On the 25th of March 2024, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Kenefick, our very own school psychologist. I wanted a better understanding of her role within our school, the challenges and opportunities she has, and her prior education that led to her career today.

I asked her a few questions and was provided with some insightful information that she has kindly given me permission to share on this platform, and I have summarised it into 7 key takeaways.

1. Early aspirations and motivations
   • When I asked Dr Kenefick how she had concluded that the field of psychology is something she would like to contribute to, she stated that she knew at a very young age. Being a little girl seeing her father, a doctor, dealing with a range of patients, stemmed her curiosity about how people with either health issues cope with their difficulties day to day, this encapsulating her into the world of psychology.
2. Education and training
   • Applied Psychology Degree in Ireland for 3 years:
     • A crucial foundation for a career in clinical psychology.
   • Masters in History and Theory of Psychology for 1 year
   • NHS Hospital Experience for 2 years
   • Clinical Psychology Training Program for 3 years including a PhD Program:
     • Combining clinical practice and academic study.
3. Typical day supporting students’ mental health
   • As students, we don’t usually receive a chance to see what subject teachers, support staff, and custodians do for our school. I asked Dr Kenefick what is required for her role and what an average day looks like for her; in which she replied that a typical day entails meetings with the teachers and school heads, hosting parent consultations where she addresses individual or school-wide wellbeing issues, technology, and more factors that can affect our well-being.
   • As we have seen, Dr Kenefick participates in assemblies to always encourage us that she is there for us if we need her, she occasionally has one to one sessions with students, and she mainly collaborates with teachers to promote wellbeing and look after the needs of students – ensuring all teachers can help their students in the best way possible.
4. Challenges
   • Patience is an essential quality to have when working with students, teachers, and parents as support for wellbeing or mental health concerns is often delivered over several sessions or meetings. Difficulties are rarely fully resolved in one meeting and may take months of intervention or psychological therapy.
   • Dr Kenefick works across all the Berkhamsted schools (pre-prep, prep, senior, and sixth form). This means she works with a large number of staff and students across different age ranges and stages of education. It is necessary to prioritise her time across the different schools so that she can offer her support where it is most needed. As such, prioritisation is a key part of her role.
5. Key Psychological terms and staying relevant
   • As psychology students, we learn about a wide range of topics from attachment to memory to the different approaches. I wanted to determine if any of it was particularly relevant in Dr Kenefick’s field. It turns out it is. Attachment is relevant in various contexts particularly in identifying and understanding any difficulties that students may have in terms of relationships with family members, friends, or teachers.
   • Anxiety manifestation (understanding how anxiety presents itself) is key in her field when working with students who may suffer from anxiety.
   • Dr Kenefick also mentioned that every since joining Berkhamsted, she has been working more with neurodiverse students, which has required her to strengthen her knowledge about neurodiversity.
   • This links to the question I asked her about staying current with new psychological discoveries. Part of her job demands that she continuously learns about the latest research and practices in school psychology. To do this, she actively engages in learning by regularly attending relevant courses, workshops, and conferences to help refine her skills and knowledge. What I found particularly interesting was that she doesn’t have a supervisor breathing down her neck to attend these courses, but rather she regularly checks in with other psychologists where they work together to encourage each other to stay on top of their knowledge.
6. Advice for students interested in psychology as a career
   • Dr Kenefick gave me a list of her top tips for becoming a clinical psychologist:
     • Have patience with the process
       • It may be a long journey to get the qualifications and experiences needed but it is truly worth it in the end.
     • Enjoy the journey
     • Stay open minded of a career
       • Along the way, you may find that specific things interest you and others don’t. Follow your interests and keep an open mind of where it leads you. You must truly enjoy and be interested in this career path if you want to see it out.
     • Practical hands-on experience is a necessity
       • This can consist of shadowing, research, or working with patients in charities, NHS or health and social care settings.
     • Be happy to absorb information from your degree
7. Important qualities and skills
   • Open minded
     • You may come across a lot of conflicting views about well-being and it is important to take on board the views of all relevant individuals.
   • Know yourself
     • Constant need for self-regulation.
   • Resilience
   • Patience

To summarise, Dr Kenefick stated that being a clinical psychologist means dealing with complex and multi-factorial psychological difficulties. The core skills include being empathetic and a good listener, but also self-regulation, patience, open mindedness, and prioritisation skills.