Meet our students: Katelyn Collins - Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) 4th year

What drew you to studying psychology?

Psychology really drew my interest because it’s such a diverse field. Having really excelled at science-based subjects like biology, I knew I was fascinated in understanding how things functioned, but I was also passionate about working with people and contributing to the lives of others in a meaningful way. Psychology seemed like an ideal mix of these two qualities, and my degree thus far has really provided me with the opportunity to get a taste of how the human mind works on a technical level (in neuroscience courses, for example) as well as how psychological research can be implemented in a practical way to help others (in counselling courses).

Why did you choose to study psychology at UQ?

UQ was appealing to me largely because of its diverse range of elective courses available for psychology. Psychology itself is incredibly expansive and there are a multitude of avenues that you can explore, and I wanted my university experience and training to reflect that. Throughout the earlier years of my degree especially, I was able to tailor my course load to explore different fields of psychology, helping me determine where my specific interests lay, and then this ultimately became an influential driving factor over choices of my fourth-year electives and even my thesis topic!

What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve learned while studying psychology at UQ?

The most surprising thing that I’ve learned while studying psychology at UQ is probably that psychology is not exactly what I thought it was! There is much more to being a psychologist than what we’re typically fed by TV and movies. As the science of human behaviour, psychology can be relevant to just about anything. Before I started, I wasn’t aware of the numerous subsets of psychology that existed specializing on different populations such as geropsychology (focusing on ageing populations), or how psychology plays a significant role in the workplace (e.g., organizational psychology). Although I’ve found that most of my interests lie in the clinical applications of psychology and the delivery of effective mental healthcare, it was surprising to learn just how broad the field is, and how many different avenues there are for graduates.

What have you enjoyed most about your program?

A major highlight of my degree has been interacting with a diverse range of students – there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with the student community and to support your fellow peers. For example, in my second year I was able to volunteer as a Student Mentor for the School of Psychology’s PsychUnited program, where I was able to connect with new students entering psychology at UQ for the first time, providing support and advice to help them adjust to the uni lifestyle. In this way, one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about psychology at UQ is not only learning about the course content relating to my interests in clinical psychology, but the opportunities I have had to demonstrate these skills and implement them in tangible ways to support others.

What has been the most challenging aspect of studying psychology?

I think it’s easy to underestimate the amount of consistent work and schedule-juggling involved in pursuing a degree like psychology. Although psychology does not include the placement obligations that many other healthcare programs do, I still found it immensely challenging to schedule in personal study around attending classes, working part-time, and volunteering. This was especially so during my Honour’s year, where academic pressures are high, and it can be very tricky to balance those demands alongside my own social life and wellbeing. I think some crucial skills I have had to learn to manage my degree in psychology have been resilience and self-care – learning when to take a break and ease off the pressure has been just as important as keeping organized, consistent, and motivated.

What are the most valuable skills you’ve learned while studying psychology?

By far one of the most relevant and useful skills I’ve learned throughout my psychology degree has been critical thinking – throughout the course load, there are numerous opportunities to hone your appraisal of literature and to change your perspective of scientific findings. My degree has encouraged me to consider what biases may be informing our conclusions, how experimental designs and methodology can alter findings, and how to properly interpret journal articles (beyond just skimming the abstract!). As someone interested in becoming a psychologist, the ability to effectively absorb and interpret research is a critical skill, ensuring that I’m able to stay on top of the ever-evolving literature and deliver the most effective service to clients.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to study psychology?

Just prepare to be surprised about what exactly your undergraduate training will look like. There are a lot of misconceptions floating around about what specifically psychologists do, and even more so in terms of what a degree in psychology looks like. Psychology is a science, so expect to be trained up as a scientist! What really surprised me initially is the level of rigorous methodological training we are expected to undergo, and just how crucial research is to every level of our practice. I would advise that new students get comfortable with the idea that they perhaps won’t be doing what they expect out of psychology right off the bat – that is, you won’t be counselling people or reading any minds straight away. You must be okay with putting in the hard yards now for a lot of delayed gratification, because undergraduate psychology training is about building up the key building blocks you need to go on and then pursue applied training in postgrad.

Tell us about your experience working in the lab.

Working in the lab has been one of the most challenging and exciting parts of my Honour’s year! I had the privilege of working with Associate Professor Melissa Day as her Honour’s student this year, and as part of that I received hands-on research experience, running a five-day experiment investigating the effects of mindfulness meditation and hypnosis training on experimental pain. We had the opportunity to be trained in various research procedures, such as conducting a standard experimental pain induction, running computerized cognitive tasks, compiling and managing accurate data, and even learning how to assess trait hypnotisability! Even though there were parts of my Honour’s year where the lab became my second home, I am incredibly grateful for this experience and the skills I’ve learned working one-on-one with our participants and other researchers.