Student Blog: “Don’t worry, there’s always help available”

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Robert Dempsey

Hi there, I am a current second year Psychology student at Staffordshire University. I began my Undergraduate degree in the year 2012, however I encountered a series of unfortunate distractions along the way. With the help from my personal tutor, the Student Enabling Centre and the Student’s Union I was able to return to my studies as a full-time student. The purpose of this blog is just a gentle reminder and encouragement to other students to ‘speak out’ if you are experiencing difficulties.

The Access to Higher Education course offered at Stoke-on-Trent College’s Cauldon campus was my gateway into further education, I have no background of A level qualifications aside from a few certificates from a local community college. Prior to starting my first year at university, I endured a history of depression, exclusion and tasted the bitterness of emotional and psychological abuse and also domestic violence. University life for me would be the ultimate fresh start and a potential future ambition for my two children. It was almost too good to be true, I was accepted onto a course which I desired, I felt optimistic and this gave me a great sense of achievement.

University’s requirements are tremendously demanding, especially when you are solely responsible for two young dependants and struggling to fight the dreaded symptoms of depression. My moods would sway back and forth like the waves of the ocean. At times I felt physically numb and just rolling out of bed was progress. I sought help, desperate to be fully engaged in my studies.

Psychology I find extremely interesting, in saying so during the first semester of my Foundation Year, was like opening a can of unwanted worms. So many locked away emotions immersed through exploring modules during lectures and seminars. To the point of my unexpected emotional outburst during one of the seminars.

From that point I began to open up to my Personal Tutor. I was an emotional wreck, but the option to trust my tutor and present myself as a diagnosed depressed single mother gave me an outlet and an opportunity. I was able to entrust my tutor with my personal circumstances by simply speaking out. “I feel as if I’m sinking”, “I’m drowning”, “I can’t focus on my assignments and I am struggling to fight these daunting emotions of depression”. After having a short discussion with my personal tutor from the Psychology Department, I then approached the Student Enabling Centre as advised.

Student Enabling Centre

It was there that I met with one of the Student Specialist Advisors, Elsa. The first time I met with Elsa was surprisingly positive. My moods of depression caused me to anticipate little or irrelevant help from the Student Enabling Centre or indeed from anyone. I was greeted with a very warm and sensitive embrace, I felt welcomed and encouraged to fully open up to Elsa. Elsa’s approach was impressively sensitive towards me. I was given an opportunity to expand on my personal circumstances and also talk about a painful past. Elsa was eagerly supportive and proved her capabilities as a Student Specialist Advisor. Elsa expressed her concerns and appropriately arranged a Learning Support Agreement in support of my academic learning. In support of my ill health Elsa arranged for me to start counselling sessions located at the Enabling Centre. This was exactly what I needed, in particular a fixed support agreement in which allowed me a separate room and extra time during exams, also a Dictaphone to record lectures. This was particularly useful as my depression resulted in my constant fluctuation of fatigue and dizzy spells (being one side effect of my antidepressants). Extra time and short breaks during exams gave me the opportunity to alleviate my anxieties related to exam assessments and also gave me time to refocus my thoughts and to stretch my limbs. Without this extra support I would have the pressure of constant worry, I would feel defeated and overwhelmed.

An Advisor at Staffordshire University’s Student Enabling Centre

In addition I was given a free laptop and a Personal Mental Health Mentor. I was so grateful for the laptop, as I could not afford one for myself, but more so that I was then able to access and continue to my learning at home. This meant that I did not have to travel to the University’s Library and have the trouble of finding a babysitter to care for my kids. The comfort of studying at home also ensured the comfort and safety of my young children. Also I was able to type notes during lectures and this improved my typing skills. As a student this made me feel more engaged with my studies. In addition to working with the Enabling Centre, I had repeated meetings with a Student Financial Advisor at the Student’s Union. My depression made me vulnerable, as a result I fell into financial debt and was seeking help via food vouchers and assistance with emergency energy tokens. I approached the Student’s Union and met with Mark and Martin, Student Financial Advisors. I was unaware of the financial help that the University could offer but the advisors informed me about the options which best suited my situation. I was advised to apply for a Financial Hardship Grant from the University and to my pleasant surprise after submitting the relevant evidence, my application was approved. This particular financial aid was so helpful and I had the freedom of not paying it back. This lifted my hopes as I had exhausted my emergency aid from the local council.

Some examples of the Learning Enabling technology available at the University

As mentioned I was assigned a Personal Mental Health Mentor, I was grateful that it was a female and also a qualified Mental Health Professional. I was offered the options of which date and time my mentor and I should meet. We met weekly and communicated quite often, via email, text and phone calls. This support was tremendous, Noreen, my mentor, was relaxed and non-judgemental, and I looked forward to our weekly meetings. This support made me feel more engaged in my studies and also I felt important, as my depression caused me to feel defeated, isolated and wasteful. I particularly struggled with my organisation and motivation. Noreen was able to guide me in constructing a study time table and an academic journal. This was particularly useful as I was challenged to set specific targets in working towards my assignments. I felt truly supported as Noreen was able to assist me in prioritizing my academic work , but also we spent time sharing thoughts and having light discussions on how I felt on the day, in terms of my mental health, while having a hot drink. This was excellent as I did not feel pressured or restricted to explain or not explain my fatigued expressions. I felt a sense of security in that Noreen knew and understood my circumstances.

An impressive combination of a Learning Support Agreement, counselling sessions, a free laptop, a voice recorder, an assigned Mental Health Mentor, financial support and advice, altogether aided my progression in my degree studies. I felt eager to continue with my studies and accessed all the available support from the University. But first all I had to do was to speak out. I have no regrets and I feel grateful to have accessed the available help. I would like to encourage anyone who can relate or who is facing a challenging experience, in which is negatively affecting your studies or learning experience, to please approach your Personal Tutor, your Student Advisor or Course Leader. The sooner the better.

New Study into Pathological Demand Avoidance & Parental Wellbeing

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Robert Dempsey

Dr Sarah Rose

Dr Sarah Rose, Lecturer in Psychology & Course Leader for Staffordshire University’s BSc in Psychology & Child Development, blogs on her current research in Developmental Psychology including a new study being conducted with a Masters student:

If I said to you that I knew a child who had been diagnosed as having autism you would probably have some idea of the type of behaviour that this child might display. But what if I said to you that I knew a child with suspected Pathological Demand Avoidance… you probably would be less sure.

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a recently recognised sub-type of autism. Children, and adults, with this disorder appear to be socially quite adept, can engage in role play and pretending but have extreme difficulty with demands and expectations from others. Consequently, even the simplest daily activities, such as getting dressed when asked to, can become a huge drama.

As PDA has only recently been recognised, many clinicians and educators seem to know little about it and there has only been a handful of research articles published on the topic. Parents of these children are likely to need a lot of support, as their children can often present severe behavioural challenges. A quick look on forums for parents tell us that many have struggled to get a diagnoses and many feel that they have been wrongly accused of poor parenting.

Amanda Baker

At Staffordshire University Amanda Baker, a student studying for her MSc in Applied Research in Psychology, is investigating the associations between children with suspected and diagnosed Autism and PDA and the parent’s well-being along with the impact it has on the family.

(August 2016 update) We have completed recruitment for this study and are currently in the process of analysing the data with a view to publicising the findings in the near future.

Dr Sarah Rose is a Lecturer in Psychology and a member of the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University, a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees situated in the heart of England. We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page. For further information about our MSc by Applied Research please visit our course page.

Follow the latest news and updates from Staffordshire University’s Centre for Psychological Research via the #StaffsPsyRes twitter hashtag.

A Successful Evening of Weird and Wonderful Psychology!

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

The Psychology department at Staffordshire University organised a successful community event, “Weird and Wonderful Psychology”, hosted in the University’s £30 million Science Centre in December 2015. Dr Robert Dempsey and Dr Nichola Street report on a highly entertaining “Weird & Wonderful Psychology” event:

Our event showcased some of the more unusual, fantastic and quite odd aspects of Psychology to an audience of visitors from the general public, students from local sixth form colleges, as well as staff and students from Staffordshire University. The event including a range of live demonstrations featuring the industry standard equipment used by staff and students in the Psychology department’s teaching and research activities.

A Busy Science Centre

These demonstrations included the use facial ageing software to show visitors the potential effects of alcohol and smoking on facial appearance (as used in our health psychology research), using goggles to show the effects of macular degeneration and alcohol use on performance on simple day-to-day tasks, mindfulness-boosting activities, and whether we can use physiological measures of the stress response to detect when people are lying.

We even subjected the Head of the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise, Dr Peter Jones, to our Human Lie Detector study – who was ably caught out by our Dr Gemma Hurst’s skills at detecting when he was lying!

In addition to demonstrations by our Psychology lecturers, the event also included a number of demonstrations devised and performed by our Second Year Undergraduate Psychology students. Our students were tasked with designing and pitching their Weird & Wonderful demonstration as part of their Social Psychology module seminars, with the winners demonstrating their activity live on the night including delivering a short talk in front of our invited guests.

Our “MindControllers” Student Group – investigating obedience and conformity!

Needless to say, our students did a fantastic job of performing their demonstrations on the night, including explaining how their activity demonstrates psychological phenomena to our invited guests. Our students demonstrated how we can unknowingly change our behaviours to authority figures, whether particular personality traits make for better leaders, how we can conform to perceived norms and obey authority figures, the “Chameleon Effect” when we change our expressions to match those of other people during “selfies”, through film showing how we can’t always see things changing in front of our eye known as “Inattentional Blindness“, and the power of stereotyping other people based on their appearance (see below for pictures).

The Great British Psychology Bake-Off!

As part of the evening’s activities, a Psychology bake-off competition was held which featured assorted cakes and baked goods demonstrating various aspects of Psychology. Including Sigmund Freud Mince Pies, a Brain cake, the Big 5 Personality Traits, The Muller-Lyer Optical Illusion, gingerbread people demonstrating Twin Studies and Gender Stereotyping, as well as a unique set of cakes demonstrating a positive correlation (and a statistical outlier!) which were voted the winner of the Bake Off!

Voting & Talks on Weird & Wonderful Psychology!

The event culminated in the attendees voting for the best student demonstration from the evening – with The Mind Controller’s winning first place with their demonstration exploring how individuals’ behaviour can be influenced and exploring the psychological fields of conformity and obedience. The event also featured a series of short talks by lecturers from the department on their research interests relating to the weirder and unusual aspects of Psychology, including Dr Daniel Jolley on “Climate Change is a Hoax! The Psychology of Why People Believe Conspiracy Theories”, Dr Andrew Edmonds on “Jesus in Toast – Why People see Faces in Unusual Places”, and Mel Hall on “Who You Gonna Call! Ghostbusters? The Psychology of the Paranormal”. All talks were well received by the audience and showcased some of the interesting and exciting research happening in the department.

Mel Hall’s Talk on Parapsychology

Mel even gave a live demonstration of her psychic abilities by asking the audience to guess which number she was thinking of, with the majority correctly and spookily guessing “7”! Although there was a slight twist – our staff and students kept repeating the number 7 during the earlier demonstrations, so we’re not completely sure whether our colleague Mel is really psychic despite her claims otherwise!

The evening was a fantastic and very enjoyable event, and we were very pleased to see our guests getting enthused about Psychology and very proud of our students who presented their demonstrations in an engaging and professional manner.

Judy David, Academic Group Lead for Undergraduate Psychology at Staffordshire University, commented: “I was proud of how enthusiastically students and staff approached this event. So many people contributed, and it was great fun to be able to show off some of the more strange aspects of Psychology to both the public and our own students. There were some very interesting and stimulating activities and talks. I’m already looking forward to next year!”

Dr Peter Jones, Head of the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise, said: “I really love our Weird and Wonderful event. It’s great how it allows our students to showcase the importance of Psychology and how touches every part of our lives, plus it also involves the wider public as Staffordshire University is such an important part of our community”.

The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England. We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

Me-Therapy: A new online mindfulness-based resource for people dealing with cancer

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

Dr Rachel Povey

Trainee Health Psychologist Szilvia Vas together with her supervisor Dr Rachel Povey, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology at Staffordshire University and member of the Centre for Health Psychology, are recruiting participants to trial their new mindfulness-based online resource “Me-Therapy”.

Me-therapy was originally conceptualized by Miss Vas and developed together with Dr Povey as a resource for improving body image and managing physical changes associated with cancer. The trial is being conducted jointly with CancerCare US, and is free for anyone who would like to take part.

“Participating in this online program is a unique opportunity for anyone facing cancer, as it gives men and women the chance to work through some of the body-image changes that they might be struggling with during or after treatment,” says CancerCare Social Work Internship Programme Director, Maria Chi. “The program provides tools to help people become more mindful of the present moment and how their thinking patterns directly affect what they’re feeling.”

www.me-therapy.org

Me-therapy was inspired through Miss Vas’ work at the Douglas MacMillan Hospice in Stoke-on-Trent. The programme includes video clips, audio resources and mindfulness exercises to teach participants how to challenge unhelpful thoughts and behaviours that characterize negative body image. Participants are also provided with direct email support as they are provided with trained “body image buddies” to better address users’ unique needs.

Participants must be 18 years of age or older. To register, visit www.Me-therapy.org

For more details of this trial, please visit the Cancer Research UK website.

Staffordshire University is home to the Centre for Health Psychology, a centre of excellence for teaching and research in health psychology. For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

Research Digest: New Research by Staffordshire’s Psychologists Presented at Conferences

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

The beginning of September can be a particularly busy time for academics. Not only are academic staff busy preparing for the new teaching semester, we are also busy conducting our own research and presenting this work at conferences across the UK and beyond! Here are some updates on recent conference presentations featuring new research conducted by academic staff from Staffordshire University’s Department of Psychology:

Developmental Psychology: Children’s Creative Intentions in Drawing

The Annual British Psychological Society Developmental Section Conference was held in Manchester this year. This conference is an opportunity for researchers (from students to Professor level) to hear about new research and ideas in Developmental Psychology. It also a great opportunity to catch up with likeminded researchers, many of whom become friends over the years, and attend social events, including the conference Gala Dinner.

Dr Sarah Rose & Dr Richard Jolley

This year two of our Developmental Psychology Team, Dr Richard Jolley and Dr Sarah Rose, attended the conference and presented work on children’s creative intentions in drawing. This is a new area of research as although we know an increasing amount about how children’s drawing skills develop we know very little about where they actually get their ideas about what to draw from. Sarah and Richard presented qualitative research suggesting that children are inspired by a wide range of sources when deciding what to draw, including their immediate surroundings, recent experiences, memories, imagination and motivation to express their thoughts and emotions.

BPS West Midlands Conference: Health Psychology, Keynotes, Social Norms & Brand Recognition!

Various members of staff and students, including many from Staffordshire’s Centre for Health Psychology, attended the British Psychological Society’s West Midlands Branch Conference held in Coventry in early September. The conference was an opportunity for students (both undergraduate and postgraduate), early career researchers and academic researchers to present their own research and hear about the latest psychological research being conducted in the West Midlands region.

Professor Karen Rodham, Keynote Talk

Professor Karen Rodham, Professor of Health Psychology at Staffordshire University and current Chair of the BPS Division of Health Psychology, gave an engaging and insightful keynote talk about her practice and research working to better understand how people cope with chronic health conditions such as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Karen discussed her background in Health Psychology, her practice work and ongoing projects into how people cope with and manage chronic pain, including some interesting new research into how individuals represent chronic pain through drawings or portraits.

Dr Rob Dempsey’s poster presented at the BPS WM Conference

Other presenters from Staffordshire University included Dr Rob Dempsey who presented findings from the recent European Commission-funded SNIPE (“Social Norms Intervention for Polydrug usE in university students“) study, included recent work demonstrating that European students have similar overestimations of their peers’ cannabis use behaviours as found in North America. This study is part of an ongoing series of projects conducted by Rob and several Masters in Health Psychology students investigating the role of misperceptions of peer norms (attitudes and behaviours) in health-related behaviours, such as help seeking for various health issues, substance use behaviours, and self-screening behaviours for cancer (e.g. testicular self-examination).

Jenny’s poster

Also presenting data was Jenny Parfitt-Bowman, a PhD student working on a cognitive psychology research project into branding and consumer behaviour using eye-tracking equipment under the supervision of Dr Louise Humphreys and Dr Emily Buckley. Jenny’s research is investigating the processing of brand information when certain features of the product packaging (e.g. location) is manipulated.

BPS Cognitive Section Conference: Product Branding & Facial Recognition

Dr Louise Humphreys, and PhD student Jenny Parfitt-Bowman, also presented their research at the Annual British Psychological Society Cognitive Section Conference which was held in Kent. Their presentations were on the topic of product branding. In particular, Louise’s presentation discussed the role of automatic and voluntary processes in locating and recognising a branded product, and Jenny’s presentation considered the impact of brand manipulation on visual attention disruption and accurate product recognition (see below for pictures).

Also attending the BPS Cognitive Section Conference was Dr Andrew Edmonds, who has posted his own report on new developments in facial recognition research as discussed at the conference (click here to read Andrew’s blog post).

Academic staff at Staffordshire University’s Psychology Department have a wide range of research interests which directly informs their teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate students. The department is home to two centres of research excellence: the Centre for Psychological Research and the Centre for Health Psychology.

For more information about courses offered by the department please click here, including information about our BPS accredited Stage 1 Health Psychology Masters, Stage 2 Health Psychology Professional Doctorate, as well as our new MSc/MA by Research and established MPhil/PhD programmes.

The reality of Freshers’ Week when you are not a teenager!

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

Sammy, who recently started a Psychology degree at Staffordshire University, blogs on her experiences returning to education:

University students are usually fresh straight out of school or college with very little experience of the world, some might have taken a gap year, and then there’s me! I have done it all backwards, pregnant at 18, divorced by 24, now at the age of almost 37 years old and a single mother of 4 children, I have found myself back in education, attending lectures surrounded by 18 and 19 year olds.

For all these younger students moving into halls during Fresher’s Week (now known as “Welcome Week”) gives them the freedoms they have probably never experienced before. Fresher’s week can often be seen as a week where drinking huge amounts of alcohol every night is expected by your peers. Meeting new people, no parents to boss you around or tell you what to do, how to think, feel or behave. Students can even eat a pot noodle or greasy burger every night of the week if they want just because they can (with no parents around!).

But what is the reality for those of us that are a little older? Anyone over 21 is traditionally labelled a mature student – I am not sure how I feel about being labelled in this way as I don’t want my experience at Staffordshire University to be any different to that of my peers. But it will be different and that is the reality. Finding myself as a student at the mid-point in my life with responsibilities of family does help avoid some issues associated with being a fresher. I can’t do crazy nights out and I would advise my peers to avoid that if they can. I can’t roll into a lecture late because I’ve hit snooze on my alarm too many times. I have to make sure that my boys are fed and watered and tucked up in bed on time, or I’ve got to work to make sure bills are paid and there’s food on the table, and so for me university life will be very different. I have joined some Students’ Union societies such as the Marvel Society and the Pagan Society and through these groups I will meet some other people from other parts of the University. I also want to get involved with the Psychology Film Club hosted by the department and Stoke’s Psychology in the Pub talks (what better place to observe human behaviour).

The things that have stood out most to me so far might sound pretty random. The unisex toilets in Verve are like wow, that’s pretty awesome, I’ve never seen that before but it’s a fabulous idea. I wonder if normal pubs and shopping centres will ever catch on to that!?! I’ve overheard some interesting conversations between other students discussing their nights out! I’ve found myself thinking about their parents, their mothers really, and how much these students will be being missed back at home… So I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to my peers, don’t forget your mum, don’t forget your dad, yes you are having fun, meeting people and exploring this vast new world that has opened up with new possibilities, but it takes nothing to send a text, an email, or just one half hour phone call a week.

Remember them because they really do miss you!

Sammy.

100% Student Satisfaction on Staffordshire University’s MSc in Health Psychology!

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

MSc Health Psychology students at Staffordshire University are 100% satisfied with the quality of their course according to Post Graduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2015 results. The Higher Education Authority’s annual Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is the only sector-wide survey to gain insight from taught postgraduate students about their learning and teaching experience.

Dr Amy Burton and Dr Sarah Dean with some of our 2015 MSc Health Psychology Graduates

Staffordshire University is the home of Health Psychology with our MSc being the first programme of its kind in the UK to be accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Our students have access to top of the range facilities including a dedicated base-room within the £30 million pound Science Centre, a thriving psychology visiting speaker programme and journal club, as well as high-level teaching from academics who are active researchers in the area of Health Psychology.

Our MSc continues to hold an excellent reputation nationally and is going from strength to strength. In the recent PTES poll overall satisfaction was 100% with all students surveyed indicating that they would recommend studying at Staffordshire to a friend or relative. In particular students were 100% satisfied with the quality of learning and teaching on the MSc including support, staff enthusiasm, and intellectual stimulation and 100% satisfied with their skill development feeling that the course helped to prepare them for future careers.

Dr Amy Burton, Course Director for the MSc Health Psychology, comments “I have been Course Director for two years now and really enjoy meeting our new students and hearing about their research interests and ideas. The MSc is the first step towards becoming a Health Psychologist and many of our graduates go on to become experts in their field, working in academia, research and clinical practice. I am delighted with our PTES results. Our academic team work hard to ensure that our students get the best out of the course and these results show that we are succeeding in our goal to provide a stimulating and rewarding experience”.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology related postgraduate degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

Psychology Students Highly Satisfied at Staffordshire University!

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

Our graduating Psychology Class of 2015.

Undergraduate Psychology students at Staffordshire University have given some of the highest ever satisfaction ratings for their degree courses as part of the 2015 National Student Survey (NSS). The NSS is an annual survey completed by all final year students studying degrees at UK Universities and gives an insight into students’ experiences at University.

Some of Staffordshire University’s flagship Psychology degrees gained extremely high satisfaction ratings on the NSS. The BSc Psychology and Child Development degree received a fantastic 100% satisfaction score, and our BSc Psychology degree scored a brilliant satisfaction rating of 98%.

These exceptionally high student satisfaction scores across courses demonstrates a very strong focus on students’ experiences when studying for Psychology degrees at Staffordshire University and the commitment of our academic Psychology staff in providing the best experience for students.

Judy David

Judy David, Academic Group Lead for Undergraduate Psychology, comments: “I am delighted our students are highly satisfied with their experience here. We have some exceptional Psychology courses at Staffordshire, designed to give students fascinating insights into Psychology as well as prepare them well for their future. Our academic staff team is well known for being friendly, approachable and supportive and many of our staff are involved in world leading research. So we really can offer our students one of the best experiences possible, and it is lovely to have that recognised in a national survey.”

Dr Peter Jones

Head of School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, Dr Peter Jones comments “These results are even better than last year and clearly show at Staffordshire University we have some of the best psychology degrees not only the heart of England but in the whole of the UK. I think this is not just because we have great facilities but because our academic, technical and support teams are brilliant at creating a great student experience. We pride ourselves on developing people and transforming their lives.”

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology related undergraduate and postgraduate degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading University School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England. We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

Annual Staffordshire Clinical Psychology Trainee Conference a Success!

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

Trainees at the 2015 Conference

Ruth Graham, a current trainee Clinical Psychologist at Staffordshire University, reports on a success conference for trainees hosted at the University in the Summer of 2015.

The Clinical Psychology Trainee Conference took place in June and was deemed a great success. This year marked a new turn for the conference, as two trainees designed and ran the day. Following last year’s successful conference about service user involvement, trainees were keen to lead the way in being open and honest about the personal and professional challenges faced by psychologists.

The theme for the conference was ‘Creating Breathing Space’ and it was designed with the intention of being an experiential breathing space on the day, as well as figuring out new ways to find breathing space within trainees’ personal and professional lives.

Trainees writing their personal reflections about the challenges of accessing self care in their personal lives.

The morning included some action participatory research that allowed for group discussions and individual reflections on the challenges to accessing self care across different areas, such as university, year groups, the NHS, the therapy room, personal life and the world. This was then followed by a brilliant and well received talk on video by Professor Delia Cushway, a consultant clinical psychologist who has spent much of her career exploring trainee and professional stress amongst psychologists.

The trainees listening to Professor Delia Cushway’s video talk.

The afternoon was filled with a variety of workshops that had different takes on breathing space. They included art therapy – where therapeutic slime was met with varying reactions!

A space for mindfulness was a welcome relief amidst a busy day, whilst Konnektiv Arts, a community drama company, offered thoughtful discussion on the presentation of mental health. Neuro-circus added a fun and different approach to self-care as many tried out their balance and juggling skills.

Trainees gathered together at the end in order to offer final reflections and comments on breathing space and how it can be found and fought for in the workplace. Creative reflections led to a tie dye ripple effect wall hanging that reflected the collective impact of individual steps to find breathing space.

The ripple effect and two trainees who have enjoyed the day.

Overall the day was a great success, with trainees enjoying being together and having the space to look after themselves, both in the moment and going forward. Look out for a more in-depth presentation and experience of the conference in the exhibition room in The Science Centre, 28^th September to 2^nd October!

For more information about courses in Psychology and Clinical Psychology at Staffordshire University please visit our course pages here.

StaffsPsych Student Blog: Mentoring GCSE Students

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

Anthony Miller, a second year Sport & Exercise Psychology student at Staffordshire University, blogs on his experience working as a mentor with GCSE students:

An opportunity was advertised via the Psychology department’s Blackboard website to be a mentor at a high school in Stoke-on-Trent under the supervision of Penny Vincent. At first I was apprehensive, I had never done anything like this before! I plucked up the courage and realized how beneficial this could be for my professional development, so I decided to go for it!

I went to mentor some Year 11 students at Haywood Academy prior to the Easter break. Doing this really helped me realize what it takes to work in education, and how challenging it can be. For me, going into that situation blind (so to speak) really was difficult, but once the day was finished, I felt confident and competent. I gained the skills to help in a school setting and now I would not hesitate in doing more mentoring sessions.

Anthony mentoring Year 11 Haywood Academy students

What I actually did was indirectly help the students answer mock exam questions, by finding ways to help them get to an answer without directly feeding the answer to them. At first this was hard, especially without in-depth course knowledge. I also realized that each student is different, and adaptation to the needs of such students is key. Some are quiet, some are loud, and some just really struggle to listen, but this where experience comes in and I am glad I have started with this mentoring role now rather than later. The primary gain from doing this was the students realizing their potential, and learning through my guidance, making a genuine difference to their capabilities.

If you are interested in acting as a mentor please contact Penny Vincent at P.E.Vincent@staffs.ac.uk.

Keep up-to-date with regular student blogs and news via the Psychology Department’s blog and twitter feed.

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News, Events & Research updates from the Department of Psychology at Staffordshire University, UK.

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