Alex Thomson

I was inspired to study this degree because I am fascinated by human behaviour and individual differences. I also wanted a career where I could make a difference and help vulnerable people. A degree in psychology was the perfect option.

I love the community at Edge Hill University. When I applied, my older sister had recently graduated from her degree in teaching here. She rated the University so highly and would always bring me along to the campus to have a walk around the lakes or look around the library.

Edge Hill are completely appreciative of the additional pressures faced by mature students, or those who have other commitments around their degrees. I joined university as a mature student, after taking some time to work full time. I feel I would not have had the opportunity to study if Edge Hill was not so supportive and accommodating to challenges outside of the classroom. This really drew me to studying here and helped me to feel understood and empowered to rejoin the education system.

I benefitted from lots of opportunities to enhance my employability skills during my degree. Participating in psychological research through the SONA system in my first year was a fantastic opportunity. I also had the opportunity to work as a student intern at the Babylab facility in the Psychology building. This gave me a really interesting insight into how psychological research is planned and facilitated, and an opportunity to work with state-of-the-art equipment such as eye trackers. This has really impressed employers and been great to draw upon in postgraduate interviews.

Knowledge of psychological theory, mental health and developmental disorders that I gained during my degree have been really useful in my career. This helps me understand the needs of service users so that I can provide individualistic support in court and during my clinical assessments. This is important, as it is my role to assess their communication, ascertain whether they need support (and what that support should be), and implement person centred recommendations in court to assist their understanding, engagement and participation.

I have also benefitted from a range of other skills from my degree including, presentation, communication, report writing, time management and critical thinking. I am involved in several of the training and development projects at my organisation. I am often required to deliver presentations, and practicing these skills at university helped me feel much more confident and prepared in doing so. Writing lab reports at university benefited the formality of my writing style and helps me to ensure my intermediary reports are balanced, well informed and detailed. Critical thinking assists me to make sense of expert reports and evidence, commenting on the opinions of psychologists and psychiatrists in my own reports to support my conclusions and recommendations.

There is no typical day as an intermediary in the criminal justice system – it is such an exciting and dynamic role. One day I could be in the crown court assisting a criminal defendant to understand a plea deal they have been offered by the prosecution and how this may impact their sentence. The next day, I could be working with a mother with learning difficulties about whether she wants to contest the care plans of her son. Or I could be assessing a child witness to see if they need support giving evidence in a trial.

My role is to facilitate communication between the justice system and the vulnerable party or witness. Understanding psychology is a large part of understanding communication with vulnerable people. I, therefore, use psychology and aspects of my degree in my role every day.

Eventually, I hope to pursue a career in clinical psychology. Although I am not currently based in a typical healthcare setting, the intermediary role has allowed me to develop my clinical skills and gain significant experience working with several different client groups in different high-pressured environments (including court rooms, secure units and prisons). These skills are invaluable and will help me throughout my career.

If you’re considering studying a psychology degree at Edge Hill. Do it. The staff are so supportive and helpful at every stage. The culture is very understanding and there are so many opportunities to gain experience and grow both personally and professionally.

Be open minded about your future and enjoy the journey. You never know what opportunities will be around the corner, and studying for a degree opens up doors you may have never of known before.