Amélie : Hi ! My name is Amélie and I’m in the first year of a Master’s degree in child and adolescent psychology at the University of Nantes. As we are in the same Master’s, I would like to ask you some questions so that we can get to know each other better and see if our backgrounds have any similarities. First, can you introduce yourself and tell me if you always knew you wanted to study psychology?
Amélys : Hi Amélie! With pleasure ! My name is Amélys and I’m in the second year of the same Master’s degree as you. So yes, since secondary school I’ve been tempted to professions with a social dimension and a link with children. In high school, I hesitated to study law to become a judge for children. But in my final year of high school, I was sure I wanted to go to university of psychology. At that time, I desired to go into criminology, but as the opportunities were very limited, I opted for developmental psychology.
Amélie : Okay! Was it your internships that made you want to work with children? Or teachings at the university?
Amélys : Since my first year of university, I’ve been most interested in developmental psychology courses. I remember that I was surprised to see that very prematurely, the baby had a lot of cognitive skills. It was therefore quite natural that in my third year of university, I did my first internship with a young population, right beside a psychologist of national education.
Amélie : Did you enjoy this internship ? Have you done any other internships after this one?
Amélys : I loved it because we were able to make observations in a natural environment, in the classroom. It was this internship that made me want to work with autistic people, because I noted that no aftercare was put in place for them and that they were often put aside. Last year, I tried to do an internship with this population, but as I couldn’t find one, I accepted an internship offer in a private practice.
Amélie : It’s great that you were able to do two internships in completely different environments. Can you tell me a bit about your internship with liberal psychologist ? What did it bring you for your future work with children and teenagers ?
Amélys : Of course. He helped me to confirm my professional plan. I’ve seen all types of populations but it was the problems of autistic children that affect me the most. I was able to do activities with them and talk to their parents, and I realised the both expectations scope in terms of diagnosis and aftercare.
Amélie : And for this year, did you find any internships related to your professional project?
Amélys : Yes, I’m going to do half of my hours in an autism resource center and the other half in a medical-educational institute. Being able to do these two internships is an opportunity because I will be able to discover if I feel more comfortable with the diagnosis or with the care.
Amélie : Finally, I’d like to ask you how the writing of the thesis is going for you. It seems to me that we are studying the same subject!
Amélys : Yes indeed, I’m working on the evaluation of a language plan implemented in daycares. From a practising point of view, it’s very enriching because we are going to the field to give psychological tests, so I am developing professional skills such as gaining more independence and collaboration with a team. My hypothesis is to see if the plan allows to accentuate the reading practices made by the parents which in turn influences the child’s vocabulary development. If that’s the case, the contribution will be to extend this type of plans to other daycares by involving parents. I would like to ask you a few questions now. What’s your topic is about ?
Amélie : I agree with you, having the opportunity to go into the field quickly to give tests such as the Brunet-Lézine does indeed allow us to develop professional skills but also to take a critical look at our future practice. For my part, I deal with the effect of the “Eveil et Langage” device on the development of sociability in children.
Amélys : Your subject sounds very interesting too. With reference to the choice of psychology, was it your first choice or a second choice?
Amélie : One can say that at the end of my final year of high school it was a second choice, which, however, I really liked. Due to, since secondary school I wanted to be a nursery nurse and therefore go to nursing school. That’s why, in my final year, I took four competitive exams to enter nursing school but none of them allowed me to get in. So I put a wish for psychology on parcoursup.
Amélys : Do you regret your choice for psychology?
Amélie : In hindsight, not at all. Nursing studies were not for me, I need to take time with my patients and not work on a production line and not take care of them in the best possible way. Finally, psychology is a very interesting field where I have learned a lot, not only about myself but also and mainly about the development of the child’s skills thanks to the teachings we receive.
Amélys : All right ! In your bachelor’s degree, did you have the opportunity to do an internship?
Amélie : Indeed, in the third year of our degree, we had to do an obligatory internship. I did this internship with a population of elderly people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses. As this is not my favorite population, I was apprehensive about this work placement and I was afraid that I would not be able to find my way around. In the end, it was a big surprise because I loved this internship and it reinforced my idea of becoming a psychologist, but it also reinforced my idea of going into developmental psychology in order to work with children.
Amélys : It’s great that you have been able to get a feel for the population you want to work with through this internship. So This year will be your first internship with children or teenagers, have you found it?
Amélie : No, I still don’t have a work placement for this year. I have made a lot of requests, but I had a lot of no answers or being refused from the structures. I am still actively looking for an internship and trying to broaden my search. I’m opening my search with school psychologists but that’s not where I want to go.
Amélys : Do you have a clear idea of the field / type of structure you want to work in?
Amélie : Having only done an internship with a psychologist who worked with the elderly, I was not able to discover the structures welcoming children and teenagers. However, I would like to work in child protection, especially in the child welfare service. But I am not closed to the idea of working in a medical educational institute, or in facilities for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Amélys : Okay ! Thank you ! Goodbye !
Amélie : Goodbye Amélys !