Psychological Professions Week: Dr Posy Knight shares what drives her in her psychological profession.

For Psychological Professions Week (13 to 17 November), we’re sharing a blog from Dr Posy Knight, Clinical Psychologist who works in our Nottingham Community Stroke team. Posy shares why she enjoys her roles in a psychological profession, what makes it special and what drives her especially after returning to work after having an organ transplant. Questions she hasn't given much thought about in years. Read her reflections below.

Dr Posy Knight

"I work as a clinical psychologist in the Nottingham Community Stroke Team. I’m the only psychological professional working in the team. Something I found hard and perhaps a little isolating to begin with. I’ve now worked in the team for six years and that feeling is very different now. I can see how much influence I have had on the way the team works with patients and their families. How much they think about psychological wellbeing and their confidence talking to patients about it. I can see that the training, consultation, and joint working has skilled up the whole team psychologically. That is hugely rewarding. I like to think of myself as the psychology spreader rather than its keeper!

"I love my team. I love their determination. Their motivation to always do their best for the patients. Stroke can happen to anyone. This means we see people from different backgrounds, different levels of resources and abilities. It's probably this that makes us such a strong team together, often needing to react quickly and support each other to help make patients safe and help them access the right kinds of support. I love that my team brings so many different perspectives together. They always work so hard to bring ideas together to make solid goals and plans.

"But why did I choose to work in Stroke?

"When I first qualified, I worked in an assertive outreach team. What drew me to that role was the chance to deliver psychological therapy in a flexible way. To take psychology out of the consulting rooms to people who found it hard to engage with traditional mental health service models. My thinking around this was massively influenced by the strong social constructionist ethos of my clinical psychology training course. It is this that really drove me to be ready to question traditional models of therapy. It’s always been important to me to make therapy accessible and inclusive. Stroke affects cognitive, communication and physical abilities. My role in stroke means I can reach out to people struggling with cognitive and communication difficulties. I love the chance to adapt therapy to help them engage and explore the impact of stroke on their life.

"Stroke threatens so much of who we are. How we see the future. Our vulnerability and fragility. Life, death, our sense of certainty and control. All of this is a huge adjustment journey. I feel truly honoured to work through this with patients, to hear some of the thoughts and feelings they never expected to have to face. Stroke happens so suddenly, so unpredictably. To help them build compassion towards themselves, to face the journey of recovery and integrate it into their lives. All of this is the reward every day!"