Where Lived Experience Meets Professional Expertise

My journey into psychology didn’t begin in a lecture hall-it began with life itself. I grew up facing instability at home, the absence of a father, and experiences of trauma that left deep marks. At 14, I became pregnant, and at 15, I became a mum. Alongside love and determination, there were years of poverty, isolation and survival-times when I had to fight to keep moving forward.

Those experiences taught me what it feels like to carry shame and feel misunderstood, but they also taught me resilience, compassion and empathy. They also gave me a deep desire to prove to myself and to others that adversity doesn’t have to define us; it can shape our strength and give us the insight to support others.

Through education, persistence and the support of key protective factors, I built a new path. Psychology gave me the language and the tools to make sense of what I had lived and, more importantly, to help others find meaning, growth and healing in their own journeys.

My path into psychology was anything but straightforward. I left school at 14, pregnant and with no qualifications. At 17, I escaped an abusive relationship in Spain and returned to England, determined to rebuild my life. I enrolled in a local college in Birmingham to complete my GCSEs; I had just turned 18 when I began. Thanks to supportive teachers who believed in me, I achieved five GCSEs.

I shared my dream of becoming a psychologist, only to be told I wouldn’t make it - that it was too competitive - and was encouraged to train in hairdressing instead. I lasted one day before I realised it wasn’t for me.

Soon after, I moved to Colombia to be with the man I had fallen in love with, who later became my husband. While there, I completed an online Teaching English as a Foreign Language qualification and discovered a passion for teaching.

When we later moved back to England, my husband - who gave up his career as a Captain in the Colombian National Police - encouraged me to study psychology. Now with a young son, no A-levels and little money, the only university that would accept me was The Open University. He paid my fees for the first year while working in a meat factory to keep us afloat.

I studied for four years with the OU, often late into the night after working full-time and raising my son. In 2018, just months after my second child was born, I graduated with First-Class Honours in Psychology - the first person in my family ever to achieve a university degree.

That same year, I was awarded a scholarship to study an MSc in Social Psychology at the University of East Anglia. During this time, I applied for the highly competitive Doctorate in Educational Psychology and was fortunate enough to be offered a place. In 2022, I graduated as an Educational Psychologist - a dream that once felt completely out of reach.

I began my career in a local authority, where I worked for 18 months alongside dedicated colleagues. Although rewarding, I felt something was missing. I knew I had more to give. I then moved into the private sector with Keys Group, working across independent special schools for children and young people with SEMH needs (Social, Emotional and Mental Health). These are schools for pupils who may have experienced significant adversity, trauma and barriers to learning, where a compassionate, trauma-informed approach makes the difference.

In June 2025, I was promoted to Senior Educational Psychologist - a true privilege. My role now extends beyond direct school work to supporting colleagues through line management and clinical supervision. Alongside this, I continue to grow my independent work, offering training, talks, consultations and online courses one day a week and during evenings and weekends when opportunities arise.