‘My identity is a powerful asset to my practice’

As I stood there, at the inaugural event launching North Cumbria's Asylum Seekers' service, one of the people from the community, a man in his thirties, approached me. He asked where I was from. In that moment, my appearance and identity, reflecting my diverse background, became a genuine point of connection with the person our service was intended to help.

I felt a mix of pride and anxiety, hoping our service would truly resonate with the community we aimed to support – those housed in temporary accommodation as they awaited decision around their asylum status. I felt for the first time that my heritage was a bridge rather than a barrier in forging connections and providing meaningful support with those around me.

Transition

In my early teens, I immigrated from Punjab, India to the Northeast of England, a transition which was quite abrupt to say the least. Not only did I have to navigate a completely new education system and grasp the subtle cultural nuances here, I had to find my way into Clinical Psychology – a field that is already notoriously difficult to enter. My struggle to connect with peers, teachers, and lecturers left me questioning my path. 

Determined to pursue a career in psychology, I undertook the onerous task of researching the field, seeking out information, and fastidiously refining my applications. This effort was crucial for my progress in clinical psychology, but I often felt like I was failing despite my hard work. I often felt that my identity and background held me back professionally

Through perseverance and determination, and perhaps a bit of luck, I was able to secure a Higher Education England funded Assistant Psychologist post aimed at supporting minoritised aspiring clinical psychologists. Although getting to this point had its own hardships and difficulties, I believe that the equitable opportunity provided by this post had been my 'in' into the field of clinical psychology. Without this post, I would not have understood the nuances associated with applying for further clinical positions, whether it be further Assistant Psychologist posts or doctoral training. 

As part of this role, I worked in a predominantly White NHS Talking Therapies Service – both in terms of the mental health professionals and the population we served. The mixed feelings of not fitting in and not understanding the culture were overwhelming, even in this professional environment where I had the merit to work. So, when the man at the inaugural event asked me where I was from, I took it as an opportunity to share bits about my background and experience, and explain how our NHS psychological service could support them. 

It was my unique identity that allowed this person to reach out to me, seeing in me someone who understood their experiences. Patients often feel more comfortable and understood by providers who share a similar racial or ethnic background. That, combined with my intrinsic cultural humility and the shared diversity in our cultural experiences, likely led to this person feeling more at ease in connecting with me and our service. This emphasises the value of representation and diverse perspectives, along with the importance of providers' cultural awareness and willingness to self-educate.

Cultural humility

I have never been deterred from my aspiration to become a Clinical Psychologist by my identity as a first-generation woman of colour, nor by the intersectional barriers I have faced. However, through the privilege of becoming an Assistant Psychologist with the NHS, I started to actively view aspects of my identity as sources of strength, not weaknesses. 

I now work in the specialist field of health psychology at a leading genetics service focused on caring for patients with neuromuscular diseases at the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre, Newcastle University. As an Assistant Psychologist in this setting, I provide psychosocial support to individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy – a rare, genetic, progressive neuromuscular disease. Here, I have the opportunity to help shape the future of psychosocial care in genetic diseases by addressing research questions, working with paediatric patients and their families, applying methodologies. 

I've also contributed to the national care guidelines for the psychosocial care of patients with DMD by adding a section on the Importance of Cultural Humility. This emphasises the need to consider the diverse trajectories in disease progression, and the complex interplay of cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors. This contribution was deeply interlinked with my unique identity within the team. Collaborating with leading psychiatrists and clinical psychologists within the field of rare neuromuscular diseases who facilitated an anti-racist and inclusive environment, I was able to provide meaningful contributions to the international guidelines for DMD psychosocial care. 

My identity continues to be a bridge in my psychological practice, enabling me to provide compassionate and effective support rooted in empathy, fostering trust and understanding with my colleagues and patients. The experiences of non-White minoritised psychological professionals help elucidate a more nuanced understanding of the factors that build a therapeutic relationship and cultivate a framework of comfort and understanding in the clinical setting. My identity is a powerful asset to my practice that enriches my ability to psychologically support and connect with others around me. I am committed to carrying this strength forward in my future in psychology.