As Shannon developed her skills, she was given the opportunity to develop her own mental health intervention. After being asked to do research into anxiety, she developed the idea of a group intervention to help children manage the transition between schools.
“I saw that there wasn’t a lot of support that was accessible to everyone. So my colleagues encouraged me to develop an intervention aimed at children aged between seven and 11 to help them cope with the transition from one school to another.
"The whole team at the Emotional Health Academy got involved and provided me with lots of useful criticism and feedback.”
The intervention involves weekly group sessions that are interactive and fun. Each child is given their own workbook to keep and look back on.
Recognising Shannon's achievements, the intervention is set to be rolled out to schools across West Berkshire by Shannon, a colleague within the service, and a teacher. There’s a possibility that the intervention will be delivered long after Shannon has completed her placement.
“As a student, I didn’t think I would be allowed to do something like this – it’s been such a great opportunity.
"This placement has helped me realise what I would like to do after university. It’s also given me the chance to see how the skills and knowledge I’ve picked up from studying psychology can have a positive impact.”
Learn more about the BSc Psychology with Professional Placement course