Psychology Matters: “I’ve seen some people attend sessions with us for three weeks and then their whole outlook changes.”

Why do you think Psychology Matters? 

Psychology is important because the mind and body are connected. No matter where we are in the world or what our culture is, the way we think helps us make certain decisions. Psychology allows people to understand what is helpful and unhelpful, and in the longer term, how to make changes in life. Everybody is different and that's what makes psychology unique and valuable! 

I'm an assistant psychologist working with patients who have functional neurological disorder (FND). FND means that someone may have mobility issues, and experience seizures and physical pain, but unlike other neurological disorders, the nervous system is intact.    

It's really amazing how, with functional symptoms like pain or mobility, people changing the way they think can have big improvements. People learn different techniques to take control of their symptoms, for example recognising warning signs and stopping a seizure. 

Psychological interventions are important for people experiencing pain. They help people to understand that everything is connected and that changing one area of a person's life can change other areas as well.

Tell us about the impact of your own work in Psychology 

As part of a small team delivering psychological interventions for people with functional symptoms, we help people to be understood and support them to be more independent in their lives. It involves supporting them at the start of their journey and helping them make their own decisions towards the end of their sessions. Everyone has different values in life, and we support people to choose activities that align with theirs.  

Psychological interventions are important for people experiencing pain. They help people to understand that everything is connected and that changing one area of a person's life can change other areas as well. It's also important to acknowledge that every intervention is valuable, and working within a team involving a physiotherapist has helped me to understand this. 

What makes you proud about working in Psychology? 

It makes me proud to see people making changes in their lives. Sometimes this can be big or small, depending on where that person is with their recovery. It also makes me proud to play my part, because change is not easy! Some of the changes I've seen in people with FND have been amazing. 

As part of the programme, we offer therapy, physio sessions and CBT, so all the different types of support are working at the same time. Some people get their diagnosis and don't know much about their condition and sometimes it gets worse. They don't know they can recover, so they might continue using a wheelchair and sometimes, stop going out. But once they attend the programme, they learn more about their condition and see that in the future it may be possible to walk again and that there's sometime no damage in the part of their body that they experience symptoms. 

It's a short amount of time, but we're able to help some people make changes really quickly. I've seen some people who've been using wheelchairs for years, who then come and attend sessions with us for three weeks and their whole outlook changes. 

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