The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast - How to become a Trainee Clinical Psychologist in record time!

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. Coming up in today's episode of the podcast, we are chatting to a brand new incoming trainee clinical psychologist who has recently learned she has gained a place on clinical

Starting point is 00:01:15 training. Listen to the whole episode to learn more about her, her unique take on the world and her journey to getting there. she also gives us her top tips towards the end of the session too so i do hope you find it useful 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

Starting point is 00:01:57 Hi to you, welcome along to the Aspiring Psychologist podcast. I am Dr Marianne Trent and I'm a qualified clinical psychologist. One of the questions I get asked really pretty often is how can I get an assistant psychologist post? How long will it take me after I've graduated? When can I expect to get on clinical training? Is it too soon for me to get on clinical training? Why aren't I getting on clinical training? Is it my age? Is it my experience? Is it because I've had previous mental health experience? And today's episode is with somebody that has just in the last few weeks been notified that they've been successful at a doctorate in clinical psychology interview so come September they will be a trainee clinical psychologist and

Starting point is 00:02:52 I'm joined today by Nikita and Nikita is so wonderful to listen to and speak with. If you've read the Aspiring Psychologist Collective, you might well recognise her useful and I will look forward to catching up with you on the other side. If you do find this episode helpful please do like and subscribe to the podcast and leave me a comment if you're watching on YouTube. I'll catch you soon. Hi, welcome along to our guest for today. I am joined by Nikita. Nikita, thank you so much for coming to say hi to us. Well, thank you for inviting me. And a massive congratulations because a little birdie, in fact you on Twitter, told me that you have been accepted onto a doctoral training course to start in September, haven't you?

Starting point is 00:04:03 I have. Not sure it's sunk in yet but yeah come autumn yeah. Well done how have you been celebrating or has it just been with a big long nap? Pretty much I've had lots of downtime I think it's quite a stressful experience having interviews so lots of lots of naps lots of downtime um and a few trips away at the weekend we stayed in a lodge just after interviews so that was a nice way to celebrate and unwind so nice sounds amazing really nice yeah just I guess really nourish yourself and do lots of nice things enjoy having no assignments between now and September is what I would say yeah absolutely it's the calm before the storm isn't it it is but that said I loved it

Starting point is 00:04:55 you know um and I knew it would be tricky and I knew there'd be assignments and I knew there'd be juggling the work-life balance but I did really enjoy it and there were bits that were less enjoyable of course there were but I hope you find that it really helps you thrive as well. I'm really excited I'm sure it will even just thinking about the different placements and getting to work where I've never worked before um yeah that's exciting hard work but exciting yeah and when it comes to if you're on a course where you get to choose your specialist placements that's so cool because you're like well I'd love to do that and you go can I do that and they go yes and you're like amazing I've just created a job for myself and you know I'm the only applicant and they said yes

Starting point is 00:05:47 that has not happened at any point of our career so far yeah especially with the University of East Anglia and they have an international training opportunity for the third year so you can choose to go to Australia or Malaysia and that's exciting as well not knowing where my interest might take me and not knowing what that third year might look like I think everything's so interesting at this point there's no telling. And that's so nice because it really does free you up to make the decisions that are right for you and even among your cohort it might be that going abroad is right for some of you but going abroad is not going to be right for you and even among your cohort it might be that going abroad is right for some of you but going abroad is not going to be right for everybody because we've all got different

Starting point is 00:06:30 circumstances now it's useful to think a little bit about your circumstances because we were talking just before we began and I know a little bit about your story anyway because you've been a regular on our compassionate Q&As it It's always lovely to see you pop up. You're a YouTube watcher, aren't you? You like to watch via YouTube. But also you contributed to the Aspiring Psychologist Collective book that was published in October 2022. And so I feel like I know a little bit about you.

Starting point is 00:06:59 I almost wore my cashmere jumper to our chat today, but it's quite warm in our house today so I didn't um but could you tell us a little bit about about you um and about your journey um if that's all right yeah absolutely um it was a bit unconventional um for me I kind of wanted to figure out where I wanted to work in in mental health wise um before I decided to go to uni um so for me that looked like getting a foot in the door of the NHS first um and so my first job I was an apprentice and I think at that time it was band one minus 25 percent um which doesn't exist anymore so times have changed um and I was a therapeutic care support worker and that was on like a general hospital ward and so if patients came in um

Starting point is 00:07:53 and they had dementia or mental health challenges or a brain injury um it was more to do with like safety and making sure that they had someone sat with them, but also providing like a meaningful interaction and not just being an extra body in the room. But that was, yeah, that was amazing. And I knew I wanted to work more in the mental health side of things. So from there, I think I was a trainee health care assistant in a psychiatric intensive care unit and worked across adult mental health wards at the same time and a few shifts in CAMHS and I knew there that I definitely did want to work in mental health but I couldn't figure out where I fit. I applied for nursing I think it was three times in total and got on each time but it just didn't feel completely like me and I didn't want to go and jump into a degree and then find out halfway through that it wasn't right so it came to the

Starting point is 00:08:53 point where I was kind of thinking about either psychiatry or psychology because I thought if it wasn't for me medicine would offer like a lot of different options and I was watching Grey's Anatomy at the time and quite like the idea of surgery so eventually when I figured out that psychology was it and I'd shadowed we had a responsible clinician that was a psychologist and I think it wasn't meant to be shadowing there just needed to be an extra person in the room to make sure that everything was safe but she was doing a formulation and writing it on the whiteboard and it just blew my mind and I remember thinking oh gosh one day I just hope that I can make sense of things like that and help somebody

Starting point is 00:09:37 else to understand what's going on and she really took her time to explain how she came to all of these hypotheses and things and I just remember thinking I want to do that but I wasn't quite ready to go to uni at that point I think I still had a bit of maturing to do and I'd had lived experience as well so I had an eating disorder when I was younger I grew up dancing which is a whole toxic body environment kind of situation going on um and so I'd kind of thought about mental health from then just from from going through that um and I did go to drama school when I was 18 but the psychologist kind of sensed that I wasn't really into it I was just kind of going along with what I'd planned from being six because I'd never had any other career thoughts.

Starting point is 00:10:28 And she'd asked, it's what everyone expects you to do. But what is it that you would want to do? And I just drew a blank and looked at her ID badge and read highly specialist applied psychologist, which I realize now wasn't subtle but I think yeah I reflected on this in my doctorate application form as well and I think it was just wanting to hold that safe space and that yeah that curious space for somebody else where they can just feel safe and explore what's going on and feel like they can take steps towards feeling better um and so I used that lived experience and became a peer support worker and at the time there was I think we were the first seven in the trust um so it was really really new and through that I kind of learned to just go with the flow not suggest anything not say have you tried CPT or um it was really difficult at first because I am a bit of a doer but just

Starting point is 00:11:32 sitting back and listening and creating that therapeutic relationship without recommending things or um analyzing someone's thoughts or what they're saying um and so yeah it was at that point where I was like I have to go and do psychology I couldn't quite get the hang of walking alongside somebody that much I kind of wanted to take the next step and be like let's figure this out and let's yeah work together um and I had a word with with the psychologist that was in our team and just said what do you think um and quizzed her a little bit about psychology and went off to university and I think that's when I thought right well if I'm going to do this I just have to do three years at university I can apply to Oxford in my third year because they accept undergraduate applications and I'll be a clinical psychologist in six years and I didn't know how difficult it was um but I'm glad that

Starting point is 00:12:33 I slowed down a little bit even though it seems like not a lot um but yeah I think I squeezed everything I could into that time did lots of research assistant stuff while I was at university and continued working I think until Covid hit I think I actually finished two weeks before our first lockdown which was a bit gutting because I didn't see that coming and I felt like I'd just left everyone while Covid was happening but yeah I think the whole research involvement was more to keep a connection to uni when uni was closed. But it worked really well. I learned so much. And then it came to the end of my degree and I decided to apply for my first assistant psych role. And that's where I think I kind of got that little I got in touch with that rebellious streak.

Starting point is 00:13:22 And so when people say it's impossible, you can't apply before you've graduated I think I could just try so I put my application in and I did I had my first job offer before I'd submitted my dissertation which I didn't think was possible but was was happy with that um and now I'm here on my second assistant psych post, having submitted the form and with a place this year. So it's been a bit of a different journey. I think usually people get their experience after their degree. But most of mine came before. But it was really a process of both creating a strong foundation in myself, I think, and figuring out where I wanted to go with this career amazing what a story what a story bravo to Nikita for sure um you have been busy but I think you know generally speaking people don't tend to get AP posts straight from graduation so straight from being 21 that's more unusual but I think if you've if you've had really relevant experience and carved out super experience including research

Starting point is 00:14:34 during your undergraduate then absolutely that's going to strengthen your skill set and make it so much more likely that you might well be shortlisted and successful. So when I was reading your account for the Aspiring Psychologist Collective, I think you're about to start your first AP post but what you've just said is you've done that and you're on to the next, like it's like you do everything at Nikita speed. Yeah I have been told that told that yeah I think I don't want to gloss over those those three months in my first AP post but I think it wasn't right for me and I think that's another thing to say as well is that they can feel like such gold dust jobs but not all AP roles are created equal and I think it takes a lot of guts to be

Starting point is 00:15:27 able to leave something without knowing if you'll ever get another AP post but for me it was just it didn't sit right with me I felt yeah I felt like the power imbalance was too great for me to be able to speak up and I'm not great at not speaking up so I thought I think it's time for me to be able to speak up and I'm not great at not speaking up so I thought I think it's time for me to leave um but it was the best thing I've done actually and I'm glad I took that step um I'm working in in a team at the moment who are just incredible and I think I'll be really really sad to leave I could have done with an extra year maybe with them um but just the sort of things I've got to do um I think I started there in January in these few months is is amazing and I'm really enjoying it amazing so well done to you and I guess yeah your the message I'm getting loud and clear from you is be fearless be bold be brave you know

Starting point is 00:16:20 do the thing that I think there's some similarities between you and I. Do the thing that comes up as an idea that maybe you could. Don't ask anyone permission. Just like, yeah, I wonder if I can. I'm going to try. I'm going to try. And because the answer might well be yes. That's it. The answer would definitely be a no if you don't submit that application. The thing is, I won't sit here and pretend I've always been optimistic um it was about two weeks before the deadline that I submitted my my application and I was telling the other AP that I was working with at the time

Starting point is 00:16:58 that if you take the hype around it away and it's just the form you're perfectly capable of filling it out it's just that it's such a huge deal and then going home and not starting my form because I was panicking um and so yeah sometimes I could do with taking my own advice but when it comes down to it I think I do throw it out to the universe and see what comes back and I think that kind of helped my form as well because I must have had a few drafts and the first couple felt a bit stale I felt like I'd read the job description and and wrote what I thought courses would want to hear and you can't do that because there's not enough words anyway to get that all in there and so it forced me to kind of take a step back and be like right what matters to me what's important what do I want to say um and then I thought it's

Starting point is 00:17:51 a risk because it didn't look like what I would expect a form to look like but it did look like me on paper and I thought if courses don't want it then I'd just try again next year and write a different application but I think that worked for me as well with it being um a sort of I wasn't going to be absolutely devastated and heartbroken if it was a no from from all four this year and I think that made it more um I was more able to take the risk because of that. I always say that a form should be entirely unique for you the way you've lived your life the way you see the world the things you've experienced the adversity you've struggled with it's got to be a bit of you because otherwise it's not authentic it's not genuine and it feels like you're trying on someone else's bear suit you know it doesn't fit and you know it's not convincing and it feels like you're trying on someone else's bear suit you know it doesn't

Starting point is 00:18:45 fit and you know it's not convincing and your arms don't quite go to the end you know because it's not custom made for you and it should be I will share as well in my first draft um if there's a little section that asks uh what are your interests aside from psychology and being a really big kind of obsessed with psychology person I don't have many things outside of psychology and so I was like right what are they asking here they want to know that you can switch off at the end of the day I'll say I like walking so I wrote that I like walking I absolutely don't I'm terrible at walking I won't walk unless it's a coffee shop at the end and so I asked my mum to read it and I

Starting point is 00:19:25 said tell me what you think of this first draft and she was like you're going to go into these interviews if they offer you one they're going to ask you what your favorite walking trail is and then you'll be stumped won't you and I thought yeah maybe not so I switched it out for Billie Eilish and she was in my doctorate application instead so much more authentic I love it out for Billie Eilish and she was in my doctorate application instead. So much more authentic. I love it. But you've hit on quite an important nail there. And that's when I met my husband. He was like, this is 2009. So I met him during the very early stages. I think it was the second week of year two of my training um and he was like isn't the first conversation we had because I don't think I'd have pursued it but he said you don't why don't you do more like what you're like you haven't got any interest like

Starting point is 00:20:19 you just I don't know you like you talk about pilates you sometimes do that and you like chatting to your friends on the phone but like you don't you don't do anything you read books that's that's that's like it and I was like I love my job I'm so fulfilled by my job and actually carving out this career has absolutely been my passion and my hobby and my pastime and a real pleasure and I don't think that's something that everybody gets so yes courses want to know that you're not just like some big psychology geek but it wasn't that for me it was that I think I was so fulfilled by my work life that I could kind of free myself up to just be in the evenings and the weekends I didn't need to go and be rock climbing and you know doing all these outlandish

Starting point is 00:21:15 pursuits because I was already so fulfilled and probably mentally exhausted by my day job yeah that's it isn't it and like I used to go through like I did uni through lockdown and so you could there was not much to do you couldn't go outside for some bits of that and I'd wake up log onto my laptop and then shut it down and go to sleep and for some people that sounds like torture but it was exactly what I wanted to be doing for like 15 hours of my day um and I still do watch some brain anatomy videos sometimes before I go to sleep as a hobby and so yeah that one was a struggle for me answering that question because a lot of my life is about either reading about psychology working as an assistant psychologist um but I wouldn't change it I absolutely do love

Starting point is 00:22:06 it and I know that you're not supposed to say that in interviews but it's a reason why I wanted to do it it's authentic and also I think that level of determination and commitment and enthusiasm and hours of learning have meant that I think realistically Nikita you've shaved a couple of years off the journey to becoming a an incoming trainee in psych and I think that's your I don't know your confidence you know some of the probably adversities that you went through earlier on in your years have caused you to reflect caused you to adapt and change and just maybe be in a slightly different position than other people at your stage of your career maybe even your age are at right now and so we're not all born equal we don't all have the

Starting point is 00:22:53 same struggles but it's what we make of what we've been through and how we talk about it and reflect upon it and also something that people tell me quite often is is how connected you are to it when you talk about it so we can't be too disconnected we can't be too intellectualized about it you've got to somehow be able to talk about this stuff like it matters and like you are connected to it still but not so connected that you're crying you know it's that fine balance isn't it yeah that's been something that I've really had an experience with since starting this new role um my supervisor's great and I think she gets me and gets how I work um and she said to me you've read a lot and now it's just about how you're bringing that into what you're doing. And I kind of do get that is that I know the stuff, but it seems different when I've got a person sat in front of me and I've been working through that on how I'm talking about things. Because some people really like talking about, I think a lot of people, I work in a persistent physical symptom service.

Starting point is 00:24:03 And so when the psychiatrist talks to people about polyvagal theory, I work in the persistent physical symptom service and so so when the psychiatrist talks to people about polyvagal theory I work in the persistent physical symptom service and that can help them to connect with mind and body so it's sort of looking at examples like that and thinking how am I using theory because you can't just preach at someone and with a manualized intervention which I think the ACP recommends that assistant psychs deliver um which is most of my work it's hard to kind of stray from the manual just enough that you still cover the full content but that you're there and being human and I think it's actually helped me having a manual in front of me because I'm not thinking

Starting point is 00:24:43 about what comes next or how am I going to explain this um because it's there sometimes you need to re-explain but that's fine um yeah so I think it has I I worried being at uni that going back into an assistant psych job I'd have forgotten how to people that just sit there in front of someone and be like what do I do now um but yeah I think that's something you can always fall back on isn't it is your ability to relate to someone absolutely and I think that the pandemic sort of helped us be a bit more human and a bit more people in with people um because it seemed to level us in a way that nothing else had so um before the pandemic

Starting point is 00:25:27 um I would experience like corridor conversations where someone might say oh hello but really that was it about me you know that's where it stopped whereas often I think since the pandemic there's been much more of well how are you how is that and it's felt appropriate and for me it's about appropriate to to share that and make it much more two-way than it ever has been in any of my roles before yeah definitely and I think even in the way that we work in a team um our team has well-being Wednesdays where we get together for half an hour every Wednesday afternoon. And I think a lot of that came out of Covid and not having that connection. We all kind of realised how important it was. I love that. I just had an impulsive thought. Is there cake at wellbeing Wednesday?

Starting point is 00:26:18 Absolutely. Yeah. But then someone said apparently a slice of cake is like promoting nicotine in the workplace. So we should be having healthy wellbeing Wednesdays, but no, they need cake. Yeah, I definitely heard about this on the radio a few months ago where they were talking about actually, it's kind of like peer pressure. It's very tricky to not eat something off the share table. And that is something that unless you've worked in a, probably an NHS service or any kind of office environment, that you don't really understand. Because my husband's like, if you don't want it, you don't eat it.

Starting point is 00:26:53 I'm like, well, it doesn't work like that. You know, because once you see those cookies, you start digesting those cookies. And then you might have a stressful encounter. You come upstairs and you see a cookie. That cookie is mine. Whereas it isn't necessarily calories that you factored in to your you know your week's worth of food and so it's additional calories um and even even fruit on the share table it's the same deal you know it's stuff

Starting point is 00:27:19 that you wouldn't necessarily have eaten so i think it's definitely an important conversation but what i know about being a psychologist is that we do tend to eat cakes as does everybody I think and we have staff with well-being walks to combat that so we have it's moderation isn't it it's balance yeah yeah and you know sometimes it's the biscuits that get you through the meetings. It is. Sometimes I just used to show up for the biscuits, you know. I think it's the most well-attended meeting in our week. There you go. I love a well-being Wednesday.

Starting point is 00:27:58 Amazing. Can you offer us any top tips for reducing burnout on the way to this coveted lofty title that you are holding in the air? Yeah, this is this has been a journey for me, I want to say. I found out during university that I'm dyscalculic. And so having this sort of notion that I was going to need to work harder didn't, it served me because I ended up with the grade that I wanted. But I've worked a lot more than I would have done had I not been equipped with this new information. And I think someone told me there's a time for sowing the seeds and there's a time for sitting back and watching them grow and I think that's so important I think I sowed for a bit too long um and I did I would say I'd been out at the end of university I the thought

Starting point is 00:29:00 of doing a master's made me want to be a little bit sick and I just thought I really need a break and I wasn't very bound reading what I was doing and like I say through Covid you'd wake up you'd put your laptop on and you'd turn it off when you went to bed and sometimes that was what I wanted to do but when it's a research module and you're trying to get your head around stats and you're doing a 20-hour exam because it was supposed to be two hours but you've got two days to complete it and I did have screen time that was 20 hours and I don't think I was very sensible with it um I think it's about recognizing that you've you've hit that place ideally before you've hit that place but when you have recognizing that it happened and and not letting it happen again so now um as an ap i don't work

Starting point is 00:29:49 over my hours that often partly because i drive an hour to to my workplace and if i leave it 10 minutes later it'll mean i'm half an hour later home um so i'd yeah, don't be a yes person. Just put those boundaries in place. Take your lunch breaks, uh, recognize what you need. I know you mentioned sometimes you're so exhausted during the day that you just want to chill out on the night. Um, I like that. I like downtime. Um, I think relying on the people around you as well, and also supporting them through whatever they're going through and that's important but I'd say you can't go far wrong if you're making sure that you have have a balance of work and things that give you energy and make you happy and just keeping track of what you need amazing thank you what brilliant advice and one of the things I really like about you Nikita and

Starting point is 00:30:44 I was struck by this and I was reading your account and I'm struck by this again today is that you remind me of the writing style of the chap that wrote Angela's Ashes which I will say is one of my all-time favorite books because there's like a big narrative about you know this this thing that's small but beautiful and then there's like a tiny little snippet oh yeah and this this and this happened and with his example it was like oh yeah my brother died you know and like he literally just said that and then you don't say anything more about it and in your narrative in the um the aspiring psychologist collective you're like oh i won some award from the british society and you've done it a few times in your story and then you've done it today as oh yeah and I'm dyscalculic as well he's like oh right okay so that too like these are big things um

Starting point is 00:31:31 you know that have also been potentially you know really worth either shouting about or that have been adversities but you've triumphed over and above that so like even to consider going on to psychiatry if you're dyscalculic like amazing yeah I think it's as well it's a little bit of that internalized ableism isn't it that we all kind of have to some degree and especially going into psychology I think I'm very aware of what I'm saying and what parts of my story I will share. And I think that comes from peer support as well, of just knowing what feels comfortable and safe. So I know that I'm comfortable talking about my experience in CAMHS and having an eating disorder because it's not something that's an issue for me at the minute.

Starting point is 00:32:16 And I think we all have really deep experiences as humans that we don't necessarily display to the world. But if you can tap into it um you can you do some great stuff and i think we're heading that way especially with the neurodiversity movement and the lived experience um underpinnings of what we're doing now there's a lot in research we always have experts by experience leading or steering the project and and so we are going in a good way and I think yeah we all have these layers don't we we do we have many layers and I'm I'm excited that there's going to be the field of clinical psychology with you in it and I'm excited to see how those layers

Starting point is 00:33:00 develop which narratives you know get thicker which ones get thinner which ones you run with which ones you might leave behind because that's the beauty of clinical placements as well is that you can you know you can leave behind the bits that don't work for you and keep the ones that do it's really wonderful so thank you so much um for taking time at the end of your busy day and after your commute and everything to speak with us and guide us through your story it's been incredible it's been an absolute pleasure I was nervous at the start and it's been great so thank you for being so welcoming and letting me come on here and speak I'm delighted I'm really thrilled that you said yes and it's yeah it's nice to put a face to the name because you always show up for my compassionate Q&As.

Starting point is 00:33:45 It's always lovely to see you. So thank you. And I'm pleased that you found whatever I've done useful. And thank you for giving back and helping so richly this audience of ours. And stay part of my world. Keep me updated with how it goes. I'm wishing you the very best for your training and everything that happens in your life during it because that is what happens during training you your life will continue and you

Starting point is 00:34:12 said yourself during the last year of your undergrad three people died like I'm really sorry to hear that but this you know life is what happens when you're trying to pursue a psychology career yeah yeah it's huge. And I think those are the little things that we don't realise how resilient we are until we go through. Not that we'd ever choose to go through them. But, yeah, thank you. And it has been hard work, but it shapes you. It does shape you, yeah. And it's okay to be sad about the things that are difficult, you know.

Starting point is 00:34:44 Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And it's okay to be sad about the things that are difficult, you know. Absolutely. I say that because I've got a broken arm and I'm really grumpy about it. I think I'm hoping I'm coming out the other side of that now. Good. I'm going to be sling-faced outside the house for at least the next sort of four-ish weeks. But in the house, I don't always wear it. But when I'm on Zoom Zoom I find if I don't do that I start trying to pick things up with my left hand and then I'm like um so yeah when I'm

Starting point is 00:35:12 when I'm on Zoom and stuff and streaming I try and remind myself that I'm a little incapacitated so I don't do it but yes thank you so much I will actually let you go despite having several false starts of saying this is the end this is the end but thank you it's been incredible and I feel like I could talk to you probably for weeks so thank you again Nikita thanks so much cheers hi it's Nikita I thought I'd pop back because I have a bit of an update since Marianne and I spoke to record the podcast. So as you all know I was offered a place at East Anglia and I was all set to move down there in the autumn. I was also on the reserve list for a place for Teesside University and now I've been offered a place and I've accepted it so I'll be studying

Starting point is 00:36:00 at Teesside University. I'm really excited, I get to stay at home. I get to continue working in the trust that I've always worked for. And I also think it's really cool that the university that I did my undergraduate degree at will also be the reason that I can call myself Dr. Shefferson in three years. So yeah, I'm over the moon and I just wanted to update you all thank you for listening to the podcast bye oh my god I really really enjoyed that and I hope you did too just as we were drawing to a close Nikita told me um that she loves this podcast and so being on it was really special to her which was lovely to hear. She also told me that her doctoral interview at UEA was in person and they did an amazing buffet and I was like

Starting point is 00:36:53 you know me I love a buffet so yeah if when you're considering where to apply you also enjoy a great buffet then you might want to consider UEA. Another little snippet that we didn't get in the recorded time but we did get afterwards was that Nikita had applied obviously to four courses because that's the maximum number that you can apply to but you might only choose to apply for one that's okay too so she'd applied to four courses and she did actually get offered four interviews so it's not impossible you know dreams can come true if you buy a ticket if you apply if you you know if you put your toe in the water if you you know tell the universe this is what i want then the universe might well respond and say okay here's your chance off you go um but Nikki also said she decided to turn down one of the

Starting point is 00:37:50 interviews um because she knew that actually realistically it was going to be really quite far in terms of moving for her so she decided to let that one go with love and kindness and compassion um and so she decided to turn that down and give someone else the chance of being interviewed who was on the reserve list so um if you were interviewed in Essex you might well have Nikita to thank and I'm sure she would love it if you ended up getting a place you know because then she's changed lives which is just amazing I love being part of this psychology world so we would love to know what you think to this episode come along and tell us on socials I am Dr Marianne

Starting point is 00:38:33 Trent everywhere and you can also come along the aspiring psychologist community free facebook group if you haven't yet read the Aspiring Psychologist Collective, which does have Nikita's story in it, then you can grab a copy of that by checking out the link in the show notes. Thank you so much for being part of my world. Thank you again to my guest for today, Nikita, wishing her all the very best in her training. And yeah, I will catch up with you soon. The next episode of the podcast is available from 6am on Monday. Take care. So many tips and lessons to learn from.

Starting point is 00:39:24 So many things that you can try. The Aspiring Psychologist Collective. The Aspiring Psychologist Collective. If you're looking to become a psychologist Then let this be your guide With this podcast, I feel sad 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 00:40:34 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 Trainee Clinical Psychologist in record time!

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