Psychology Matters: "It’s an incredibly rewarding career, where you can work directly with, and help people, every day."

What inspired you to pursue a career as a trauma psychologist in a police force?  

I began my psychology career after a couple of career changes. I've previously worked for NATO for 10 years, where I lived and worked overseas. I then went into a second career in the NHS in Scotland and England, mainly troubleshooting clinical projects and programmes that were struggling, and by the time I left several years later, I was a programme director.    

I decided to do a Psychology Undergraduate degree, followed by a year of clinical training and work in private practice. I then studied for my Master's Degree in Forensic Psychology, which led me to work for the police. As part of my course, I contacted local police forces and asked them if I could do my dissertation with them, which was a study that compared stress levels between uniformed and non-uniformed police officers.   

I found that almost all the officers I surveyed were experiencing high levels of unprocessed trauma and PTSD-like issues and I thought, 'Something has to be done about this'. I've since joined the police force I worked with for my Master's and introduced support for officers experiencing trauma. 

I'm now a trauma psychologist and offer support to officers and police staff who have PTSD or more complex trauma-related issues and need someone to help them process traumatic incidents they've encountered as part of their work. 

What key skills or traits do you think are essential for success in this field?  

You need to be enthusiastic about supporting others and wanting to understand their experiences. In my role, I get to know the people in the police force well, often supporting them over long periods of time, so I have a better grasp of what they experience day-to-day.  

You also have to be prepared to immerse yourself in every aspect of police work, so that the officers feel that you're part of the team. For example, I've joined and still do join response shifts to get a better understanding of what they experience every day and I've given trauma workshops to officers who work on sexual abuse, serious collision and murder cases. By learning about every aspect of a police force, you'll be in a better place to treat and help officers. 

What advice would you give to someone just starting their psychology career who wants to work in Blue Light services? 

I would advise studying for a Forensic Psychology Master's - that's the best starting point, particularly if you want to work in a police force. If you go for an interview with a police force, they'll ask you what you know about justice and crime and if you have a Forensic Psychology Master's, you can show that you know a lot about those areas. 

I also suggest studying for a trauma qualification, as that's really important for a role in Blue Light services. You're going to meet a lot of responses and psychological distress caused by trauma, as people can often present with anxiety and depression, when there is actually trauma underneath. 

Most police forces have Police Support Volunteers working with them and this could be a good way to find out more about working for the police and learning about policing in general.  If someone is interested in learning about the types of psychological support offered to police forces, seeking out a volunteer role would give them a good insight. It's an incredibly rewarding career, where you can work directly with, and help people, every day.  

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