As a practice we recognise that Clinical Psychology is a hard profession to get into. This is even harder if you are from the global majority, have a disability or are from a lower-income household. We think this is not right. We’re doing what we can (and in a very small way) to change this. The blog series is one way of sharing the journeys to motivate others, and to give those people heading towards Clinical Psychology, the opportunity to write about their experiences. This is the first of our blogs in the series on journeys into Clinical Psychology.
Today’s Blog was written by Headspace Guildford Mentee Lesley Mensah.
My Psychology journey
My name is Lesley Mensah, and I am currently a final year Psychology student at the University of Surrey. My journey to studying Psychology at university was straightforward. Having taken Psychology at A-Level, I knew this was a career that I wanted to pursue. What motivated me was the under-representation of individuals from an ethnic background in literature, the profession and the lack of the help people of colour often receive in the clinical practice due to stigma.
I undertook a placement year with the university working in a school as a mentor. I learnt to start applying my subject knowledge to the real world as well as the current need for Psychologists in schools. From my placement, I have managed to narrow down my career options to Clinical Psychology or Educational Psychology. If I do end up going into educational psychology, I hope to specialise more in special educational needs (SEN) as I have seen first-hand that there is a deficit of practitioners advising schools what the best course of action is for a SEN student.
I am currently undertaking a mentoring programme at Headspace Guildford. I am able to receive help for interviews, CV guidance as well as participate in events taking place at the practice. This is a great way for me to prepare for any upcoming positions I may apply for and get a sense of what goes on at a clinical practice. I am also able to see the great work that the practice does which inspires me to do great work of my own in the future.
After graduating from my degree, I hope to either apply for assistant psychology posts or work as a teaching assistant to gain more experience working with young people and gain experience working in more clinical settings. After getting the relevant experience I hope to pursue a doctoral programme.