My journey to becoming a Forensic Psychologist: it’s never too late….

Hello everyone and welcome to our next blog instalment. Today we learn about Debbie Lewis, a trainee Forensic Psychologist, and her journey towards becoming a qualified Psychologist. Debbie finds herself in a position many others do, with a variety of family- and professional commitments, which don't always make it easy to move forward, and yet this is exactly what she continues to do. She also speaks about imposter syndrome- something so many Psychologists face daily, fearing they don't have the right skills or abilities to work in their role. Debbie continues to pursue her end goal of qualifying despite the difficuties she had faced. We hope you will find reading about Debbie's journey an inspiration to pursue your own.

Debbie Lewis

Trainee Forensic Psychologist

My journey to becoming a Forensic Psychologist: it’s never too late….

To say I stumbled into my career wouldn’t be far wrong. When I left school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, only that I wanted to further my education at University. It was sat on a bench in my mid-teens, after a friend noted that I was ‘like the school social worker’, that it dawned on me….I wanted to help people, more than that; I wanted to understand people. 

The decision was made and I undertook a BSc (Hons) in Psychology. Having 4 part-time jobs at the same time meant I didn’t invest as much time and effort into my degree as I should have done, but I passed nevertheless. I was unsure what area of Psychology I wanted to specialise in so, after University, I decided to spend time getting some practical experience and took a job in a local authority children’s home. While I enjoyed the role I wanted to broaden my experience so, two years later, I took a job as a care officer for the local mental health services (then part of an NHS Trust but now a Social Enterprise called NAViGO). In this role I undertook a Diploma in Social Work as an opportunity to obtain a professional qualification and, therefore, more responsibility and knowledge. While studying, I worked in the Forensic Team, Community Mental Health Team and Tukes Project; a training and employment project for people with mental health difficulties, all which provided valuable experience.

I enjoyed all aspects of my role, but the work within the Forensic Team particularly caught my interest. I subsequently took a role as a Forensic Practitioner with two main responsibilities: case managing individuals who had been detained under Part 3 of the Mental Health Act and were either in secure hospitals or discharged under ongoing community supervision requirements, and working as a liaison and diversion practitioner, working into the local Police Custody Suite and Magistrates Court.

I worked alongside numerous professionals from different agencies: Police, Probation, Courts, Ministry of Justice, MAPPA (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements), secure hospitals, local mental health teams, and with individuals in a variety of settings: community, prison, secure units, custody suites, inpatient wards etc. I soon discovered a passion for learning about people; their backgrounds and what had led to their current situation; putting together the pieces of a puzzle to build a complete picture of an individual. Needless to say, no two days were the same and I loved the variety my job entailed, so much so that I remained in post for 15 years in all!  Although that sounds like a long time, the organisation and the Forensic Service continued to evolve; the work was so varied that I never tired of it.  

My decision to undertake a Masters in Applied Forensic Psychology came because I hoped it would help me in my role and because, whilst happy in my role, I still wanted to progress further in my career. Furthermore, since leaving school, I’d simply always planned to get a Master’s degree. 

In 2012, 8 years into my career as a Forensic Practitioner, I started looking into Stage 2 of the BPS route to becoming a registered Forensic Psychologist. I’d found an external supervisor and had the backing of my employers….then I fell pregnant! I started my maternity leave still planning to complete stage 2, but after giving birth to my son, my priorities changed and the reality of undertaking the qualification with a young baby and a husband in the military became apparent. So I resumed my role as a Forensic Practitioner content in the knowledge that I had the right work-life balance to enable me to do a job I enjoyed and be a happy hands-on mummy too. 

In 2015 I was given the opportunity to train as a Dialectic Behaviour (DBT) Therapist, so I allocated one day a week to the DBT Service and the remainder to my substantive post. This enabled me to develop my therapeutic knowledge and skills and ignited my passion for DBT. In 2020, after the birth of my second child, I was fortunate to return from maternity leave to the proposition that I undertake Stage 2 to enable me to become a registered Forensic Psychologist and fill a gap within the organisation. I knew I may never get the opportunity again so I didn’t think twice! In hindsight, I should have perhaps given more thought as to how I would undertake this on part-time hours, in a non-forensic community organisation, with two young children, but, knowing how good an opportunity it was, the likelihood would be that I would have still enrolled nevertheless. 

The last 2 years have been immensely challenging, especially returning from maternity leave amidst a COVID lockdown, which meant starting a new role working from home with a 1 year old who was just finding her feet and 6 year old who needed home schooling. Like everyone else, we managed, but I am not sure how! I’ve had many periods of doubt over the last 2 years; doubt as to whether I can meet the competency requirements within my current role, doubt about my own capabilities (with regular occurrences of imposter syndrome), doubts about my knowledge and experience given that I moved into Stage 2 from a social worker role rather than an Assistant Psychologist, doubts about being able to complete due to time constraints and endless hours of mum-guilt when I’m trying to get the children to bed early or asking grandparents to look after my daughter on my days off so I can get some work done. It’s been hard, and continues to be hard, but the more work I undertake in the role, the more I love what I do and long to learn and develop more. Despite the doubts, I know I will achieve my goal. 

My journey to become a Forensic Psychologist has spanned over 25 years so far, and I’ll be in my mid-40’s before I qualify, but the experience and knowledge I’ve gained along the way has been invaluable, alongside the unwavering support of Dr Zaffer Iqbal, in enabling me to be in the position I’m in today. Life can be uncertain, it can throw us curveballs and it can take us down unexpected paths; if someone had told 18 year old me that I’d still be progressing my career in my mid-40’s, I’d have laughed and told them I plan to retire at 50! Yet here I am, and would I change anything?….no I don’t think I would. I’ve loved all of my roles but being a Trainee Forensic Psychologist (and hopefully a qualified one) is what I was meant to be. I’ve a lot to thank my teenage friend for!

Thank you Debbie for sharing so openly about the ups and downs you have faced. It is inspiring to read about all the skills you have amassed along the way and the very many different roles you have fulfilled. We wish you every success in the remainder of your training and hope to soon see your name amongst qualified colleagues.

Maybe reading about Debbie has inspired you to consider your own journey, or perhaps you can identify with Debbie's experience - get in touch to write your own blog, to inspire all aspirant Psychologists out there.

Kind regards,

The Pathways team.