From administrator to Counselling Psychologist-Suzy's story.

 Hello everyone and welcome to the next instalment of the Pathways to Psychology blog. Today we hear from Dr Suzy Klein, HCPC (health and care professions council) Registered Counselling Psychologist, GMBPsS (graduate membership of the British Psychological Society). Suzy recently qualified as a Counselling Psychologist and we want to start off with a massive "Congratulations!" as completing Doctorate studies is no mean feat. Suzy followed a circuitous route to becoming a Counselling Psychologist, and all her life experience seems to feed into her strength as a qualified colleague. We hope reading about Suzy will inspire you to consider a role in the psychology profession as well. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-klein

https://www.lavenderpsychology.co.uk/

My path to becoming a Counselling Psychologist has been very non-linear. This path starts in the US, where I first began exploring my career options when I was about sixteen years old. I knew that I wanted to pursue a helping profession, and nursing and medicine were the two most salient helping professions to me. So, I enrolled in my local technical college’s nursing assistant programme, as this was a typical step for people interested in those healthcare professions.

I enjoyed the programme and my placement in the local care home, but I found myself resonating much less with the physical aspects of the caring relationships I forged with the residents, particularly because I realised that things like the sight of blood and needles made me feel squeamish. I figured this was something that all healthcare professionals become accustomed to over time, so it did not deter me from electing biology and chemistry as my subjects for undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. My high school guidance counsellor advised me these were the best subjects to study to get into medical school. In hindsight, I find it interesting that I did not consider any mental health-related professions for my career at the time. Due to my own mental health issues and family difficulties, I had spent many hours in the school counsellor’s office and greatly valued the support she provided.

The University of Wisconsin requires students to take elective classes to meet general education requirements. I took Spanish and psychology courses to meet some of those general education requirements. In doing so, I quickly realised that I preferred these subjects over biology and chemistry. Thus, I changed my degree plan and my interest in psychology grew rapidly!

Working part-time and volunteering alongside my studies, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish with an emphasis in Teaching English as a Second Language. I had vague ideas of pursuing future studies in social work or counselling, but I wanted to prioritise travelling, gain more life experience, and pursue therapy to work through my own mental health difficulties first. So, over the next few years, that’s exactly what I did.

I moved to France briefly to take a short-term post teaching English, which I absolutely loved. I returned to Wisconsin for one year, working in an administrative role at a housing non-profit, which I also really loved because I was able to provide meaningful support to the clients on my caseload. Then, I moved to Ireland on a working holiday authorisation, where I had intentions to find work in a charity, but the job market was really difficult, and I was delighted when I finally got offered a role as a receptionist. I enjoyed working as a receptionist because I got to meet and chat with so many people. I stayed in that role for the rest of my year-long work authorisation. Because my working holiday authorisation was expiring, I left Ireland. At the beginning of 2020, I moved to New Zealand and again found administrative work.

Somehow, by accident, it seemed that I was forging a career as an administrator. I really enjoyed administrative work, but I also knew that I was missing something. I recalled the meaningfulness of the helping relationships with the care home residents and the clients of the housing non-profit. I was really drawn to the emotional aspects of my previous work experience. My own experiences of therapy during these years had also been really impactful and solidified that being a therapist was the career for me. I felt that I was ready to return to studying, and so I explored my options. I chose to pursue Counselling Psychology because I strongly resonated with the social justice ethos of the profession and the critical appraisal of the medical model of mental health.

However, because my undergraduate degree did not meet all the requirements for BPS graduate membership, I needed to complete the conversion Master’s degree. I studied online at Robert Gordon University whilst continuing to work in administration, which allowed me to pay the tuition fees. I also began volunteering with Youthline during this time, which was incredibly rewarding and provided me with valuable clinical experience.

This was a really demanding time period, with me working normal daytime hours in New Zealand and logging onto my laptop at home after work to study. I wouldn’t recommend this approach to others interested in pursuing this career, but as I was not eligible for funding or student loans, it was the most financially accessible approach. I later also took a counselling skills course online through ICHAS (Irish College of Humaniteis and Applied Sciences) Dublin, which provided me with valuable counselling skills.

I applied to multiple doctorate programmes, and I was offered a place at three of the universities I applied to. I opted to attend Glasgow Caledonian University’s DPsych Counselling Psychology programme.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of 2022, before moving to Glasgow, I suffered an injury whilst hiking, which left me with chronic pain. Navigating moving to the UK and starting the course at the same time as adjusting to having a dynamic disability was incredibly tough. I leaned on lots of support during this time, with my partner being a significant source of support. I learnt a lot about pacing, received various medical treatments, and found adjustments and accommodations that could help me in meeting the demands of the course whilst also looking after myself physically.

The course itself was academically challenging, and I thankfully had mentorship, guidance, and encouragement provided by my research supervisor, clinical supervisors, personal therapist, peers, and lecturers. My advice to any prospective or new trainee Counselling Psychologist would be to make time for engaging with supervisors, staff, and other types of mentors. My advice to other trainees with disabilities is to engage with the student support team at your university; this was really important for me at various points during the Doctorate, especially when I had pain flare-ups and needed more time to complete my coursework. It can be difficult to juggle all of the aspects of training, and that was certainly my experience, but it was also really rewarding.

I recently completed the Doctorate, and I will formally graduate from Glasgow Caledonian next month. This is quite an exciting time period, as I am just starting to find my path as a qualified Counselling Psychologist! Because I studied as an international student, I recently applied for the Graduate Visa, and I’m hoping to start working soon. I am likely to have a portfolio career, as this will be helpful for me to manage my health and pacing. I anticipate that my career as a Counselling Psychologist might be as non-linear and winding as the path to pursuing the doctorate was, and I am really looking forward to it! 

Thank you so much Suzy for sharing your experiences. I am certain your journey will inspire others. We wish you all the best as you take your first steps into the field as a qualified colleague.

Maybe reading about Suzy reminded you of your own journey to a career in Psychology. We welcome trainees and qualified colleagues to write for the blog. Counsellors, CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) practitioners, PWPs (psychological wellbeing workers), psychotherapists, and practitioner psychologists are all welcome. Get in touch if you wanted to add your own entry.

Kind regards,

The Pathways team.