'They were sad, rather than bad'

25 years' experience in forensic psychology, both within the social justice system and as a private consultant, is informing Dr Helen Hart's work in developing a new MSc course at the University of Salford. Speaking with openness and enthusiasm she illuminates where forensic psychology has changed; how this fits in with the unique ethos of the university; and how her own background has shaped aspects of her work.

With obvious pride, Helen indicated that the application for approval of the MSc course had been submitted to the British Psychological Society the week before. I asked her what is involved in establishing a new MSc. 'Well, first you have to get it accredited, which means it must align with the BPS requirements which are to cover the four core roles of Stage 2. 

Those are assessment and intervention; applied research; forensic psychology consultancy; and delivering applied training. But this is not just an issue of content; approach matters as well. We use student presentations and role plays, followed by question sessions to see if students can demonstrate both consultancy and training skills; to show that they know and can communicate a subject area. 

To some extent, past those statutory requirements, we have carte blanche. The actual taught programme only takes up one day a week and there are some online sessions; so, students have a lot of time to get experience through paid or voluntary work. Forensic psychology is a very competitive career and an MSC isn't enough.'

At one time novels, films and TV series tended to paint a distorted picture of forensic psychology, focusing on profiling and serial killers. Is that still the case? 'When I studied, undergraduate courses didn't really touch on what was then criminal psychology. But that's changed. Electives and courses at the undergraduate level have created a much better understanding of the wide range of activities forensic psychologists get involved in.'

Reflecting the realities of the area

Looking at Helen's CV its clear how wide her experience is. She has worked in a variety of prisons with many different groups; in substance misuse; hostage negotiation; criminal and family law; consultancy with other professionals such as the police; and senior management. And that just gives a taster of her skills and experience.

I asked Helen why there was a need for a new MSc, and why the University of Salford was a good place to run it? 'The university serves an ethnically and culturally rich area. That means we will be able to reach out to attract diverse groups and previously disenfranchised communities. 

This is both what our profession needs and reflects one of my major interests and concerns, given my own background. There are of course other universities in Manchester but Salford has both this specific culture and focus, as well as a real desire to provide world-class education which reflects the realities of the area it serves. And the MSc in turn, will embody this focus.'

Helen says they want different sorts of people on the course because 'we need more forensic psychologists who come from the same background as their clients. I know that's also an issue for clinical psychologists. We've developed the MSc to be collaborative with other areas of the criminal justice system: courts; policing; charities; special hospitals; education and social services. 

Other courses do this but we want to go wider and deeper, offering students real insights into issues such as power imbalances in the system. One initiative at the moment is to partner with a prison to do in-depth work with it; hopefully, it can become a hub for our work.'

Helen explains how this reflects a wider change in what forensic psychology does and its overall approach. 'Of course we still are very involved in areas like risk assessment. But the tremendous change is that the role of mental health has become increasingly important in forensic psychology, and trauma is central to this. It's clear that earlier experiences contribute hugely to the choice of anti-social and criminal behaviour. 

At one time mental health and trauma were seen as largely irrelevant to our work. But now we recognise the importance of context. We ask why: why do people make the choice for anti-social behaviour? What is it in their family, their earlier experiences, their community, the social justice system – whatever – that has caused a particular offender to do what they have done? So many issues are rooted in the local community. 

This is very much the Salford way – taking a holistic approach to issues.' This also reflects Helen's PhD which looked at, 'how a sense of belonging to a community helped with resilience. The specific case I looked at was the Manchester Arena bombing. But there are plenty more that could be studied.'

Helen identifies other wider changes in the area. 'Taking this approach makes us more aware of the political dimension of what we do: government cuts in resourcing, for instance. We need to lobby and influence policy more. All of these factors have changed our approach to working with offenders and in areas like more psychologically-informed prison environments.'

'I've never been a shrinking violet'

This commitment to inclusion in the profession threads Helen's account and also informs her experiences in getting involved in and then training in psychology.

'I am from a Manchester working-class background: I was brought up in by a single Mum in a council flat. I quickly became aware that, given my background, certain choices were open to me, others weren't. But I knew I wanted to be a psychologist from the age of 14. I wanted to help people. Initially, I thought I'd be a doctor but not liking blood and not wanting to inflict pain were pretty clear disincentives. 

I picked up a book on psychology and was fascinated by it. Then certain novels influenced me: not the ones built around serial killers, but Stephen King horror stories. I was told by a careers advisor that I should get a job in an office since becoming a psychologist was pretty unlikely, but I persevered. I did A-levels at college and loved the Psychology one, as well as having a great social life. I was in a band for a time. 

I went on to do a joint degree in applied psychology and criminal justice.' Helen didn't meet a practising psychologist till she went to university. She felt she had to work harder than some others 'so I started to get work experience early as a mental health nursing assistant which also provided experience and funding when she did her Masters.'

How easily did she take to the work? Did she at any time feel frightened or intimidated? 'I've never been a shrinking violet. I come from a background where you needed to be hard and to know how to fight. But, to my surprise, I found myself feeling sorry for most of my clients. The majority were profoundly sad rather than bad. They were people who had had awful experiences and these had influenced their choice to commit anti-social and criminal acts.' 

Are their limits to your empathy? 'I was surprised how I reacted to extreme cruelty to animals. If that is the core of a client's acts I can't deal with it, though fortunately, that situation is quite rare.'

Are there areas you are particularly interested in? 'I work with clients who have complex personality disorders as well as their families and colleagues. I'm particularly interested in narcissists. I'm not triggered by them as some colleagues are and I believe you can do something to help them.'

Growing the profession

It's not possible to go through all the roles Helen has filled over 25 years. However, I wanted to ask her about the private practice she started in parallel to other work in 2005. I asked her what the differences between that and her other roles were. 

'I'd worked in the prison service for some time, latterly in big management roles. Those are fascinating but they take you away from your passion – being a psychologist. It was a time of voluntary redundancies and reducing resources. I also had two adopted children and want to spend more time with them. All in all, that move helped my social and family life. It also gave me new experiences. Working in family courts has given me an insight into systemic approaches, taking into account families, courts, social environment, which in turn has influenced my recent work.'

Her CV includes a steady involvement in Society initiatives and roles. 'I've always been involved in Society activities and have contributed to the Division for Forensic Psychology since I was chartered. My aim is to grow the profession by reaching out to people from diverse and different backgrounds. This, of course, reflects my own experience.'

What does the future hold? 'Getting the course going. Recruiting staff, seeing how things developed. I want to genuinely build bridges to create a multidisciplinary course.' And in the longer term? 'A publisher wants me to author a book about community resilience. And I want to affect policy more. There's a lot to do.'

Find out more the University of Salford's MSc in Forensic Psychology; or contact Helen on [email protected]