Script of the interview :
Juliane : Hi Manuela, how are you ?
Manuela : Hello Juliane, I’m fine thank you. So you’re a M1 right ? Could you tell me more about your background ? What have you done before this Master’s degree ? Are you from Nantes ?
Juliane : Yes sure ! So I did my Bachelor’s degree in Nantes. I’ve always been interested in clinical psychology but I knew the admission selection was tough so I literally spent the past year studying over and over. And here I am ! I can say that I am actually, really proud of myself and I feel lucky to be here. And you, where did you get your Bachelor’s degree ?
Manuela: Wow, congratulations! Before this bachelor’s degree, I’ve studied biology, by projecting myself in a master’s degree in neurosciences. Unfortunately, neurosciences wasn’t the orientation of the university, which was more specialized in plant and animal biology… But as you may know, with the new way of getting to university by “admission post-bac” we don’t always have the choice. So, I decided to reorient myself in psychology, which still allows me to reach the neuroscientific side of my career, and even more. So, I integrated Aix-en-Provence’s University of psychology. For the first two years I would say, I was absolutely passionate about developmental psychology and psychopathology. What do you think about developmental psychology in your past three years at the University of Nantes?
Juliane : Well, most people I know would say that developmental psychology in Nantes was boring and that they didn’t like it. But I would say that I learned so much about children and their development. For instance, we had to conduct experiments in order to assess and observe the age of the onset of imitation, that was actually really cool. Of course, all the theoretical learning about Piaget and Vygotsky quite bored me but I think there are some must-knows in psychology and this is just part of it. In a word, I really liked everything during the last three years but I always had a preference for clinical psychology. So you have, yourself, a specific interest for developmental psychology, right ?
Manuela: Yes, I truly understand your point of view, studying all these theories without concrete application may seem simplistic.
At the beginning, yes. I was really interested in this field. Indeed, it allowed me to better make the connection between neuroscientific concepts and their impact on human behavior, and human functioning more generally. During the third year of the bachelor degree, I have done an internship in a day nursery, and I was pretty sure that the clinical psychologist would adopt a developmental approach but that was not the case. And actually it has been pretty interesting to share both our theoretical and practical knowledge.
Whereas, over the years, I have found that clinical psychology provides an interesting outlook to understand the subject in a global perspective.
What about you ? Have you done any internships yet ?
Juliane : I see. Yes, I have done two internships from now. The first one was in a SESSAD with children and teenagers affected with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities. It went well and I even got the chance to conduct an interview. It was the first time that I met with ASD patients and it was so humanly rewarding. My second internship took place in a child and youth psychiatric center. This one was even better than the first one as I really got along with the other professionals. I could feel their desire to teach me and to involve me in the team meetings and discussions. And finally, right now I am still looking for a new internship. I think that the lockdown made it even more difficult to find one and honestly, I am a bit desperate. And you, can you tell me more about your internships ?
Manuela : Well, the first one I’ve told you about was in a day nursery. I was particularly interested in the question of parenting, and the support it requires.
I’ve done two internships in psychiatry. The first one in a CATTP (Part-time therapeutic reception center). Patients predominantly presented psychotic diseases, or depressive profiles. They were welcomed in therapeutic groups. As you, other professionals were really welcoming and proposed me to co-host the therapeutic groups with them. This experience was very formative about the question of using a medium to express their suffering, and also to reveal the resources of patients sometimes challenged by their pathology. This is something I have been able to pursue during my next internship in a closed unit of adult psychiatry. As a matter of fact, it was sometimes complicated to conduct therapeutic interviews requiring stabilization of their state. But once the state of crisis over, I was able to carry-out psychological follow-ups. This year, I’m doing my last internship in an adolescent psychiatric center, composed of a medical-psychological center (CMP) and a day hospital. Consequently, I contribute to the organization of therapeutic groups and I also conduct interviews. I think this internship is an opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in my research project.
By the way, what is the subject of your research project ?
Juliane : Well I am doing that research project under the supervision of Margaux Le Borgne and Bertrand Porro from the University of Montpellier. They both proposed a study about the value of offering care to women with breast cancer provided by patient-experts women. Patient-experts women are breast cancer survivors and who also received training and a diploma based on therapeutic patient education. I have almost finished my literature review right now and glad I did. So, you, what is your research project about ?
Manuela : My research project deals with interoception and emotional competences also called emotional intelligence. I’ll may precise what is interoception. So it is the way you get your attention on your body sensations. The aim of this research is to understand why two populations which care a lot about their body sensations manage their emotions so differently. For this, I’ll compare three groups: meditants, anxious people, and a control group, in order to see if each of them have a different interoceptive profile that could explain the differences in terms of emotional competences.
And I was wondering, what would you do after your diploma ?
Juliane : Well, I would love to continue with a thesis, but I still have doubts. One the one hand, I say to myself that if I don’t do it right after my graduation I will never do it and that I should undertake this work while I am still young and have no children, no personal constraints. And I am sure that if I don’t do it I will regret it sooner or later. On the other hand, I am not sure I can do it, it is such a huge work, you know. It raises a lot of questions, “Am I able to do it?” “Do I have what it takes?”. I am ambivalent because I would love to work in the research field and most of all to teach at University but also I am pretty sure that once I get the title of psychologist I will want to practice right after. So I am thinking about it. And you, what do you want to do after your Master’s degree ? Where do you want to work ?
Manuela : Well, once this research project is completed, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to get involved in a thesis.
At the end of this year, I would rather join a humanitarian organization at least for a year, if the sanitary conditions allow it. Humanitarian work has always been an area that interested me, such as working with immigrants. I tried to find an internship in this field, but it was complicated. After what, I would like to work again with a teenage public and as well as their parents. Indeed, I have found a great interest in systemic courses, I find the theories particularly helpful in the follow up of this audience. Also, I wanted to know how you experienced the first lockdown due to the coronavirus, does it affected your master’s admission ?
Juliane : Honestly, I experienced it quite well. It gave me time to keep me up to date in my courses. Before the lockdown, I was so overwhelmed as I worked 24/7. Thanks to coronavirus I had time to study (a lot) but also time for myself. That was quite appreciated to be fair. Also the Master’s admission interviews were cancelled and that was such a relief. And you, did the lockdown impact your studies, most specifically your research project ?
Manuela : Well yes, I found it complicated to keep doing the project research on my own, and I didn’t dare to call upon my project research supervisor. Then, it was quite difficult to find the population of this project, specifically anxious people who had better things to do, than thinking about their anxious thoughts and feelings. Moreover, the fact interviews were conducted remotely made me uncomfortable for them.
Juliane : Well, thank you so much for that discussion, it was really nice to get to know you.
Manuela: Thank you too, it was a pleasure to exchange with you, and interresting to find out more on your future prospects
Juliane Lamelot-Pelard (Master 1)
Manuela Benichou (Master 2)