S : Hello ! It is Sacha and Lou-Andréa. Welcome to our English podcast ! We aim to talk about us and what psychology means to us. We will also talk about our background and how we see ourselves as psychologists in the future.

L : So let’s start with you Sacha ! Can you tell us more about yourself ? 

S : Yes of course ! I am a 23 student in M1 of psychology. I come from Brittany where I first spent two years studying medicine in Brest. After this, I did my 3 years of license in psychology, still at the university of Brest. I have always been interested in the field of psychology. This is what I missed a lot during my medical studies, so I decided to reorient myself in psychology. It is particularly by working as a home helper, in parallel with my studies, that I had the certainty of having found my way as a future psychologist. In this way, when I graduate,  I would like to work in child welfare structures or in institutions like CMPP.

L : Your background is very impressive. Not many people feel able to change their path. And why would you like to work in child welfare structures ?

S : Thank you so much, effectively it was not that easy ! I would like to work in it because I am really interested in psychotrauma, especially in a young population and the issues of the children supported by child welfare are very often traumatic. In this way, I plan to receive professional training in EMDR after my master’s degrees. I would also enjoy working in CMPP because it is a place of multidisciplinary care. Moreover, one of the aims of the center is to provide psychotherapy or diagnostic assessment to a wide variety of patients.

L : Oh that’s interesting ! And is that in link with what you are working on in your thesis this year ? 

S : Not really ! My thesis deals with the emotional specificity of childrens with high intellectual potential. I would certainly meet childrens and adolescents with this specificity in my future job but in the structure of child welfare, it wouldn’t be the main purpose of the support. 

L : Waw, that seems to be an exciting subject ! Is this an issue you’ve seen in your previous internships ?

S : Unfortunately no ! I have followed 3 internships in license. First one in a kindergarten where I had accompanied children with autism and intellectual disability in their learning. Second one in a CMPP where I participated in pluridisciplinary meetings with psychologist, psychiatrist, psychomotor therapist,… to discuss the evolution of the patients. Finally, I interned in a pedopsychiatric service in a hospital. The unit accompanies very young children in whom autism is suspected. In this way, I have not encountered any children or adolescents with HPI in my internships but I did in my personal experiences. 

L : By the way, do you have any leads for an internship this year?

S : Absolutely ! I am going to intern in a nursery of the Red Cross with a developmental psychologist. I start this week, I am really excited because the nursery is attached to a maternal center. In this way, the nursery develops part of its activity in connection with the maternal center, fully integrating it into the social project of the French Red Cross.

L : You are lucky to have found an internship so quickly ! What kind of psychologist do you see yourself being later ? 

S : Yes I feel grateful about it ! I hope I will be a good psychologist… I am a sensitive, gentle, observant and very attentive person so I am convinced that I could put these qualities to good use in my future profession. I will try my best to support my patient as best I could. I also think that I would have a huge impostor syndrome in the beginning haha.. But with time and work, I should be more confident !

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S : Now let’s talk about you Lou-Andréa ! Who are you, what is your academic background, why did you choose psychology studies ?

L : Haha, so many questions ! So I’m a 22 years old student coming from Brittany too ! My background is a bit similar to yours. In fact, I didn’t start by studying psychology directly after the baccalaureate. Not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life, I first started with a few weeks of preparation for HEC, which did not suit me in any way. I then decided to study law with already the desire to work with children. Again I realized that it was not for me, and a friend of mine was talking a lot about her studies in psychology which is why I decided to study psychology the following year, and it was a real decisive moment in my life. It was mostly my 3rd-year internship that confirmed my desire to work with children and adolescents.

S : Thank you for this introduction! Can you tell us more about your internships in psychology ?

L : I did my 3rd-year internship with a clinical psychologist who worked in 3 types of structure in Brittany : a CAMSP where they take care of children from 0 to 6 years old with neurodevelopmental disorders ; a CRF in the physical medicine and rehabilitation department where I was able to accompany young people from 5 to 12 years old, and in a Ulis class. A very diversified and complete internship that allowed me to work with children and teenagers with atypical development. I got along very well with my internship supervisor who agreed to take me back for my M1 internship because I couldn’t find anything in Nantes… a problem that many people encounter in psychology.

S : Is there a cause in the field of child and adolescent psychology that you would particularly like to get involved in and why ?

L : As you may have already understood, I am particularly passionate about accompanying children and adolescents with disabilities. It is a field that interests me a lot because it allows me to understand teamwork and support the person in the globality of his needs to favor his fulfillment and well-being. I don’t have a clear preference yet between working with children or teenagers because they encounter different issues each time. I let the future guide me!

S : Very exciting ! Is that interest in link with the position you would like to occupy when you will graduate ?

L : Yes, of course! For me, the psychologist must mainly promote the well-being of the person and develop their capacities as much as possible.  Also, I see myself working more in an institution than in private practice for the moment because I believe that the contribution of different points of view on the child can only improve our understanding of him and, thus, it contributes to a better quality of help.

S : Is there any professional training you want to receive after your graduation ? 

L : Yes, I am thinking about it more and more. A psychologist needs to keep on training after the Master. There are a lot of subjects that interest me like cognitive, behavioral, and emotional therapies (TCC) but also ABA methods, systemic therapies… I have to organize myself to be able to do everything!

S : Finally, can you introduce the subject of your thesis ? How interesting are the results you got ? 

L : The purpose of my research is to study the relationship between bilingual children’s linguistic attitudes toward their minority language and their life satisfaction. It also aims to evaluate the influence of parents’ attitudes on their children’s attitudes and on their use of their minority language. I have some results that have significant effects so I’m pretty happy. I can’t wait for it to be over because it’s been a very long year and a half but I’m proud of my work so far.

S : I wish you good luck then! So, that’s it for today, thank you for listening to us ! See you next time !

L : We hope you enjoy it ! Goodbye !