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The first half of the Autumn term Year 12 and Year 13 Psychology students have been able to attend talks at the Academy by experienced practitioners from different fields of psychology such as Clinical, Occupational and Forensic.  All are members of the British Psychological Society.  A Year 13 student has written about her experience of two of the talks.

Our first talk was with a lady called Sarah Crowley. She is currently doing her Doctorate in Forensic Psychology. She talked to us about the personality, what we believe structures it and why this is important to take into account when studying criminal behaviour. Ms Crowley mentioned her work experience in a prison where she counselled offenders who had experienced troubling pasts and/or had some sort of mental illness or personality disorder. She argues that prisons should be more humane and should treat the offenders with a level of respect that they would get within society. She did not get the highest 'A' levels but credits her success in university to her hard work and determination. Ms Crowley is proof that anyone can be in her position if they work hard. It was very interesting to meet her.

Our next psychology talk was with an Occupational Psychologist called Philip Wilson. He currently works as the Chief Psychologist and Chief Assessor of the 'Graduate Fast Track Scheme' in the Civil Service.  He also advises on other government issues. He gives motivational talks, advises on psychometric testing and leads team activities so that government organisations learn how to co-operate with each other effectively.  He showed us many optical illusions to highlight the fact that many times people do make mistakes when looking at information. He explained why inbuilt cognitive and social biases are important to take into account when working in big organisations. He has previously worked as Acting Head of Occupational Psychology within the Greater Manchester Police and Head of Occupational Psychology for the London Fire Brigade.