Interview with Mrs. Laëtitia Rocher (September, 30th 2020)
Associate teacher and researcher (P.A.S.T.[1]) at the University of Psychology of Nantes
Students: Hello, thank you for agreeing to answer our questions. Apart from one of us, nobody is planning on doing research next year, after our master’s degree, so we thought it would be interesting to interview someone who does research.
So, can we start with your carrier path?
Laëtitia Rocher: So, my career path… I got my baccalaureat, then I went for a STAPS degree (Sciences and Techniques of Physical and Sports Activities), because I liked sports activities. Finally, this degree turned out to be different from what I expected because it was very scientific, so I stopped.
Then I turned to psychology. That’s what interested me at that time. I did all my studies in Nantes, my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, in the cognitive master’s program that you are currently attending. I did my internship at CM2R[2] (Memory Center), and I graduated in June 2011. Then I found a position replacement in an EHPAD [3](a retirement home for dependant persons), and another one at the CHU[4] of Rennes where I worked mainly in research. And then I also had a small activity as a self-entrepreneur where I was doing neuropsychological evaluations for a neurologist. And, finally, I managed to get a job at the Memory Center at the Laennec hospital. At the beginning, it was a 50% position and it grew to a full time position. I stayed 4 years full time. Then I got the PAST position at the university, so now I’m half time at the university and half time at the memory center.
And then you started your doctorate? Usually, one fulfills the thesis right after the master’s degree, no?
In fact, I didn’t do the thesis right away. After I graduated, I wanted to work. I had been offered to do a PhD thesis, but I wanted to do field work and have a clinical activity.
I started my thesis two years ago, and I just decided to give up. As a full-time professional, one can write his thesis over 6 years. But it was complicated, I wasn’t progressing at the pace I wanted to. The reason I started a thesis was because my project was to become a university lecturer. And in the end, I didn’t necessarily want to become a lecturer, so the thesis made less sense.
And as a result, are you going to stay at the university?
Yes, the PAST position is not linked to the doctorate; I’ve been teaching and doing research for 5 years now. Normally, it is a 3-year position, renewable only once. So I still have 2 years to go, including this year.
And then you will continue teaching?
Yes, I am finishing my PAST years and I think I will continue afterwards with vacations.
Why neuropsychology and not another field? like the clinical psychology ?
When I started, I didn’t know what I wanted to specialize in. When I attended the different courses offered, I became interested in cognitive evaluation. Therefore, I chose to follow all the courses in cognitive psychology. I wasn’t interested in social psychology; I didn’t want to work with a child audience. I was interested in working with the elderly. I did internships with elderly people, which I liked very much. I liked the neuropsychological aspect with the link between psychology and neurology. Of course the clinic is part of the job, but where I am now, it really is about psychological evaluation. In fact, at the memory center, there is a bit of clinic interviews following announcements of diagnoses in particular. We also participate in caregiver support groups and therapeutic education groups. But this is not the main part of our activity.
Why the elderly person?
It’s a population that I feel comfortable with, that’s the way it’s done. What interested me was the elderly and neurodegenerative diseases. In Laennec, we are part of the neurology department, so we see elderly people, but also younger adults who have multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, strokes…
Let’s get back to your experiences in EHPAD (retirement home), how do you make the link with neuropsychology? Because neuropsychological evaluation is not the main aspect of work ?
That’s actually not what I really wanted to do. After graduation, you tried to be open-minded to find a job. I turned to a population with which I felt more comfortable. There was an interesting clinical aspect, but I find no interest in going to evaluate an elderly person just to get a score. It was not what I wanted to do. Even though there are interesting things like accompanying residents, families, health care teams. The clinical aspect prevails. With the residents, I could do occasional psychological support, but it is very little neuropsychology-oriented.
Most of the time, you are in a facilitator’s position, with cognitive stimulation workshops, but I found it difficult to find my right place as a psychologist.
And the pluses and minuses of CM2R (Memory Center) ?
The plus: clearly it’s a state-of-the-art structure, it’s a resource center, we have complex cases, diagnoses that are difficult to make. So it’s a very rich and complete experience. You learn a lot with your neuropsychologist, speech therapist and neurologist colleagues. We learn about pathologies, about neuropsychological profiles, so it’s very varied, with a population from 16 to 90 years old. It’s a very good training.
But more and more we deviate from our missions, we see patients who come from neurology of course, but also from psychiatry, addiction, endocrinology, all hospital services… So we are moving away from neurodegenerative disease. But obviously, it is due to a lack of means, of money.
The other negative point is the intense rhythm. We see 3 patients per day for an hour and a half. But we don’t have time to push the evaluation. We have the impression to press the patients, it’s a pity. The patient can also feel frustrated. Even ethically, it raises questions.
We are finished. Thank you very much for having us and for taking the time to answer our questions.
Words we have learnt :
pity : dommage
To fulfill : poursuivre
state-of-the-art : à la pointe
stroke : AVC
internship : stage
lecturer : enseignant (d’université)
workshops : ateliers
Virginie BELLOEIL, Faustine BLANDIN, Océane DOUSSIN
[1] PAST are teacher-researchers. Teachers recruited as P.A.S.T.’s must have professional experience other than a teaching activity directly related to the specialty being taught.
[2] Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche (CM2R) is a center specialized in memory evaluation. It is a resource for complexe medical cases as well as a research center.
[4] Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) is a university hospital center.
[3] Etablissement d’Hébergement pour Personnes Agées Dépendantes (EHPAD) is a retirement home for people over 60 presenting a physical or psychological dependency.