Latest News

The Future Psychologists Virtual Programme – The University of Bradford

Date Posted: 10/02/2021 | Posted In: Student News

One of Year 13 students: Anna Lonsdale has shown an incredible amount of intuition by attending remote sessions at the University of Bradford, where she learned more about developmental, forensic and counselling psychology with a focus on transgenderism thanks to the experts there.

The Future Psychologists Virtual Programme

The programme was designed, and delivered, by leading academics in the University of Bradford’s: School of Social Sciences and launched on Wednesday 18th November 2020. The Schools research expertise includes the application of psychology to understanding health and wellbeing; cognition and brain research including neuropsychology, perception, and developmental psychology; and the connections between identity, social constructivism, and narrative.

Each of the sessions investigated one of the four key strands of psychology – Cognitive Development; Forensic; and Counselling.

Participants completing the full programme receive 8 points towards their UCAS tariff for future study at the University of Bradford as an undergraduate Psychology student.

How did Anna get involved in the programme? 

Anna got involved in the programme after encouragement from our excellent careers team and Psychology department.

Here is more information about the sessions that Anna attended via Zoom:

Cognitive Psychology Session 

Cognitive psychologists are interested in the way that we think and process information, this particular session focussed on the phenomena of autobiographical memory. This refers to memories of our lives and events that we have experienced, this lecture provided Anna with the view that autobiographical memory is vital in building a sense of self. Or in other words, who we are and what we are doing, and where we are going.

Which career paths uses Psychology? 

When asked this question during the lecture, the lecturer stated that psychology is so broad in terms of careers. You can go into a career working with those who have mental health issues, and into psychological research. You can also go into the Law career path or even education.

Developmental Psychology Session

Developmental psychologists are interested in the way that children develop into adults, and this is reflected in what you learn during your A Levels.

The key feature that Anna took away from this session, is that psychology is so diverse, and despite being in the same field; two psychologists might disagree with one another.

How did this session relate to Anna’s A Level in Psychology? 

A key debate that our students’ study in A Level Psychology, is ‘nature vs nurture’ which refers to the relevant contributions of nature influences such as inheritance of genetics and nurture influences which involves the environment and upbringing.

Forensic Psychology Session

Forensic psychologists work very closely with The Police and look at the development of the cognitive interview. This works to improve the accuracy of eye witness testimony, which is incredibly important in crime and police investigations.

Counselling Psychology Session with a focus on Transgenderism 

This was the final session that Anna attended, where she explored the experiences of those with gender dysphoria and looked further into the psychological research into such mental health issues as gender dysphoria, which is vitally important when developing successful treatment plans, as well as being able to improve the quality of life for those suffering.

Research into mental health helps to challenge the negative stigma and misconceptions surrounding mental health through education, one of the most powerful tools accessible to everyone.

What are Anna’s thoughts on Psychology since attending the sessions? 

“Psychology is such a great way to explore and satisfy your curiosity, it has had and continues to have positive impacts on society. Furthermore, a lot of psychology is still yet undiscovered and so broad, providing you with the opportunity to work within your opinion and to challenge others. It may be in your interest to find out more about career prospects within psychology by speaking to the careers team.”

Stay up to date:

Don’t forget that you can follow us on our social channels to find out the latest news from our students, about our students, and events.

Follow The Sixth Form Bolton on:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter