I began pursuing psychology in 2020. Prior to that, I worked for many
years in the broadcasting and telecommunications industries. From 2016
to 2018, I experienced entrepreneurship, setbacks, and a low point in my
career. After 2019, encouraged by my...
View more
I began pursuing psychology in 2020. Prior to that, I worked for many
years in the broadcasting and telecommunications industries. From 2016
to 2018, I experienced entrepreneurship, setbacks, and a low point in my
career. After 2019, encouraged by my family, I decided to spend 3-5
years rebuilding my life's direction, making psychology my new long-term
career path. I first completed my Graduate Diploma in Psychology at
UNSW, and then completed my Honours at the University of Newcastle.
During those years, I persevered in my studies despite family and
practical pressures, because I always believed that as long as I
completed my Master's degree and internship along the proper Australian
training path, I could achieve full registration. From early 2023, due
to financial pressures, I entered the mental health industry as a data
analyst. By late 2024, I felt I needed to complete my Master's degree to
truly enter the psychology career path, so I resigned and began pursuing
my Master's at a college (they claimed they were an accredited provider
of Master of Professional Psychology). The problem arose during the
internal placement process in the latter half of 2024. Resources
available from the school were extremely limited at that time (a new
clinic in Sydney), and I was assigned to almost only 1 client over 6
months. More challenging was the unequal power dynamics and
communication style I experienced during the evaluation and feedback
process. In the final evaluation, the school's conclusions did not
reflect the positive feedback from my internal supervisor; instead, they
used what I perceived as overly harsh, and even alarmist language to
describe my performance. What I found particularly unacceptable was
being labeled with the extremely negative tag of "public safety risk."
This wasn't just a grade or comment; it was a denial of my professional
identity, directly triggering intense shame, anger, and self-doubt. What
was even more agonizing was that this didn't end quickly. The subsequent
complaints, reviews, and various procedures dragged on for nearly 7
months. For me, this period was a constant state of suspension: I was
unable to complete my practicum, advance my studies, or psychologically
detach myself from the situation. The prolonged waiting and uncertainty
caused me significant physical and psychological reactions: anxiety,
mood swings, recurring anger, panic and distraction while driving, and
even triggers in my daily work. I later saw a GP and obtained a medical
certificate. The GP clearly stated that I needed to leave the academic
environment to recuperate and advised against returning to the same
internal placement setting, as it posed a significant risk of
re-traumatisation. Before all this happened, I had always considered
psychology as my main focus for the next 10 years. From UNSW to
Newcastle, and then to my Master's program, I invested time, money, and
a sense of identity. The result was failure and labelling in the final
crucial placement (the school even said I posed a "public safety risk").
What I felt wasn't just ordinary frustration, but a "collapse of the
safety system": it felt as if all my efforts had been brutally dismissed
by a resource-scarce and opaque system. I'm back to square one, forced
to start looking for a data analyst job all over again, and still no
response. It feels like all my previous efforts were wasted.
Hello! Read this if you're not sure how to get started
