Graduate case studies
Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.
You may find that EPs describe their responsilities in different ways depending on the psychological frameworks that they favour and the constraints of the different settings that they work in. We are all trying to ensure that children and young people are given the best opportunities to succeed in life and this is generally through the provision of consultation and training with those who know them best (their parents, schools and other adults who work alongside them). This will also frequently (but not always) involve assessments of children and young people who are referred to EPservices and some EPs may be involved in the delivery of therapy.
This shouldn't be seen as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, however, as EPs can be involved in a huge range of activities which are designed to meet the greater aims of inclusion and equity. In addition to my 'core work' I also go to large multi-professional meetings to offer a psychological perspective on the needs of the most vulnerable families in the local area and meet with various other professionals working with children to help them problem solve when they encounter particularly challenging cases. I still see myself as an educator in many ways...only now I am not educating the children directly, I am 'educating' those who do!
It is hard to describe a typical day as they are incredibly varied. I think it is fair to say that EPs are allowed a lot of freedom in their jobs to deliver a service in the way that suits the needs of their individual clients (i.e. the schools, young people and families they support) and their own needs.
I try to split my days so that I have a portion of each day in direct contact with my various clients and a portion of the day dedicated to report writing, planning, reading and supervision at the office. So I will often be found in a school in the morning, meeting various people, carrying out classroom observations and meeting with children individually. It is important to protect my time away from clients as the job can be cognitively and emotionally demanding. Therefore I tend to be in the office in the afternoon, either with my head stuck into a report or talking about my casework with my colleagues. However, I often change the way that I do things depending on how I feel things are going. I need to be responsive to a wide range of people and so flexibility is a must. Some days I may think that I have everything planned out and an 'emergency' may arise which means that I must re-prioritise.
I love the variety that my job brings, no two days, no two children and no two schools are the same. I love the creativity involved in telling the stories of the children I work with and the buzz that I get when a family feels that I have really heard them. And finally, I love the challenge of working in a messy world where nothing ever goes quite how you thought it would!
On a practical level it is always challenging working with a wide range of people and I have had to learn to say no sometimes to ensure I keep on top of everything. But more importantly, I feel that I should point out that my work can be emotionally draining. Though the good days far outweigh the bad days I would be lying if I said they never came. I am usually working with people at the point of crisis and have to manage all of the emotions that have led them to that point. I am often a sounding board for people's frustrations and must be patient and strong enough to see past their harsh words and rejection in order to help them find a way through. The stories that I hear can also be painful and I need to be in control of my own emotions when I am at work. When I am not in front of my clients I use my supervision and my personal support to help me de-brief. There are occasional tears but the feeling that I am helping to improve the lives of others always gets me out of bed and ready to go the next day!
Because I have always believed that every single person has the right to an education and that no person is unable to be educated. I started out my post-graduate career working with adults in mental health and I often felt that it was way too late to be offering support to these people, most of whom had struggled at school in some way or other. This work appeals to me because I feel that I am in there at the start, trying to make a difference to the lives of others.
Interpersonal skills are the most fundamental in my role. I feel that it is important to highlight that this is not to do with 'personality'. EPs come in a range of shapes and sizes. My doctoral training helped me to understand myself better and to enable me to hone skills that I don't always apply in my personal life! At work I am patient, I listen carefully, recall important detail and have learnt to be sensitive to when it is time to offer advice, when I should merely demonstrate empathy and when I should just be quiet and listen!
The other skills which I feel are most important are: written communication skills, reasonable understanding of statistics (though I didn't feel I had this when I first graduated) and the enthusiasm and patience required for researching and problem solving.
Supervision, reading and attendance at courses is the bulk of my CPD now that I am qualified. However, there are other qualifications that I could consider in the future if more funding were to become available in the public sector.
Upon graduation I worked for 2Care - a registered charity which provides supported accomodation for adults with mental health difficulties. I earned £15k per annum and my main role was to get to know the adults, support them in their day-to-day activities (including toilet cleaning and shopping!) and provide 'key work' sessions (similar to mentoring). I did this for two years.
I then trained as a secondary school teacher (PGCE Secondary Science at Sheffield). Please note that this is not a specific requirement for EPs any more but I feel that it was valuable experience.
When I qualified I worked as a Physics teacher (because there were most jobs in that subject) and eventually worked my way into teaching A level Psychology as well. I got involved in various other things such as attending a 'Special Interest Group' in my school relating to Special Educational Needs and helping out with after school clubs.
I volunteered for MENCAP and a local school holiday activity group for children with SEN. This was always in addition to working, I didn't do any unpaid work full time.
I completed a Doctorate in Child Community and Educational Psychology at The Tavistock Clinic in London. I applied two years in a row. I got no interviews the first year and only one interview the second year out of the 5 that I applied to...but that was all it took so don't be disheartened if not everyone is looking for the same thing.
Education is at the heart of all I do. I want to eventually find myself in a place where I can train others to do this role and also have an influence on education at a level beyond the locality that I work in. For that reason I hope to eventually go into research and lecturing in applied Psychology. I am not in a hurry to get there though...there is still plenty to keep me busy in my local authority EP role!
Be patient, have fun and take on any opportunities that you can. Psychology is not an ageist profession and does not always favour specific experiences over others. What you will always need to show when you apply for courses is that you have learnt something from the experience you have managed to gain. I got onto my course by sharing my frustrations about the education system, OFSTED and adult mental health services....not by telling them that I already knew everything about being an EP.
If you can contact any EPs or other applied Psychologists then try and rope them into a coffee and a chat. Hearing others tell their stories might help you to decide whether applied work is for you and, if so, which area...they are all interesting and all very different.
Last updated: 19 Aug 2013