A trainee psychologist at Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has shared her experience of overcoming obstacles to enter the world of psychology in a new book, hoping to inspire others to consider a career in the field.
Fauzia Khan, who works in the Trust’s Sandwell Older Adults Enhanced Community Mental Health Team, has shared her story to inspire others from under-represented backgrounds to pursue a career in psychology.
Her chapter, called ‘Unfulfilling a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy’ features in the book ‘The Aspiring Psychologist Collective: Reflective Accounts of Mental Health Professionals on Their Way to Qualification’ by Dr Marianne Trent, which sees Fauzia reflect on power, privilege and on being an agent of change, among other topics.
Fauzia is passionate about widening access to the psychology profession, so it better represents the people it works to help.
She explained: “As it stands today, psychology is a predominantly white middle-class dominated profession. However, individuals accessing mental health services are predominantly from racially minorities, underprivileged, and often marginalised. The current psychology workforce does not represent the diverse populations they serve, so increasing diversity and representation is much needed in the profession.
“Being from an ethnic minority background, I recognise some barriers that people from these backgrounds may experience. I wanted to join the profession to raise awareness around these barriers and issues and work towards making services more inclusive and accessible.”
Fauzia embarked on a doctorate in psychology to contribute to a community of academic and clinical professionals by making contributions through research and scholarship to inspire future generations of psychologists from a wide range of backgrounds.
Since contributing to the book, Fauzia has spoken at the British Psychological Society Division of Counselling Psychology, Black and Asian Counselling Psychologists Group about her experiences and ideas for making the profession more accessible. She has previously also written for the British Psychological Society’s West Midlands Branch publication.
Fauzia is no stranger to having her work published as an avid writer and interviewer, but this was the first time she had the chance to share her personal story.
It was an emotional process for Fauzia, who looks back on some of the challenges she encountered during and after leaving school and how she came to the realisation that psychology was not only her passion but her calling too.
Fauzia first joined the Trust, which is the lead provider of mental health, autism, and learning disability services in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, and Wolverhampton, back in 2016.
Since then, she has worked in urgent and planned care services for adults and, more recently, older adults.
Fauzia said: “Sharing my story feels like a highly daunting task, one that has brought up a mix of emotions for me - both positive and negative. Until very recently, I saw my journey into psychology as one full of deficits, but I now realise that it was, in fact, challenges and barriers that made my journey difficult, and that was through no fault of my own.
“My story isn’t one of deficit; it is one of the strengths, fighting against the odds and unfulfilling, many self-fulfilling prophecies. Being from a minoritised and underprivileged background and stepping into psychology has been no easy feat, but I’m living to tell the tale.
“I’m sharing my story in the hope that others with similar lived experiences will be inspired by my journey and will not allow the barriers in their lives to prevent them from achieving their goals and dreams.”
Fauzia has won warm praise from the book’s author, Dr Marianne Trent, who invited Fauzia to be part of the project.
Dr Trent, a clinical psychologist, said: “When Fauzia submitted her story proposal, I was struck by how the environment we are in and the interactions from the people around us can affect the chances for someone to be able to prosper. I needed to know more!
“I knew it was a story that needed to be told, one that people could relate to and recognise. It is a story of possibility, striving, and a desire to make a difference. Fauzia has shared some powerful words with us, and we are grateful for everything she does privately and publicly for the field of psychology too.”
The book is available both as a hardcopy (paperback and hardback) and as a Kindle eBook on Amazon.