Marta
Being in 2nd year of the Psychology BSc means optional modules and cool skills sessions! This term, I am taking Research Methods 4, Contemporary Issues in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, and as part of my Psychological Skills module, I am taking a systematic literature review course, introduction to qualitative research methods, and working with vulnerable groups. Unlike my first year, 2nd year for me has been less contact hours heavy, with a larger focus on independent study and learning about your own areas of interest within the modules which I absolutely love! I generally have a couple of classes for the same module each day, with lots of time left for extra-curriculars and self-study. Here’s what a typical Wednesday at Denmark Hill looks like for me.
7am – 9am
On Wednesday’s, I wake up at 7am to get ready for my 9am class. I tend to grab a quick breakfast and then travel to Denmark Hill on the overground. I like to use the commute time (about 45 minutes) to catch up on some reading for my course!
9am-11am
My first class of the day is a Clinical Psychology lecture at the main building in Denmark Hill. Lectures are a large group teaching session where one lecturer or researcher leads the session by teaching a topic. These lectures are always super exciting since each lecture focuses around a different clinical disorder and is taught by an expert IoPPN researcher for that disorder! The lectures tend to focus around the aetiology, prevalence, causes, and different available treatments for the disorders. After the lecture, we have the chance of asking the researchers any questions about the topic as well which is a great way to find out more about their research in the field if it’s a topic you’re particularly interested in.
11am-1pm
As part of the Clinical Psychology module, we have alternating workshops and seminars from week to week.
On the weeks that I have seminars, I tend to have a 1 hour break from 11am-12pm. During this break, I like to go up to the IoPPN canteen and grab some of their delicious food (it is literally the best at King’s!!) and spend the remaining time at the IoPPN library either preparing for the seminar or doing work for any of my other modules. The breaks are usually a great opportunity to get some focused work done without any distractions since you’re already on campus and have all of the resources available. After the break, I go to my seminar at the Weston Education Centre. The seminars are a small group teaching session, and for this module they are led by groups of students presenting on different topics each week. The presentations centre around a topic related to mental health (such as mental health and the legal system) and then the conversation is opened up to the rest of the class to discuss a set of questions about the topic. I absolutely love these seminars because they’re a great opportunity to do further research on areas that interest you as well as consolidate your knowledge by applying your learning to real life scenarios!
On the weeks that I have workshops, the workshops start at 11am after the lecture. For this module, the workshops are based around the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes and follow-up methods used in clinical practice. The workshops tend to be very discussion focused, where we are split into groups and each group works on a different case study throughout the weeks, applying our knowledge of clinical practice to following through with the case. This is a great way to learn about the work that is done in the clinical field, and it’s always interesting to see how different people approach the cases differently.
1pm-7pm
After my second class is over, the rest of the day really depends on what work I have left to do that week. I usually go back home after class since I work better from home, and prepare for my classes for the next day. I like to keep my day from 9am-5pm, since this year I have very few contact hours and I find that in order to remain productive and not fall into the depths of procrastination having some structure to your day is super helpful! In the evenings, I often have volunteering work with the Positive Peers from the KCLSU, where we run Wellbeing Workshops to help people discover how they thrive, or Positive Minds Workshops to help students experiencing low mood or mild depression learn coping strategies, which is always an exciting experience!
So that’s one of my days in a nutshell! Overall, I think my most important tip for any Psychology student is to always make the most of the free times you have throughout the day to catch up on any work and make sure you’re always up to date!
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