In this podcast, Kasianna (M1), Salomé (M1) and Justine (M2) share their internship and research experiences as well as their interests in psychology.
Podcast link :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TQpKSnq_efWjzzFC9soLkGdwJTQrcHli/view?usp=sharing
SCRIPT
Student’s presentation
Justine : My name is Justine, I am 22 years old and I’m currently a student in the second year of a master’s degree in clinical psychology and integrative psychopathology. I would like to ask you some questions about psychology, your experiences as well as your projects.
Salomé : My name is Salomé, I am 22 years old and I study psychology in the first year of a master’s degree in Nantes. I also followed my bachelor degree in Nantes and before that I studied medicine for one year.
Kasianna : My name is Kasianna Pagès. I am twenty-four years old and I am a master’s student in psychology. I got my Bachelor’s degree in psychology in Canada as well as a University Degree in criminology. Last year, I followed a French license three to realize a Work of study and research as well as an internship in order to enter the selection criteria of the French master of psychology.
Justine : Hello Kasianna ! Firstly, for what reasons did you start studying psychology and then specialize in clinical psychology?
Kasianna : My interest in becoming a clinical psychologist began during an internship, I did in a medical-psychological-pedagogical center. Being a person who listens to dose around me, I am ready to help them in their quest for meaning, this internship made me realize that I could put my skills to good use in a profession based on the psychological relationship. This is why I chose to study psychology, in order to be able to practice the profession of clinical psychologist one day. My desire to specialize in clinical psychology was reinforced during my degree in psychology when I was able to take a specialized course in this domain.
Justine : And, as part of your master’s degree in clinical psychology, what subject did you choose for your research paper? Can you tell us why?
Kasianna : I will be doing my dissertation on pain self-management about women with endometriosis with a focus on self-management via the use of substances such as cannabis and CBD. During university , I became interested in endometriosis and the most common symptom of this disease, which is pain. It was therefore obvious for me to contact a research director with similar interests, and this is how I was able to integrate a project on the study of the links between endometriosis and addictions, and focusing on pain.
Justine : Hello Salomé ! Can you tell us about your internship experiences ? What has this brought to you professionally and personally?
Salomé : I did my internship in a Medical and Education Institut for Deasable. Precisely i did it in two different MEI where Mr Remaud, my internship supervisor, works. It was very enriching. It allowed me to discover the profession of psychologist, in an MEI specifically but also in general because it was my first experience with a psychologist. During this internship I had the opportunity to assess the WISC to a child. Then I realised that it was extremely difficult because we have to focus on many things at the same time. First, focus on how we present the test to be as neutral as we can, then, on the quotation of the results and last but not least on how the child acts. Indeed, I became aware that the latter could be more important than the results themself.
Justine : Have you an idea of the field in which you would like to work after the university ?
Salomé : In my internship, I really appreciated pluridisciplinary meetings and in general the work of the psychologist in the pluridisciplinary team. As a result of that I am considering working in an institution, probably in a hospital facility at least for a moment. In terms of population, I don’t really know which one I would like to work with but I feel concerned with societal matters like abuse and violence. Meanwhile, I would really like to incorporate nature to my clinical practice. I first wanted to study biophilia in psychology for my research paper. It turned out that it was far too complicated but my first researches on the subject showed that a connection with nature could be very helpful in therapy in many ways so I would like to explore this subject in the future.
Salomé : Hello Justine ! I wanted to know how difficult was it to find an internship ?
Justine : I find it quite difficult to find an internship in the field of psychology for various reasons. Some psychologists are too “young” from an experience point of view to accept interns; other psychologists work part-time and the days do not correspond with ours; some have already found their interns. It is therefore important to plan in advance to hope to find one, especially when we are looking for an internship in a specific field.
Salomé : When did you realise you wanted to study psychology ?
Justine : I started to take an interest in psychology during my college years. I used to love reading books on psychology, especially on social experiences and on adult psychopathologies. This interest only grew over the years, which is why after obtaining my baccalaureate, I turned directly to studies in psychology, with an interest in clinical psychology.
Salomé : Hello Kasianna ! Where would you like to do your master’s internship ?
Kasianna : I would like to do my master internship in a hospital. As I would like to orient my clinic towards the treatment of psychological suffering and psychopathological disorders related to pain and the hospital environment seems to me to be the most formative for this purpose. What motivates me in the course of the internships is the learning of clinical skills in the therapeutic accompaniment of any person in need and the discovery of the role of the psychologist in several units or services… in order to acquire as many skills as possible with the aim of becoming a versatile professional and prepared for the maximum of clinical situations.
Salomé : You said that you obtained your Bachelor’s degree in psychology in Canada, can you tell us why in Canada ?
Kasianna : During my high school years I participated in the “Orientation, Training and Trades Fair” in Guadeloupe. It was during this time that I discovered Quebec universities and their psychology program, as well as Canadian culture. Being used to traveling, I was immediately won over by the idea of discovering a North American country in order to enrich my cultural diversity while maintaining a certain geographical proximity with my family living in the Caribbean.
Kasianna : Hello Justine. Where did you do your Master One internship? And can you tell me what you observed and what you did during this one?
Justine : During my first year of a Master’s degree, I did an internship in a Sessad in the Nantes region with young children and adolescents. During this internship, I had the opportunity to meet young people mainly presenting behavioral disorders that hamper their social, family and school life. I had the opportunity to attend individual clinical interviews with several of these young people and myself, in autonomy, to practice interviews with two young people in particular. It was the first experience where I had the opportunity to practice independently. This internship also allowed me to realize more of the advantages of working within a multidisciplinary team. Indeed, it allows a complementarity of information, a crossing of the views of each one and a richness in the understanding of the patients. Through individual practice and discussions with the referent psychologist and members of the multidisciplinary team, I was able to develop and deepen my theoretical knowledge and my practical and clinical skills.
Kasianna : About your research paper, what theme did you choose and why? And what research skills have you acquired ?
Justine : As part of my research paper, I chose to work on the development of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and on emotional regulation in French people during the first confinement. I chose this subject because it seemed important to me to better identify and understand the psychological repercussions as well as the emotional regulation strategies adopted by the French in this unprecedentid situation. Indeed, I found it interesting to study this event that I myself experiencete. Thanks to this work, I was able to develop different skills such as the selection of valid scientific articles, statistical skills in data processing but above all, I was also able to develop my analytical, critical and synthesis skills.
Kasianna : Hello Salomé ! In psychology, do you have a preference for one approach or certain approaches? And why do you prefer it?
Salomé : First I was extremely reluctant to psychoanalysis because it’s all so subjective. I felt like if one man had set out some theory and everyone applied it without considering it may be false. I really appreciated cognitive and behavioral theories because it was scientific and concrete. More recently, i got interested in the systemic approach because I think the environment, specifically family, is a very important factor to consider. Finally, I realised that there is a lot of correspondence between approaches and that concepts are often the same with different words.
Kasianna : In your third year of study, on which theme did you conduct your research paper? And why did you do it?
Salomé : I conducted my research project on curiosity, more specifically epistemic curiosity and emotions. Curiosity has a lot of dimensions like social curiosity, perceptual curiosity and epistemic curiosity. We could say that epistemic curiosity is the academic side of curiosity, the desire to learn and understand things. We worked on this topic because we were all very curious and we wanted to learn more about it. We wanted to know if epistemic curiosity was a pleasant or unpleasant feeling and if it was a boring or stimulating sensation. As curiosity influences learning, we thought it could be interesting to understand which feelings are involved in curiosity to rethink the way we learn.