Why learning Behaviour Change from a Psychologist is 'different'.

I’ll be launching a new course next month, it’s called Exercise Strength & Conditioning with Serena!

I’ve been a pretty active person for most of my life.  I represented my school in long distance running.  Ran into my adult life and have completed numerous races, including a Comando challenge and Triathlon.  I’ve also regularly weight trained for the last 14 years, and know a lot about it now. I’ve also done yoga on and off since my early twenties, and have played for various team sports including Rugby for years both in the UK and New Zealand (full contact, thank you).

 I’ve also worked alongside the very best S&C professionals in the UK (and arguably the world) over the last decade, and so have been privy to their teachings and courses, conferences (which I’ve presented at) and even have helped to incorporate an S&C programme into the NHS alongside the psychology I was responsible for.  

I’ve also been asked to work with sports teams and athletes helping them with their brain and game, so the arena of ‘sport’ isn’t alien to me. Further to this, I’ve read a lot of books and listened to a lot of podcasts in this area, picking up on solid contemporary research and teachings in the area, so I stay current. I’m also Lead Psychologist in another small company, responsible for an exercise programme being incorporated into healthcare.

So, because of all this experience and learning I think I’m qualified and capable of teaching this to others. Yes?

Well, I hope this sounds as crazy as I felt writing it!  

Yet I see this every day with people teaching psychology to the masses!  Why is it when it comes to psychology, that it seems like the barrier to teaching people about how their brain works, and how they behave, is so low?

I mean, in my mind I would have to be bonkers to even consider teaching S&C.  Yes I do know some things about it.  I use the knowledge I have in my own life, for myself.  I might even feel comfortable privately advising a friend or family member about how they could start to get into  shape (hello Dad), but teach it? To people? To the public, and misconstruing myself as the ‘expert’.  

This I quite frankly would have no business doing..and I’ll explain why.

A Qualification isn’t just a piece of paper

A bit like the scenario I painted above, all of which is true by the way, it’s difficult to not relate to ‘psychology’. I mean we all have our own psychology.  We all have a brain.

In fact so many people I meet, when I say I’m a psychologist, say ‘oh, I love psychology’, or ‘I would love to have done psychology’.  I get it.  It’s fascinating.  It’s about understanding humans and how they think, feel and behave, what could be be more juicy than that?  It’s certainly why I pursued it, but going on to qualify in the work is a very, very different ball game. In fact it’s gruelling.

When I started University, I found out that Psychology had a very high drop out rate in the first year.  Why?, because what most people don’t know is that a BPS (British Psychological Society - the only way to become chartered) degree, consists of over 50% research methods and statistics.  Not the ‘dreams analysis’ and ‘disorders’ you think you’ll be looking at!

There’s the ground work to do first.  The hard bit, the monotonous bit maybe; but how vital.  To build that foundation of knowledge.  To learn about how our brains are wired, the neurochemistry and biology.  The key research around social interaction and developmental psychology which tells us how a baby develops and consequently what happens when we age.  Foundations in cognition, how to properly research and test assumptions, the list goes on.  

If you are qualified in any profession, you will know this.  

It. Takes. Time.

A basic Psych degree is usually 3-4 years, depending on placements etc, and that’s just the beginning for a budding psychologist.  On top of this, if you want to go to qualify, you’re looking at, at the very least another 3 years, but this is more like 4-7 years.  Or even more.  

For me, on top of the 5-6 years I spent at University (I did 2 Undergraduate degrees BSc & BA and a Masters), I then took over  a decade, yes you read that right, 10 years to qualify!

To become Chartered by the BPS is not for the feint hearted.  It’s difficult, you work hard, things change, you have to work and study at the same time and you have to fulfil A LOT of requirements.  

The other important thing to note, is that alongside this, and all throughout my studies, I worked in the field.  From the age of 17, I held various roles including:

  • A mental health auxiliary on a Psychogeriatric Unit  | Hospital/ UK

  • A mental health auxiliary on a Mental Health ward (hospital) and an in-group therapy home | UK

  • A mental health auxiliary within the community | UK & New Zealand

  • With acquired brain injury patients  | ABI Rehab - Auckland, New Zealand

  • Therapy facilitator with children with ASD | Wellington, New Zealand

  • Manager for the audit of all Cognitive Behavioural Programmes being run in English & Welsh prisons | HM Prison Service (UK)

  • Asst Psychologist - own case load/groups | Rampton - Maximum Security - Hospital, UK

  • Senior Psychology Lecturer | Nottingham Trent University (current)

These aren’t even all the roles I’ve held over 30 years of work in the field, but they help to make sense of some of the things I’ve done that have built my knowledge over the years. It made my academic work more meaningful, as I was working with patients with schizophrenia when I was learning about the disease.  I was working with patients who were struggling with psychosis when I was learning about what happens when someone is suffering in this way.  Applied practice. It all made sense and made me want to learn more. My work was also meaningful.

Why does this make a difference..and who should be teaching you psychology?

So, back to the original point of this blog.  What do you get from learning psychology from a psychologist?  I would argue that you typically get a lot more from learning from a qualified psychologist than many other professions. That is specifically psychology just to be clear.

A qualified, in this case Chartered Psychologist (in the UK), would have worked a long time and would have to have done a lot of work to be able to Charter. In many ways then it is a seal of approval and shows to you, the consumer, that they have an ability to integrate their practice.  They’ve done their due diligence.  They work ethically.  They are monitored by an active body.  They have the understanding to go deeper when they are teaching you  They can connect the dots and show depth and understanding in regards to their area of expertise.  You ask a question for example, and there is a wealth of knowledge to draw upon in order to answer your question.  That is what they are trained to do**

So with so many people now taking to social media teaching basic psychology, mindfulness and protocols on how to re-wire your brain (!), I’d just be mindful of how deep their understanding really goes?  Do you really want to learn from someone who has read some books, done an on-line Coaching course or listened to every Huberman Lab podcast, and now thinks they’re qualified to re-spout the same stuff?  Errrrmmmm?

Fig 1: Substrates of who is best to teach psychology - tongue & cheek don’t get upset!

And this is the deeper issue; clever people can re-spout!  It’s easy to ‘parrot’ information back if you’ve learnt it from somewhere, but without being able to make sense of that in terms of the bigger picture, the deeper underlying psychology, you are really just getting surface level sub-structures - clay if you will.

In the figure (fig 1), I presented above, you can see a general idea of what this looks like, presented as a geological rock substructure. This isn’t true to life obviously, but is an ‘at a glance’ representation of the illustrated difference on ‘depth of understanding’. 

I have to say it’s not that other people can’t teach psychology, and I’m not even saying that people shouldn’t teach it.  I’m merely making the point that if a focus is to understand the ‘psychology’, and not other facets, then maybe work with someone who knows and has qualified in the area of psychology.  

Behaviour Change from a Psychologist and why it’s different?

One of the reasons I’ve thought about this a lot lately is, as a practitioner teaching Behaviour Change to Healthcare Practitioners, I see a lot of other professionals teaching this or similar courses? 

Now I want to be crystal clear here, this is not in any way a dig at those people.  We have to look carefully at what they are offering before critiquing?  Maybe they aren’t really going into the psychology, but are drawing more upon the practicalities or essence of their own professional practice?  Maybe looking more at theoretical constructs? If this is the case, then fantastic!  

I’m sure that there are courses like this that offer great value, and I always say that when it comes to Behaviour Change, having many tools that you can draw upon is so very helpful, so this is great.  I do believe though, that as I’ve tried to illustrate here, if it’s the psychological element you are after then you get a very different experience doing this with a qualified psychologist.

In my course for example yes I go into the psychology of Change, we look at why some people change and others’ don’t.  We also look at many different psychological tools you can employ, and make sense of theory in a practical way, but I think one of the main benefits is (and if you’re a previous student, please do comment below), I can answer your questions with real knowledge and experience.  I know how to connect those dots I mentioned and make sense of how our psychology is at play.

So for now, I’m going to stick within my remit of psychology and not become an S&C Coach, for good reason.  And if you would like to find out about the course I am qualified to teach, which starts on Monday 5th June, then just CLICK HERE.  

I’d love to see you!

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Footnote/Disclaimer

**Let’s be real, psychologists are also not on a pedestal..you get a**holes in every profession, so check on any individual you are working with.  Obvs!**

What Behaviour Change strategies can do for your Healthcare Practice.

“Not only do I understand why someone may or may do what I’ve asked them to do, but I feel more confident in having conversations that before, made me incredibly uncomfortable”  (Physiotherapist, UK).

This was a surprise piece of feedback from someone on the last course I taught, teaching Behaviour Change Interventions to Healthcare Practitioners.  I knew that the strategies I taught were useful and made a big difference in terms of long-term behavioural shift, but this particular statement woke me up to the fact that practitioners were often in situations that at times made them feel very uncomfortable.  

I mentioned this to another small group of practitioners I was working with to see if the same feelings were being experienced, and they too echoed the same sentiments; one practitioner telling me for example that prior to the course I had taught, she had literally dreaded what some patients were going to say, and sat there wishing she could just concentrate on their knee!  I mean it was why there were there seeing her wasn’t it, she said?  Or was it?  

Are humans really that simple, that they ever really show up with one thing to focus on?  Do they ever really just come with the painful knee?

HOLISTIC PRACTICE

Many practitioners I work with have told me, especially post-Covid, that people are not just presenting with their physical issues when they come for help.  They never really have, but certainly after Covid and all that we experienced psychologically as a result, this seems much more pronounced. 

Yes, people are turning up to get your expert advice on how they might help with their physical injury, rehabilitate, build strength or physically prepare for surgery but when they describe what their ‘lived experience’ of having ‘said injury’ is like, what is apparent is that you cannot help someone by just focussing on the physical.

Again this isn’t new.  It’s echoed in all of the advice given in Healthcare settings and perpetuation of the message of having to address things via a Biopsyhosocial model of care (Fig 1).  It’s what good practice is built on, yet what I’m aware of, is that so few people are given actual knowledge and advice around how to do this.  How do you implement strategies to tackle this on a practical level not just give it lip service.

Afterall, anyone can say we should be looking at people holistically and then working within a bio-psychosocial framework, but what is the reality?

THE ISSUE, SOMETIMES ISN’T THE ISSUE!

In order to help someone with a physical issue, we must first go through their individual filter.  The filter that person has in terms of their own thoughts and feelings about ‘that thing’.  This inevitably means that we will hear all manner of other factors which they feel contribute to their issue.  This can be anything from issues around not having ‘time’ (yes, that old chestnut), inability to do what’s being asked of them, lack of support, pain etc. I’m sure you can fill in the blank very easily here.

This is all well and good, and good practitioners may become adept over time at helping their patients overcome some of these issues.  This type of interaction in and of itself may feel like you are stepping outside of your scope, it also may feel like we are tackling things in a bio-psychosocial way if we do; but what happens when you encounter more difficult conversations, or people who just won’t do what is asked them yet they keep coming back?  Those that really lack motivation to engage and or those that show signs of other deeper issues that are preventing them from engagement?

PRACTICAL STRATEGIES
This is where Psychology and Behaviour Change interventions really help bridge the gap.  

I’ve done this specific work with healthcare practitioners for several years now, and I’ve been astounded to learn that Psychology does not form any signifiant part of training and degrees in these professions.  So, when I encounter a practitioner who feels unskilled in helping someone, because of these very issues they are presenting with, I really feel for them.  Usually they, you, really want to help but as you weren’t trained in this area, I feel it’s wrong to expect you to know what to do.

Having a good foundational knowledge in Psychology & Behaviour Change in this case, will help you to:

  • Understand how a human thinks and processes information.

  • Understand how people think and behave in approach to change.

  • Understand what people need to have in place in order to engage with something consistently over time.

  • Understand what blocks and barriers can present are and how they hinder our ability to adhere.

  • Understand how we help people adhere and find joy in what they are doing.

These are just a few things that you may get from building your knowledge as a healthcare practitioner which will certainly help you feel more equipped to help someone adhere, and not just for the short term…sustained change is what we are after!

There are also some key differences in the courses I teach, as being a Chartered Psychologist, I naturally come from a different and arguably more integrated approach to my work.  I’ll be writing more about this in another blog next week, in which I’ll address what you’ll get from learning Behavior Change from a Psychologist vs a different Healthcare practitioner.

So do check back in to read that, and of course offer your thoughts.

WHAT NEXT?

There are many Behaviour Change tools, strategies and courses out there. Like everything, I would encourage you to find one that suits you and you practice.  You may find that more theoretical knowledge is what you’re after.  Or you may be more interested in processes?

If however you are interested in the course I’ll be teaching, which has a focus on long-term behaviour change and integrated practice; then I’ll be teaching this LIVE starting June 5th, please just CLICK HERE to be taken though to the course page where you can find out more.

For an overview, we will be covering:  

  • How change is perceived and achieved in humans - and why we need to understand this before we try and help our patients/clients.

  • How to unlock your patient/client WHY and why this is crucial to their success.

  • The role of motivation in change, and how we can impact this as practitioners and coaches.

  • Nudge Theory  - what a nudge is (and isn’t!) and how you can implement basic nudges to help your clients make decisions.

  • How to effectively set goals - that your patients/clients actually want to stick to.

  • Motivational interviewing techniques to help you feel more confident in eliciting true change.

  • How we can utilise what we know about Neuroplasticity to aide change and success.

  • Boundaries and leadership in your practice - and why these ultimately help your patients/clients achieve the results they desire.

SALE OFFER

Thinking about signing up, then I’ll be offering a flash sale this bank holiday weekend only, where you can use the following codes and get £50.00 of the full cost of the course.  

Paying in FULL: BCFLASH50

Paying by INSTALMENTS: BCFLASH50OFF

This will be available from Friday 26th, until midnight Monday 29th only.

I’d love to see you on this next International Cohort which looks, as ever, to be an amazing group of practitioners!

If you have any questions in the meantime, then please get in touch with me at serenasimmons@icloud.com where I’ll be happy to help you.

How to relax without feeling guilty

Do you struggle to relax?

Are you that person who sits down to watch a film, or have a cuppa and suddenly the guilt sets in.  You think about all the things you could be doing, all the things on your to-to list?  I shouldn’t just be sitting down, you say to yourself. 

Maybe you even pick up a little bit of work to do at the same time…after all what's the harm?  You can just ‘get this done’ while the film is on?  Or you can just read this report while on your sun lounger on holiday!

Well, the fact is, that we end up paying a price when we can't switch off.  When we experience guilt for trying to just have some downtime, it’s a sign that something else is actually going on for us.  It’s a dialogue or narrative we have about relaxing that educes guilt and it usually stems from our up-bringing.

In today’s video I talk about how I've struggled with this for a long time myself, but that's exactly why I've been able to help my clients with this pesky issue too.  

You see, we don’t have to have permission from anyone, or feel guilt when we feel like doing nothing.  I know, novel huh?

Re-framing this time, as time for you/self-care is vital for your sense of self, and wellbeing.  So, I hope you enjoy this video where I take about this more and I also share a simple re-frame for you that will help with this if it’s something that you struggle with too.

I hope you can take something away from today’s video. 

To be able to say to yourself ‘I am enough’ when you feel this kind of guilt…and if you can work on truly believing it, can be a game changer. I challenge you to do this for yourself and I’d love to know what impact it has on you.

In the meantime, if you haven’t signed up for the bi-monthly newsletter in which I share more from behind the scenes as well as extra nuggets on your psychology and how you can make positive life changes, then do sign-up in the box below and this will be delivered to your in-box.

In the meantime take care and I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.

Why change is so difficult

You say you want to get fit and go to the gym, but somehow it’s so hard.

You say you want to leave your job and do something new, maybe even start your own business, but again it’s so difficult to start the process.

Why? Why when we say we really want to something, does it often feel like it’s the hardest thing we could possible think to undertake?

Well, it’s got something to do with how we’ve evolved. You see it’s not actually something we’re hard wired to do, and in this week’s blog I tell you all about why, helping you to make sense of this all too common phenomenon.

I also give you a really simple way of approaching this and how you can start to even change this way of being, if you realise that this is something you do and you’d like to overcome it.

I hope you found this useful.

I’d love to know what you notice when you get curious about this. Can you identify any thoughts or ideas that are keeping you blocked? This is the start and can really help you to unlock things before you start to get into action.

Also, remember as I said in the video, be kind to yourself. This is a process, a journey and half the fun is enjoying making the changes you want not just arriving at the destination..

Till next week.

How do I change my Life?

I though I’d start back by answering just a small question, in today’s blog post…’how do I change my life?’.

Have you ever asked this question for yourself? You wouldn’t be alone if you had, in fact the reason I wanted to tackle this one, is because it’s a question I do genuinely get asked.

Now, obviously you can’t answer this question in a simple strategic, or prescriptive way. You know ‘do this, and then do that, and you’ve changed your life’. That would be madness and if anyone tries to sell you a formula or strategy, book or pill for that, then please run a mile!

We can’t do this because what this question means to you will not be the same as what it means to me. We are multi-faceted beings with our own individual ways of processing, making meaning therefore communicate this type of question for a myriad of reasons.

For example, if I said I wanted to ‘change my life’, I could be eluding to anything or any part of it. The meaning this statement has, is therefore totally grounded in what it means to you. But there is something you can do to start to answer this question for yourself if you’re willing to do the work to get curious about what it means.

In today’s video I share a simple strategy with you that you can try to help you get both clarity over the areas of your life that you feel need more attention, as well as how you can start to notice what you could do to make your life feel more happy and fulfilling, which is often the aim when we say we want things to change.

So, feel free to get a cuppa and a notebook and pen and have a go at the exercise I share with you here, and please do comment and share with me the themes you’ve found.

I hope you enjoyed this first blog back. Be sure to check back again next week but before you go I’d also love to share with you some free Training I’m putting on for those of you who would love to change your Career. Something I help a lot of people with.

I’m putting on a FREE LIVE WEBINAR next Monday 11th May focussed on helping you to get your Career Change Started today!

Here's what I'll be covering in the webinar:

  • Why we usually wait for change to happen to us..especially a career shift, and how to overcome it

  • Why you don't need to re-train or get new qualifications to make a career change

  • How to figure out what you could do for a new career or even business..even when you don't know what to do!

  • How others have done it before you and their success stories

  • Why the lockdown is a perfect time for you to make a change

To book your place please CLICK HERE to be taken through to the Registration page.

Places are limited so don’t hesitate to secure your place now! I really hope you’ll join me and I can’t wait to help you kick start your exciting career move.

Till next week.

It's fantastic to be back!

Hello again!,

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged and I can tell you it’s good to be back.

If you follow my journey through social media, or maybe because you’ve worked directly with me over the last wee while, you’ll know things have never stopped ticking along. In fact they’ve just ramped up and I’ve been busier than ever.

There’s been a re-brand, and I’ve gone from APE Model Psychology to The Psychology School. This was thanks to taking a step back and taking the time to invest in my business, branding and marketing…as well as have some time for myself to really think about the direction I wanted to head in.

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Yes, it looks like I’ve had a jolly old time, and I did. But I’ve also worked incredibly hard which I think has paid off.

For anyone worried about where the APE has gone, don’t worry ‘the APE’ is still there, as the A.P.E (Acquire | Perform | Evolve) Model is the bedrock of all of my work. It’s the model I use when helping any one through a change, so if you work with me again, you can rest assured you’ll see the APE again! In fact he cheekily pops up every now again.

Another big change behind the scenes is that The Psychology School is now a real place, as I have premises!

The Psychology School | Cobden Chambers, Nottingham (UK).

The Psychology School | Cobden Chambers, Nottingham (UK).

One of the main reasons I started my business was to bring groups together, and this space means I can now bring people together and hold small workshops, which have been going amazingly well (pre-Covid-19), as well as see my 1:1 clients in a beautiful space.

Workshop details

Workshop details

After the current lockdown I can’t wait to get back in and start bringing people together again, all learning psychology under the same roof and having a blast in the process! I’ve got some great workshops up my sleeve for anyone wanting to learn about their own psychology, and make big life/business changes in the process!

So you can see I’ve been up to a lot!

Over the last year and half, my client list has exploded, I’m working with a full case load of individuals as well as several businesses. We are also expanding and a new wonderful therapist Called Sarah Lewis sill start working with me once we’re back (offering psychological therapies), and I’m just about to take an exciting product on-line so I can help more people further afield, but more about that tomorrow.

I really just wanted to say hello again and provide some context for the step away from blogging which for some time, had to take a back seat. Not because we were gone, but because we were growing and making exciting plans that truly serve you.

So, I’ll back right here tomorrow with the new fresh looking blog for you, as well as an exciting offer for some Free training I’m going be providing next Monday 11th, so be sure to check back if you’d like to know what it is.

In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about the behind the scenes and as well as having access to other things I only share in my newsletter, then please sign up to get updates. You can do this by signing up below.

Until then, like I said its great to be back!

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