• Question: When did you start to take interest in psychology?

    Asked by anon-329631 to Caroline on 15 Jun 2022.
    • Photo: Caroline Wesson

      Caroline Wesson answered on 15 Jun 2022:

      It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when I started to take an interest in psychology. When I was at school I was very science based (physics etc) but what I really wanted to do was art so I switched direction. I think though that this is when my interest in psychology started. I was thinking where I could go career wise with art and started to look into art therapy and from this I became more and more interested in psychology. It took a few more years to really take this up though as I was still very much focused solely on art. I worked in various art capacities (art gallery, theatre design) but decided to return to education and take my A-Level art at night school. I’ve not looked back since! I found I had a real affinity for psychology and went from A-Level to undergraduate degree in psychology, then PhD and then became a university lecturer in psychology.

Comments

  • Photo: Jake

    Jake commented on :

    By total accident! I changed schools between GCSE and A-Level and there was a mix up in my transition, resulting in a situation in which I could not take A-Level chemistry as planned and so had to pick another subject instead. I chose psychology as the Head of Sixth form at the new school was also the psychology teacher and I thought she seemed nice during our discussions. So, a totally random way of coming to psychology. But when I started taking the classes I realised I loved working in a science of ideas – psychology had all the debate and exploration I enjoyed from bio/chem/phys science at GCSE, but with the new added element of theory and abstract thought. This was the kind of science I loved – I later took up A-Level sociology as I enjoyed social science so much. The great thing about psychology is that you can come to study it through many diverse routes and also at any stage in your life!

  • Photo: Maxine

    Maxine commented on :

    My sister is two years older than me and she picked it at a level and I thought it sounded interesting so I chose it too. I originally thought I wanted to do art or primary teaching at uni but started an art foundation course and realised it wasn’t for me. I looked at what a levels I took and decided that psychology was the most interesting so chose to study that.
    I really enjoyed it much more at uni than a level and I’m glad I chose it.

  • Photo: Mona-Lisa

    Mona-Lisa commented on :

    I am a clinical psychiatrist . My interest mental health was sparked when I met a patient during my psychiatry placement in medical school . The patient was going through a very difficult patch and I witnessed first hand the compassion and dignity shown to the patient . This helped the patient trust doctor and share their difficult experiences . It was a humbling experience that drew me to the mental health care and shaped my career path .