Psychologists
Provide individuals and groups with evidence-based assessment, prevention, intervention and treatment to foster personal, social, educational and occupational wellbeing and development.
A day of sessions, calls and a report
You are a registered psychologist at a shared practice, with client sessions in the morning and a report due to a school by the end of the day. It is Thursday morning. You have a teenager coming at ten, a school waiting on your report, and a feeling that the people around your clients want more from you than you can give.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I have to know what my son tells you in his sessions. He is sixteen and he will not talk to me. I am his father, and I pay for this. Please just tell me what he is worried about.
Tell him the main things, since he is a worried parent who means well and is paying for this
Mr Kowalski is grateful. Within a week your client finds out and stops trusting you. Therapy only works if the person believes the room is theirs.
Explain how privacy works and what you can share, and offer a joint session
He is disappointed but listens. His son says yes to one joint session, and a conversation that was impossible at home becomes possible in your room.
Say you cannot discuss anything and end the call politely
You protect your client, but you leave a worried father with nothing. He feels shut out, and the relationship between him and his son gets a little harder.
We need a letter by this afternoon confirming a diagnosis for one of your students so we can apply for support. I know you are busy. Can you just write a quick line saying he has it?
Write the line, since the school needs it and you are fairly sure
The school gets its letter. But your assessment is not complete, and when the application is checked, the gaps are noticed. The student's support is delayed.
Say you will not write anything until the whole report is finished and send nothing today
You are being careful, but the application deadline passes. The student waits another term for support while you finish the report.
Offer a short letter on current needs and say when the full report will arrive
The school can use the letter to start the application, and the full report follows on time. You have been accurate without leaving the student stranded.
I noticed you looked drained after your last client. If you ever want to talk it through, I am around. Peer supervision is available, and I find it helps with the harder cases.
Take up the offer and set a time this week to talk it through
You talk it through, remove identifying details, and gain a fresh view on how you were responding. The session next week goes better.
Say you are fine and keep going, because everyone has a lot to do
You push on. By the end of the month you are making small errors in your notes and snapping at the front desk. Carrying heavy work alone is not a strength.
Thank her and say you will think about it when things are quieter
It never gets quieter. The offer lapses, and you wish later that you had not waited. Supervision works best when it is regular rather than a last resort.
How it went
The day ends with your notes written and the school letter sent. Psychology is about understanding people, but also about protecting their privacy, being precise about what you know and looking after your own wellbeing. Which of those would you find the most challenging?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The report the school wanted in one word
A fictional case set in a psychology practice shared with other health professionals, and visits to local schools.
The situation
Naveen was a psychologist assessing nine-year-old Callum, who found reading hard and had begun to act up in class. The school wanted a quick written label so they could apply for extra support. Callum's parents were anxious and hoped a report would explain everything. Naveen's testing showed a real, specific difficulty with reading, but also a boy who was bright, funny and good at building things. A single word on a page would be easy to write, and would not tell the teachers what to do on Monday.
What they did
Naveen wrote a report that did include the name of the difficulty, because the school needed it to apply for support, but he put most of the effort into describing what Callum could do and what helped. He listed practical strategies a teacher could use, such as letting Callum show understanding by speaking or building. He met with Callum's parents first, so the findings were not a shock, and explained them in plain words. He also met Callum, and told him that his brain simply learned reading differently.
How it turned out
The school got its support, and the teacher said the strategies list was the part she used most. Callum's parents were relieved to have an explanation. Callum started reading a little more each week, and told his mum that the psychologist had said he was smart. Naveen still thought the waiting list was too long for other children.
What would you do?
- Why might a single label not be enough for a teacher?
- How would you explain a difficult finding to a nine-year-old?
- What would it be like to be the person who decides how information is shared?