did apply for other PhDs, funded PhDs, through the school of psychology, and I wasn't successful in those. So if you don't... I learnt a lot about, like, resilience and perseverance this year because I applied a lot, and I put a lot of effort into it, and then I didn't get it. But I am a firm believer in, like, the right things will come your way when it's time, if that makes sense. So the right things will come along, and better things do come along if you don't get something. So that kind of helped me, like, stay grounded as well. Knowing that something will come my way even though I didn't believe it at times, and it didn't feel like it was going to happen But, yeah, so in September, I think in a couple of weeks, I'll be starting the PhD. The title of it is Applied Health Research, but it's part of this project. So it's the World Health Organization funds this type of research across 41 different countries, and it's about the health behavior of school-aged children. So looking at adolescents, and they get adolescents to do surveys, anonymous surveys, and asking lots of different questions. So maybe about vaping, smoking habits, drinking habits, sharing family meals, how many fruits and vegetables they eat, social media use, exercise activity. There's quite... It's just such a broad range of things they get asked. So I'm trying to cover as much as possible and remember as much as possible. But also, like, about body image as well, about eating behavior, loneliness. And, yeah, there's a lot. And if you're interested in this, it's called the larger project at Kent. Actually, it's not at Kent. It's kind of across the nations. I'm not really sure. I'm also a bit, like, still learning exactly what the whole thing is. It's called Health Behavior of School-aged Children, HBSC. And if you look it up online, you'll see reports that they've done in the past, where they've reported on what they found across these surveys, across the UK, but also across countries, across genders, but also they've looked at it across ages. So mainly in adolescents, so between, it's either 11 or 12. I think it's 11 to 15. In different countries, you report on different ages. But at Kent, specifically for the UK, basically, the government have said to this lady at Kent, like, "Oh, can you hire three PhD students to sort of do these kind of topics." And then I applied to one of those with a research proposal, and she was like, "Yep, we're happy to have you on board sort of thing." So I haven't met the other two students, but I'm really excited to start, to be honest. I think mainly because they're going to teach me about the stats, and working with such a big data set will be really cool because my undergrad and masters project...my undergrad dissertation project did have about 400 people, and then my masters project was a bit smaller, and it had about 70. So working with thousands of bits of data will be really interesting. I'm also really scared because it's statistics, but it's quite normal to be scared of stats. But they're going to teach me how to deal with that. But then also write for policy makers and write our findings academically but also for lay people and in different formats. And it really aligns with what I want to do in the future, post PhD, where I want to translate complex information into something that's understandable because rarely do you get, like, people who have spent years in research who can do this. So I want to be one of those people who can spend my time really getting to grips with research, really understanding it, being able to collect, analyze, and summarize data for people, like, policy makers who can make a difference, who don't have those skills and that time to do the research themselves. Connor: Wow, that sounds amazing, and because I've known you for so long, I know you were going to be incredible at it. But I completely agree about how scary the stats sounds. Like, from my Masters of Research, I was only doing collaborations of like 70, 80 people, having to do statistics for thousands of people just sounds mind blowing and just insane, but well done for wanting to do it because, yeah, it's going to be hard, but I know you're going to be great at it. Alia: Thank you. Yeah, I know it's definitely going to be hard doing a PhD because I don't think you've ever heard a PhD student go, mine was easy. Connor: No. Alia: The best bit of it is that I can make it my full time job because PhDs tend to be, the fully funded ones at least, you are funded so that is your full time job and that's kind of across the UK. If you get a fully funded one, it tends to be that you can do it as your full time job, and some of them have contracts where you can't actually pick up work outside of it because they expect you to spend a lot of time on it. So if you're thinking about doing a PhD but you're not sure if you've got enough funding to live beyond the stipend, just I would check the contracts and information. But, yeah, you do need a lot of perseverance when applying though I will say. It's a tough process as well because your competition are the same people who are getting, like, top marks, they are in the same position as you, and they're really passionate about research, they know what they want to do, and they've really thought about their studies as well. So, yeah, beyond that I don't really know what else to say, but it's good to learn perseverance in that sense. Connor: Definitely. Alia: Like, I think that's going to help me in the future for sure. Connor: Definitely. And if I've learned one thing from you over the past year it is just how much perseverance you have. I remember quite a few of our conversations, especially after some of these other PhDs I fell through, and, like, if it's okay to say this, if not I'll edit it, it's how you were very sad. You put your heart and soul into these things, and then when they fell through, it's a loss for anyone though. But I'm so glad though that you have, like...because I think you're going to do really well though. So have you got any other tips if someone's applying for a PhD besides perseverance? Tips For Applying For A Psychology PhD Alia: I think make sure you get on with your supervisor, have a little meeting because supervisor relationship is really important to me. And although I'm not doing my PhD with my supervisor I initially intended to with at the beginning of the year... Her name is Dr. Angela Nyhout, please check her out, she does some really cool research on imagination, mental imagery, counterfactual thinking in children. And although I'm not doing it with her, I did still want to make sure my supervisor relationship with the other person was going to be good, and when we had a little chat, I knew it was and I asked questions as well. There's no shame in asking questions to a supervisor about what things they kind of...how do they support, like, a little community? How do they...? I don't really know what I was going to try to reword that, but, yeah, how do they create a little community? What sorts of things do they do to help the student learn and the PhD student be supported? How does the student learn or, like, how will you teach me things I don't know? Is there room for being taught how much I don't know? And, like, what the supervisor relationship will be like? What do they expect? Another thing is also the university as a whole. If you're choosing to do it at another university that you've not been to, go in person and check it out, and see if you can, like, meet with the person, with your potential supervisor to see if they can show you around for a bit, have lunch with them. I don't know how typical that is actually, but I think it would be nice to do if you can do it and if they're up for it. But also remember that if you don't get your first one, that's okay. And apply for a few as well, if you can, maybe across different countries, across universities. But also it does take a lot of time to develop a proposal, so don't try to do like 10, maybe try to do like 3 at a time but also be wary of the deadlines that they have. Because some of them are at different times, but I looked a lot of them up online as well about tips for applying for PhDs in the UK. And remember to specify where you want to do it. So if you want to do it in the U.S., there's different requirements. If you want to do it in the UK, of course, there's different requirements. So just check out all the details to make sure you meet all the requirements so you don't spend your time making a proposal and then, actually, you're not eligible for the scholarship or funding, whatever it might be. Connor: Definitely. And I'm a bit glad that we've actually focused on the whole relationship bit there. Because I know when I first started thinking about a PhD in a moment of, like, madness...because a PhD is so not for me. Yeah, that was just pure madness, like, that moment. But I know when I was, like, thinking about it, I was just thinking about the whole education side of it. But I didn't put enough focus on the relationship side because you're going to be stuck doing it for three or four years, and you don't want to be with someone that you don't like. And it's going to be a lot of stress and a lot of work though, so you don't need yet another stressor of having a bad relationship with your supervisor. Alia: Definitely. Connor: And also, yes, it's a relationship. So there will be some good moments and bad moments. But if you can have a generally good relationship, then that's going to improve your health and your mental health throughout it a lot more. So definitely. Alia: Yeah. So I chose my supervisor because, well, initially, I read one of her papers, and I was like, "I love this research. It's amazing." And then I approached her and said I want to do a PhD, and she helped guide my ideas so that we could do one that I liked and applied for. I didn't get those in the end, but it was still a really interesting journey, and it was nice that she knew how I worked as well because I did my masters with her. She knew how I worked and knew I needed deadlines, and I had set deadlines. And I liked that I knew how to work with her. Like, it wasn't a whole new person at my masters. It was the same person who knew me from undergrad, and it's nice that she's seen me progress as well. I think that's also so realizing and having a special kind of relationship. Like, we don't just talk about academics. We talk about other things too. And when I have something exciting or exciting news, I know I'll just drop her a message or I'll go see her and tell her. And I think that's...yeah, like you said having a good supervisor relationship, I think is important to a PhD especially if you're quite like a personable person. And I feel like it can make or break it kind of in some instances. It can make or break it. I don't want to say it can for everyone and in case it doesn't. But I think it is really important for people. Connor: Because that's one of the reasons why I flat out loved my masters, and I think that it might be quite similar for you. Because I've heard about your and Angela's conversations have quite a lot, and it was really nice though like for me and Hannah because we did just get on so well. We spoke about each other's lives, and it was almost a sort of friendship relationship. That's what made my masters even more be rememberable, and I think it's the same, like, for you and Angela, both of you love working together. Alia: Yeah I think it's made it a lot better definitely, and then for my masters I work with one of my colleagues, Rosina Tolley, on a project. And she trusted us fully because she knew us. She trusted us fully to be really independent, and we were, and it gave us a lot of confidence in our decisions, and it was really nice to work with Rosina on... Let's say, like, we collected data together, but we analyzed different bits of it. But it was nice to do together and be trusted. And she wasn't like a helicopter supervisor just checking in all the time. Like, if we needed something, we would check in and we would ask. Rather than her saying, "Oh, like, how's it going?" Every week, if that makes sense. She knew if we needed something, we would come to her. And I think that's really important because it allowed us to build a lot of confidence around research. Especially for me, because I'm always, like, second guessing myself, but this year I learnt a lot about not doing that. But also, I would say, one of the PhD tips I forgot to mention is that if you meet with your supervisor or if you can see any of their ex-PhD students who have graduated, reach out to the students via LinkedIn or via email. See if you if they respond, explain who you are, and saying that you're planning to apply for a PhD with so and so in this topic. You don't have to go into too much detail, I don't think. Just give them some context as to who you are and why you're contacting them. And you can ask them about any tips or advice they have or reflect about their experience. Because as you would on an open day, you'd speak to students who are currently studying there, so why not do that with a PhD? And you can definitely do with a PhD. A lot of supervisors I was thinking about asking to be my PhD supervisor a few years ago, I spoke to their ex-students because I gave an insight into how they might work during a PhD and how that might be different from a master's supervision...yeah, how that might be different from master's supervision. Connor: Yeah. Definitely. That's actually a really good tip. Thank you for sharing that. Because I hadn't even thought of that, but that would be really useful. And I think having that open-day mindset is really impactful, and I think that tips are actually going to help a lot of people. So we're coming up to the... So are there any other tips or tricks that you might have for either other PhDs, aspiring psychology students, or just anyone at university? Any Other Tips and Tricks for PhDs, Psychology Undergraduates or Aspiring Psychology Students? Alia: My main tip is post-graduation and with the job market right now, it is hard and give yourself some credit. But in order if you're quite early on in your degrees or experiences, try build up your CV doing various different things because the job market is really competitive, and you're competing with people who have graduated for years or just graduated as well. So it is very difficult. So I would say build as much experience as you can without overwhelming yourself. Connor: I couldn't agree more, never true words have been spoken. I know that pain all too well, and if I don't laugh, I will cry about it. Alia: Yes, it is wrong. Because a lot of people do psychology, so you just want to, like, help yourself later on to stand out. Connor: Okay, then, so if the people having enjoyed today's episode, then where could they find you online? Like, LinkedIn or anything? Alia: Yes, so I have LinkedIn, and my handle...I think it's just my name. It should just be Alia Awan. A-L-I-A. And then space. And then Awan, A-W-A-N Connor: Brilliant. Thank you. This has been a brilliant conversation. It's going to be really useful, and best of luck with your PhD and in the future. Alia: Thank you. Thank you for listening as well to all listeners.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s university psychology student life podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Applied Psychology: Applying Social Psychology, Cognitive Psychology and More To Real World Problems.  Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

As I always talk about on The Psychology World Podcast, getting mental health support is flat out critical if you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts and you’re contemplating suicide. Therefore, in this clinical psychology podcast episode that’s a little different from usual, I list a wide range of suicide hotlines and prevention programmes throughout the world. Please reach out to these hotlines if you’re suicidal and as someone who has tried to end their life three times in the past. I promise you life gets better. I am so happy, relieved and excited that I did not succeed in ending my life back in 2024 because of how dark and pointless my life seemed. Due to my life has turned out brilliantly. Please read the resources below and reach out to these resources if needed. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Suicide Psychology. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Are Some Suicide Hotlines and Prevention Programmes Around The World? Argentina Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 911 Centro de Asistencia al Suicida In the greater Buenos Aires area, dial 135 Otherwise, call 5275-1135 or 0800 345 1435 Australia Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 000 Lifeline Australia Dial 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support Text 0477 13 11 14 for 24/7 text support Austria Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency numbers: Dial 112 for emergencies (EU emergency number), 133 for police, 144 for an ambulance, and 122 for the fire brigade Emergency psychiatric hotline: 01 313 30; 24/7 support is available Suicide prevention hotline: 01 713 3374 Telefon Seelsorge Dial 142 for 24/7 crisis support For online chat support, visit  Telefon Seelsorge's website ; available from 4 pm to 11 pm Central European Time Belgium Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: Dial 112 for emergencies (EU emergency number), 101 for police, and 100 for a medical emergency or the fire brigade Zelfmoord 1813 Dial 1813 for 24/7 crisis support For online chat support, visit  Zelfmoord's website ; available from 5:00 pm to 12:am Central European Time Canada Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 911 Talk Suicide Canada Dial 1-833-456-4566 for 24/7 crisis support Text 45645 for text support; available 4 pm to midnight ET In Quebec: Dial 1-866-APPELLE (277-3553) for 24/7 crisis support Text 535353 for 24/7 text support For 24/7 chat support, visit  suicide.ca Kids Help Phone 24/7 text support: Text CONNECT to 686868 Chile Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency numbers: Call 133 for police; call 131 for medical assistance Teléfono de la Esperanza Dial (00 56 42) 22 12 00 Colombia Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 123 Teléfono de la esperanza Dial (57-1) 372 24 25 In Medellín, dial (57) 604 604 27 84 Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social (Ministry of Health and Social Protection) Visit  the website for region-specific suicide hotlines Denmark Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 112 Medical Helpline 1813 For emergency medical help in the Capital Region of Denmark, dial 1813 on weekends, or after 4 pm Monday through Friday Livslinien Call the crisis line at 70 201 201 every day. Access online chat  on Mondays and Thursdays between 5 pm and 9 pm, and on weekends between 1 pm and 5 pm. Psykiatrifonden Access mental health support every day by calling 39 25 25 25 France Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 112 National suicide prevention number: 3114 24/7 crisis support; visit  3114.fr  to learn more Suicide Écoute Dial 01 45 39 40 00 for 24/7 crisis support SOS Suicide Phénix Dial 01 40 44 46 45 for phone support between 1 pm and 11 pm Central European Time Germany Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 112 (EU emergency number), 110 for police TelefonSeelsorge Dial 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222 for 24/7 crisis support For chat or email support, visit  TelefonSeelsorge's website Hong Kong Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 999 The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong For 24/7 support, dial 2389 2222 For English-language assistance, dial 2389 2223 For online chat help, go to  chatpoint.org.hk The Samaritans For 24/7 support, dial 2896 0000 Ireland Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 112 or 999 The Samaritans Dial 116 123 for 24/7 mental health support Mental Health Ireland Text About It For 24/7 text support, text 50808 On smaller phone networks (such as An Post or 48), text HELLO to 0861800280 Mexico Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 911 Consejo Ciudadano Dial 55 5533-5533 for 24/7 crisis support New Zealand Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 111 National mental health and addiction hotline: 1737 Can be reached by phone or text; learn more at  1737.org.nz Lifeline Aotearoa Dial 0800 543 354 for 24/7 crisis support Dial 0508 828 865 for the suicide crisis helpline Text HELP to 4357 for 24/7 text support Singapore Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 999 (police) or 995 The Samaritans of Singapore Dial 1767 for the 24/7 hotline WhatsApp 9151 1767 for 24/7 text support South Africa Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency numbers: 10111 (police) or 10177 (ambulance) South African Depression and Anxiety Group Dial 0800 567 567 for 24/7 crisis support Spain Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency numbers: 112 Teléfono de la Esperanza Dial 717 003 717 for 24/7 crisis support Sweden Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 112 Mind Självmordslinjen Dial 90101 for 24/7 phone support; in cases of acute crisis, call 112 For online chat support,  visit Självmordslinjen's website Switzerland Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 112 (EU emergency number), 117 for police, 144 for ambulance Die Dargebotene Hand Dial 143 for 24/7 mental health support in German, French, and Italian For help in English, dial 0800 143 000 between 6 pm and 11 pm, or visit  heart2heart.143.ch Online chat support is available in  German ,  French , and  Italian United Kingdom Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 999 or 112 The Samaritans Dial 116 123 for 24/7 mental health support Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) Dial 0800 58 58 58 for crisis support; available between 5 pm and midnight, BST or GMT Visit  thecalmzone.net  to access chat support Shout Text SHOUT to 85258 for 24/7 text support United States Suicide Prevention Resources National emergency number: 911 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988 Accessible by phone or text 24/7 support in English or Spanish 24/7 support for deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals; learn more at  988lifeline.org . For TTY Users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988 Online chat: Visit  988lifeline.org Crisis Text Line 24/7 text support: Text HOME to 741741   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Suicide Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

At the time of writing, it’s suicide awareness month, and typically whenever we think about suicide, we only think about the signs and symptoms that a person is suicidal. Equally, we think about the loss, heartbreak and sadness that follows a successful suicide attempt. However, the majority of suicide attempts are not successful and the aftermath of a suicide attempt can be difficult, distressing and heartbreaking for everyone involved. As someone who’s survived three suicide attempts, I want to explore the facts and findings of what happens after surviving a suicide attempt whilst I bring the subject to life with my own experiences. Therefore, by the end of this clinical psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn what happens after surviving a suicide attempt, how to support someone after a suicide attempt and what to do if you’ve survived a suicide attempt. If you enjoy learning about mental health, psychotherapy and suicide risk, then this will be a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Healing As A Survivor: A Personal and Clinical Psychology Guide To Healing From Sexual Violence.  Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Note: nothing on this podcast is ever any sort of official advice. Please reach out to a mental health service or suicide hotline if you’re suicidal. What Happens After Surviving A Suicide Attempt? The only silver lining we can take from the topic of suicide is that there are a lot more suicide attempts than completed suicides, but this does nothing to bring comfort to all of us impacted by suicide. According to the United States’ Centres for Disease Control, in 2019, there were 47,500 completed suicides compared to 1.4 million suicide attempts, and it’s important to remember that suicide is greatly underreported. For example, my three suicide attempts in 2024 were not recorded or registered with any healthcare provider or similar agency. This suggests that less than 5% of suicide attempts are fatal. Personally, what’s interesting about this statistic is that within clinical psychology, mental health and wider society, there is a massive focus on suicide prevention and supporting the friends and loved ones that are left behind after a completed suicide. Yet there is very little teaching on what to do after a suicide attempt. Of course, as a suicide survivor myself, I understand that the focus absolutely has to be on prevention. In my experience, if the focus wasn’t on prevention as much as it was, I would have tried to complete a successful suicide attempt way, way before 2024. Nonetheless, this lack of focus on what to do and how to support clients after a suicide attempt can lead to negative treatment of clients. For example, in my book, Healing As A Survivor , I talk about how my specialist rape counsellor didn’t react very well to my suicide revelation. It made me feel isolated, alone and it didn’t make me feel supported. Building upon this, people who attempt suicide and survive often require a lot of mental health support afterwards. Personally, I would highly, highly recommend that the person who attempted suicide should definitely seek out mental health support so they can heal, get support and find more adaptive ways to cope with life’s stressors. Another silver lining is that research shows that whilst people who attempt suicide can continue to struggle with their mental health after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. The majority of these people do not try another suicide attempt and the Centre for Disease Control finds that more than 90% of people who survived a suicide attempt do not go on to die by suicide. Thankfully, that suggests there is hope for a great life after surviving a suicide attempt. How Do Survivors Feel After a Suicide Attempt? Before I talk about what the research says, personally after my three suicide attempts, I felt really depressed, annoyed and slightly happy that I had been unsuccessful. I had wanted to kill myself because of my anxiety, my PTSD and all the other trauma responses I was having after my rape. I had no quality of life, I believed my life was beyond awful and there was no way I would ever heal and get better and I believed that my rapist had stolen everything from me. I firmly believed the only way to stop the pain, the agony and the trauma was just to kill myself. After I failed three different times with different methods, I felt guilty that I had hurt my friends and support system, I felt depressed because I was still hurting and in agony because of everything my rapist had done to me and I felt isolated. Again, that’s another symptom of depression. Building upon this, the emotions that a survivor experiences after surviving a suicide attempt can be wide ranging. Some survivors might be sad, others might feel relief and others might feel anger or regret that they weren’t successful. As well as there are some survivors that immediately have thoughts of trying a second attempt and then they experience immense feelings of relief because they survived. Personally, the gap between my first attempt and my second and third was about a week or two and I think at first after the first suicide attempt, I did feel relief and sad and isolation. Yet over time as my mental health was still bad, my life still wasn’t worth living as far as I was concerned and I was still dealing with all the trauma responses, I just started to think more and more about a second then third attempt. Some survivors feel guilt that they survived their first suicide attempt because they believe they are still a burden on others, and other survivors still, believe that their suicide attempt allowed them to “snap out” of their suicidal thoughts and despair. In addition, some suicide survivors feel like they’re given a new lease on life and these survivors are typically able to return to their lives with a sense of gratitude. Personally, I feel like it took months for me to reach this point in my life and for the past few months, I really have been focusing on gratitude, being grateful to be alive and just enjoying the small moments. For example, a few days ago, the sun was shining, the golden light looking really pretty on the vibrant green leaves and I allowed myself to enjoy the pretty sight. I couldn’t experience that simple moment of joy if I wasn’t alive. On the other hand, other survivors are not so positive about their survival. Some people who survive a suicide attempt feel regret, depressed and even disappointed after their survival. I think I went through something similar after my first suicide attempt. Thankfully, some research shows that these feelings will decrease for the majority of survivors but they might indicate that the individual is still at risk of suicidal thoughts and future suicide attempts. This is why mental health support is so important. How To Support Someone After A Suicide Attempt? If a friend or family member or someone else you know has survived a suicide attempt then you might be scared, confused or angry at them. It is a normal and understandable reaction because you’re scared that you’ll lose someone you care about, love and enjoy spending time with. I completely understand how scary this must be because there have been plenty of people in my life who I would be devastated by if they had a successful suicide attempt. As well as if one of my friends or family members had tried to end their life then I would be scared for them. Additionally, after a suicide attempt, you might be asking yourself why your friend or loved one tried to end their life or if there was something you could have done to prevent it. Again, these are normal and good questions to think about and there are no easy answers. Yet the most important thing that you can do for your friend or loved one is to provide them support and being with them is often a key, critical part of recovery. Nonetheless, something I want to stress here is that it is so important that as much as you love, support and care about your friend or loved one who survived their suicide attempt. You need to look after yourself too. You are going to have to process your feelings, practice self-care, put up boundaries and manage your own mental health too. Believe me, from personal experience as a suicide survivor, there is nothing worse than having someone you rely on for mental health support suddenly backing off because they didn’t realise how badly your suicide attempt and your recovery was impacting them. I’m pretty sure this is why I tried my second and third suicide attempt. Therefore, when you learn that your friend or loved one has survived a suicide attempt, it’s important that you know this isn’t about saying the right thing. In this moment in time, what your friend or loved one needs from you is your support, they need you to be there for them and just see what they’re most comfortable with. It’s very unlikely that a friend or loved one wants to lose their autonomy, their freedom and their ability to make decisions for themselves after a suicide attempt. This is why honest and open conversations between you and your loved one are so important. A practical, yet unofficial, tip might be check in with the suicide survivor regularly, tell them that you’re thinking of them and if the survivor wants to talk about the suicide attempt then please, make an effort to listen. Of course, this will be hard, it will be emotionally draining and it might trigger some really difficult emotions for you. Yet it’s important in these situations to create an empathetic and non-judgemental space and definitely ask open-ended questions and give the survivor the space to sort through their difficult feelings after the suicide attempt. Something that I realise now, looking back, is that I didn’t really have a safe, empathetic environment for me to deal with my emotions after my first suicide attempt. Again, this was probably a major factor in why I did my second and third suicide attempt. At the time, the people in my life were struggling with the realisation that I had tried a suicide attempt, they were backing off because of their own mental health and when we did speak about it, I actually realise now I didn’t feel safe enough to be completely vulnerable about why I wanted to kill myself. And as much as the particular friend said they were great at mental health talks, they weren’t validating, they didn’t ask me what I needed and they focused on their fear. That only actually made me feel like more of a burden. And I distinctly remember writing in my book, Healing As A Survivor, either before or after the first suicide attempt that I wanted to kill myself because I had hurt my friends. Anyway, when supporting a suicide survivor, you can ask him or her or them directly, if they’re thinking of hurting themselves again and if they’re struggling with suicidal thoughts. These are two good questions to ask because as I discuss in Suicide Psychology , no one actually wants to do a suicide attempt. We try to end our lives because we don’t feel like we have another way out. Therefore, by asking these questions and wanting to tackle these topics head-on, you’re giving a suicidal person exactly what they want and need. A chance to talk about their feelings, their life and hopefully, you’ll be able to find solutions together. So a suicide attempt isn’t needed. Furthermore, as you might imagine, expressing your anger towards the suicide survivor in your life isn’t helpful because it will only undermine your loved one’s recovery and it will add more so-called “evidence” that they’re a burden. This is why it’s important that you find a more productive and healthier way to cope with your feelings like talking to a therapist or a support group for families or friends of suicide survivors or another trusted friend or family member. One of the best things you can do for a suicide survivor is to manage your own complicated emotions so you can support the survivor in recovery without getting burnt out. A final set of unofficial tips is that you can help your friend or loved one find a therapist or another form of mental health support as well as encourage them to take part in exercise and other healthy habits. For example, getting plenty of sleep, self-care and eating a balanced diet. How To Get Support After a Suicide Attempt? It’s okay that you attempted suicide. There is no shame in it. I know what it’s like to hate your life so much, see the world as such a dark and hopeless place that death by suicide seems like the only way out. I also know that you didn’t want to do a suicide attempt and if you saw another way out then you would have tried it. I know that suicide is always a last resort and you see it as a mercy so you aren’t a burden on your friends and family members anymore. And sometimes suicide can just seem like a way to end all the awful pain that we experience on a daily basis. I understand it all as supported by my three suicide attempts, but I am so happy that I wasn’t successful. I smile as I write this section because I really am so happy that I didn’t kill myself in 2024. If I had killed myself then I wouldn’t have finished the clinical psychology MSc that I flat out loved, I wouldn’t have met my beautiful ex-partner and I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy our relationship whilst it lasted and I wouldn’t have been able to have sex for the first time with someone else. All of those life events seemed flat out impossible after my rape and that’s why I wanted to kill myself. Thankfully, my life is amazing, fun and I am so happy to be alive. Yet I also know after a suicide attempt, life doesn’t always feel that great. As a result, after a suicide attempt, you might be feeling a lot of conflicting emotions like I spoke about towards the beginning of the podcast episode. And you might be annoyed or depressed that even after the suicide attempt, you are still dealing with a lot of mental health struggles or social challenges that made you want to end your life by suicide in the first place. This is why I highly recommend that you reach out to mental health services after a suicide attempt. It will be scary, you might be nervous about being judged and you might think you’ll be locked up forever if you reveal your suicide attempt to mental health services. Please reach out and get professional support because it will be so important to your suicide recovery. Also, seek out support from your loved ones or friends. Especially, because after a suicide attempt, it can be so tempting to just shut yourself away from the world, hide in your bedroom and cut everyone off out of shame or another emotion. Yet experts agree that after suicide, social connection is so important to your recovery. Also, your friends or loved ones are likely to be very worried about you and they want to help, so please reach out to them. Friends and family members can also be good sources of support if you tell them how you’re hurting, how you’re struggling and what you need from them in turn. In the longer-term, it can be helpful for suicide survivors to find a sense of purpose and meaning because this can help survivors recover from despair. This is different for everyone. For example, as a podcaster and author, I find sharing my story, writing and learning to give me a lot of purpose so I don’t want to end my life by suicide. You might decide to do something completely different, because some research shows the survivors that don’t go on to die by suicide, they end up citing their desire to help others and contribute to society are important protective factors against further suicidal thoughts. Overall, finding meaning can be a critical step towards recovery. Clinical Psychology Conclusion As dark as talking about suicide is, especially after the past year with my experience of three suicide attempts, I have to admit that I’ve enjoyed today’s podcast episode. Not only because as I mentioned earlier, educating others and telling my story about suicide and how recovery is possible act as protective factors against further suicidal thoughts for me. But because this episode helped me to realise a few factors behind my suicide attempts and how I didn’t get the support I needed after my first attempt and that led me to do a second and third suicide attempt. Ultimately at the end of this psychology podcast episode, my message is clear, if you’ve survived a suicide attempt then please reach out to mental health support. And as a survivor myself, please know that healing, recovery and thriving after a suicide attempt is possible. I have had so many fun experiences from hanging out with friends, playing fun games, having sex, having a partner, writing great stories, reading wonderful books and learning so many fascinating concepts that I flat out love being alive. I couldn’t have done any of these experiences if my suicide attempts were successful. Therefore, I know how hard it is, I know how much pain you’re in and I know how much easier it seems to simply end it all. But please, reach out to mental health support, start your recovery journey and let your friends and family members support you. Life gets better, trust me.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Healing As A Survivor: A Personal and Clinical Psychology Guide To Healing From Sexual Violence.  Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Clinical Psychology References and Further Reading Al-Harrasi, A., Al Maqbali, M., & Al-Sinawi, H. (2016). Surviving a suicide attempt. Oman Medical Journal, 31(5), 378. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/suicide/surviving-a-suicide-attempt Maple, M., Frey, L. M., McKay, K., Coker, S., & Grey, S. (2020). “Nobody hears a silent cry for help”: Suicide attempt survivors’ experiences of disclosing during and after a crisis. Archives of suicide research, 24(4), 498-516. Oexle, N., Herrmann, K., Staiger, T., Sheehan, L., Rüsch, N., & Krumm, S. (2019). Stigma and suicidality among suicide attempt survivors: A qualitative study. Death studies. Parra-Uribe, I., Blasco-Fontecilla, H., Garcia-Parés, G., Martínez-Naval, L., Valero-Coppin, O., Cebrià-Meca, A., ... & Palao-Vidal, D. (2017). Risk of re-attempts and suicide death after a suicide attempt: a survival analysis. BMC psychiatry, 17(1), 163. Tong, B., Kashdan, T. B., Joiner, T., & Rottenberg, J. (2021). Future well-being among people who attempt suicide and survive: Research recommendations. Behavior Therapy, 52(5), 1213-1225. Williams, S. M., Frey, L. M., Stage, D. R. L., & Cerel, J. (2018). Exploring lived experience in gender and sexual minority suicide attempt survivors. American journal of orthopsychiatry, 88(6), 691. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

This week on The Psychology World Podcast MSc Developmental Psychology graduate discusses how she got into psychology, why she choose the University of Kent over other universities, her experience of university burnout and so much more. If you want to learn more about studying psychology, how to make the most of your time at university and more then this will be a brilliant episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Year In Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Who is PhD Student Alia Awan? Alia Awan has just completed her Masters in Developmental Psychology at the University of Kent (where she also completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology). She is currently a PhD student in Applied Health Research focusing on adolescent social media use and health. Her research interests also include children’s play, imagination and the science of reading. In her spare time she like to play badminton, read, do some colouring and spend time with family and friends. Connor: Hi, everyone, and welcome to "The Psychology World Podcast." And today, I have a really good special guest, Alia. She’s a psychology master's student and studied in developmental psychology. She's a good, a friend, and she's really interesting because she's done so many different bits and pieces with her psychology degree. So, hi, Alia. Would you want to introduce yourself and how you got into psychology? How Did You Get into Psychology? Alia: Yes, my name is Alia. I just finished my masters. So I did my undergrad and masters at the same university, similar to Connor. The way I got into psychology, it's not...I think it's quite similar to how a lot of sixth form students pick their university choice in that it was the class that I least dreaded the most. Like the other classes, I thought, "Oh, I don't want to go. I can't be bothered." But psychology was the one where I was like, "Oh, I want to go." Like, "I can't wait to see what's next," or, I don't know, "I want to know what we're learning today." So that's how I picked psychology, and I'm really glad I did because when I first started my university year, I was like, "Oh, psychology is a lot broader than I thought it was." But then there were also things that I noticed. Like, I thought I'd really like forensics because I thought forensics was about crime and serial killers and that stuff. And then it wasn't. But that opened my eyes up to how much, like, pop psychology is out there, and how much, like, you really have to delve into the subject to figure out if it is what it really is, if that makes sense. So when you learn psychology and do it, doing it as a degree, it's not like you're going into it and you're going to learn how to read minds or you're going to diagnose everyone because that's what everyone still thinks I do. But that's not the case. It's a lot broader than you think it is or people usually think it is. Connor: Yeah, definitely. Thank you. Because I remember when I did sixth form, so for our international audience, that is the 16 to 18-year-old education option that we have in the UK, and I was like, "I'm going to pick the least worst option," because I did IB Chemistry, and I hated it so much, so much. But then like you said psychology, again, is exciting. And those myths and misconceptions that we have to deal with is so constant. People still will think that I do mind reading and everything else. So another question that I want to ask you, why did you choose Kent over some of the other universities in case there were other listeners thinking about studying psychology, but they're unsure what you need to look at? How Did You Choose A University for Your Psychology Degree? Alia: Yeah, I mean, I think it's a very big choice to make, obviously, because if you're going away from home, it's a scary decision to make sometimes. And you want to make sure you pick the right uni for you. And there are some, like, city-based universities in the UK, and then there's some campus-based. So I chose Kent because I live close to home, and I wanted to stay home for the first few years to save money and work and save money on the side. And then I ended up really enjoying it and falling in love with Kent. Because it's mainly the staff that I fell in love with at Kent, like the way they teach, and the passion they had. Because I think students will go...you can go to any sort of university and find your people, find your friends. So wherever you go, I wouldn't worry about making sure you find your people because it's one of the times in your life, I think, you'll be met with so much diversity. And I really like that because I can't think of another opportunity, not even in a job where you'd meet so many different people in one place with so many different interests. Well, yes, so one of the reasons I chose Kent is because I wanted to stay close to home. But if you do want to move away from home, I think things...like on our open days, because I'm a student ambassador, on open days I tell people to consider their budget, how far away they actually want to be from home, whether they want a city-based university, campus-based university, because the vibes are a bit different. Like, with a campus-based university, what I like is everything's in one place. So if I have a friend who's got a subject or a lecture on, like, the other side of campus, we're not far and we can meet in the middle for coffee. Whereas if it's city-based, you might be you might be a bit further apart. And I like that everything is in one place, especially in Canterbury because everything is quite close by. But one of the good things about city-based is that it is far apart. So it depends on your preferences as well. And city-based tends to be to be a little bit busier, I suppose. But I think when I chose Kent, I didn't put as much thought into it. I was like, "Okay, I want to stay home, and this is quite a good uni. And they do really well in psychology, so might as well." And then when I actually came to Kent, I was like, "Oh, this is a good thing. This is a good thing." And then I get to tell people what I love about Kent at the open days and be genuine about it. Connor: Thank you for sharing about that. Because me and Alia, we tend to work a lot of open days together. And I love those days because it's just a really good chance though for us to catch up, talk about our research and our other interests, but also just to talk to other students about how passionate we are, well, just about psychology, about our university, especially when it came to the staff. Because if you've got really good staff that are passionate, educated, and they really just want to, like, talk to you, sometimes they'll just talk your ear off about the research. They're so passionate, it has some effect and can really make a massive difference. Thank you for that. Alia: One of the good things if you have the chance to go to an open day, talk to the staff about their research interests, and you'll see how passionate they are. You might find that yours align or your quite interested in what they do because they tend to bring the stuff they research into their lectures, because they deliver lectures on what they know more about, of course. Wait, of course, it's not general knowledge, but, yeah, they do tend to do that. And then you can always go and speak to them as well. And I think it's just so interesting that they're interesting and they're interested in their research and work, because they can help give you ideas or they can help guide you, in that sense, with your ideas. Yeah, it's just great learning from, like, the experts in the field, and they're not far from you, so you might as well. If you've got three or four years at uni, or five or six, in our case, make the most your staff that are available to you. Usually, in university's psychology department, because psychology is such a big subject, you'll have quite a few university's staff members, and if you have the time, I would say, for that uni you're thinking about going to, have a look at the staff profiles. Because, usually, they say, like, what their research interests are and maybe read some of their papers as well, or have a little look. Sometimes they can be really hard to read and really confusing because of the technical terms, especially if you haven't done psychology before. But it can be quite eye opening to see what the time in the uni is good at and what the lecturers are good at. Yeah, I loved the work in the open days because also in between when prospective students go off and do things, the ambassadors and the staff would just chat away, would just keep yapping. I don't even know about what sometimes, but it's really enough to build those relationships as well. Connor: Yeah, definitely though...and this is one of the reasons why I love the clinical psychology lecturers. Because all of the clinical psychologists, they're actually practicing. So in their lectures they actually get to talk about their cases, their past experiences, and that really does make the subject come alive. And I completely agree with what you say about sometimes we're talking to lecturers, we don't even know what we're talking about but we're just, like, enjoying it. And that's just part of the fun of it. So I completely agree with what Alia said definitely look at the university profiles and see if you're interests align. Alia: But also they are really open to the ideas you have and learning new things that you might find. So you might find a very unique paper, a really niche paper, and say, "Oh, this is in your subject area, what do you think?" And they might go, "Oh, well, I haven't read that yet." Yeah, so they're also open to learning as much as they're teaching. But I think you'll also find that in other uni's, of course, I haven't been to other uni's, but I can at least speak for the Kent Psychology Department and other departments as well, to be fair. Connor: Yeah, true. So did you find that quite surprising when you first went there, that they were open to talking to you? Were You Surprised the Psychology Lecturers Wanted to Talk to You? Alia: Yeah, definitely. I think I was really worried that because they were lecturers they would be like, "above me." But they're not. They want to talk to you. They want to learn more about you. They want to be friendly with you. They're not scary people. Like, they're going to eat you alive. Like, they are also there for you as well because, again, you get an academic advisor assigned to you. And they're there to support you with any academic needs, personal needs. Like, I remember a few years ago, there was this one girl who was really struggling to make friends at uni, and she spoke to one of the supervisors. And the supervisor knew my group of friends and brought her to us, and was like, "Get to know these people because they're really nice." So you can talk to them about quite a few different things, and they're open to it as well. They're not just there for academic purposes, but, of course, they're not also there for...like, you have specific services for mental health support. But they are mainly there for academic support, if that makes sense. So they're still there for academic support... Connor: Yeah, definitely. Alia: ...but they can't completely do the mental health support because there is a dedicated service for that. Connor: Yeah, and that's really nice that you were able to become friends with this person just because a supervisor knew that you were really nice. So that's brilliant for that. And in my experience and most other lecturers, they're just a down to earth human. Because my supervisor kind of similar and we would be like, "That's a meeting for an hour and 20 minutes." We were literally talking for like an hour about here and everything about our lives. And we only spent probably 10 or 20 minutes talking about why I was actually there. So it's brilliant. Thank you. That's really good insight that I think everyone can learn from. How Do Psychology Placement Years Work? Connor: So did you want to talk about placements now? Alia: Yeah, so I'll go first. So the way the university do our placements, they sort of do it towards the end of... It's not the end of first year. End of first year or beginning of second year, where they advertise it like a job sort of thing. So they say this X company is looking for a placement student. Send you a cover letter, CV, or use this application form, and email it to this person by this date. It's a really good experience because it's sort of like you're applying for a job, and I didn't quite realize it then, but it is pretty much like applying for a job. So you get that experience of applying. And we have a careers and employability service who help us with applications and can support us with applications. Because it's quite a new thing because you don't usually get that sort of opportunity at least in secondary school here to be applying for jobs, although some schools do, like, mock interviews, it's a really hard process. And it's something, like, you have to sort of learn. It's something that takes a bit of time to learn as well, like get used to doing interviews and stuff. Like, I'm still not used to doing interviews. But, yeah, we do have the support there as well for that. But the way we did it was, like, applying for a job, and then usually, you'd applied to multiple... Like, the way I did it was I applied for ones I thought maybe I won't like that. Because what I loved about my placement was that I did it in a clinical setting in an autism diagnostic service. And whilst I enjoyed and learned a lot, it showed me that I didn't want to work in a clinical setting. It just wasn't right for me, but a lot of people found that they did a clinical based placement, and then they ended up loving it and knew it was for them. So it does teach you what you like and don't like. And I think it's really important that you learn what you don't like really early on because during my placement I found that I really loved research, and that led me to pursue research-based experiences and roles after my placement year in undergrad. And that's led me to where I currently am. But if I had not done my placement year, I would have geared my whole career towards clinical and ended up realizing that it's not really for me. So it would have been a big...not waste of time, but it would have been, I suppose, like a waste of time for me because then I found out I didn't like it, if that makes sense. But I don't like to use the phrase waste of time because I still learn a lot. Like, I've built a lot of confidence during my placement. Connor: Okay. Brilliant, and that's something that I always say to people about placement years is that you use it as a chance to act an experiment, and just what you did where you went in some realizer that you hated. And it's so much better than doing all the qualifications, all the studying and you realize, "Oh my god, I've just spent so many years doing this." And something else that I would add is that sometimes you might not like something at that moment in time, but then later on, you might find out that you love it. Like, I did a research placement with Amir, brilliant man. Loved working with him. But research during COVID was not fun. I flat out hated it. But then in my masters, I did lots of research on transgender mental health, and it was really good. I, like, loved it because I could do my research however I wanted to, and it was a lot of fun. Alia: Like, if you realize you've tried something and you're like, "Oh, I really don't like this," maybe try it again a bit later. Like, for example, in my second year, I thought because I had already done the year of psychology and I was like, "Kind of interested in eating disorders and disordered eating in people and doing maybe some research in that." So I joined Rise and Recover, which isn't currently a society because there wasn't enough people this year and last year to run it. But it was a society about raising awareness and fundraising for Beat, an eating disorder charity. And it was really nice while we had it. Like, I got to speak to KMTV about what we as a society do at Kent and how we can raise more awareness in Kent and our local area of eating disorders. And then as I got more into psychology, I fell in love with child development. I fell in love with researching imagery. And also you don't have to just have one interest. That's one thing I've learnt. You don't have to have one research interest, you can have multiple. Or not even just research-wise, you can have lots of general interests in different things. You don't just have to be like, "Oh, yeah, I only like this thing, and I can only like this thing." You can like multiple things. Because now, I might be going into looking into disordered eating and disordered eating behavior. So I've kind of done like a full circle moment. So I started off thinking, "Oh, I quite like this topic." I kind of erred quite a bit away from it, and now, I'm coming back to it. And I never thought I really would. But do keep an open mind as well doing your degrees. Whatever degree you do, try getting involved in lots of different types of placements or work experience opportunities. Because they really teach you what you might want to do in the future, and I think undergrad, and if you do a masters, it's the best time to do it because you've got that time to work it out because you're doing something in the background and you're gaining a qualification in the background. But also at the same time, try not to overload yourself. So try have your degree and then maybe doing work experience or placement like part-time or if not part-time, then in your weekends or on holidays, but also be wary of burnout. It's quite a hard thing to balance, and it does take some time to figure out how to balance it because everyone's different. So you just kind of have to trial and error and work out what's for you. But you've got time to do that in your first year, especially where usually your first year doesn't count towards your whole degree, like, the marks don't count to your degree. So that's probably the best time to do it, I would say. Work out how to balance your commitments with your degree. Connor: Wow, definitely, and I didn't know you did the whole eating disorders society. I think that’s fascinating that you were able to make a society. And for our international audience, a society is a sort of like an adult social club. So it's a group of people that form a group around a particular interest. But that's great clinical psychology experience, and I can imagine lots of other people thinking that they might want to do that at their own universities. Because not only will they be able to evidence their skills, then that proves that they're really passionate about psychology because they're going above and beyond. So that's amazing. I thank you so much for sharing that. How To Manage Burnout For University Psychology Students? Connor: And burnout. Burnout's just a nightmare. I've been burnt out quite a few times during my degree life. It's never fun. Can you recommend any sort of tips and tricks how you manage burnout because it's going to hit all of us at some point? Alia: Yeah. I think it's going to hit you at some point, and different people have different capacities. So it's okay if you're burnout before other people or if you're like, "Oh, everyone around me is burnout, but I'm not burnout yet." You might get burnout. You might never experience burnout, and be like some sort of superhuman being. But you might experience burnout from academic studies, personal life, or both combined. And that can be quite tricky. But I think I don't know, like, the exact signs. I think signs are different in people. But you start to feel like...I noticed I start to feel really tired, demotivated for things I usually would feel motivated to do, and I just think I can't really be bothered to do that even though sometimes that is a daily occurrence, I can't be bothered to do something. But you just find that you really don't want to do the things that you enjoyed before, and you don't really want to be social maybe. I can't remember if you said to avoid burnout. I think you said avoid burnout, but to avoid burnout I would... I don't really know. I think I try find a work-life balance that works for me, but also include and make sure I have some social time. And by social time, I mean meeting up with friends but not too frequently for me. So I try to like once a week meet up or every couple of weeks with different people just to keep it varied and also make sure I have commitments that aren't super draining for me outside of studies. Like, now, I just finished my masters, and I do feel quite burnt out. So I've got a few weeks before I start my next thing. And what I'm doing now is while I have work to do on the side, like research assistant role to do on the side, I'm making sure in my free time that I am going with what I'm genuinely motivated to do. So maybe I fancy going to the gym, maybe I fancy going to do a little bit of shopping, window shopping, well, such as shopping, or maybe I fancy going to meet with a friend, or going to the park, or maybe just going by myself for a walk, or doing some reading. Like, I'm just going day by day even though I'm very much a planner. Like, I need to plan to a specific time. I know that I need to give myself a bit of...like, allow myself to just go with the flow a bit so I can recover from burnout. Connor: Definitely, and I'm really glad that you are looking after yourself that way. Because, like, I've seen you a few times during your burnout, and I'm glad you're doing a lot better. And, actually, at the time of recording, I'm doing like three massive projects. And I'm like, "No, three massive projects is too much. I'm approaching burnout." So next week, I've got to be a lot more mindful about giving myself time to relax. But I also think that it's healthy for us, like, to have this conversation just so people can know that burnout is normal. It's not ideal, and if you find yourself at burnout, then there are steps that you can take. So thank you for sharing. Alia: Oh, sorry, I just wanted to add to that and just say, like you said, like, you might not get recover from your burnout the day after you feel burnt out and, like, the day after you recognize your burnout. Because sometimes your body tells you, so do listen to your body. Because sometimes your body tells you you're tired before you even know you're tired, and I think it's just important to become more attuned. I don't know if that's the word, attuned to your body and the signals that tell you you're tired and exhausted. But try listen to it as early as possible and catch it as early as possible. Because the longer you wait, I suppose, the longer recovery time. And then it kind of might impact whatever you're doing. Whether you're working or still doing your degree, you might be burnt out around exams, and that's not an ideal time because you want to be productive. Also, try not to be too hard on yourself when you're burnt out and push yourself even further because I've seen people, like, who push themselves to that point and then they really start to struggle. But do reach out when you do feel that. Reach out to people you know and trust when you feel that way. But I also really like...there was this analogy, you've probably heard of it and a lot of people have heard of it. Like, a spoon analogy. Like, you only have a certain amount of spoons each day, and you're not going to have the same level of energy each day. And I like that because it makes me feel like it's okay to put more effort in one day and then not do so much the next day, and that's normal. Like, you don't have to go 100% every day, and 100% looks different as well. Connor: That's what I've got to get a lot better at because most of the time I just go full pelt all the time, and that's where I tend to, like, forward down a lot. But the spoons theory is really good. I've spoken about it before on the podcast. Listeners, if you want to learn more, search the backlist. It's something like spoons theory and autism, but it's really good though. And thank you, Alia, for reminding me because I need to incorporate that into my work next week. Alia: Easier said than done that all. This I'm saying is so much easier said than done. I struggle with it. Everyone struggles with it, and it's normal to struggle with burnout, and not knowing when you're burnt out, and then realizing you're burnt out and thinking, "Oh, no, I pushed it too far." And sometimes for people this happens on repeat till you learn your signs. So, yeah, don't be too hard on yourself if you don't pick up immediately that you are burnt out because it's hard. It's a working progress for everyone, I think. What Is Stats Buddies? Connor: True. Definitely. Thank you. During your undergrad, you started this really interesting program called Stat Buddies. Could you please tell us what that is? What's it about? Alia: Yeah. Also, I don't know how much time we have, but I'll talk you through the little journey I had with stats buddies. So in my undergrad, in first year, I started in lockdown, which meant it was all online and everyone was a bit disconnected. I hadn't met anyone. It was a bit awkward. So the stats lecturer that we had at that time, I forgot his last name but he was Dr. Lazarus. He was really good. He's at another university at the moment. But he decided that he wanted to create something called stats buddies, where it was like peer to peer support. So I volunteered to be a stats buddy, and I was really worried because I thought, "Oh, no, I'm going to have to be perfect at stats." But, actually, I wasn't. But, actually, it was a really helpful tool to help me learn because I had to know enough to teach, which meant I tried to really understand it myself. And it was usually if you can teach someone something, it means you've understood it well, and that kind of reassured me that I knew some stats. So we did that in first year, and then it kind of disbanded during undergrad, and then someone else did it in their final year. And then the year after that, me and a couple other people, we set up something called Psych Buddies. So we took Stats Buddies and made it into this bigger thing called Psych Buddies, where we support students with their study skills, so giving some exam and revision tips, Google Scholar hacks, essay writing, APA formatting tips. But the aim of it was not to spoon feed people and tell people the answers, like, "Do this, this, this." it was to equip them with the tools to support themselves in the future because that initiative might not be there forever. It might not be there when they graduate, of course, because they might be somewhere else. So it was to make them independent learners, which I know the university as a whole tried to do. But we had weekly, hourly...actually, they were two hours, two-hour sessions to do that and support students in that sense. So they would come in, and we would help them with... There were volunteers as well. So we called ourselves Stats Buddies. And they would come in, and they might have an error with their code. They might be struggling with a specific assignment or not understand it, and we would help them try to be independent in their thinking. So, for example, I'll put it into context, and I'll give an example. So maybe someone comes in and their code isn't working, which is pretty common in psychology. If you know RStudio, then you know that it's a very common thing, and it's fine if it's not working because, yeah, it happens all time. So they'd come in. They couldn't figure it out. So what we would do as a stats buddy is maybe narrate the process that's going on in our mind to help resolve the problem. So we'd say, "Okay, let's check if the variable name you're trying to do is the same as the one in your data set. Let's check the spelling. Let's check if there's any extra things you put in the code that shouldn't be there. Let's actually read the error code and try and understand it." So we talk through our steps so that this person can then carry out the same steps next time when they have an error in their code. Just little things like that to help people be independent in their thinking, and we also didn't want to copy what they were taught in lectures and seminars at uni. So we made sure that we saw what they're actually doing at uni, and then, basically, added onto that with extra information. So, for example, the uni might cover some study skills tips, like revision tips, but then we would add to them by thinking of some neurodivergent friendly ones, like body doubling. I really like body doubling, where you sit with someone else doing maybe the same task, a different task, and it would it might help you be more productive and get be more focused in your work. But, yeah, that's sort of...it's like buddy is essentially there to support. It was peer to peer support, which I think students felt more comfortable with because it wasn't like a lecturer. They felt like they could ask all their questions, silly or not. Obviously, we didn't judge or... Connor: As someone who hates RStudio with an utter passion, and the podcast is well aware of my hatred for RStudio, thank you so much for developing that sort of support. Because as you say RStudio, everything is supposed to be so exact. If your variable name might not have a capital letter or there might be one extra space at the end, then the entire thing just doesn't work. I know it's a nightmare, so thank you for developing that. And I also saw throughout the university and throughout the school of psychology how popular it was, how useful it was. And I won't go into it on the podcast, but as I know there were lots of difference and things going on around stats and buddies, and it wasn't always smooth sailing. But I know you did amazing work. But that's what I laughed at when I originally asked the question even though I'm going to, like, edit it out because I know so much happens around it. But you did like amazing. And the reason why I wanted to, like, share that story on the podcast is that I think that because in psychology stats is such a fearful topic. Lots of students find stats really stressful. I think that this could actually inspire other students to develop that sort of program and, yes, in their universities in their own friendship groups. Alia: Definitely, yeah, you don't have to be a stats expert. You can learn alongside students quite often. Well, not quite often. But sometimes we would be learning alongside the students. We'd say, "Oh, actually, I don't really know. Let's look it up together." And we'd show them the process of how we looked it up and how we found answers because that's also another tool to help support their independent learning. And I remember a few weeks ago, a few months ago, I met one of the friends that was living in the same building as me. And she was like, "Oh my gosh, did you...?" Because I told her about psych buddies, and she was like, "Oh my gosh, wait did you lead psych buddies?" Because she was a first year student and doing psychology, and she was like, "Oh my gosh, was that you? Oh my gosh, I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity." And I think that was a moment I was like, "Oh, so people know about it. That's good." Like, she didn't know I ran it, but she knew of it, which was really cool. Connor: Oh, wow. That's lovely, and I've had that a few times or times when someone has recognized me in public or recognized, well, something that I've done. And I'm like, "I didn't do anything like that and what you said." But it's definitely like a star-struck moment. Connor: Okay, then, so if the people having enjoyed today's episode, then where could they find you online? Like, LinkedIn or anything? Alia: Yes, so I have LinkedIn, and my handle...I think it's just my name. It should just be Alia Awan. A-L-I-A. And then space. And then Awan, A-W-A-N Connor: Brilliant. Thank you. This has been a brilliant conversation. It's going to be really useful, and best of luck with your PhD and in the future. Alia: Thank you. Thank you for listening as well to all listeners.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s university psychology student life podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Year In Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

I always say that you can do a lot with a psychology degree, including speech and language therapy. Next week at the time of writing, I have an interview to become a Speech and Language Therapist Assistant, and I’m really looking forward to it. Since speech and language therapy combines my interest in clinical psychology, improving lives and developmental psychology. Therefore, in this careers in psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn what does a speech and language therapist do, how do you become a qualified speech and language therapist and more. If you enjoy learning about psychology careers, child development and psychotherapy then this will be a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Applied Psychology: Applying Social Psychology, Cognitive Psychology and More To Real World Problems. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Why Might a Psychology Graduate Want to Become a Speech and Language Therapist? All of us are probably well aware that the journey to become a qualified psychologist is long, bendy and it is never straightforward. Therefore, you might want to become a speech and language therapist because you like working with children, you have always enjoyed language work and you want to improve lives. Or whilst I love the idea of improving lives and it is one of the reasons why I want to become a clinical psychologist in the future, at first I’ll be honest (and I admit it might be risky to admit this publicly) but wanting to become a speech and language therapist assistant wasn’t my first idea. I’m using this as an opportunity to work in the UK’s National Health Service, work with clients with language difficulties and this will help me build up my clinical experience. Something I desperately need if I’m ever going to become a clinical psychologist. In addition, working as a speech and language therapist assistant would be a way to use my knowledge about language development, child development and everything else that I’ve learnt about developmental psychology over the years. Overall, you might want to work in speech and language therapy as a way to gain work experience, improve lives and most importantly, learn clinical skills for your future psychology career. What Does A Speech and Language Therapist Do? Thankfully, becoming a speech and language therapist gives you a lot of variety in your work life. That’s something that is very important to me because in theory, I flat out hate doing the same thing in a job over and over. Yet because of autism and I can see this in my own author business, I do like small, repetitive tasks. However, side note over, as a speech and language therapist, you can help clients with a wide range of different conditions and you’ll be working in a multi-disciplinary team. For example, I’ve worked with speech and language therapists alongside clinical psychologists, nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals. As well as you get to work with clients in a range of settings, like hospitals, clients’ homes and community clinics. I’ve had the chance to work with speech and language therapists in residential care settings, clinics and the client’s own homes before. I asked my parents this question and they said when I had speech and language therapy as a toddler, I had it at a community clinic. Moreover, as a speech and language therapist, you can help adults with a stutter, hearing impairment, learning difficulties, mental health difficulties, physical disabilities, voice problems and any eating, swallowing or communication difficulties after a neurological impairment and/ or neurodegenerative conditions. For instance, if a client has experienced a stroke, dementia, head injury or Parkinson’s Disease. Lastly for this section, you can support children with cleft lip and palate, a stutter, voice disorders, selective mutism, specific difficulties in pronouncing sounds, developmental language disorders and any mild, moderate or severe learning difficulties, as a speech and language therapist. What Is A Speech and Language Therapy Assistant? Considering that this is the job role that I have an interview for next week, I want to learn a little more about the role. Therefore, a speech and language therapy assistants work in a frontline role supporting clients with conditions that negatively impact their feeding, swallowing and communication. Also, a lot of people use this as a first step towards becoming a speech and language therapist. Speech and language therapy assistants work closely with speech and language therapists and other health professionals in community clinics, special and mainstream schools, hospitals and the client’s own homes. As well as their tasks can include preparing rooms and equipment, updating patient records, writing important reports on the client’s condition and helping clients during appointments. What is the Working Life of a Speech and Language Therapist? As a speech and language therapist, you would be providing language support, care and interventions to children, young people and adults with difficulties in eating, drinking, communication and swallowing. As well as you might get to work with individuals who have difficulties speaking and communicating because of physical or psychological reasons. This includes autistic people and other individuals with neurodivergent conditions. Moreover, speech and language therapists work with people who’s needs vary from children who’s language is just slow to develop, all the way up to older adults who have speaking difficulties because of an injury or illness. How Does Someone Get Qualified To Become A Speech And Language Therapist? Below is an extract from my book, Applied Psychology. “Personally, I can attest that these therapists are amazing and do the works of the Gods because I needed them when I was very young, and without them I wouldn’t have been able to talk. And not only talk and speak but go on to become an audiobook narrator and podcaster. So thank you. Therefore, in case you want to become one of these amazing people, this is the typical pathway you would need to take in the UK. Firstly, you would need an undergraduate degree in a science, language or psychology at least at a 2:1 level then you would go on to study Speech And Language Therapy at Masters Level (either a PGDip or MSC) with this lasting two years. Now the reason why I’m mentioning this in a psychology book is because a lot of psychology students go on to do this career. As well as in addition to the normal student support the UK Government gives you (at the time of writing), you also get a grant of at least £5,000 a year that isn’t means-tested or repayable. That’s brilliant. If you wanted to find out more, you can find more information from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy.” Day Of Working with a Speech and Language Therapist Below is an extract from the podcast episode Lessons Learnt From A Week In A Learning Disability Team. “There wasn’t a great of amount of things that happened on the Tuesday, or nothing that memorable but I know I learnt a lot about the Speech and Language Team. Which I was always going to be interested in considering I had to go through extensive Speech and language therapy as a child because I was effectively mute. In addition, it was really good to learn about how the Speech and Language Team didn’t only deal with talking and communication issues for people with learning disabilities. They did feeding and drinking difficulties too. That was something I had heard mention a few times but I couldn’t understand why this was Speech and Language’s job, because it was eating, not communication. A while later during one of my conversations with one of the Clinical Leads for the team, they explained to me the Speech and Language Team is perfectly suited for these difficulties because they all use the same muscles and mechanisms. If someone is having eating and swallowing difficulties above the lungs then it is Speech and Language’s job to help the client. If it is a bit of food that falls into the lungs or something similar, it is a medical job because that food could start rotting inside the lungs. That would cause a ton of problems if it happened. Furthermore, a non-learning disability Speech and Language Team might have 80% of their caseload focusing on communication and 20% eating difficulties. Yet when it comes to learning disabilities, it is reversed. Due to people with learning disabilities might have bad posture, developmental difficulties and other factors caused by their learning disabilities that prevents them from swallowing and drinking normally. One solution might be for the Speech and Language Team to remind the staff to sit the client upwards more when eating and drinking. Especially if their posture makes them leant to one side. Then on the Thursday, I already explained the afternoon visit when me and one of the Speech and Language therapists went out to an assisted-living farm (a different one this time) to assess a woman for her communication needs whilst she was making sausage rolls. However, in the morning, we went to an assisted-living “house” or apartment complex might be a better term to talk to a man that had had some communication aids designed for him. And this was really fascinating to see how the assessments worked with the therapist’s booklet and there was one test I really liked. What happens is you read the client a very short story and for podcasting ease I will really cut it down. So you might say “Harry was watching a video with his grandson and Harry jumped at a scary moment,” Then to the client you would ask a simple question like “Was Harry alone?” And this time the client said “yes,”. I found this really interesting because I had just watched the man point to tons of objects and say what they were, but he couldn’t follow a “simple” story. It was an interesting and useful test. That’s a brief summary of the Speech and Language Team, even though I will admit I probably learnt the most from these people. Then again, Speech and Language therapy has a large overlap with psychology in my opinion, I’ve listened to enough about it during my Developmental Psychology  and Applied Psychology lectures over the years.” Careers In Psychology Conclusion I always enjoy these psychology career podcast episodes because as much as we want to be assistant psychologists, or at least get a job that is directly related to psychology, that sadly isn’t the reality of the world. And if you’re disappointed and sad about that, then please, allow yourself to feel and process those emotions. Whatever you’re feeling about the difficulty of getting a psychology role after years of studying at university, those feelings are valid, normal and very understandable. I’m feeling them too. Therefore, at the end of this psychology podcast episode, you’ve learnt a lot about what a speech and language therapist does, who do they support, how to become a speech and language therapist amongst a whole host of other topics. Here are some questions to think about: ·       Do you have any interest in speech and language therapy? ·       If yes, why? If not, then why not? ·       Do you have any skills, qualifications or life experiences that might help you become a speech and language therapist? ·       How do you think becoming a speech and language therapist might help your psychology journey? ·       What’s stopping you from applying for speech and language therapy assistant roles?     I really hope you enjoyed today’s careers in psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Applied Psychology: Applying Social Psychology, Cognitive Psychology and More To Real World Problems.  Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Careers In Psychology Reference and Further Reading https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/allied-health-professionals/roles-allied-health-professions/speech-and-language-therapist https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/healthcare-support-worker/roles-healthcare-support-worker/speech-and-language-therapy-assistant I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

Next week at the time of writing, I have a job interview and one of the questions relates to what are the signs of radicalisation in children. The interview is for a learning support assistant role at a local school and the UK Government makes it a legal requirement for workers in education to Prevent radicalisation in children, so this is a part of that duty of care. In addition, whilst we’ve previously learnt about terrorism and other related criminal psychology topics on the podcast, we haven’t learnt about radicalisation too much before now. Therefore, in this forensic psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn what is radicalisation, what are the signs of radicalisation in children and why is radicalisation in children important to learn about. If you enjoy learning about terrorism, radicalisation and criminal psychology then this will be a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Forensic Psychology Of Terrorism and Hostage-Taking . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Is Radicalisation? Previously I think it is fair to say, in our ignorance as a society, we only needed to be concerned about children being radicalised by Islamic extremists, because this was the narrative that was pushed onto us. Yet now we understand that radicalisation can happen towards any ideology including Incels, far-right, misogyny, white supremacy and on and on and on. There are lot of different destructive, far-right ideologies that young people can be radicalised by and as educators and aspiring and qualified psychologists, we need to be aware of radicalisation and the signs. Once we recognise the signs of radicalisation then we need to support our young people so they do not adopt these toxic, destructive ideologies and ultimately do not take up action as these innocent minority groups based on the lies of others. For example, when Incels demand and shoot up women because of incels’ toxic and ill-informed beliefs. As a result, radicalisation is the process where anyone, including adults, starts to support and/ or get involved in extremist ideologies. These ideologies are normally political or religious but they can be made up of other beliefs too. For instance, I don’t think incel or white supremacy beliefs are based on religion and they are political to a point, but not really. I think incel beliefs in particular are based on social beliefs. Anyway, radicalisation can be devastating to children, their families as well as their communities. People might be tempted to believe that radicalisation is only about beliefs, so cognitive processes, but we know that our cognitive processes can lead to action and behaviours in the right situation. Therefore, radicalisation can lead to physical and violent behaviours, like shooting up a group of black people, and this is why it is critical to help protect children and young people against radicalisation. In addition, children tend to be the focus of anti-radicalisation work because young people are more likely to be radicalised compared to other age groups. Since their worldview is still developing and their worldview can influence their relationships, decisions and future prospects. For instance, if a young person gets involved in white supremacy during their teenage years, they become racist and physically violent towards black people and they beat a black person within an inch of their life. Then they will hopefully be arrested, charged and sent to prison for assault. Equally, I hope they will be deradicalized too. Yet because of their violent behaviour, they’ve lost years of their life, they have a criminal record and this will impact their employability and the rest of their life. This is all because of radicalisation. What Is The Process of Radicalisation? Despite the path towards radicalisation being slightly different for everyone, there are a lot of patterns that set a child or young person down the similar, gradual path towards becoming radicalised. Firstly, a child is exposed to extremist ideas through online forums, friends, community groups, family members or social media. As well as sometimes, extremists actively target vulnerable young people to recruit them to the cause and this isn’t exclusive to Islamic extremist groups like the mainstream narrative would have us believe. Also, as I talk about in my book, Applied Psychology , there are a lot of different factors that can lead someone towards radicalisation. These include, low self-esteem, feelings of injustice, social isolation as well as need to belong. Generally, the four key stages of radicalisation are Exposure so a child is exposed to the extremist beliefs or materials for the first time. Engagement is when the young person starts to show an interest in these beliefs and starts to explore these ideas further. Thirdly, you have adoption where the young person adopts these extremist beliefs as their own. Finally, you have action where the young person takes steps towards supporting and/ or openly participating in extremist activity. This includes donating money or sharing videos and other content online or joining the extremist organisation. To use an example of the white supremacy, a young person might see a meme online that they find funny. Then the young person might explore these white supremacy memes, online videos and racist comments in more depth and want to understand white supremacy. Afterwards, the young person starts to agree with white supremacy and starts to take on the racist beliefs as their own. Finally, the young person might start sharing racist videos online, talking to their friends about racist views and why non-whites are plaguing society and they might vote for racist candidates or donate money towards racist organisations. As well as they might campaign against non-whites living in their area. What Are The Signs of Radicalisation? This is the section I’m really interested in because of my job interview next week and I strongly believe at first when we think about the signs of radicalisation, there are the “clear” ones. You might associate being alone, vulnerable and physically aggressive as signs of radicalisation and that’s true. Yet there are so many more signs of radicalisation too. Moreover, it’s useful to note that whilst some of the signs of radicalisation might be crystal clear, like glorifying extremist figures, showing beliefs in conspiracy theories and using extremist language. A lot of the other signs of radicalisation are a lot more subtle and they develop over time as well as some of these signs are perfectly normal when they occur alone. Nonetheless, it is when these signs occur together and there are changes in behaviour, that is when there is cause for concern that the child might be at risk of radicalisation. A first sign of radicalisation is that a child or young person loses interest in their schoolwork and normal hobbies. That on its own doesn’t sound too bad because most children don’t want to be at school, focus on their schoolwork and one of the symptoms of depression is that you lose pleasure and interest in things you used to enjoy. Yet when we consider other signs this is a lot more alarming. Another sign of radicalisation is that child or young person becomes withdrawn and/ or they spend more time than normal alone. Again, it doesn’t sound too alarming and there are some children who are naturally more lonely than others. When I was a kid, I could have been called lonely because I didn’t have many friends, I didn’t hang out with anyone after school amongst other reasons, except my friends in the Sea Scouts. Yet what makes losing interest in schoolwork and normal hobbies and withdrawn signs of radicalisation is that they make young people long for connection and friends. Sadly, extremist ideologies can seem very tempting and the manipulators and recruiters behind these ideologies are very skilled at convincing young people that this is where they belong. A third sign of radicalisation is when young people use language that mirrors extremist rhetoric or their language sounds scripted. This isn’t one that I’ve heard before but I completely agree thinking back to online clips I’ve seen then blocked. It’s why I don’t go on Twitter much these days. It’s just a far-right breeding ground as far as I’m concerned. Believers in extremist ideologies always sound the same because they use the scripted language that they’ve learnt online from other people to support their extremist views and defend their beliefs against other people trying to challenge them. A fourth sign is that a young person or child might show increase frustration, obsessive behaviour and anger. Again, these extremist ideologies are very effective at inciting, tapping into hate and cultivating anger within people. You only need to look at the UK politics this week to see how the major political parties are using immigration and refugees as the scapegoat for Westminster’s issues. Instead immigrants aren’t the issue because personally what annoys me as a rape survivor is that there are thousands of rapes every year in the UK. Yet the few times an immigrant commits sexual violence everyone goes mad, but my rapist was a white man and no one cared. Anyway, this isn’t a political show and I’ve likely already annoyed enough people so let’s continue. Additionally, other signs of radicalisation include sharing hateful views, memes, content and symbols on social media, spending more time online and becoming increasingly disrespectful and intolerant of other people and their different viewpoints. Personally, even though I am steadfast in my views, I still like to hear, listen and try to understand other people and were they’re coming from. I will likely never agree with these viewpoints but I am interested in listening and just because people hold different beliefs to me, it doesn’t automatically make them bad people. Radicalised people do not believe in that and they will not tolerate people with differing views. Penultimately, another sign of radicalisation is that a young person will show more of a focus on one subject, like a given political conflict or immigration. If we look at the far-right, they are always focusing on immigration because they do not care about the evidence that shows higher immigration levels do NOT lead to increases in sexual violence, and immigrants do not drain the benefit system and so on. A final sign of radicalisation is that a young person changes their friendship groups suddenly. On its own, this might not seem like a major concern because it’s normal for children and young people to change social groups and identities like clothing, but when you combine this sign with the other signs of radicalisation. Then this can get a lot more concerning. Especially, if there is already a social group at school that is known for their racist viewpoints and new young people are joining that friendship group. Forensic Psychology Conclusion Ultimately, talking about radicalisation and extremism is never a fun topic and it is always heart-wrenching to know that there are people out there and extremist ideologies that want to harm our young people. There are monsters out there that want to take advantage of the loneliness, mental health difficulties and need to belong that drives all of us, including our children. This is why it’s important that we talk about radicalisation and most importantly how to recognise the signs of radicalisation, so we can support our young people and hopefully deradicalise them. In addition, to prevent radicalisation, some general tips and techniques include teaching children how to critically think about the information they hear and see online, helping children and young people understand how to verify online content through media literacy skills, and creating a safe space for a healthy discussion and debate round controversial topics. Going back to my last point, I know it is tempting for teachers, schools and parents to simply avoid talking about controversial topics. Yet in my experience, children and young people will have these conversations regardless so it is better to have them in a school where they can be controlled, tailored and fact-checked than online when extremist ideologies can come in and taint and twist the entire conversation towards their extremist agenda. In addition, you can prevent radicalisation by providing a confidential support system where students can express concerns in private, you can help children to build resilience so young people can challenge extremist narratives and help parents become more aware of online risks as well as the signs of radicalisation too. You also need to report a child being at risk of radicalisation to the safeguarding officer at your organisation and education setting too. Finally, even though radicalisation from Islamic extremists hasn’t been on the news so much in recent years. This really doesn’t mean radicalisation is over and our children and our young people aren’t at risk anymore. Instead children and young people are now at risk of white supremacy, the far right, the anti-immigration, misogynists, incels and manosphere and so many other extremist threats that radicalisation is still very present, very real and it can be very devastating to our children. This is why we need to learn the signs, support children at risk of radicalisation and always focus on preventing radicalisation as much as possible.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Forensic Psychology Of Terrorism and Hostage-Taking . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Criminal Psychology Reference and Further Reading Cherney, A., Belton, E., Norham, S. A. B., & Milts, J. (2022). Understanding youth radicalisation: an analysis of Australian data. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 14(2), 97-119. Daher, L. M., Gamuzza, A., Mavica, G., Nicolosi, D., & Bontà, C. (2025). Youth Agency and Radicalisation: Unpacking the Voices, Hopes and Complexities of Embodied Subjectivity. Social Roots of Violent Extremism: Pathways and Trends in Europe, 57. Espenschied, M. J. (2024). The radicalisation of youth: the contagion of ideologically motivated violent extremism throughout COVID-19 (Doctoral dissertation, Macquarie University). Heinze, A. S. (2025). Drivers of radicalisation? The development and role of the far-right youth organisation ‘Young Alternative’in Germany. International Political Science Review, 46(1), 108-124. https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/what-does-radicalisation-mean Parker, D., Lindekilde, L., & Gøtzsche‐Astrup, O. (2021). Recognising and responding to radicalisation at the ‘frontline’: Assessing the capability of school teachers to recognise and respond to radicalisation. British Educational Research Journal, 47(3), 634-653. Sjøen, M. M., & Mattsson, C. (2020). Preventing radicalisation in Norwegian schools: How teachers respond to counter-radicalisation efforts. Critical studies on terrorism, 13(2), 218-236. Taylor, L., & Soni, A. (2017). Preventing radicalisation: a systematic review of literature considering the lived experiences of the UK’s Prevent strategy in educational settings.  Pastoral Care in Education ,  35 (4), 241-252. Whiteley, C. (20 24) Forensic Psychology of Terrorism And Hostage-Taking . CGD Publishing. England. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

During my learning difficulties assessment back in December 2024, the lovely woman conducting the assessment tested me for a wide range of different mental health conditions. She ultimately decided that I only met the criteria for dyspraxia as well as dyslexia, but at one point she wanted to investigate me for Dysgraphia. I mentioned something and she agreed the diagnosis didn’t match me, but I still want to learn more. Therefore, in this clinical psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn what is Dysgraphia, what causes Dysgraphia and a bunch of other fascinating facts. If you enjoy learning about learning difficulties, neurodevelopmental conditions and psychological assessments then this will be a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Developmental Psychology: A Guide To Developmental and Child Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Is Dysgraphia? Dysgraphia is a learning difficulty or learning disability that can impair a person’s spelling as well as handwriting. The reason why it can be a learning difficulty or a learning disability is because to have a learning disability you need to have below average intelligence so this is under 70 IQ points. Whereas a learning disability is a condition where someone with average and above-average intelligence can have. In addition, Dysgraphia isn’t a mental health condition, instead it is a neurodevelopmental condition that is characterised by a difficulty in forming letters, staying within lines, having good handwriting, expressing your ideas on paper and spelling words correctly. Personally, I understand why the woman doing the assessment wanted to test me for Dysgraphia. She started talking about Dysgraphia once she saw just how horrible my handwriting was, and coupled with dyslexia, it would explain why I struggled with spelling, forming letters and writing. My assessor described Dysgraphia as the opposite of dyspraxia. Dyspraxia is a difficulty with gross motor skills whereas Dysgraphia is a difficulty with fine motor skills. The reason why she didn’t want to give me a Dysgraphia diagnosis is because I have an above-average typing speed so my fine motor skills are fine. Even though I highly suspect my friends, family and loved ones would highly disagree at times. Linking this to diagnosis more widely, there isn’t a single specific test for Dysgraphia. Instead Dysgraphia is tested for using a battery of assessments that includes fine motor skill tests, general writing ability and spatial processing. A person undergoing a Dysgraphia test might be tested on their word and letter formation as well as written expression. Also, a person’s past school reports, written assignments and teacher and parent input might be used as part of the assessment. Another reason why this links to my own learning difficulties assessment is because I mentioned that my typing skills are above average. Whereas for people with Dysgraphia because the condition impairs their fine motor skills, this can lead them to experience difficulties with typing. Even though sometimes this isn’t the case because both typing and writing use different motor skills so this is why the use of a keyboard is an effective accommodation for children as well as adults with Dysgraphia. Moreover, Dysgraphia is typically diagnosed in early elementary school (or for my UK listeners, early primary school) because this is when the child is first learning to write, but you can be diagnosed later on in life, including adulthood. And whilst, having messy handwriting doesn’t automatically mean someone has Dysgraphia because a lot of people have messy handwriting. Individuals with Dysgraphia tend to find writing neatly to require intense effort and intense concentration. This is another reason why looking at clusters of symptoms is important when it comes to psychological diagnosis. Additionally, the reason why psychologists and other professionals need to be aware of Dysgraphia is because it is really frustrating for the children and adults who have the condition. The symptoms and the social consequences of the condition can lead to high levels of emotional distress. Especially, because when we think about it, someone with Dysgraphia will struggle to spell written words as well as write at a normal speed, but they won’t have difficulties with speaking or reading. As someone with dyslexia, I know how annoying it is to not be able to spell. You tend to be the butt of jokes, there will be judgmental comments from other people and people who don’t understand you might be horrible to you. I’ve often had interactions that have left me feeling sad, stupid and a little pathetic. Another fact about Dysgraphia is that the condition can occur in isolation or you can have other comorbidities. For example, dyslexia and if we combine dyslexia and Dysgraphia for a moment. Then not only does a person struggle to write at a normal speed and correctly spell words but they’re also going to have difficulties reading and understanding written words. This only adds to the emotional distress and additional difficulties that the child or adult faces when it comes to oral and/ or written language. A final note for this section is that children with ADHD have a higher-than-average chance of developing Dysgraphia and it is more likely for girls with ADHD than boys to develop both dyslexia as well as Dysgraphia. Just remember that this does not mean that ADHD causes Dysgraphia, it is just a comorbidity.  What Causes Dysgraphia? Whilst the exact cause of the condition isn’t fully understood, Dysgraphia does tend to run in families so it is understandable that there is a genetic component of the condition. Also, Dysgraphia is a complex condition because it impacts the control of motor skills, word organisation, thinking about words, working memory and generating ideas. This is why children with Dysgraphia tend to struggle with orthographic coding, this is the ability to store written words in working memory or to form memories of written words. As well as children with Dysgraphia can struggle to plan finger movements too. In addition, you can have something called “acquired Dysgraphia”. This is when a person develops Dysgraphia following a stroke or brain injury. Finally, for this section, it’s important to note that Dysgraphia and dyslexia are different conditions because they tend to get mixed up. Dysgraphia is a condition that specifically impairs a person’s ability to write and it impacts their spatial processing and motor skills. Whereas dyslexia impairs a person’s ability to read because dyslexic people have difficulties retaining or explaining information that they’ve just read, they don’t always recognise words by sight and they have trouble with sounds. What Are the Symptoms of Dysgraphia? As with all neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions that we look at on the podcast, everyone’s presentation of symptoms will look slightly different. At the end of the day, we are all different people with our own bodies, backgrounds and expressions, but there are some common symptoms. The main difficulties for people with Dysgraphia can be boiled down to difficulties with language processing, spatial perception and/ or fine motor skills. Firstly, people with Dysgraphia tend to use incorrect lack of punctuation or capitalisation in their writing, they poorly form individual letters and they omit words from sentences. This is a massive issue that my MSc dissertation supervisor had with me in a joking way because I cannot capitalise words correctly to save my life in titles. In my subheadings, I am semi-famous for capitalising every single word including “Of” and “The” when it turns out they shouldn’t be. Another cluster of Dysgraphia symptoms include having a painful or awkward pencil grip and/ or an unusual position of the body, arm or wrist when writing, they experience frequent hand cramps when they’re writing and they skip letters when writing words. As I mentioned earlier, this was largely why the assessor didn’t agree with a Dysgraphia diagnosis for me because I didn’t have fine motor difficulties. I don’t put my hands or wrists or body in a weird position. In fact, I try to be very ergonomically conscious so putting my hands and body in painful positions would go against who I try to be. A final cluster of symptoms of Dysgraphia include having poor sentence organisation and the sentences might be grammatically incorrect, they use words incorrectly and have difficulty thinking and writing at the same time. Given all of these symptoms, it isn’t surprising to learn that writing can be painful and really frustrating for people with Dysgraphia. This leads people with the condition to want to avoid writing altogether and they feel distressed at the idea of having to write. Unfortunately, this leads children with Dysgraphia to be described as “lazy”, “unmotivated” and other horrible names so this harms the child’s self-esteem. It’s even worse when these negative self-perceptions might last into adulthood, even more so if the Dysgraphia isn’t treated and diagnosed. This reminds me of a series of interactions I had with a young student who had socio-emotional difficulties and she hated reading because she was embarrassed by it. I didn’t want to shame her, make her feel worse about reading or anything like that. Instead I worked with her to build her emotional and social skills so she could feel more confident. I was even happier when I got her to do some reading towards the end of our work together. This is why it’s always important to listen, respect and work with  a student instead of thinking of them as lazy or anything else negative. How Is Dysgraphia Treated? Similar to other learning difficulties, there is no cure for Dysgraphia and this means early intervention and specialist coaching in all skills related to the written language is important in Dysgraphia treatment. In terms of schools, they should make accommodations necessary to help the child improve their handwriting and anything else they need to be able to thrive. Other treatment options for people with Dysgraphia include physical exercises to strengthen their hand muscles, having extra time to complete written assignments and reduced writing workload. As well as they can do writing activities that help the child to learn how to write complete letters, develop motor control, increase their handwriting speed, write letters from memory and spell the most important and common words that they’ll need to use. Furthermore, people with Dysgraphia can get wider support through a speech and language therapist, an occupational therapist, a special education teacher and sometimes a psychologist is needed to help a child deal with their frustration and anxiety. Of course, it’s difficult to add any more depth because everyone with Dysgraphia will need different levels of support, different needs and different accommodations. In terms of treatment for adults with Dysgraphia, adults can benefit from occupational therapy because if a person can modify their environment through formal or informal accommodations, then this means they might become more successful at work and in their home life. For example, adults with Dysgraphia might benefit from speech-to-text software, taking notes on a laptop instead of by hand, using graph paper so it’s easier to write neatly and stay inside the lines as well as using PDF versions of paper forms. Finally, a reason why aspiring and qualified psychologists need to be aware of Dysgraphia is because adults with the condition might benefit from psychological therapy. Especially, if their self-esteem has been harmed by the condition, even more so if they spent their childhood being called “lazy”, “stupid” or anything else that has eroded their self-esteem over the years at no fault of their own. Therefore, it’s important for us, aspiring and qualified psychologists, to work with clients with Dysgraphia to recognise that their condition is a neurological condition, that has absolutely nothing to do with intelligence and their self-worth. This allows adult clients to over time rebuild their confidence and figure out how to cope with the difficulties they face. Clinical Psychology Conclusion At the end of this psychology podcast episode, I’m really glad that we now understand a lot more about Dysgraphia. It isn’t a condition we often hear about, but that doesn’t mean as aspiring or qualified psychologists that it will never impact our clinical work. I always think it is best to try and learn as much as we can, so just in case, a client with Dysgraphia walks into our therapy room. We can help them as best as we possibly can, and of course, if you’re working with a client with Dysgraphia. You will need to learn a lot more about the strategies to help them and the condition. Yet I hope that this episode has given you a foundation to build your understanding, practice and exploration of the condition. And ultimately, I hope you enjoyed today’s episode just as much as I did.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Developmental Psychology: A Guide To Developmental and Child Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Clinical Psychology Reference and Further Reading Adi-Japha E, Landau YE, Frenkel L, et al. ADHD and dysgraphia: Underlying Mechanisms. Cortex. 2007;43(6):700-709. Chung, P., & Patel, D. R. (2015). Dysgraphia. International Journal of Child and Adolescent Health, 8(1), 27. Danna, J., Puyjarinet, F., & Jolly, C. (2023). Tools and methods for diagnosing developmental dysgraphia in the digital age: a state of the art. Children, 10(12), 1925. International Dyslexia Association website. Accessed September 18, 2017. Kalenjuk, E., Laletas, S., Subban, P., & Wilson, S. (2022). A scoping review to map research on children with dysgraphia, their carers, and educators. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 27(1), 19-63. McCloskey, M., & Rapp, B. (2017). Developmental dysgraphia: An overview and framework for research. Cognitive neuropsychology, 34(3-4), 65-82. Rangasrinivasan, S., Suresh, S., Olszewski, A., Setlur, S., Jayaraman, B., & Govindaraju, V. (2025). AI-Enhanced Child Handwriting Analysis: A Framework for the Early Screening of Dyslexia and Dysgraphia. SN Computer Science, 6(5), 1-26. Thiel L, Sage K and Conroy P. The role of learning in improving functional writing in stroke aphasia. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2016;38(21):2122-2134. Yoshimasu K, Barbaresi WJ, Colligan RC, et al. Written-language disorder among children with and without ADHD in a population-based birth cohort. Pediatrics. September 2011;128(3): I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

Whether you’re an aspiring psychologist, psychology student or loved one of a teenager, this podcast episode will be immensely useful to you. Since my audience is mainly psychology students and aspiring and qualified psychologists, I want to mention that depending on the mental health service you work in, there is a chance you’ll encounter a survivor of sexual violence. As well as I’ve already mentioned on the podcast before unfortunately how common sexual assault is for men and women. Yet unfortunately teenagers can be subjected to sexual assault too, and this presents us with an issue because some of the advice about how to help adult survivors doesn’t work for teenagers. As well as because teenagers are still children and as parents or friends or loved ones, we want to protect them at all costs, we aren’t always sure how to help them. Therefore, in this clinical psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn a range of tips on how to help a teenage sexual assault survivor. If you enjoy learning about mental health, victim support and the healing after sexual assault then this will be a useful, insightful and great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Breaking The Silence: A Forensic Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Social Psychology Guide To Sexual Violence, Rape and Sexual Assault. Available  from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Note: nothing on this podcast is ever any sort of official medical, legal, relationship any other type of advice. Introduction To The Heartbreaking Event of Teenage Sexual Assault It’s heartbreaking enough to know that sexual assault exists in the world and I flat out hate that sexual assault happens in the first place. Yet it is even more heartbreaking to know that 44% of sexual assault survivors are under the age of 18, so when we discover that our teenage child, loved one or friend has been sexually assaulted then this is heartbreaking. Your teenager will be in pain, they will be suffering and they will be going through hell and back as they try to process what the hell happened to them and why. Moreover, because 44% of sexual assault survivors are so young, we need to rethink the traditional advice we give people, so we can make sure it’s applicable to the young men and women that experience this awful traumatic event. As well as whilst the research and voices this episode is based on are mainly women-focused, this should apply to all teenage survivors regardless of their gender identity. That’s why I’ll be using gender-neutral language in this episode. When it comes to yourself, you will be angry that some idiot did this to your teenager, you will be scared about the future and you will be scared or terrified for your teenager. As well as you will probably be powerless to help them and it is that sense of powerlessness that I want to talk about in this episode. You might experience grief too. When you feel powerless, please know you are never alone and neither is your teenager. There are rape crisis centres, there are support groups and there are other parents and allies that have been or are where you are right now so you can walk hand-in-hand with them through the healing and recovery process. Also, you can learn from them too because you are all there to support each other. In addition, there are plenty of ways how you can support your teenager compassionately and that’s the focus for the rest of this episode. Also, all the references for today’s episode are at the bottom of the blog post like always. Encourage Your Teenager To Express Themselves Sexual assault survivors are three times more likely to develop depression compared to non-survivors, and psychologist Dana C. Jack refers to depression as a condition that silences a person. This basically means that depression stops the survivor from experiencing, expressing and feeling all the emotions they have as they process the distressing life event. Therefore, one option to help a teenage sexual assault survivor is to find a mental health professional who uses expressive art therapy in their work. Since expressive arts can be very useful for teenagers because it helps them connect with as well as process the truth about the traumatic experience. Personally, even though I’m not a teenager, I think that’s why I’ve thrown myself into my fiction and nonfiction writing. It’s why I’m writing a personal book and then a psychology-focused book based on sexual violence so I can process, reflect and express what I feel about this horrific situation. Yet you might be able to try painting, modelling, clay stuff and a wide range of other creative art forms in a therapeutic setting. Visit the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN) Website Even though this is a website for the United States, this is still a brilliant website wherever you are in the world. For the past 17 weeks, I’ve been reading a fair amount of different articles, websites and a single academic paper to help me process what on earth happened and the RAINN website is one I have kept coming back to. They have some good statistics and facts that I like, and it’s very useful for finding the location of any local rape crisis centres near you and learning more about sexual assault. As well as your teenager might find their Online Hotline useful, which is an instant messaging section where your teenager will be able to connect with a trained advocate who can answer any questions that they have. In addition, after your teenager has connected with their local crisis centre, you can research recovery groups and ask for referrals. Ultimately, this is about knowing that your teenager is never alone and when they hear the stories of other sexual assault survivors, they can heal and reduce their shame and self-blame. As an adult, I know contacting a support service has been immediately healing, beneficial and it has given me hope for the future. I’m still on the waiting list for rape counselling but making the referral was still one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because in all the dark moments, all the dark times when I am suffering so much and I want it all to end, I know I just need to wait a little longer and I’ll be able to get help as I come off the waiting list. There is hope for a good life after sexual assault. Help Your Teenager Explore Contemplative Practices In case you’re like me and it took you a little longer than it should to remember what a contemplative practice was, it is a practice that quiets the mind so you can cultivate a personal capacity for insight and deep concentration. This can include tai chi, prayer, yoga as well as meditation. Also, these practices can be very helpful in healing any dissociation experienced by your teenager or your client because disassociation is where a trauma survivor disconnects from their experience and sometimes their own body in an effort to survive. In addition, I really shouldn’t need to say this but just in case, I do want to mention it. If your teenager has been sexually abused by a religious figure. Do not push religion as a source of healing or power or light in this dark time. If your teenager is religious then please, give them the space to find their own spiritual or religious path as they process what happened to them. And if they reject religion forever after their sexual assault then that’s okay. Talk About Healthy Relationships with Your Teenager A terribly unfortunate research finding is surviving a teenage sexual assault is one of the greatest predictors of them experiencing some type of relationship violence in the future. Therefore, it’s important to talk with your teenager about the difference between a healthy, respectful relationship and an abusive one, and this is something you should model in your own life. This allows your teenager to actually see it and understand it in the real world. Whilst as an adult, me and my best friend haven’t had too many discussions about this topic, I remember one extremely helpful conversation that we had about consent. Since my best friend took the virginity of their ex-boyfriend and they were using it as an example of how informative consent works. In essence, actual consent isn’t a simple “yes” or “no” at the beginning of sex, it is asking frequently throughout sex if is it okay if they do X then y then z and so on to you and not doing it until you enthusiastically consent to it. And it is that need for enthusiasm that is important because you can say “yes” out of fear, out of concern for your safety and out of terror that the person doing things to you will hurt you badly. Thus, if you give consent with enthusiasm then that means you actually want it and that is the whole point of consent. That’s a relatively cruel explanation of this conversation but it proves the importance of having these honest, open conversations. Honour Your Teenager’s Boundaries Something I cannot stress enough because I understand I am not a teenager but my family did this to me and it really distressed me in secret. But please, ask permission before hugging and touching the teenage survivor, because if you don’t and if you just touch or hug them without permission. It can bring up a lot of distressing memories, a lot of pain and a lot of terror because this is likely exactly what the person did who attacked the teenager in your life. Of course, logically this is very different, but the brain doesn’t work like that and your teenager’s brain will not distinguish between these two types of sudden hugs and touches that happened without permission. Ultimately, the teenager in your life needs to be in control of their body at all times so you can discuss safety planning and ask permission before hugging and touching. Yet make sure you don’t take away their freedoms out of your own fear. For example, I know you can track phones and I know certain communities have safety apps that you can download, so you can talk about these with your teenager. Just make sure they don’t feel restricted or controlled in the process. The reason why I’m mentioning this is because my social environment (the term I use to subtly refer to something) have a Ring doorbell camera and whenever I would go out, leave the house or do something, they would ask me about it later on. They thought it was funny that they could see who was coming or going from the house but it seriously negatively impacted my mental health but I felt so controlled, I lacked all freedom that it was actually something that played a minor role in my sexual assault. Furthermore, after my sexual assault, my social environment was struggling with me telling them what had happened and one day someone was seriously angry with me that I didn’t want to hug them. So I forced myself to and I hated it, I felt so disrespected and that’s one of the main reasons why I don’t consider my social environment a good place for support. Them not caring about my requests not to be touched for a little while whilst I recovered and started healing a little (my sexual assault had only happened three days before), set up the emotional tone in the relationship that they didn’t want to hear me out, respect me or move heaven and earth to help me. Please listen and respect your teenager’s boundaries no matter how hard they are. Never Blame The Teenager In Your Life I’ve already mentioned why you should never ever blame a sexual assault survivor in other chapters. However, you should remind the teenager in your life that their sexual assault was never their fault and all the trauma responses and whatever happened during the sexual assault was what they had to do to survive. Therefore, what you can do as a parent, a friend or loved one is simply to give the teenager in your life the patience and be the empathetic listener they deserve. There are a lot of online resources and books to help you become an empathetic listener in case you need some extra support. For instance, Non-Violent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg. On the whole, as someone who did have their social environment blame them for the sexual assault before claiming a few weeks later this wasn’t true (gaslighting), this is extremely damaging. I cannot stress enough how you should avoid doing this at all costs, because this will place a massive wedge between you and the teenage survivor, and you might not notice, you might think that everything in your relationship is going okay. Yet in my experience, the survivor will remember what you said, what you implied and how you made them feel. I don’t want that for you, because if you’re hunting down information and reading or listening to this chapter. Then you are actually amazing as far as I’m concerned because no one did that for me. No one wanted to support me so badly that they hunted down information in an effort to support you. Just make sure your teenager feels loved, supported and listened to and the road to recovery should be a little easier even if it doesn’t seem like it some days. Clinical Psychology Conclusion I know this chapter was mainly aimed at parents, loved ones and friends of teenage sexual assault survivors whereas my normal audience is aspiring and qualified psychologists and people interested in psychology. Yet here’s the tragic truth about sexual violence, it doesn’t matter who you are, what your job is or what your future or current job is. You yourself or someone you know or someone you love can be a sexual assault survivor. This is critical information to know whoever you are so that’s why I have no issue having this in the book at all. Overall, during this difficult time of recovery, please be kind to yourself and your teenager because self-care is flat out critical for both of you. Definitely reach out to a mental health professional and/ or a rape crisis centre for support as you process what on earth happened to the teenager in your life. There will be dark times, dark moments and you will be terrified for your teenager at times because you love them, you want to support them and you will struggle with how to handle this aftermath. However, whilst sexual assault does devastate lives, there is hope for a better life if you want to heal. There are other survivors, specialist mental health professionals and a lot of other great people that want to help you and your teenager heal and recover. It is possible regardless of how difficult processing sexual assault is on both of you.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Breaking The Silence: A Forensic Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Social Psychology Guide To Sexual Violence, Rape and Sexual Assault. Available  from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Forensic Psychology References and Further Reading Campbell, R., Greeson, M. R., Fehler-Cabral, G., & Kennedy, A. C. (2015). Pathways to help: Adolescent sexual assault victims’ disclosure and help-seeking experiences. Violence against women, 21(7), 824-847. DeSalvo, L. (2000). Writing as a way of healing: How telling our stories transforms our lives. Beacon Press. Feuereisen, P. (2018). Invisible girls: The truth about sexual abuse. Seal Press. https://rainn.org/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-new-teen-age/201207/7-ways-to-help-a-teen-survivor-of-sexual-assault Miles, L. W., Valentine, J. L., Mabey, L. J., Hopkins, E. S., Stodtmeister, P. J., Rockwood, R. B., & Moxley, A. N. (2024). A systematic review of evidence-based treatments for adolescent and adult sexual assault victims. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 30(3), 480-502. Moore, C. L., & Van Vliet, K. J. (2022). Women’s experiences of nature as a pathway to recovery from sexual assault. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 62(1), 123-150. Rosenberg, M. B., & Chopra, D. (2015). Nonviolent communication: A language of life: Life-changing tools for healthy relationships. PuddleDancer Press. Thomas, S. (2021). The Impact of Sexual Assault Disclosure on Mental Health and Recovery (Doctoral dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology). I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

Recently, as I continue to search for a mental health-related job to do after my clinical psychology MSc, I came across a job for a Social Prescriber Line Worker. I applied for the job, I got an interview but I have little idea what a social prescriber actually does. Chances are, you don’t either because this is a very new job role in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, but it serves a very interesting, unique and important role in modern mental healthcare. Therefore, in this clinical psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn what is social prescribing, how does social prescribing fit within the larger mental health job market and how can social prescribing improve lives. If you enjoy learning about mental health, careers in psychology and multidisciplinary approaches to therapy. Then this is a brilliant episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Working With Children and Young People: A Guide to Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Mental Health . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Is Social Prescribing? Social prescribing, according to the NHS, is a major part of Universal Personalised Care and this is an approach to mental health that seeks to connect people to services, groups and activities in their community. These activities seek to meet the social, emotional as well as practical needs of the person to improve their health and wellbeing. In addition, social prescribing isn’t limited to one clinical population or one age group. Instead social prescribing is an all-age, whole population approach to healthcare that can work even better for people who are lonely or isolated, they have complex social needs that might impact their mental health, they need support with low-level mental health difficulties and they have one or more long-term conditions. The person who does the social prescribing is called a social prescribing line worker and these Line Workers work for local agencies, like social care, local charities and health services. Also, these Line Workers give people time to focus on what matters to them so together the client and the Line Worker can co-produce a simple personalised care and support plan. As well as the Line Worker helps people to take control of their own health and wellbeing. Personally, I flat out love this approach to mental healthcare so far, because it is built on the same reason why I love formulation. We are the experts in psychological theory and research, but the client is always the expert in themselves, their life and their lived experience. This is why we always need to work with  the client to co-produce a care plan, so they feel empowered and like they can take back control. Especially, because in my experience, depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions steal that power from a person. Coproducing care plans can help clients to get that sense of power back. In addition, I really like how Line Workers mean we can reduce waiting lists because instead of clients with low level mental health difficulties being abandoned until their difficulties become severe enough that they need to be added to a waiting list for longer-term, more expensive psychological therapy, we can put them in touch with local services that might help improve their mental health and wellbeing. This is essentially another, less official version of behavioural activation. By helping someone with a mental health condition to take part in and do what they love then it can lead to positive mental health outcomes, to grossly oversimplify. Line workers are a part of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and the idea behind this is that it allows every person in England to access a social prescribing service through their General Practice. Furthermore, social prescribing line workers support existing community groups to be sustainable as well as accessible for everyone. Equally, they help people to start new groups and line workers work with all local partners, so no one is left out. Essentially, I understand this mentality as a sort of “a rising tide lifts all boats” mentality. In other words if all social groups are thriving then everyone benefits in society. What Difference Does Social Prescribing Make? According to the NHS, there is a growing body of evidence showing the stark positive impact that social prescribing can have on individuals, like the report by Dayson and Batty (2020). Research shows that social prescribing gives people more control over their lives so this improves their mental health, as well as service evaluations show that social prescribing reduces pressure on NHS services. Such as, a reduction in A&E attendance, GP Consultations and hospital bed stays for people. As well as in 2017, the University of Westminster found that social prescribing leads to 28% fewer GP consultations and 24% fewer A&E visits. It's clear that social prescribing  does have a starkly positive impact on people and their mental health, and it has wider benefits for the National Health Service too. What Makes A Good Social Prescribing Scheme? Finally, a good social prescribing scheme is made up of support for community groups, a common outcomes framework, workforce development, easy referral from all local agencies, a co-produced personalised plan that is based on what matters to the client you’re supporting as well as collaborative commissioning and partner working. Also, social prescribing link workers are employed to give time to people to focus on what matters to them. These are the key factors that make a good social prescribing scheme. Clinical Psychology Conclusion Whilst social prescribing is a relatively new form of mental health support, I strongly believe that it’s important for aspiring and qualified psychologists to be aware of. In case you’re like me and you’re close to finishing your time at university, you’ll be looking for mental health-related jobs so we can get the practical work experience we need to be able to apply for the Doctor of Clinical Psychology in a few years. Getting involved in social prescribing work might be a useful first step as we continue our psychology journey. Just a thought. What do you think?   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Working With Children and Young People: A Guide to Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Mental Health . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Clinical Psychology References and Further Reading Dayson, C., & Batty, E. (2020). Social prescribing and the value of small providers-evidence from the evaluation of the Rotherham social prescribing service. Evers, S., Husk, K., Napierala, H., Wendt, L., & Gerhardus, A. (2024). Theories used to develop or evaluate social prescribing in studies: a scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 140. Haslam, S. A., Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Sharman, L. S., Hayes, S., Walter, Z., ... & Young, T. (2024). Tackling loneliness together: A three-tier social identity framework for social prescribing. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 27(5), 1128-1150. https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/comprehensive-model/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/pcsp/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/social-prescribing/faqs/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/workforce-and-training/social-prescribing-link-workers/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/primary-care/primary-care-networks/ Sachs, A. L., Kolster, A., Wrigley, J., Papon, V., Opacin, N., Hill, N., ... & Litt, J. (2024). Connecting through nature: A systematic review of the effectiveness of nature-based social prescribing practices to combat loneliness. Landscape and Urban Planning, 248, 105071. Scarpetti, G., Shadowen, H., Williams, G. A., Winkelmann, J., Kroneman, M., Groenewegen, P. P., ... & van Ginneken, E. (2024). A comparison of social prescribing approaches across twelve high-income countries. Health policy, 142, 104992. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

After subscribing to a few Continued Professional Development newsletters and seeing the option for Single Session Therapy on my university’s counselling form, I finally decided it was time to investigate this type of psychotherapy in more detail. Traditionally, we know that psychological therapy can take months of therapy sessions to be fully effective and to improve a client’s life for the better. Yet some therapists and researchers argue that a single session of psychological therapy is more than enough for some clients. Therefore, in this clinical psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn what is single session therapy, what is the evidence base for single session therapy and how might Single Session Therapy be used in the future. If you enjoy learning about mental health, psychotherapy and psychological treatment then this will be a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by CBT For Depression: A Clinical Psychology Introduction To Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depression.  Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Is Single Session Therapy? The main, basic principle behind Single Session Therapy is that a single session of psychological therapy might be more than enough to support clients with their mental health difficulties. Also, this isn’t a theoretical model nor is it a standalone psychological approach, like cognitive behavioural therapy. Instead Single Session Therapy is a framework that helps therapists to conduct their therapy sessions in a way that maximises the efficacy of every session regardless of the type of therapy. Personally, I think this is an interesting idea because whilst it wouldn’t work for a wide range of mental health conditions. For example, you cannot undo or treat someone’s depression, anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder amongst other mental health conditions in a single therapy session. You might be able to support people with subclinical conditions just enough so their mental health difficulties don’t become more severe where they need longer-term, more expensive psychological support for a longer period of time. That’s actually a really interesting idea. Maybe offering people a single session as a preventative measure so they don’t need to get so severe that they need to be put on a waiting list for longer-term therapy for years. Furthermore. Single Session Therapy isn’t actually about therapy only lasting a single session. Hoyt and Talmon (2014b) argue that one of the massive misconceptions people have about Single Session Therapy is that it means a client only has a single treatment session. In my opinion, I would add if you didn’t want people to have that misconception, then don’t include “single session” in the name. To me, that’s common sense but I didn’t name it. Moreover, this misconception comes from the main idea behind Single Session Therapy. The basic idea is that a therapist works with a client to make sure they get the most out of every session of the therapy with the idea that every single session can potentially be the last one. Maybe this is because of dropout, poor treatment adherence, clients not being ready to start therapy, clients not having the right therapist for them at that moment in time or clients not having a capacity to change at that moment in time. Interestingly, according to Hoyt and Talmon (2014b), the most common number of therapy sessions a client has is 1. I think that’s fascinating because it shows that if most clients do only have a single session then as aspiring and qualified psychologists, we need to move heaven and earth to make sure the client gets the most out of this session. Even if the client never comes back, I would prefer to give my future clients as much knowledge, techniques and support as possible so if they never return. They might be okay in the future, or slightly better off than they would have been otherwise. Is Single Session Therapy Enough for Some People? In my opinion, as someone who has experienced depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, anorexia and a bunch of other mental health conditions because of child abuse and rape. I know Single Session Therapy would not be a good fit for me and this would not have been useful in the slightest, but for some people a single session of therapy is enough. Interestingly, when Talmon (1986) noticed a high dropout rate in the psychotherapy service he was working in, he investigated why there was a high dropout and he found that 78% of clients said they had benefited from a single session of therapy so they didn’t feel like they needed to return. Additionally, this idea was later confirmed by Hoyt who conducted the first study into Single Session Therapy and out of 60 clients, 58% of them believed they didn’t need additional therapy sessions after their first session. As well as these findings have been confirmed in additional research studies all over the world. Nonetheless, my issue with Single Session Therapy is it is clear that there is strong potential for Single Session Therapy, especially as a preventative measure. Yet how do we apply this knowledge to the real world? In the United Kingdom, to be able to access psychological support, you essentially need to have two believable suicide attempts otherwise you cannot access therapy. That is how bad and how high the mental health criteria is for public sector mental health support, and this is the biggest employer of psychologists in the United Kingdom. How Could Single Session Therapy Fit into The Public Sector? I spoke about this in my book, Clinical Psychology Reflections Volume 6 , with the Lanson Model in Cornwall. If there is a clinical psychologist in doctors and in primary healthcare then there is a chance, you might be able to book one session of therapy with a psychologist and hopefully that would be enough to help you decrease your psychological distress, and if you needed more then you would be put on the waiting list for longer-term support. However, in my experience, as a rape survivor, I know sexual trauma is on the more extreme end of mental health conditions. Yet if I went for a single session of therapy, I started to feel hopeful about the future and then I was put on a public sector waiting list for years that alone would make my mental health worse. There are no good solutions. Clinical Psychology Conclusion At the end of this podcast episode, whilst I have doubts because of my own mental health experiences about the usefulness of Single Session Therapy in the real world. I strongly believe we should be looking into offering clients one therapy session in primary healthcare to act as a preventative measure. This means there is a good chance people’s mental health might not continue to decline to the point where they have clinically significant levels of distress that meet the criteria for different mental health diagnoses and then they need to be put on waiting lists for years. Our waiting lists for psychological therapies are extremely long, they need to be reduced and the way to reduce the waiting lists is to reduce the need for them in the first place. If we can stop people’s mental health from declining by giving them the therapeutic skills, techniques and self-advocacy to manage their mental health before they get severe enough to need longer-term therapy. Then this could benefit our mental health services in multiple ways. It means we could focus our extremely limited resources on the individuals with the most severe mental health needs, we could give mental health support to everyone regardless of whether they have two believable suicide attempts or not and so on. Single Session Therapy might not be for everyone, but it might be a game changer in primary mental healthcare if we somehow manage to find the funding, implement it and find mental health services willing and able to trial it out. And that’s the hard part. Mental health services are already stretched to breaking point and many will not have the resources to trial this brand-new approach without additional funding and staff. The odds might always be against new ideas, but that’s why we always need to be trying, testing and finding new solutions to old problems. What do you think?     I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET CBT For Depression: A Clinical Psychology Introduction To Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depression.  Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Clinical Psychology References and Further Reading Bertuzzi, V., Fratini, G., Tarquinio, C., Cannistra, F., Granese, V., Giusti, E. M., ... & Pietrabissa, G. (2021). Single-session therapy by appointment for the treatment of anxiety disorders in youth and adults: a systematic review of the literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 721382. Campbell, A. (2012). Single-session approaches to therapy: Time to review. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 33(1), 15-26. Hoyt, M.F. & Talmon, M. (2014b). Editors’ Introduction: Single Session Therapy and Walk-In Services. In M.F. Hoyt & M. Talmon (eds.) (2014a), op. cit., pp. 2-26. Hoyt, M.F. & Talmon, M. (eds.) (2014a). Capturing the Moment. Single Session Therapy and Walk-In Services. Bancyfelin, UK: Crown House. Hoyt, M.F., Talmon, M. & Rosenbaum, R. (1990). Sixty attemps for planned single session therapy, manoscritto non pubblicato. Hymmen, P., Stalker, C. A., & Cait, C. A. (2013). The case for single-session therapy: Does the empirical evidence support the increased prevalence of this service delivery model?. Journal of Mental Health, 22(1), 60-71. Kim, J., Ryu, N., & Chibanda, D. (2023). Effectiveness of single-session therapy for adult common mental disorders: a systematic review. BMC psychology, 11(1), 373. Slive, A., McElheran, N., & Lawson, A. (2008). How brief does it get? Walk-in single session therapy. Journal of Systemic therapies, 27(4), 5-22. Talmon, M. (1990). Single Session Therapy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass (Tr. it. Psicoterapia a seduta singola. Milano: Erickson). Weir, S., Wills, M., Young, J. & Perlesz, A. (2008). The implementation of Single Session Work in community healt. Brunswick, Australia: The Bouverie Centre, La Trobe University. Young, J., Weir, S., & Rycroft, P. (2012). Implementing single session therapy. Au stralian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy ,  33 (1), 84-97. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

At some point in our lives, we will encounter someone who is being passive-aggressive towards us. Whether this is a friend, loved one or work colleague, people will always be passive-aggressive towards us in some fashion, and this can make work situations uncomfortable and sabotage friendships and other relationships. Therefore, in this social psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn what passive aggression is, how to deal with a passive-aggressive person and what causes passive aggression. If you want to learn more about social relationships, relationship conflict and how to manage conflict in relationships, then this will be a brilliant episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Social Psychology: A Guide To Social and Cultural Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Is Passive Aggression? Passive-aggressive is when someone doesn’t get visibly angry but they express their hostility in passive-aggressive ways designed to confuse and hurt their target. For example, blanking a person, not wanting to engage in conversation and just ignoring a target are all examples of passive aggression. Other examples of passive aggression include avoiding responsibility for tasks, missing deadlines, withholding critical information, frequently underachieving in contrast to what they are actually capable of, and sabotaging group projects amongst others. For example, a few days ago and what birthed the idea of this psychology podcast episode was that one of my housemates went away back home for a few months and two other housemates without permission turned the missing housemate’s room into a library. They put about sixty books in the housemate’s room without permission and I was texting the housemate and they asked the other housemates to remove the books from their room. A week later the books were still there even though the housemates said they had moved the books, so the missing housemate asked me to remove the books. I did. I put the books into the bedroom of the person who books belonged to and they aren’t using their bedroom, because they sleep with another housemate. That’s a whole different story. Yet one of my housemates was furious that I had moved the books so they barely spoke to me on the Sunday and they blanked me all day on Monday. Regardless of the friendly conversations I tried to engage with them. That’s passive aggression. Even now the housemate hasn’t spoken to me about how furious they were. Anyway, when it comes to dealing with a passive-aggressive person, getting angry or nagging them will only put them on the defensive. This makes them make up excuses and deny responsibility so this isn’t a good way to deal with passive aggression. Thankfully, later in the podcast episode, we’ll learn about some of the healthier ways to confront passive aggression and handle relationship conflict. On the whole, the reason why I’m talking about passive aggression on a psychology podcast besides it being a human behaviour, is because we will all encounter passive aggression in our life. As aspiring or qualified psychologists, it’s important we learn how to deal with passive aggression from our peers, our clients and in the mental health services we work in. Since if we allow passive aggression to impact the therapeutic alliance and our work relationship then this might lead to very negative outcomes for our clients and decrease therapeutic success. This is something we have to avoid at all costs. That’s why this knowledge is critical. What Causes Passive Aggression? Passive aggression comes from a deep-seated anger, frustration and hostility that a person isn’t comfortable expressing directly to the target. This is why when you’re dealing with passive-aggressive behaviour, you should bear in mind that all their behaviour underlies a deep sadness as well as unhappiness. For instance, my housemate was (maybe is still) really angry with me for moving the books they put in the missing housemate’s room without permission. Yet they aren’t comfortable confronting me about it. Partly it is because I know they have avoidant attachment so they will avoid conflict at all costs. Another facet of it is that they probably know they were in the wrong to not remove the books like they told the missing housemate they did. Why Is Passive-Aggression Dangerous? Passive aggression is dangerous because it is very damaging in relationships. The target of the passive aggression typically feels powerless, frustrated and unable to get the passive-aggressive person to cooperate with their conflict management efforts. This could lead the target to enable the passive-aggressive person’s behaviour and assume all the responsibility and taking on a parental role they don’t want. The most damaging aspect of passive aggression is that in the end, all the conflict, anger and resentment will still come to a head and need to be resolved if the relationship is to continue. When my housemate was being really passive-aggressive, I felt powerless, uncomfortable and just awkward. It was so awkward to be in my own home but feeling like I had to be confined to my bedroom so I didn’t have to interact and run into my housemate. Who was just blanking me and radiating anger at me. In addition, passive aggression can be really frustrating to the target because it’s hard to prove its passive aggression or if you’re making it up and overreacting. Or whether this passive aggression is unintentional, so this can lead to more conflict. Especially, if people struggle to have an open and honest conversation about the problem at hand. Personally, when my housemate first started being passive-aggressive to me by not responding when I came home from spending time with my family and offered them to share my caramel-donuts with them. Then when they didn’t respond, I said it again and I got an angry “okay”. I felt really unsure if they were being passive-aggressive or not and this feeling only got worse. I felt a little gaslit by myself, because I didn’t know if I was overreacting, underreacting, if I was in the wrong for moving the books out of the missing housemate’s room and so on. It was just frustrating to me that yet again my housemate’s avoidant attachment was impacting me. I was being punished for helping the missing housemate get the books that didn’t belong to them out of their room. Is The Silent Treatment Passive Aggressive Behaviour? Technically, it depends if the silent treatment is passive-aggressive behaviour, but generally I would say yes. Due to the more extreme forms of the “silent treatment”, like being completely ignored and refusing to respond to the target’s attempts to communicate. These are more direct ways to express anger, frustration and hostility so technically, they don’t count as passive-aggressive behaviour. Yet small versions of the silent treatment like pretending not to hear a friend’s comment or failing to acknowledge a friend in the hallway are signs of passive aggression. In addition, silence can be a very powerful and effective way to passive aggressively shame and hurt a target because the silent treatment can be a quiet form of “verbal” abuse. Even more so when someone in a position of power, like a parent, uses silence to manipulate someone vulnerable. Like a child. Since being ignored by someone you like or love is deeply hurtful and it can cause lasting harm against the target. As a result, you can deal with the silent treatment by using better communication as this can help to change someone’s passive-aggressive behaviour. Due to once you’ve identified the toxic behaviour, you can take a step back, stop participating in the toxic behaviour yourself and affirm the passive-aggressive person’s inner anger. For example, instead of me keep trying to engage with my housemate, which is what I ended up doing because if they were going to completely ignore me, there was no point trying to communicate with them. By taking myself out of the situation, the passive-aggressive person could see that I was no longer being impacted by their behaviour and it wasn’t hurting me anymore. So whatever power they thought they had over me had gone. Afterwards, you can affirm their anger by validating it. Of course, the passive-aggressive person is likely to deny their anger at you because the whole point of passive aggression is so they don’t need to confront their emotions. Anyway, to handle the silent treatment you can compliment their areas of competence, reinforce the behavioural changes you want to see and don’t be afraid to revisit the subject if needed. Personally, I’ll be the first to admit that this is something I need to get better at. Me and my housemates have tried to have calm, validating and supportive conversations so many times and I used to think we would make great progress. We would validate each other, we would compliment each other on what we liked about the others and we would ask for certain areas to be improved but when me and the missing housemates noticed the other two housemates were saying the right things but they weren’t changing or putting in the effort. In fact, they were getting worse, we had a few more meetings but we just gave up trying. Some people will just never change and it’s frustrating. Hopefully, your experiences will be different. How To Deal with Passive-Aggressive People? As mentioned earlier in the episode, passive aggression typically comes from underlying sadness, anger and/ or insecurity, and sometimes the person might not even be aware of these emotions. Therefore, the passive-aggressive behaviour can be an expression of these emotions or an attempt to gain control in a relationship. When it comes to dealing with passive-aggressive people, you need to be mindful about how you respond. You might want to be passive-aggressive yourself but expressing your anger and frustration like this is likely to only encourage the passive-aggressive person to act that way and nothing changes in the relationship. The behaviour inside the relationship only gets more toxic. As a result, it’s useful to show the passive-aggressive person that you respect and value their perspective and this might help to address their underlying sense of insecurity. Just make sure you never apologise for unfounded offences or this means you’re placating the passive behaviour person. For instance, I would never apologise to my housemate about moving all the books out of the missing housemate’s bedroom. My passive-aggressive housemate put over 60 books in their bedroom without permission turning it into a library and when the missing housemate asked to move it, I was simply putting the books where they belonged. If the passive-aggressive housemate wanted to have a conversation with their partner (another housemate) telling them to stop buying books because they have no space for them, then they should do that. They shouldn’t keep putting their rubbish in other people’s bedrooms without permission. However, one of the best solutions and this is not ideal is for you to limit your time with the passive-aggressive person. As well as if you do decide that confrontation is the best path forward, I wouldn’t recommend it but believe me, I know how tempting it is and sometimes confrontation does seem like the best path forward. It’s best not to be accusatory to the passive-aggressive person as you calmly explain how the behaviour makes you feel. Again, in my experience because I know my passive-aggressive housemate has avoidant attachment that just adds another layer of complexity. As well as limiting your time in their presence is not ideal, especially if you live with them. It can make you feel awkward, stressed and like you’re being restricted in your own home, that is not fun. Yet I get more stressed and frustrated being in their presence than being confined to my bedroom so I guess it works in a way. How Do You Respond to Passive Aggressive Behaviour? When you encounter passive-aggressive behaviour, it’s useful to manage your own emotions effectively, so remove yourself from the situation or practice some self-soothing techniques whilst you get your emotions in check. Afterwards, you should try to address the passive-aggressive person’s concerns directly, set clear boundaries and if you think it’s needed, spend less time with the passive-aggressive person. Otherwise, it’s very likely that you will only get hurt and I don’t want that for you. What Can you Say to A Passive-Aggressive Person? When you talk to a passive-aggressive person about their toxic behaviour, it’s important that you never apologise if you’ve done nothing wrong, you hold them accountable for their behaviour and you try putting your needs first. Of course, the passive-aggressive person is likely wanting you to blow up, start shouting or screaming and even start being passive-aggressive yourself. Don’t fall into that trap. Instead the best way to talk to a passive-aggressive person is to be calm and directly address the issue at hand being specific about what upsets you and what behavioural changes you would like to see. In my experience, putting your needs first is a brilliant way to improve your mental health because after I stopped trying to be friends with a housemate that was only taking energy from me. Instead of giving me back anything in return, I felt a lot better even if the housemate thought I was horrible, abusive and “helping doesn’t come naturally to me”. I couldn’t believe they said that and everyone I’ve told has been shocked, because I’m always helping people without a second thought. So when you put your needs first, passive-aggressive people and people who use you will react badly but you are the most important person so you need to do what’s right for you. Social Psychology Conclusion At the end of this psychology podcast episode, we’ve learnt a lot about passive-aggressive behaviour from what it is, what some examples of passive aggression are, how to deal with passive-aggressive behaviour and so much more. This is important information for all of us to be aware of because whether it’s a friend, a client or a colleague at work, we will encounter a passive-aggressive person at some point in our lives. Yet being able to handle a passive-aggressive person, protect our own mental health and manage the relationship conflict are all critical life skills that will help us thrive in the future. That is all I want for all of you wonderful listeners. I just want you all to thrive. And now you know how to thrive in a passive-aggressive situation.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s social psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Social Psychology: A Guide To Social and Cultural Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Social Psychology References and Further Reading Finzi-Dottan, Ricky and Toby Karu, “From Emotional Abuse in Childhood to Psychopathology in Adulthood,” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (August 2006), vol. `94, no.8, 616-622. Goldsmith, Rachel K. and Jennifer J. Freyd,” Effects of Emotional Abuse in Family and Work Environments: Awareness for Emotional Abuse,” Journal of Emotional Abuse (2005), vol. 5 (1), 95-123. Güler, H., Öztay, O. H., & Özkoçak, V. (2022). Evaluation of the relationship between social media addiction and aggression. Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, 21(3), 1350-1366. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/passive-aggression Long, N., Long, J. & Whitson, S. (2017). The Angry Smile: The New Psychology of Passive Aggressive Behavior at Home, at School, in Marriages & Close Relationships in the Workplace and Online. Hagerstown, MD: The LSCI Institute. Tronick, Edward Z."Emotions and Emotional Communication in Infants," American Psychologist (1989) 44,112-126. Weinberger, M. Katherine and E.Z. Tronick," Infant Affectivee Reactions to the Resumption of Maternal Interaction After the Still-Face," Child Development (1996), 67, 905-914. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

After last week’s podcast episode that focused on my disillusionment with clinical psychology over the unpaid work experience requirements , I wanted to focus on ways how psychology students can get paid work and build up skills for future job applications. I’ve been working as a student ambassador for my university’s Outreach and Widening Participation department for 6 years now and I’ve learnt so many skills, experiences and benefits that I’m able to write about in job applications. Also, all UK universities as far as I know have Outreach departments and need student ambassadors. Therefore, in this psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn how does student ambassador work benefit university psychology students, what skills can you gain as a student ambassador and how can being a student ambassador advance your psychology employability. If you enjoy learning about careers in psychology then this is a brilliant episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Careers In Psychology: A Guide To Careers In Clinical Psychology, Business Psychology and More . A brilliant magazine containing two psychology books and five gripping psychology articles per issue for a bargain price. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Note: as always nothing on this podcast is ever any sort of official advice and everything in this podcast episode is based on my personal experience over the past six years. Other people’s experiences might vary. How Does Student Ambassador Work Benefit University Psychology Students? The layout of today's episode is that I'm going to talk about a whole bunch of different benefits. I'm going to talk about the benefits themselves, why they're important from an employment perspective, some examples of how outreach work and widening participation work has helped me gain these skills, and then we'll apply these to psychology students, specifically. But first of all, I just want to mention what is outreach work and what is widening participation work. So what my personal definition...which is a much nicer and less formal definition than given by outreach themselves is that student ambassadors, they work with children and young people aged between 12 up to 18 years old, and sometimes adults because we also work in further education colleges and a few other places, and we work with them to show that university is possible regardless of your background, your socio-economic status, whether you're disadvantaged because you're in receipt of free school meals and a whole bunch of different other facets. If you want to go to university, then you can. And, typically, student ambassadors work with schools that have a lower than national average of students that go on to university, so that's what our partner schools do, and I flat out love it. So let's dive into some of the benefits. The Benefit of Work Experience For Psychology Students First of all, and I know this is a really mundane one, but it gives you work experience, and we all know that work experience is really valued by employees because as long as you have some sort of work experience then it's super valuable, and you're much more likely to be unemployed compared to if you've never worked a day in your life. And a lot of this is because of the different skills and the different transferable skills that you pick up, and I'm going to talk about that in the other sections of today's podcast episode, but work experience is super valuable. So I've been working outreach for six years now, which I still think is actually quite amazing, and I flat out loved every minute of it. Of course, there were challenges. What job doesn't have challenges? And there are some days I'm like, "Wow, that was a hard day." But outreach is super supportive. My other ambassadors, they're really supportive. And to be honest, the really funny thing is that I remember in my grandma's eulogy what she said about grandchildren, and I think there were parallels here, to be honest. So she said, "The great thing about grandchildren is that you can give them back at the end of the day," and to be honest, I feel the exact same way about school students at times. Some students are amazing, they're wonderful, and you absolutely love working with them because they're passionate, they're engaged. Other students, you are very happy that you don't have to see. Thankfully, that is so rare, and then 99% of students are absolutely brilliant. But there are some groups you're just like, "Wow, I'm really glad I don't have to see them again." But work experience is really valuable, mainly because of the other benefits that I'm going to talk about in a moment. If we quickly apply this to psychology students, the reason why work experience is important for psychology students is we all know how competitive the job market is when it comes to psychology. So we all know that after you've done your studying, once you've got your master's, your undergrad, or whatever qualification that you're currently on, after that, you need to start getting mental health work experience. So the very fact that you've got some work experience from student ambassador work is already going to make it a little bit easier. Of course, as I spoke about in last week's podcast episode, it's still going to be so difficult to be able to get a mental-health-related job, let alone an assistant psychologist job. But if you've got some working experience at all, then that opens the door slightly, and that really makes a massive difference compared to other psychology students who have never worked a day in their life. That's one way how outreach work can be seriously beneficial. Outreach Work's Fun and You Get to Do Lots of Different Things. Personally, this is my main benefit of outreach work, and this is why I love being a student ambassador, because it is so much fun, and you get to do so many different amazing things that you would never get to do normally. As all of you know, I'm a psychology student. Chances are, you are too, if you're listening to this podcast episode. Normally, I would never have to get involved in that conservation work, a woodland walk, teaching students about liquid nitrogen, even dipping rubber into liquid nitrogen. Or one of my favorite was you drop a cucumber that's still in a plastic wrapping into a tub of liquid nitrogen and it pops, because the water makes it expand. That was amazing fun. I loved that day. Plus, you also don't get to present assembly talks or help students during reading interventions. One of my favorite things was the forensic science day I did last year. That was amazing fun because I got to do fingerprinting. I got to do blood tests. I even got to get dressed up in the little white crime-scene-tech suits, and then what we did was we helped assess a crime scene. That was amazing fun, but if I wasn't a student ambassador, I wouldn't be able to do any of that, which I think is a massive shame because this work is just amazing, I love it. And I've been able to give speeches, presentations. I've also been able to develop my own psychology content. So if I was just a psychology student, I wouldn't be able to do any of that. So why is that important to aspiring psychologists? How could the chance to do lots of different things impact my employability in the future? To be honest, well, having fun is really important life experience. And I think that it's definitely made my university experience a lot richer, a lot thicker, and enjoyable, and because I've done so many different things with outreach, there are a few benefits. So, firstly, it gives me a lot more work experiences to draw on in activities, and I've done that quite a few times. Therefore, I can talk about these experiences in my cover letters, personal statements, and all these fun things have all really benefited me because each of these different situations teaches you different skills and you've got to handle these situations differently. So that can be really helpful in job applications. Also the ability just to have fun, it helps protect you against burnout, fatigue, mental exhaustion, especially if you've got an intense degree. So not a lot of people understand this when I talk about it, but to be honest, outreach is my escape. Outreach is so much fun, and that's why I keep doing it time and time again because it just gives me a break when my degree is really a busy. I really do recommend it for that. Overall, student ambassador work can be a protective factor against mental exhaustion and fatigue, and it gives you lots of different things to talk about on job applications. Meet New People and Make New Friends This is definitely the second major benefit of being a student ambassador and doing outreach work. Because, to be honest, my whole reason why I do outreach is to make friends, to meet new people, and do lots of different things. I've met so many different people all through outreach. I've met different ambassadors, different members of our staff, and all of them do completely different things to do with me. But I've got really good relationships, really good connections. Like some ambassadors, who I was doing summer core with, which is a four-week period of doing outreach work every single day for four weeks, we're doing a barbecue on the 1st of August because we're friends. We want to hang out. We want to be social with each other. Some of them, I'm really good friends with now. All of them I have really good conversations with them. We talk about our lives. We're social, and all of them I never would have met if I had only been a psychology student, because none of them study psychology, which I think is just a really good reminder that university is about meeting new people. And if you're not as social as me I'm an introvert, I do have a bit of social anxiety especially when my mental health is really bad, because of my rape, but outreach gave me a structured, calm, and relaxed way to meet new people. As a result, yes, we're there to do a job, yes, we're there to support students and inspire them and show them that university is possible, but the social side is really beneficial too. Focusing on employability, the ability to meet new people, work with people that you never met before, it's really valued by employers. And constantly on person specifications or job applications, I see that that is a requirement. Which actually leads me on to my next one, which is: Communication, Teamwork, Friendliness and Rapport Being a student ambassador really helps you with all of them, because if we can continue in the current vein when you meet new people and to make new friends, you will need to communicate clearly, you will need to work as a team, you will need to be friendly, and you need to be able to quickly build a rapport with your other ambassadors and the staff members just so you can ensure that the day runs smoothly. You can build relationships with your students just so they're having a nice time, and that they feel comfortable around you so they can ask questions about university life and whatever they want. To be honest, that's really important. And when I started outreach six years ago, I was not good at communication. I wasn't really good at teamwork. I was definitely friendly. My rapport building skills have also dramatically improved over the past six years, and largely, that just comes down to me practicing. Practicing talking to other ambassadors. Me practicing talking to a whole bunch of different students, all of that just comes through practice. And if I was only a psychology student and if I didn't do student ambassador work, I definitely wouldn't be that good at communication, I would not be good at teamwork. Because I don't really interact with many people on my course, and that's definitely a me-thing. And I've just not been able to strike up that many great conversations or that many great connections with psychology students. So there's been a few brilliant exceptions, and I flat out love those people. But for me, interacting with psychology students is quite difficult. So outreach has given me another great way to meet new people and practice communication, teamwork, and other skills. As a result, just to very quickly wrap up this point about employability. All of these key skills that you learn by being a student ambassador is really important in terms of employability because all employers want you to be a good communicator, a good team worker, friendly, and build rapport. Because when it comes to mental health work, we need to be friendly, and we need to quickly be able to build rapport with our future clients and anyone who we're supporting with their mental health. Just something to think about. Interact With People from Different Cultures This is a quicker point that I want to make based on a University College London job application that I applied for recently. Because part of the person specification was that they wanted you to be able to interact with people from different cultures. So this was an important one, and one that I found really easy because a lot of the schools that we work with, because they're from disadvantaged poor areas, the majority of the students who we work and we interact with come from ethnic minorities. As well as a lot of the different ambassadors because at university you get to meet people from different cultures, different races, different countries. And people with different backgrounds and experiences as you, you really do get to listen to other people, talk about their culture, why they believe or why they act the way that they do. In addition, sometimes you do need to have those conversations because sometimes, I think, that ambassadors have acted in ways how I wouldn't act and/or they would approach a life situation not how I would have. But if you listen to them, then it makes complete sense given their life situation, their past, their culture, and their personal experiences. So it teaches you those skills like empathy, listening, and other employment skills, so when it comes to cultural intelligence. As a result, student ambassador work is really important, and this is something else that you can talk about in job applications when it comes to applying for mental health roles. Work With a Wide Range of Populations As aspiring psychologists, we know that we really need to work with a wide range of different clinical populations. For example, we need to work with children and younger people, working-age adults, people with learning difficulties, and older adults. So those are the main four clinical populations that you tend to work in clinical psychology. But there are also other populations too, and student ambassador work really helps you with that. Because my university recently got awarded the sanctuary award, which means that they're really supportive and helpful of asylum seekers. So last year I worked with some asylum seekers, who came to the university because they really wanted to come here. They wanted to do their degrees, and they wanted to work. Now, asylum seekers are some of the loveliest people you will ever meet because they're very understanding, caring, and they're a really nice lot. And they have such a drive to want to study here, work, and pay tax. So those are some of the opportunities that you might be able to do as a student ambassador. Also, I've managed to work with children and young people, obviously. I've also been able to work with students with autism, ADHD, other neuro-developmental conditions, and even some learning difficulties. That's all really helpful experience for me. As well as I've also been able to work with working-age adults at higher education colleges, colleges where people do access courses which helps them be able to go on to university. Therefore, outreach work is really valuable and it gives you access to a wide range of different populations, which you wouldn't be able to do if you were only a psychology student. Or you would have to do lots of unpaid work experience, which as I talked about in a moment, is not ideal. And I had a long rant about this in last week's podcast episode. So this is one of the reasons why student ambassador work is really useful and valuable. Getting Involved in Research and Data Input Another aspect of being an aspiring psychologist is that your research skills and your research experience definitely needs to be top notch, and you should always, you know, throw yourself in active research whenever you can. And being a student ambassador does actually offer some paid research experience opportunities. For example, one of those at my university is that you can be an evaluation ambassador and data input ambassador, which is really useful because it gives you experience of manually typing in data, which as much as you might not like that idea, quite an important role when it comes to being a psychology researcher. Also, my research department at my university is doing a massive research project on reading interventions and their impact on disadvantaged children. So if I really wanted to enter this research project, I could quite easily email them, and say, "Hello, I really want to be a part of this research project. Can I be a part of the data analysis and the write-up team?" And they might say no, but they might say yes. So that might be a really good chance to be able to get involved in education research, and most importantly this is an intervention designed for young people. And whilst this is not a psychological intervention, an intervention is an intervention that you might be able to talk about in future work experience and future job applications. All experience is good experience at the end of the day. That’s something else that you might want to think about when it comes to being a student ambassador. You Get to Work in Education This was actually one of the most surprising benefits that I didn't think about until this year. Because I do not want to be a teacher. I do not want to be a teaching assistant. To be honest, for my long-term career, I'm not sure I want to work in education per se. But the brilliant thing about outreach work and being a student ambassador is that you do get to work in education in a very unique way. Because you're only seeing the students for one session at a time, you get to travel all over the Kent and Medway or whatever your local area is. And the brilliant thing about this is that because you work in education it opens up a lot of psychology job opportunities. So beforehand, I could only apply for the clinical psychology job roles that were not related to schools or education in any way, shape, or form. But because I've been a student ambassador for six years, meaning that I've worked in education for six years, means that I can apply for education roles. For example, because of my experience, I've been able to apply for an assistant educational psychologist, a trainee education mental health practitioner. In the future, I can continue to apply for roles in schools and other education-based roles, which is going to be super useful. Also, as part of the research assistant jobs that I’ve applied for. Some of them want experience in schools. But that's really good because I've actually got that experience. I've been able to talk about that in my applications. I guess what I'm trying to say, as we get towards the end of this podcast episode, is being actually an ambassador, working in outreach and widening participation really does open so many doors to you more than you might ever think is actually possible. Lead Ambassador: Leadership, Organization and Time Management One of my favorite roles in outreach is I absolutely love being a Lead Ambassador. To some extent, I'm better suited to being a Lead Ambassador than a supporting ambassador. One, because I love the money. I think the money's amazing. However, I love, love, love organization, time management, managing people, managing sessions, and I love the organization side of it. Because when you're a Lead Ambassador, you're the link between your supporting ambassadors and the outreach member of staff, you need to manage the day, you need to manage timings, sessions, you need to address their problems. Furthermore, to be honest, that is what I love. I flat out love the time management aspect and the organization aspect and just project management. Like, I could be an amazing manager in the future because that's what I love. It's what I thrive off. Put me in a situation where I've got to manage something, I am in my element. And it's amazing fun. There are lots of different examples that I could give you about being a Lead Ambassador and solving problems, but I'm going to try and keep it relatively short. For example, when I was lead ambassador for the conservation week that happened the other week. The first day, which was the only day that I was Lead Ambassador for, was where I had to manage a situation. Because we were in a really narrow corridor, all of the rooms were in the same corridor. So when we transferred and when we swapped students between sessions, it was going to be quite a nightmare, and there was going to be a lot of chaos. So I managed it by moving certain rooms first, or by making certain groups standing certain areas etc. It ran really smoothly. And then because I'm such a versatile and adaptable ambassador, I was able to observe a session such as so I could be an outreach tutor the next day. So unless you were there, you might not be able to fully understand it or explain it. But these skills like leadership, organization, project management, and time management are super useful to aspiring psychologists. Because you need to show leadership both in terms of yourself, your clients, and maybe your team, at times, because if you're a mental health service is experiencing a difficulty, then you might need to step up, take leadership of the situation, and try and help the service solve this problem. Also, organization, when you're a mental health worker or whenever you work in any mental health role, you're going to need to organize your caseload, your clients, your time. And that's where time management comes in because you need to manage your time between your clients and your paperwork, planning sessions, and everything else that someone in a mental health role has to do. And it is difficult enough without poor time management skills. It's just something to think about for the future. Outreach Tutor: Presenting, Teaching, Communication To be honest, if you had asked me, even two months ago, whether I would enjoy being an outreach tutor, I would have said begrudgingly perhaps, but it was not my favorite thing. It really wasn’t. To stand in front of a class, presenting a session, talking, and making it come alive, that was not my thing. Because I would stutter, I would be nervous, and I was always a little anxious about what if a kid makes fun of my stuttering, what if I don't do well, what if outreach thinks that I'm a really bad presenter? And then they don't want me to present anymore, and so many other questions like that. These are all very normal experiences. And I remember sometimes, I would just get really nervous before presenting, but after I got the lesson plan, after I looked through the slides, I would be a lot more relaxed and I would just really enjoy it. And because I've been doing so much outreach tutoring over the past few weeks, I really enjoy it. It's amazing. It's just so much fun to present sessions, make it come alive, just add your list of details about your personal life, about your degree, what you think about this session. For example, one of my favorite ones, or one of the ones I always remember... And this connects to the great thing about meeting new people and making new friends, because as you meet new people and you make new friends, you learn stuff about them, you learn about their past, their degree, how they're finding stuff, and other little tad bits of information, which you can add to your presentation. For example, I always remember during the year 8 housing challenge. This is when year 8 students, so 12 and 13-year-olds, they come out to the university, and what happens is that they design some brand new university accommodation for university students. It's an amazing day. I had a tree house student village as one of my groups. That was amazing, and I flat out loved the ideas behind that group. It was just amazing fun, but there's a research session during that. I was talking about students preferring self-catered accommodation compared to a catered accommodation, and just to bring that section alive, I actually counted that above that point slightly. Because the whole point of that day is that they need to think about the student group that they're designing it for. So what I mentioned was that sometimes catered accommodation is brilliant especially if you've got chronic illness, or other needs which makes cooking and managing food very difficult for you. I mentioned for example my ex has chronic illness. They're bed bound, and they have chronic pain, though. And so sometimes they just can't cook, and them needing to go back to the shops, plan their meals, cook their meals, etc., can be a major stressor. But because they have catered accommodation, that's one less stressor that they have to think about. So it's just using those small tab bits and the small life experiences, which help you to bring your session and your content alive. And, now, sure I stutter from time to time, but that's just me. But I love my job. I love outreach tutoring, and I make it quite performative. Well, I don't mean like dancing, jazz hands, and everything. I mean that I make it interesting, and that's why I can find presenting a little bit draining because, for me, it is quite performative. Because I want it to be engaging, I want to be more extroverted, so that's why I need to manage my energy levels more carefully. But it's flat out brilliant, and I love it. The reason why I want to talk about this as an aspiring clinical psychologist is because on my job applications and person specifications, I constantly see that employers that want you to be good at communicating, good at presenting, good at writing about research ideas and communicating them to the public, policymakers, and your intended audience, which might not be other psychology people. And this is what being an outreach tutor is really good for. Because you work with so many different age groups and so many different sessions, it really does make you think about, "Right, how do I need to present a session to 17 and 18-year-olds differently compared to how I would present a session to 12 and 13-year-olds?" Because, yeah, technically, there's only three years between them, but in reality it's a lot more, because of the development going on and where they are in their education journey. So some of them will be thinking about university, a lot of the 12 and 13-year-olds will not. Most of them will have no idea what university is. So it's about changing your vocabulary, changing your knowledge, and just changing how you present information. Also, a really good experience that I had recently, as an outreach tutor, was that there was a visually impaired girl, who I was working with. So I needed to adapt my session, and I needed to adapt my presenting to suit her needs. So normally when my students are on a task, I play some background music. I play some "Demon Slayer Lo-fi," more for me than for them. But having some background music helps them to focus, and it's something that a lot of us outreach students have found as really critical to think about. So overall as a student ambassador, being an outreach tutor is really important and really helpful because it gives you a lot of our key skills that future employers are really crazy for. Makes You Aware of Inequality and Barriers to Education This is the penultimate point. One reason why I love being an outreach ambassador is that I get to work with our students from different backgrounds, different types of disadvantage, and different types of barriers impact them in their life and their education. And that's very eye-opening. Because I come from a lower middle-class family in a very poor area. So, yes, I am aware of quite a lot of barriers already. But there are other barriers I'm not... But some barriers, I'm completely invisible to because they don't impact me. Such as, racism, certain forms discrimination, physical disabilities, having parents with mental health difficulties, etc.. As well as a whole bunch of other barriers, which I can't talk about publicly on the podcast. So there are lots of different barriers to education and in their daily lives, which continues the cycle of poverty. And some of it is just heartbreaking, but that's why being a student ambassador is important. It's valuable. And this is why I'm so sad, to be honest, I'm going to be leaving this work in a few months' time. Because I won't be able to help these students anymore, I won't be able to inspire, educate these students in the same way. Therefore, I do want to do it in a different way. But because I'm not aware of the stark inequalities and the barriers that people face, as well as it makes me feel grateful for what I have. It makes me feel really privileged at times, but also it makes me want to help people. It makes me more compassionate, more knowledgeable just so I'm able to challenge people. I'm able to challenge society. When society turns round and says, "Well, if you're poor, and it's your fault, being poor is a choice," that's absolutely rubbish. And I hate it when people say that with an utter passion. But being a student ambassador helps to give you the experiences, the knowledge, to be able to counter that and to counter those silly ideas. Money I couldn't really do a psychology podcast episode and talk about working, as a student ambassador, without talking about money. This has been a major benefit of me being a student ambassador for the last few years. Especially during the final year of my part-time masters, when I've had rent to pay, when I found that my university was charging me £2,000 extra, because they charged me full-time rates my first term before I switched part-time, and it's only then that they would charge me part-time rates, which was a major issue for me because it meant that I'm £2,000 worst off. So without my outreach work and without doing lots of it and outreach having shockingly good pay that actually makes my mum quite jealous, I would not be able to afford my rent, my food, do my car, to live a little. I do not spend a lot of money, but outreach work has been a lifeline for me. And part of me does think that if I didn't have my outreach money or, to be honest, if I didn't have my outreach job, I would be a lot worse off, I would be very nervous about my financial situation. Because postgraduate loans in the UK are horrific. They're really bad. They are not ideal in the slightest. And, yeah, I do not want to think about how stressed I've been over the past year about money issues and me just not having enough money to live, pay my bills, and eat. So that's been something I've had to think about quite a lot. But it's one of the reasons why I've been so grateful for outreach because I've been able to work a lot, I've been able to apply for a lot of work opportunities, and because I've networked and because so many members of staff know that I'm good, I'm able to get a lot of hours. Plus, I also drive, which is really beneficial in terms of getting work. It's just a good tool to think about. If you're concerned about money, definitely look at being a student ambassador because, in my experience, it can be really well paid. Careers In Psychology Conclusion Therefore, to wrap up this psychology podcast episode, and because this is definitely a longer one than normal, I just want to quickly run through the benefits again of being a student ambassador and undertaking outreach and widening participation work: ·       Communication, Teamwork, Friendliness, Rapport ·       You will get to have fun, and you get to do a lot of different things that you wouldn't be able to do as a psychology student. ·       Gives you work experience. ·       Meet new people. Make new friends. ·       Money. ·       Getting involved in research and data input. ·       Work with a wide range of populations working-age adults, children, and young people, adolescents, people with learning difficulties, and asylum seekers. ·       Interact with people from different cultures. ·       Lead ambassador: leadership, organization, and time management. ·       Get to work in education. ·       Outreach tutor: presenting, teaching, communication. ·       Makes you more aware of inequalities and barriers to education. My final note that I would just say is being a student ambassador, working with amazing other ambassadors, working with wonderful outreach members of staff, has been an amazing privilege over the past few years. I've loved it. I've just loved interacting with everyone, and I'm so passionate about this work because I get to do stuff I never would have done before. I've grown so much as a person over the past few years, and I love it. I really want every single student to do it because it really does make you grow, it makes you have so many transferable skills, and it helps you so much for the future. Of course, it's just my experience, and other people might have better or worse experiences than me depending on your university and who you are as a person. However, try it, have fun, and just think about it. You might change so many lives, and you might have more of an impact on these young people than you ever thought possible.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Careers In Psychology: A Guide To Careers In Clinical Psychology, Business Psychology and More . A brilliant magazine containing two psychology books and five gripping psychology articles per issue for a bargain price. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.