Psychology Matters: “Its greatest strength is its power to heal.”

Tell us why you think Psychology Matters 

My time in the Royal Marines and later as a police officer gave me a front-row seat to the psychological toll that high-stress roles can have – not just on individuals, but on their families and teams too. I've seen how unspoken pressure builds up, how trauma is often minimised or misunderstood, and how important it is to feel truly heard and supported. 

Studying psychology has helped me process those experiences in a new light. It has given me the language and insight to understand what I – and many others – had been through. I see psychology not just as a personal journey, but as a way to give back. My goal is to support others in similar roles – veterans, emergency workers, and those in demanding industries – by combining lived experience with academic understanding. 

Psychology matters because it helps people to understand themselves and promotes healing. By providing strategies or ideas from different perspectives, psychology helps us to know it is ok to be different. 

Psychology has an unlimited impact on the world in every area of human life. For example, if you don't want high streets clogged with cars, or want to encourage buying behaviours, nudge theory can help with that. Understanding authoritarian regimes from the past can assist us today, in recognising when governments overreach or infringe on our basic rights.  

Tell us about the impact of your own work in psychology? 

I have completed an undergraduate psychology degree as a mature student, and I am now looking to embark on a master's postgraduate degree.  

I've seen how unspoken pressure builds up, how trauma is often minimised or misunderstood, and how important it is to feel truly heard and supported. 

During my time as a Royal Marine, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, and working as a police officer, I talked to my colleagues about the stresses of battle shock and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a police officer, I have seen mental health emergencies for real and been involved in suicide prevention and intervention.  

My studies, which include having undertaken an organisational psychology 'Helping behaviours' in the workplace phenomenological study as part of my degree, have given me new insight into my own and others' experiences. 

One of the key findings of the 'Helping behaviours' study was that when managers are physically present, approachable, and embedded within the team, this creates a climate where colleagues are more likely to help each other. It might sound simple, but the meaning people attach to availability and presence – especially under pressure – is profound. 

Phenomenology gave me a framework for understanding the subjective meaning behind behaviour, and I continue to use it to shape how I support people in high-pressure work environments.  

I want to use my education and experience to be part of the change that makes psychological insight more accessible, relatable, and practical for people on the ground. If even one person feels less alone or better equipped to cope because of what I've learned, that will mean everything to me.  

What makes you proud about working in psychology? 

I am not yet working within a defined psychology role. I haven't decided which discipline I'd like to pursue, but I am particularly interested in organisational, educational, forensic, or counselling psychology.  

Psychology looks at the whole person and puts the individual at the centre of any treatment or intervention. Psychology's greatest strength is healing. It's helped me to heal from some of the trauma that I've experienced in my life as a police officer and as a Royal Marine.  

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