Psychology/Psychotherapist

I was a sales assistant at the supermarket form 2012-2017. This job supported me though my studies, while also giving me valuable customer facing experience. My main responsibilities, were to ensure that transactions were conducted efficiently, and to the satisfaction of the customers, and that the items being sold were correctly prices. I was also responsible for the supervision of the self-checkout machines. I was in charge of eight machines, fixing problems with them, making sure customers paid the correct amount for their chosen products, and I was a first line of defence for loss prevention from theft.

I was also trained in product placement and rolling restocking. This is where products are replenished on the shop floor from the warehouse when they are needed. This meant I was required to have an in depth knowledge of product placement in the store, and to be aware of all promotions and offers. I was also required to have a good understanding of sell and use by dates, and to ensure all products adhered to the legal standards required by the UK food standards agency.

The final result of my degree is Upper Second-Class Honours.

I have recently completed a BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology with Criminology (graduated 16th October 2017). This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society.

My studies lasted for three years (September 2014- June 2017). During this time I studied modules about different psychological perspectives, and how they can be used in a therapeutic and developmental way. As well as this, I was required to study social research method and statistics (both qualitative and quantitative).

My final year involved conducting my own final project. For this, I chose to study the influence of celebrities, social learning theory and social identity theory on people who identified as members of the Rock and Heavy Metal subculture. This involved finding my own participants, structuring my own interviews and designing my own prompts to gain additional information. To find my results, I transcribed my data, and used my analytical skills to find useful information. This information included analysing the what the participant said, their tone of voice, and other vocal characteristics of the interview.
Further more, a through understanding of any ethical considerations was required before the study could begin. I demonstrated this to my supervisor's satisfaction.

I completed a five month placement in a substance misuse and rehabilitation charity (Feb-June 2017). Here, I was trained in many fields, including data input on behalf of new, and current clients, as well as though who had finished their treatment. I also had the opportunity to practically engage in the client's treatment, both in group and individual sessions, whilst being supervised by the organisation's fully qualified staff.

I observed and assisted in the running of group sessions. I would assist in the development of therapeutic approaches that were already being used by the full time facilitators. For example, providing some alternative perspectives to the facilitators in order to improve what is being said to the clients. I also made a suggestion that clients be issued with small cards at the start of their treatment which they could keep on their person. The rationale being that these cards could help to reinforce the messages clients were being given during their treatment, in their everyday life. Furthermore, on some occasions I would open and close the sessions, introducing the theme of the day, and encouraging the clients to share their feelings.

In individual sessions, my role would be to take notes about what the client was saying, and their thoughts and feelings. This would later be used as a reference when inputting the client's data into the computer system. I would also be briefed about the client's situation and their options before the beginning of the session. This was also my role when new clients were assessed when they requested to commence treatment.

Some of my other roles included managing reception when required, and setting up appointments for clients with their key workers. I was also responsible for contacting clients who had missed their appointments, or who were interested in engaging with the rehabilitation program.

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