Becoming an Educational Psychologist: a reflective journey
Hello everyone, we are very fortunate to have two trainee journeys shared from the field of Educational Psychology this week (please check out our blog for details). Today we read about Comfort Anwuzia's journey, initially uncertain as to the specific path to choose in her Psychology career, and then the joy and passion in working with children and young people, which firmed up Comfort's decision to pursue Educational Psychology. We hope you find Comfort's entry inspirational and useful for your own career decisions.
In 2014, I commenced my Undergraduate degree at Essex University, with the aspiration of becoming a Clinical Psychologist. I became interested in developmental Psychology during my second year modules there, and fortunately stumbled across a 1-year internship at an international infant school in Madrid. It was incredibly insightful to be a part the children’s language acquisition, and their multi-lingualism. This provided great opportunities to ‘”hold-off” writing a thesis, but also gain knowledge in what my specific interests in Psychology may be.
Following the completion of my undergrad, I worked full-time at an all-boys inclusion Secondary School in South London for 1 academic year. At this particular point, I wanted nothing to do with Educational Psychology, but thought it could be an opportunity to apply my undergraduate skills of Psychology to young people in an education setting. My role as a Learning Support Assistant highlighted the significance of ‘practice-based learning’ when working with young people with additional educational needs, and how this can impact their social emotional mental health. Additionally, the school itself was based within a low socio-economic context, where the students experienced a variety of difficulties such as gang involvement, poverty, and racism. Although I was not consciously aware of it whilst employed at the school, I felt a sense of injustice for the boys at the school, due to the lack of representation within the staff- and leadership teams. This is something I came to recognise through reflection on my next venture.
With the hopes of gaining more theoretical experience before applying to any Doctorate course in Psychology, I chose to do the Child and Adolescent Mental Health MSc at UCL in 2019. This confirmed my interests in Developmental Psychology and Clinical Psychology – including modules about psychotic drugs, abnormal Psychology, and the significance of evidence-based practice. Though the course was just I what I wanted, I was desperate for clinical experience (and cash of course). Just before we entered lockdown due to the pandemic, I successfully gained 2 Healthcare Assistant jobs based in CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health) psychiatric units. I picked the full-time role at an NHS unit in East London, and did shift work to complete my MSc and write most of my thesis during the nights shifts. I can only say, I felt blessed to get experience not only complimentary to my course but also to my thesis on trauma-informed care. I learned so much from the 8 months I worked here about the severe presentations of mental health in children and the multidisciplinary care accompanied with it. Because of this, my interest shifted from the severe side of the spectrum, to early intervention (specifically in education). I thought I’d then consider the Educational Psychology route for a doctoral degree.
In 2021, I then began the IAPT (Increased Access to Psychological Therapy) Educational Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) course at KCL, working with the NHS to provide low-intensity CBT for young people and parents in schools. Using a ‘whole school approach’ to provide early intervention for young people with mild to moderate mental health difficulties, I gained invaluable experience providing therapy, and learning about myself as a future practitioner. Being able to reflect upon what was good and what needed improvement, only indicated to me even more what type of Psychologist I wanted to be and the context I wanted to work in. This course did not shy from discussions about what I lacked and where it needed adapting, especially when considering the Social Graces. My NHS team spoke monthly about the Social Graces and how to consider them in our work. As a black woman myself, race, gender and culture have always been significant to consider in therapeutic work. With the consideration of socio-economic status and ability, the intersectionality of these factors have a great influence on the trajectory of educational outcomes and mental health outcomes.
Despite loving my role as an EMHP, doing 1-1 interventions, group interventions and an array of workshops, I applied for the doctorate course in Educational Psychology and have just finished 1 term out of 9 at UEL. So far, more than anything else, I have done a lot of reflection on my own values and what that means to me in my personal life, and how they will impact me as an accredited practitioner. I still have what feels like a life-time to go, but I’m hoping for my passions to fuel me to the end of an academic journey to the start of a professional one.
There were times when I thought I was just doing things for the sake of it but I had fun and amassed my psychological experience and practical knowledge. I do hope my spiel is useful to future Psychologists and provides an insightful narrative to those who are unsure about where their Undergraduate degree might even be taking them. There are lots of opportunities opening up. Grab them!
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