Building a successful and thriving Psychology career despite the barriers

Hello everyone and welcome to our next blog installment. Principal Psychologist, Samina Allie has shared her experience and journey in becoming a Counselling Psychologist. Samina sets an example of going against the norm, building a successful and thriving career in a field which was until not too long ago, not very well known. Samina shares her passion for staff -and client wellbeing and is a pioneer in setting high standards within her daily work, where she sits at the crossroads of emergency and community input. We hope you find Samina's journey inspirational, and maybe it gives you ideas about pursuing your own journey as a Practitioner Psychologist. 

Samina Allie BSc (Hons), MSc, Post MSc, C.Psychol, AFBPsS

BPS Chartered and HCPC Registered Counselling Psychologist

Principal Psychologist 

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samina-allie-b8b57a77

Born and raised in the Midlands, coming from a South Asian background, I faced some scrutiny from the wider community when I announced I wanted to pursue a career in Psychology. Mental Health was such a taboo topic (even now in some communities this continues to be the case) as I was growing up, I remember any sign of mental illness being quite hidden and kept secret, often in the name of upholding reputation or social status, making it all the more difficult for the person suffering to access the help and support they need. 

It certainly was out of the ordinary when I decided to pursue my Psychology degree at Aston University, I was discouraged to apply; ‘it’s a Mickey Mouse degree!! You won’t find a job!’. This in fact made me more determined, as I had seen first hand experiences of stigma towards mental health and aspired to make a difference to others. Before entering Psychology I had worked as a volunteer for what is now known as Rethink. It was a wonderful experience supporting people from all walks of life and from different cultural backgrounds, and one which helped me understand the impact mental health cocnerns had on this marginalised group. I worked as a befriender here for some time alongside my degree studies and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. At the time I had only heard about careers in Clinical Psychology and this was particularly competitive. I had also worked as a volunteer for the Samaritans which I loved and further reinforced my passion to support people in need. 

I remember coming across the BPS (British Psychological Society), and their leaflet about careers within Psychology, and realised that the world of Psychology was diverse. I loved the ethos of Counselling Psychology, it aligned so well with who I was as a person, and I was successful in obtaining a place at City University London after a very rigorous interview process (including a timed essay, group based interview and individual interviews with various course staff). I was thrilled to have obtained a place on the Counselling Psychology Course, and we had to undergo 40 hours of personal therapy in the first year of the course, which was nerve wracking, however really helped me ‘to step into the clients shoes’ and allowed a deeper introspection which set me well for the challenging journey ahead.

I have been qualified for 18 years, my experiences are diverse, I have worked within rehabilitation and residential services, outreach teams, Inpatient settings and Early Intervention for Psychosis Teams. Most recently I have been appointed as Principal Psychologist across two Mental Health Liaison teams based in Sandwell and Dudley. 

Mental Health Liaison work at the interface between physical and psychological health. Providing specialist mental health assessment and treatment for patients attending Emergency departments and general hospitals, we deal with a range of presentations such as mental health issues, delirium, dementia, substance misuse concerns and medically unexplained symptoms. It’s about working collaboratively with the team and wider services to improve access to appropriate support and reduce admissions to hospital or inpatient care for mental health.

  

This is a really exciting post as neither team has had Psychology provision before, the teams have historically been very much Nurse led, so it is a wonderful opportunity to develop and shape a Psychology service and develop good MDT (multi-disciplinary team) working as our teams continue to grow.

 

The work is varied and no one day is the same as the next. I am part of two very skilled teams who are very passionate about delivering a compassionate service to our patients. Alongisde the clinical component my role is diverse in that I offer reflective practice and consultation to the team. I also support the team in assessing patients presenting to Emergency Departments and acute wards, and support the team in a highly pressurised fast paced service. An exciting emerging part of my role has been developing an Outpatient Clinic whereby I offer brief therapeutic work. I am also involved with the frequent attenders forum for both Dudley and Sandwell, and this is where we discuss complex cases and aim to formulate robust management plans for patients that frequent A&E. We work closely with other community services and think together about the needs of this particular client group in order to reduce presentation at Emergency Departments. The skills most needed in this role are being a team player, being compassionate and most of all an enthusiasm to learn and develop.

Thinking ahead we are scoping opportunities to develop specific training to staff across the Mental Health Liaison teams and also delivering bespoke mental health awareness sessions (and other more specialist topics) to staff on the general wards, with the hope of supporting our physical health staff in increasing their understanding of mental health. 

When I reflect on my journey starting all those years ago I am pretty amazed at how far I have come. The patient journey and experience is always at the centre of my work. Quality and service improvements are also a key part of my role and I am a member of the Inpatient Psychological Practitioners Network, and the National Network of Liaison Psychologists and through these networks, we share and disseminate best practice ideas. I have been able to develop ideas and projects such as the ‘Narrative Project’ which was published in the Counselling Psychology Review (Whittall & Allie; 2011). I led on the implementation of this project and it enabled me to help, support and strengthen relationships between staff and inpatient groups. Inpatients were supported by nursing staff to produce their own accounts of their admission to hospital. The second phase of this project was entitled the Digital Story telling project, and I sought funding from an external company called Multistory, who supported the project idea. I project managed the project in its entirety, and digital recordings of inpatients stories were showcased at an event to staff, inpatients and carers. The therapeutic benefits were immense and we were shortlisted as finalists by the Patient Experience Network National Awards (PENNA), which was a huge achievement for our organisation.

Most recently I was Shortlisted as a finalist for the APT Awards and won the internal trust Values Champion award for fostering good mental health in the workplace, as I developed wellbeing workshops during the pandemic for our staff teams working across acute settings, and these ideas have since been cascaded across the Trust.

I see the role of Psychology as a service that complements and enhances the quality of the service provision across wider teams as it often empowers clients and team members. I feel passionate about staff development and the promotion of psychological thinking within a multidisciplinary team as it raises the psychological profile- and mindedness within the team. To evaluate my work informally, I liaise with team members / leaders to see how best Psychology could enhance and be of benefit to their work.

I am passionate about Counselling Psychology and would love to see parity with other applied pathways in relation to funding and placements. I am involved with the Midlands Counselling Psychology forum and have developed positive links with the Wolverhampton Counselling Psychology Course. I am also involved with the Trust’s Psychology and Retention group, where we have noted a significant number of vacancies within Psychology posts. There appears to be a national shortage of Psychologists currently and we aim to promote the work we do as a Psychology division and expand our team and retain our staff. I was involved in the Trust video on working within Psychology, which has been received very positively, and is a useful video for those who are applying for roles within our organisation.

 

I love being a Psychologist and have plans to move into the area of staff wellbeing as it’s a great passion of mine. On the clinical side I am a trained EMDR practitioner and love working within this therapeutic approach and hope to develop my skills further. I would love to develop my knowledge base further around trauma and I’m very grateful that I have the opportunities to work with such a varied and diverse client group.

PUBLICATIONS

Javed, A., Walker, K., Allie, S., Chiweshe, N., Samuels, N, & Leyshon, C (2022) Impact of a newly developed Core24 Mental Health Liaison Service on a patient’s care and outcome presenting with atypical catatonic symptoms in an acute hospital setting. Poster presentation at the Faculty of Liaison Psychiatry Conference 

Khan, F and Allie, S. (2020) Hearing Voices Groups: A Helpful or Unhelpful Phenomenon? Royal College of Psychiatrists West Midlands Division Newsletter.

Khan, F. and Allie, S. (2021) Promoting Staff Wellbeing in an Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Wellbeing Workshop Initative. Royal College of Psychiatrists West Midlands Division Newsletter, pp. 15-17. Available at: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/members/divisions/west-midlands/rcpsych---west-midlands---e-newsletter---spring-2021.pdf?sfvrsn=71f4428e_6 

Khan, F. and Allie, S. (2021) What do Psychologists actually do? An Interview with a Psychologist. Royal College of Psychiatrists West Midlands Division Newsletter, pp. 19-20. Avaliable at: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/members/divisions/west-midlands/rcpsych---west-midlands---e-newsletter---spring-2021.pdf?sfvrsn=71f4428e_6 

Khan, F., Gupta, N., & Allie, S. (2020). Reflections on Facilitating a Hearing Voices Group in an Acute Psychiatric Hospital. Royal College of Psychiatrists West Midlands Division Newsletter.

Khan, F. & Allie, S. (2019). Benefits of nurse co-facilitation of a Hearing Voices group. Nursing Times, 115(2), 54-56. 

Whitall, S., &Allie, S. (2011). Using narratives on an acute psychiatric ward. Counselling Psychology Review, 26(3)

Awards:

2022 Finalist of Inside Out mental health awards for best mental health initiative.

2021 Winner of Black Country Partnership Foundation trust (BAFTA) Awards for being a values champion in relation to promoting Staff Wellbeing in an Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

2020 Finalist for APT Award for Excellence in Fostering Good Mental Health in the Workplace. 

2014 Finalist for PENNA Award for use of Innovative technology in Patient Care; the Digital Story Telling Project

Reading Samina's account has been inspiring and energising and hopefully it offers our readers a glimpse into a thriving and dynamic area of Psychology. We welcome any questions or queries so don't hesitate to get in touch with our team.

Kind regards,

The Pathways team.