Helen Madell has completed two degrees with CQUniversity - In 2004 she graduated with her Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology and in 2017 returned to study her Master of Clinical Psychology. Helen works part-time at her private practice, Helen G. Madell, where she specialises in multiple areas of psychology including marital therapy, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, and has also recently commenced work as a casual lecturer with CQUniversity on the North Rockhampton Campus.
She says the best part of her job is the sense of satisfaction observing clients make huge differences to their lives.
You really need to be flexible with your hours initially when you start out but as time goes on, your practice will become flexible around what you can commit.
The first thing I do when I get to work is…
Have a shower as I normally run or ride to work. Really gets my head ready for what I am doing for the day.
The three activities I’m most likely to do in a day are…
Client consultations, report writing, phone calls. The phone calls can be to other parties involved in the care for the client or to do with administration.
Something people might not realise I do is…
Outreach work. I do go on site for specific jobs and this has sometimes meant weeks of travel.
Something I didn’t think I would doing as a Psychologist is…
Accounting/book work. You certainly need to understand a little about business in order to know how to construct your time working with clients.
Something I did think I’d be doing is…
Client work. This is one of the cornerstones of my job and I love it.
Something students who are considering being a psychologist need to think about is…
You really need to be flexible with your hours initially when you start out but as time goes on, your practice will become flexible around what you can commit.
Something I wish I knew about being a psychologist is…
You don’t have to have all the answers right then and there with the client. As long as you do no harm and mention in a polite way to the client that you will further follow up on the issue they are presenting with, most people are understanding and it shows that you are doing what is best for them.
The best bit about my job is…
The sense of satisfaction that with the interventions I have done with clients, that they have made huge differences to their lives.
This blog is part of a ‘day in the life’ series promoting what roles really involve. If you’ve graduated from a CQUni course and would like to be part of this blog series please contact [email protected].