Amirah Tariq Saeed

My interest in Psychology was prompted by a health complication I had in 2015. I underwent surgery after discovering a cyst in my brain which caused seizures. I went on to have medication to prevent my seizures which produced side effects, highlighting psychological behaviour. I became intrigued by the power of our ability as human beings to act based on the influences we gain and how the state of mind can completely change our behaviour. Aside from piquing my interest in my studies, this experience has helped me grow as a person in many ways. It taught me determination and perseverance when I had to catch up on months’ worth of GCSE work, and since then I have been dedicated to my studies. I am confident that the skills I have developed in my volunteering and hospital work, alongside my academic studies will serve me well in my career in psychology.

I have always been enthusiastic about seeking new experiences throughout my education. During my time in college, I volunteered at a scheme called Copperlink where I worked with special needs students and engaged in activities with them. Due to the nature of the role, it was quite challenging at times, but it taught me patience and determination in understanding the students’ needs. I was also a Psychology representative, I attended meetings to discuss improvements needed in the course from students’ feedback. This helped with my confidence in public speaking and communication skills. I also volunteered as a peer mentor at University. The role involved communicating with the mentees regularly to support them during their experience. Such as enhancing study skills by guiding mentees in gaining confidence in their writing as some of whom needed guidance with their English. I also reviewed assignments that follow up with one-to-one sessions and provided contacts for the university's available services.

My undergraduate dissertation was a qualitative health psychology study on endometriosis using IPA. I interviewed women who suffer from this health condition and the care they received in the UK. I also have experience working with the statistical analysis tool, SPSS for primary data collection. During my master’s programme in health psychology, my final year project was a quantitative study using online questionnaires. The title of my project was exploring associations between Self-compassion, psychological flexibility, and Distress in people with MRKH Syndrome. My experience working on the project taught me more about quantitative data collection and analysis.