The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast - How to become a sport psychologist

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi there, it's Marianne here. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to quickly let you know about something exciting that's happening right now. If you've ever wondered how to create income that works for you, rather than constantly trading your time for money, then you'll love the Race to Recurring Revenue Challenge with my business mentor, Lisa Johnson. This challenge is designed to help you build sustainable income streams. And whether you're an aspiring psychologist, a mental health professional, or in a completely different field,

Starting point is 00:00:32 the principles can work for you. There are also wonderful prizes to be won directly by Lisa herself. And if you join the challenge by my link, you can be in with a chance of winning a one-to-one hours coaching with me, Dr. Marianne Trent. Do you want to know more? Of course you do. Head to my link tree, Dr. Marianne Trent, or check out my social media channels, or send me a quick DM and I'll get you all the details. Right, let's get on with today's episode. What is sport and exercise psychology and what additional challenges might there be

Starting point is 00:01:06 for someone pursuing a professional qualification if they weren't born and raised in the UK? This is a fascinating episode where we look at the constituent parts of sport and exercise psychology, what the work involves, what the study involves and what the career options are once qualified. I am joined by Dr. Dawn Marie Ambrose, a qualified sport and exercise psychologist who has a really interesting story to tell. I hope you find it so useful. Hi, welcome along to the Aspiring Psychologist podcast. I am Dr. Marianne Trent and I'm a qualified clinical psychologist. I love to be able to introduce you to have deeper dives into different psychology professional areas. And sport and exercise psychology is one that we've not

Starting point is 00:01:59 covered very often on the podcast. And I still think regardless of what area of psychology that you want to go into, there is so much to be gained by listening to different practitioners talk, hearing about their life stories. So even if sport and exercise psychology is not your passion, I think there is so much that you might find useful about today's episode. Just after we finished recording, my expert for today, Dr. Dawn, and I were discussing the process of visas. And I came across looking quite naive, but I guess we have to know that we can't always know what we haven't experienced. And every day is a school day. What I hadn't realised is actually it's really quite expensive to get visas to work and study in the UK. And we're often talking about multiple thousands of pounds.

Starting point is 00:02:54 And so that is something I hadn't been aware of. Did you know? Do come and let me know over on socials. Come and join the free Facebook group, The Aspiring Psychologist Community with Dr. Marianne Trent, which is the only home of my free weekly videos, Marianne's Motivation and Mindset, which happens on a Friday morning. So do come and dive in over there. With no further ado, let's meet Dr. Dawn. And I hope you find this a really useful episode and I will look forward to catching up with you on the other side. Hi and I hope you find this a really useful episode and I will look forward to catching up with you on the other side. Hi I just want to welcome along Dr. Dawn Marie Armstrong who is a sport and exercise psychologist. Hi Dawn. Hiya thank you for the invite today Marianne how are you? Oh thank you for saying yes I know it's taken us a little while to to sort out a date because we're

Starting point is 00:03:40 both busy people but I really wanted to have a think with you about you obviously but also what sport and exercise psychology is and how people kind of can begin to explore that um as a career option so firstly tell us a little bit about yourself. All right. So, yeah, I'm Dawn. So for me, I think my journey into the field as a practitioner, presently being transnational. So I am not British. I am here working as a professional through what would be the international study route, I wrote my master's here. Then I completed my doctorate here. And as a result of that, I have been able to capitalize on the opportunities as a skilled worker.

Starting point is 00:04:35 Yeah, from the beautiful Caribbean island of Barbados. So I am presently the first from the Caribbean to be on the HCPC register from a BPS accredited doctoral route. And it was no easy undertaking. I think for me, when I consider the field of sport and exercise psychology and where my passion came. So my views on what it was when I first started has changed. Obviously, now being in the UK, practicing, working. And I definitely feel now that the field has evolved to a point where not only do we as professionals focus on the optimization of athletes' potential, we support their well-being, we support performance predominantly,

Starting point is 00:05:16 and it all depends on the philosophical underpinnings of the practitioner. Speaking to myself more specifically, I've diversified my practice, not just to focus on, you know, the performance benefits, but to actually utilize my voice as a means of social advocacy within the field. So focusing a lot on equality, diversity and inclusion and supporting athletes who are struggling with issues like racism within sport, discrimination. I'm really focusing my lens on, you know, marginalized communities within sport. So I would say typically, yes, working with athletes to optimize potential, but definitely recognizing that in order to optimize the potential of the performer, we first have to focus on them as a human being.

Starting point is 00:06:02 And looking at some of the challenges that people face, it is sometimes difficult to focus on them as a human being and looking at some of the challenges that people face it is sometimes difficult to focus on performance only um so yeah well-being and performance but definitely focusing on those issues that impact us as individuals as well and unfortunately racism happens to be one of them yeah absolutely um that was something that I discussed with Daniel Gennardu, who is a professional football player. And he's also got a first class degree in psychology and he's kind of heading towards the hopefully sport and exercise. But I asked him about racism in football and he actually said that it's not really something that he's come up against which kind of made me feel excited for for the change really and it's something I've seen with my children they just don't seem to see skin color um in the way that I think certainly many of us did when we were younger like

Starting point is 00:07:00 I don't know what your experience is of I mean you weren't raised in the UK but how how is that for you as a person of color but also supporting people of color and you know what will you people yeah who are not um you know people of color how's that from your perspective I think for me coming from a country where I was not a minority, I definitely feel I do have very much a larger than life personality. And I think that's not something that's changed while being in the UK. I think having your skin color politicized is something that I think over the years of being here, you know, ticking a box to say, oh, you black caribbean you know um equality and diversity diversity monitoring and you know all of these other things that you just you definitely find in barbados it's a bit like okay well um 95 of us are black anywhere um i definitely feel

Starting point is 00:07:58 that some people and it was interesting because i had someone say to me that they just don't understand the issues that some people face and interestingly enough if people tell you that they're not experiencing racism chances are is that they really just don't have the capacity to deal with it and oftentimes people overlook some of the things that may happen within their environment see small microaggressions you know because if you dwell on them and you ruminate then it has more of a detrimental impact to your performance and this isn't just within sport this is in general um that some people just choose to overlook some of the things that are happening whereas some people do the exact opposite so you and i would both know considering you know psychological evaluation and intake and

Starting point is 00:08:45 assessment it's that individualized approach the support that you provide so so if an individual definitely says this doesn't happen to me you know it's not up to you to say well it is happening if that individual believes that this isn't happening and it's not a thing then we just have to accept that for some people experiences are different. Unfortunately for some of the people that I engage with, it isn't so. And I focus more on that person-centered approach because if we are not valuing people as individuals, sport for example, and I go on and on and on because of the idealistic nature of it, oh, we don't see color, you know, everyone is united, you know there's no racism in sport but people are suffering um in the background unwilling to speak up because they

Starting point is 00:09:31 don't want to be victimized and they don't want you know some of the backlash that comes from speaking about issues like racism so that's why i've taken it as a responsibility to speak up whether or not people believe you know you're making an issue of something that's not an issue believe it or not it's an issue for many and people just don't want to talk about it um so yeah to answer your question it has been interesting um but I'm grateful to have the upbringing that I've had because my identity is more than secure when it comes to dealing with these issues and I think less of critical impartions. Thank you for speaking to that point and you know I was really struck by what you said you know in Barbados actually 95% of people are black and so it's that very much experience of

Starting point is 00:10:16 now perhaps feeling othered being being in the UK even though not 95% of people are white here there's loads more multicultural kind of aspects but very different that feeling of being different or feeling different when actually you're still the same person but you're in a different setting but you know I'm torn I'm torn between congratulating you for being the first um you know but i think what did what did you say the first person from the caribbean who is an hcg registered yes bps or so it's just sport and psychology yeah so i'm torn between congratulating you but also i don't know like a bit dismayed that it's 2024 and you have to be number one you know yeah yeah the expense the investment again you know leaving

Starting point is 00:11:09 the Caribbean and being faced with the very real I'd say xenophobia sometimes there's a bit of sexism there is racism you know within the fields and yeah having to adjust to that um from 2018 until present. Sometimes I don't even know how I got to the end because in reality, you're just faced with barriers at every turn. But yeah, God is good. Here I am. And definitely opening doors for persons who wish to follow.

Starting point is 00:11:42 Yeah, once you can see it, you can see it you can be it can't you and so you know i know there will be lots of people out there who are growing up possibly listening to this podcast um we have people who are doing their a levels or gcse sometimes or undergrad that are like oh right yeah oh okay um yeah so yes thank you for your perseverance and was it your experience I know you you've been a keen cricket player throughout your life was it your experiences in cricket that that turned you on and made you aware of sport and exercise psychology yeah I think this is something that we spoke about before we started. It was that element of being a female cricketer and, you know, exploring the fact that maybe our version of the sport wasn't going to be as

Starting point is 00:12:32 rewarding as the men's version and deciding, you know, I want a degree. I already have my bachelor's degree by the time I represented my country. So I've played for Barbados. I played for the West Indies A team back in 2011 before I started my master's. And yes, I did get a scholarship in terms of starting the master's and completing it. And just recognizing that it was natural

Starting point is 00:13:01 to kind of like go into sports psychology. Interestingly enough, I would have thanked the person that kind of steered me along the road because I was kind of, yeah, battling between sport and criminology. Well, criminology primarily and some person was like, no, Dawn, sports psychology. And I was like, oh, I came to England for my first season as an overseas and just started exploring, know postgraduate degrees degrees in sports psychology this was around 2010 and yeah 2011 that's when I started and I definitely feel like I was thinking more about perhaps the long term not wanting to particularly retire from

Starting point is 00:13:42 cricket too early but seeing how my postgraduate qualification could be incorporated into supporting persons like myself. But equally on the Masters, there was so much teaching that was applicable to me as a performer that I think I just learned and grew throughout the course of study. So yeah, female cricket's a really, really bright prospect at the time I was a fast bowler. One of the fastest, if not the fastest in the Caribbean. And yeah, I just thought it's not working out in terms of, I guess, making a career out of cricket.

Starting point is 00:14:20 Obviously that's changed, but I'm happy that I chose the professional route and I definitely feel that this chose the professional role and I definitely feel that this will be more rewarding for me in the end. Yeah and I think it's it kind of future proofs you as well because in any sport people are going to age out of a system where they're playing it themselves and where they then either sit on the sidelines and wish they were doing it or you coach and support the next generation but you know that sounds like a decision that you made you know sounds like one of the fastest bowlers in in the Caribbean which is amazing but is that something that you

Starting point is 00:14:58 step back from or is it that you were like well I'm doing this instead? Honestly it's interesting because when I came up to the UK I was based in Scotland and I did play a season in 2018 so technically I'd say my last season was 2018 but obviously recognizing the you know the climate differences I think in terms of playing and then thinking how cool they used to be sometimes at the start of the season I just started to question whether or not it was something that I wanted to do, again, because of the studies and the commitment that would have come from wanting to have a cricket career, I think, in the UK. It just wasn't going to work. In line with the visa, number one, and number two, I just did not have the time and the commitment to

Starting point is 00:15:45 do it um so yeah I'd say I kind of stepped to where I look back now and think did I really want to in the sense that did I did I not challenge myself enough to give it a real go um recognizing that ageism is a big thing in in the sport as well and I always think I was early 30s and there were younger girls coming up through the setup and different things so no I think no I'm definitely glad I made the decision um at the time I was always very much you know the cricket bag is still there go and turn over your hand and I did that while I was in Liverpool in 2022 and they wanted me to play an entire season so I was just like you know you still got it but you just don't have the time to commit to it so I think I I've just got the bag there and you never know but it's definitely not wanting to be a cricketer anymore okay and oh gosh that

Starting point is 00:16:47 must have been quite the adjustment going from Barbados to Scotland like I think I would struggle going from Coventry to Scotland so that must have been wild definitely oh let's not chat about the whole call it was oh my goodness yeah so you mentioned the bps route for sport and exercise psychologists could you tell us a little bit more about what that is and you know how that plays out what that looks like for people yeah um so there are two routes towards qualification in sport and exercise psychology there's the independent route so this would be QSEP stage two usually what you would do or at least yeah I'm gonna say back in my day because obviously I wrote the master's over a decade ago you had to have something called GBR graduate basis of registration which was formerly known as GBC graduate basis of

Starting point is 00:17:43 chartership and essentially I had to get my degree from Barbados accredited in order to get the GBC GBR to write the master's and the master's was stage one and because you've got the master's as BPS accredited then you are able to enroll onto a BPS stage two however because I was an international student, I was not able to write the independent stage two because the BPS presently doesn't provide sponsorship for international students to stay and continue. So as a result of completing the masters, I did receive a PhD scholarship at the time. However, due to it's a bit of wanting to stay knowing that I should have stayed and written the PhD, but feeling as if I had a commitment to stay home based on the opportunities

Starting point is 00:18:32 that were provided through the different scholarships that I would have received. And yeah, I went back to Barbados and it was just difficult to qualify because the BPS does not allow you to qualify remotely. You have to spend 51% of your time in the UK. And because practitioners who are overseas have difficulty securing employment, it wasn't possible to come back. However, the prof. wrote was introduced, which then would allow me to return to the UK as an international student.

Starting point is 00:19:03 And in writing the professional doctorate, which is another qualification in line with the QSEP, I was able to then return as an international doctoral trainee and complete in that respect. Obviously more expensive than if I were able to write the independent QSEP but I think in the end very much more rewarding in terms of developing my skills and my experiences academic and other ways so yeah. Okay so that's self-funded. I actually received a government scholarship so I received a scholarship from the government of Barbados again because sports psychology was seen as an emerging field so it was called a national development scholarship and my tuition was paid by the government a stipend provided

Starting point is 00:19:52 within the first year but mainly when I look back at the length of time it would have taken to complete I almost spent triple that so I would say yeah technically self-funded getting to the end um but really yeah I think had not for the scholarship from the government of my country I think the opportunity to return may have been a lot more difficult given that I would have previously written a degree as well yeah okay yeah self-funded the master's was definitely self-funded right and what does the actual study involve so are you having to work with a certain number of people in different sports are you having to do presentations and essays and exams tell us a little bit about the nuts and bolts of it if you will yes so the doctorate is mapped on to four key roles um key role one being cpd and ethics key

Starting point is 00:20:52 role two being consultancy so this is where you do the bulk of your client work um key role three being predominantly research and key key role four being dissemination and teaching, teaching and dissemination. So essentially what you have to do is evidence over the course of your enrollment that you are engaging with field specific CPD. So this will be conference attendances, you're undertaking your certificates, you know, to evidence your practice. So I would have done a CBT course course an REBT course I actually embarked on mental health first aid as well I just thought it was something very useful given the fact that I do predominantly work within youth sport and being able to support

Starting point is 00:21:36 young people in that regard who may be faced with you know crises at the point in time I thought it was a valuable qualification to have. So yeah, attended the BPS conferences, attended different workshops. And what I did find is that when it came to Key Road 2, a lot of these CPD events and, you know, these qualifications that I obtained as a result of this did definitely inform my practice. So some of the case studies that I have undertaken well on the doctorate, one is already published and another has been recommended for publication. So you'll see that hopefully in a few weeks time, I'm hoping not a few months, a few weeks. But yeah, so the research, I have my systematic review published, I am in the process of, you know, structuring or restructuring the independent submissions. These will be the empirical papers, again, for publication.

Starting point is 00:22:34 So I'm hoping to see the majority of my work published within the next 12 months. And teaching and dissemination, I worked at a university in Scotland throughout the latter stages of the doctorate and then I utilized the workshops that I delivered while you know in my job while I was on the doctorate I've said that like four times in my job um I have done that and yeah so the teaching the workshops everything that I did educating persons on sports specific um psychological principles um went into key role for as well so it was really exciting you know looking at the development and looking at my reflections and meta reflecting um about my development over the four years um it was supposed to be two but in terms of the pandemic and I also had my daughter during that

Starting point is 00:23:26 time so I became a mum yeah my daughter was born in 2020 so yeah it wasn't it wasn't clear cut for me but definitely rewarding in the end. Ah well welcome belatedly to the mummy club um the most stressful hopefully rewarding club you'll ever be is she interested in cricket has she picked up a cricket bat yet she's she's three she is she is very she swims um i actually don't plan to sample sports just yet i'm waiting for her to say, Mommy, I'm interested in something. But she is very, what's the word, verbally advanced. At three and a half,

Starting point is 00:24:12 the conversations that she has with me is just a bit, hmm, she wants to study and get A's. So it's interesting. If she isn't sporty, I don't think I'd be the least bit bothered. I just want her to be whoever she is.

Starting point is 00:24:29 And I think that's the most important thing because I was mothered in that way. And my mother allowed me to be whoever she knew I was going to become. So I think I'd apply those same principles to my daughter. Yeah, and I, speaking as a woman, I feel like sport wasn't ever really offered to me. So there was stuff that was happening in school that was compulsory, but I probably wasn't very good at everything. My mum, I remember her playing badminton in the garden and her not wanting to play with me because I wasn't very good. And it's like, it's not very nice.

Starting point is 00:25:11 She'd play with my brother. And I just very quickly got messages that I wasn't very sporty and I didn't pursue anything. But actually, what I've learned since probably becoming, so I'm now 40, I'm going to be 43 in a couple of weeks time but what the pandemic taught me is actually you don't necessarily have to love the sport while you're doing it to feel the benefits of it so I started like many of us I started to put on a bit of weight during the pandemic when I was sitting on my bum more um and I started to run um and I'm still running now. I'm not I'm not very good at it, but that doesn't matter either. I really enjoy it after I finished it. And my body, my mind responds really well to it.

Starting point is 00:25:56 And I have wanted I've got I've got two children, 10 year old and a seven year old. I really wanted to to put sport and exercise more on the map than it had been for me so that it's an option um and so we've joined a gym as a family um in the last week um and today we're going off to do paddle for the first time which is a little bit like badminton a little bit like tennis I think it's somewhere between the two and it's like I've never done that I'm almost 43 and they're getting to hopefully experience sport in a way that feels fun feels exciting um and I just hope that they can then make more mindful choices about sport so I've actually got into strength training in the last two years

Starting point is 00:26:45 and I love it and it's not something I ever would have thought I would love and I just I just want people to be more mindful about them and exercise and you know benefits it might bring for them yeah so another another and I probably should have alluded to this earlier. So you are introduced to exercise psychology in your postgraduate study. And as you get on to the roads for qualification, you do have a choice to decide whether you want to specialize in exercise psychology as well. So there are practitioners, because of the ACPC accredited title of sport and exercise psychologists, there are practitioners who are sport and exercise psychologists who predominantly specialize in exercise. So I think for me, when I engage with clients who are interested in the psychological principles of exercise, I utilize my experience as a sports psychologist predominantly to use those principles to assist persons who are interested in exercising. But I don't particularly tell people that I am an

Starting point is 00:27:50 exercise psychologist, whereas some of the exercise psychologists that I know predominantly work in, you know, fitness settings, for example, and assisting clients who are somewhat sedentary by applying the principles of behavior change and allowing them to feel empowered as a result of you know utilizing exercise to enhance be it well-being obviously in most instances I think a lot of professionals who specialize in exercise psychology find themselves on exercise referral schemes so providing that support for persons who again may be struggling to you know have an active lifestyle and showing them the benefits that can come as a result of that so a lot of persons who have been diagnosed

Starting point is 00:28:37 with like you know health issues for example who have to, psychologists are there to support them along, you know, those routes. There are programs, for example, for people who are struggling with weight and they have psychologists to support persons to put interventions in place to support people in that regard. So, yeah, there is tremendous scope for both sport and exercise. But as a practitioner and discussing my sporting history, we've come to recognize that I am definitely a sports psychologist. And I have no regrets. Yeah, that's really interesting to split the two parts of that qualification that actually you're qualified in both. But your professional interest is more in the sport and the the professional sport player yeah definitely yeah um professional sport player yes

Starting point is 00:29:33 but working in elite youth sport I actually quite find more enjoyment working along the pathways so I know there are people that find enjoyment in the glory of sport yes I've engaged with professional athletes in the past but I find there is more more joy developing the athlete at the early stages so youth sport is is actually my preference but because of the specialism with the EDI and investigating the racism you definitely do engage with more professional athletes in that regard yeah thank you I feel like my mindset has just pivoted from thinking of sport and exercise as something to dread as you know something to relish um and that's that's the difference and I do wonder whether had I had more opportunities so um in uh in the Olympics um London 2012 it's a bit of a running joke in my family that I was watching the pole vaults um and I was like oh I've never

Starting point is 00:30:37 never done that this could have been my sport I could have been like an amazing pole vaulter and they were like I think you probably wouldn't have been but I was like but how do we know you know if we're not giving people a chance to try these things out how do we know yeah no I appreciate that to be fair and it kind of brings me back to the sentiment that you shared about you know allowing your children the opportunity to engage with sport very early on. I definitely do feel that even if they don't become you know professional athletes it's the character and the character building that comes as a result of participating in sports and team sports especially

Starting point is 00:31:16 you know learning those early principles of teamwork and you know respect and understanding that persons have differences different levels of abilities and acknowledging that persons have differences, different levels of abilities, and acknowledging that there is a role that you play within the team and taking that outside of sport and looking at life in general and your role in society and who you are and how you can make a contribution to not just society, but to another person and to the people that you interact with I definitely feel that these skills are transferable and I do feel that a lot of the

Starting point is 00:31:52 principles from sport can be applied to youth development I guess but young people's life skills development very early on but that will take me down another tangent about the impact that the field can potentially have in terms of academia and in terms of primary education, secondary education but yeah I'm just very passionate about everything that we can do as a field. Good, I'm really pleased to hear that and you're fighting that corner and that narrative which is really important. It sounds like reading between the lines there's still much more self-direction for trainee sport and exercise psychologists than there is for clinical I know for counselling psychologists they kind of have to find their own placements and kind of negotiate all these

Starting point is 00:32:39 placement hours whereas for clinical it's very much more you know you get told which placement you're going to and there's a placement supervisor to make sure you're getting your hours and kind of to mediate. Am I right in thinking that sport and exercise is still a bit more self-directed? Yeah, so for me and my experience of it, and I think in reflection, this is why I love the professional doctorate wrote. You are supervised by a BPS accredited supervisor usually the program leader is that person but the school so there are only three professional doctorates across the UK usually the staff that are employed also have their supervisory accreditation so you are allowed to kind of shape the way that you want

Starting point is 00:33:26 your training to go and that was one of my first submissions um mark submissions on the professional doctorate so we we had to write up a plan of training where we projected exactly what we wanted to do to show how we intend to get to the end. And, you know, having successfully passed that, then you undertake your work and you actually meet with your supervisor to ensure that you are engaging in the opportunities that would allow you to kind of develop and grow. But equally, because I engaged in youth sport

Starting point is 00:34:00 and I worked in youth sport professionally in the Caribbean, those were the opportunities I saw when I came to the the UK so when I worked within Premier League football for example I kind of recognized okay well this is my strength and I was allowed to capitalize on that um and again confidently I speak about the work that I do at the youth level because I've just been allowed to specialize in that regard so I do find that that's a real benefit um in being able to yeah choose and kind of follow your passion in that regard um because then you could also use those CPD opportunities beyond qualification to further develop as well um but yeah that's I think is very much specific so by the end of it you are

Starting point is 00:34:48 supposed to come with a certain level of expertise in a specific area and I could definitely say no that that is youth sport and no definitely focusing that um this aspect of my professional development on the social advocacy so there are different branches of my practice that I feel are definitely warranted at this time so you you won't see me speaking a lot about the youth sport because I definitely find when clients get in touch when parents get in touch that's that's a no-brainer for me because I've done all the work in that regard when it comes to the social advocacy and you know sharing on LinkedIn and speaking up and speaking out and presenting publicly and delivering at my job it's definitely specific towards the cultural competence in that regard. Thank you and are there

Starting point is 00:35:39 sort of is there a cohort that you're all doing at the same same sort of time same sort of yeah so yeah definitely there were seven on my cohort so the intake is seven per year at my alma mater I'm I can't speak to others but you definitely do have a cohort of trainees that you work with and it's very good to kind of have the community to share those experiences with as well. Yeah I definitely agree like it can be so validating can't it of the experiences but also motivating to be part of that kind of group and how about qualified life are you self-employed? I am I well don't let me say self-employed per se. I work at a university. I would say, well, world-renowned.

Starting point is 00:36:29 It's the best university for sport. But I do consult, again, because of the limitations to the visa. I consult 20 hours per week. And definitely the research and the work that I'm undertaking in my academic job is continuing to fuel the evidence base for the work that I do in my practice. So we're at the lovely intersection where a passion and a profession meets. And I'm really excited for the next few months. We've got some things in the works and yeah so I'm presently based at Loughborough University and utilising the space is a fantastic space to be in at this time an exciting space for EDA in line with the university strategy and I'm definitely having the opportunity to put forward my research

Starting point is 00:37:21 develop and build so I am definitely reflecting a lot more on the professional doctorate and just how it's brought me this far. Amazing and ultimately would you hope to get indefinite leave to remain? Honestly I haven't thought that far ahead mainly because again because of everything we highlighted earlier home is always home and I see every opportunity for what it is and yeah no I haven't thought that far ahead I'm contracted at the university so I'll be very open about that so there will be a time where my tenure will come to an end and when that comes to an end then a new journey will begin um whether you care abroad I can't say but I'm definitely not the person to decide um that that's where yeah that's where I'd want to be where was I gonna yeah is there uh thank you so much yeah I couldn't agree

Starting point is 00:38:28 more that um you know the world is your oyster as we say um and is your qualification recognized internationally so it's a UK qualification but can you take that and and run with it most definitely Sandow's of proficiency um particularly with respect to the bps and bases so there is another route to qualification sorry you can end that as well the qualifications um are recognized all over the world um so truthfully let's say for example i decided i want to work in australia there are certain things that you'd have to do to adapt um you know they they kind of investigate the learning that you undertook and yeah you will have to do some training in line with their actual framework but essentially it is possible to just kind of adjust

Starting point is 00:39:17 and adapt um to gain accreditation wherever you decide to travel um so yeah the UK qualification definitely holds some weight when we consider transnationalism and working abroad. One thing that I think has been quite astounding for me, again being in academia coming from an international route as I would have shared with you, is the relatedness I find especially when I deliver to international students and when people see me taking up this space and knowing that I've done this from an international route most people just want to know how I've gotten it done and being able to engage with students in particular to share with them okay well this

Starting point is 00:40:02 is where I started and this is where you could potentially be being that person that they could see themselves in I think to some extent and recognizing that there is an end goal and sharing the story to allow them to feel as if you know it will come to an end does help a lot and I feel really pleased to be able to support students in that regard um not just at my institution but wherever um and I think with the international student crisis um particularly with students looking towards the UK for example to explore their prospects having more professionals like myself who will actually motivate them to kind of come to the UK and to stay in the UK, I think is quite important at this point in time. International students invest a lot and I don't think people understand the amount of investment

Starting point is 00:40:59 that goes into not just financial but emotional investment to adapt into a different country, a different culture, different climates. So I'm glad to be here to help support students in that respect. And we'll see how it continues. Thank you. That's been really, really interesting discussions that we've had. But also thinking about your reflections on that has been yeah really lovely to hear actually so thank you for your time if there's a small piece of advice for helping people not burn out in this field of psychology what would yours be my would be self care um and it's interesting because i'll be presenting at an upcoming Congress in the summer.

Starting point is 00:41:45 And I've been invited to present about self-care from an ethnic diverse perspective, as I was told. And self-care is of utmost importance and understanding what that looks like culturally is equally important. And we talk about supporting people individually but we as practitioners sometimes do not consider our own self-care as much as we should and I would tell any upcoming professional even even even undergrads you know begin to consider the strategies that work for you especially when you consider the level of commitment that goes into any form of study, any form of training. So I can't tout self-care enough. Absolutely. So very important. And we need to be able to look after ourselves first, put that gas mask on ourselves first before we can help anybody else, don't we?

Starting point is 00:42:40 Most definitely. Thank you so much for your time. If people want to follow you or get in contact where's the best place for them to do that um afro sports sake that's on instagram that's on twitter um or you can just connect with me on linkedin dr don marie armstrong and that's where you'll find me it's lovely i will make sure all of those bits are on screen for people watching on youtube and they'll be in the show notes um for people that listen on mp3 thank you so much for your time it's been really lovely getting to know you and wishing you well with your publications and what comes from future thank you yeah thank you thank you so much and all the best to you as well thank you thank you so much to my guest for today, Dr. Dawn Marie Ambrose. Please

Starting point is 00:43:28 do go and connect with her on socials. She's just a joy to speak with. And I hope that my path crosses with her further in future. Has this evoked any thoughts, feelings, ponderings for you? Do come and let me know on my socials. I am Dr. Marianne Trent everywhere. And do bear in mind the free Facebook group, the Aspiring Psychologist Community with Dr. Marianne Trent. Also,uk and then look at the free resources tab. It is called the free declensi guide, but it is relevant for all areas of. So grab your copy. Please do take a moment to rate and review this podcast if you are an Apple podcast fan. If you're on Spotify, please do rate the episodes. Please follow the show and subscribe

Starting point is 00:44:32 if you're on YouTube. Thank you so much for being part of my world. If you have any ideas for future podcast episodes, please don't be a stranger. Come and connect with me, Dr. Marianne Trent. It's a pleasure to be part of your world thank you for trusting me to help you in your journey do bear in mind the aspiring psychologist membership if it's your time and you're ready for the next step thank you again take care if you're looking to become a psychologist then let this be your guide with this podcast at your side you'll be on your way to being qualified. It's the Aspiring Psychologist podcast. With Dr. Marianne Trent. my name's Jana and I'm a trainee psychological well-being practitioner I read the clinical

Starting point is 00:45:33 psychologist collective book I found it really interesting about all the different stories and how people got to become a clinical psychologist. It just amazed me how many different routes there are to get there and there's no perfect way to become one and this kind of filled me with confidence that no I'm not doing it wrong and put less pressure on myself. So if you're feeling a bit uneasy about becoming a clinical psychologist, I'd definitely recommend this just to put yourself at ease and everything will be okay. But trust me, you will not put the book down once you start.

The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast - How to become a sport psychologist

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