Tillie Davies - Graduate Case Study

2022 MSc Health Psychology graduate Tillie Davies tells us about her training as an Education Mental Health Practitioner with Barnardo’s. 

What does your role involve on a day-to-day basis?

There are three core functions within my role:

• Direct work with young people: I work in primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in South Cumbria and North Lancashire to provide one-to-one and group-based mental health and wellbeing support and deliver interventions. In most of the schools I work in, we have our own room or space in the school where pupils see me during school hours, and we are an essential part of the school’s support offer.
• Whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing: this involves promoting what the service offers in workshops and assemblies, working closely with staff in each school and college to support and enhance what they are already doing, and also delivering training to staff.
• Signposting: it is really important that I have an in-depth understanding of other services for children and young people in the South Cumbria area, so that I can signpost and make referrals for additional support they might need outside of the school setting.

What did you find the most rewarding and most challenging in your first year in the role?

It is incredibly rewarding to work so closely with young people and support them towards better mental health and wellbeing – I loved seeing the positive change in them! I also worked closely with parents and staff in the schools and other local support organisations and have really enjoyed building working relationships with lots of different people. Balancing work with university during the training year has been tough at times, but luckily I am very organised and have coped well with the workload. Self-care and looking after your own mental health is important in all psychological professions, and my role is no different. I learnt useful techniques in my first year on the job to find a healthy balance of being empathetic, supportive and compassionate in my role but also resilient to maintain my own mental health and wellbeing.

What did your training year involve?

To qualify as an Education Mental Health Practitioner, you complete a postgraduate qualification alongside your first year in employment, which is fully funded by your employer. For me, this was a Postgraduate Diploma in Education Mental Health. During my training year, I was based in my link schools for three days per week, and the other two days were spent working towards the qualification, attending sessions either in person in Manchester or online. The workload for the course was quite steady in the autumn and then increased after Christmas, with regular deadlines to submit coursework. This makes the first year in the job really stressful! Having already studied a Masters before this course, I had a real advantage because I was used to working independently and managing a very busy workload, so I coped very well with the pressure. I was more stressed out by others in my cohort who were less well-organised and were falling behind with their work!

I felt really well-supported both at university and in work. Barnardo’s were great in providing supervision and support for me throughout my training year, so I had a very positive experience in my first year. At university, trainees initially gravitated towards sitting with their colleagues from work, but throughout the year mingled more in the larger group of students (there were about 40 of us in my year), sometimes encouraged by our tutors and other times just naturally. It was good to have the support from both the smaller and larger cohort and sharing our experiences and ups and downs with each other. There was a nice mix of people on my course: some with backgrounds similar to mine, others who were former teachers, and a wider age range than on my BSc and MSc courses, with everybody bringing different experiences and viewpoints to discussions.

What tips would you give students to improve their employability and be successful in applications and interviews?

Try to gain some relevant work experience, as this makes a huge difference in applications and interviews. For example, I had previous experience as a mentor for Barnardo’s, which showed my potential to work closely with children and young people as an education mental health practitioner. I had also shadowed colleagues during group work with young people, so could talk about both in my interview. Soft skills like interpersonal skills are crucial for lots of jobs in the psychological professions, and for practitioner roles like mine which combine study and work in your training year, you also need to show that you are organised, resilient and dedicated during the application and interview. My interviewers were really impressed that I had researched the curriculum for the course and talked about this alongside my enthusiasm for and understanding of the role. Researching your future employer is also important to show that you understand the structure of the team, how you would fit in and what you can bring to the team.

I would also recommend using your time at university to develop confidence in yourself, not just for interviews but for your future after uni. Work or voluntary experience can be great for this, but also extracurricular activities, becoming a course rep, or joining a student society. Going outside of your comfort zone and meeting new people will give you confidence for your future career and develop lots of useful skills like communication, adaptability, or teamwork. Spend some time reflecting on your skills, knowledge, experiences and talents and how you can talk about these in applications and interviews. The careers and employability advisers in the Student Futures team can help you with this. When I applied for this role, I met with an adviser for some feedback and tips on both my application and when preparing for the interview.

For students interested in training as an education mental health practitioner, I would recommend to research and look at roles both within the NHS and other employers, as there are also lots of opportunities with charities and not-for-profit organisations, like mine at Barnardo’s.

What are your plans for the future?

After successfully completing my training year, I went from three days in work to five days, working as a qualified education mental health practitioner. You really need at least one year full-time in the role to embed your skills fully and grow into being a qualified practitioner. There are great progression opportunities in this career, for example by completing CBT training or supervision training, but it is also a useful foundation for branching out into other roles in the psychological professions and elsewhere.

Support from the Student Futures team 

If you want to talk about potential careers options with your degree, need help finding opportunities or want support with your CV, application forms or preparing for an interview, you can get advice and guidance by booking a 30-minute 1-2-1 careers meeting with a Careers and Employability Adviser from the LJMU Student Futures Team.  You can also come along to a Careers drop-in or CV Café which take place weekly at the Careers Zones for quick careers queries.

If you are thinking about starting a business, freelancing, pursuing a side-hustle or have an idea that you want to explore further, email the Start-up Hub and a member of the team will be back in touch, or visit the Start-up Hub website.

For help finding part-time, temporary or casual you can fit around your studies, email the Unitemps team or visit their website.