Extended Episode: Charlotte Pitt - Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist

In this extended podcast episode, you'll hear more from Charlotte Pitt who is a Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. Charlotte and our student interviewer discuss what it’s like for Charlotte working with young people, how to get into psychotherapy, and the importance of not having everything worked out. 

Charlotte also gives information on how to reach out for help if you’re having trouble with your mental health. If you think you’re experiencing a mental health crisis please call 999 or go to A&E. You can also call Samaritans on 116 123 from anywhere in the UK, they are open 24/7. If you’re not in the UK please search online for your local crisis phone number. 

If you know a group of students who would like to interview female or non-binary role models, please get in touch by emailing podcast@untappedinnovation.com

Likewise, if you know anyone who would be a great role model, let us know by emailing podcast@untappedinnovation.com

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If you know a group of students who would like to interview one of our role models, please get in touch by emailing podcast@untappedinnovation.com

Likewise, if you know anyone who would be a great role model, let us know by emailing podcast@untappedinnovation.com

Follow us on Instagram @STEMUntapped
Connect with us on LinkedIn @STEMUntappedCIC
Check out our website

Transcript

Intro 00:00

Hi, I'm Izzy host of the STEM Untapped podcast. This week we're releasing an extended edition of our previous episode with Charlotte Pitt, who is a Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. In this episode, you can find out what it's like for Charlotte working with young people. You can find out how to get into psychotherapy and the importance of not having everything worked out. Charlotte also gives information on how to reach out for help if you're having trouble with your mental health. If you think you're experiencing a mental health crisis, please call 999 or go to A&E. You can also call Samaritans on 116 123 from anywhere in the UK. They're open 24/7. If you're not in the UK, please search online for your local crisis phone number.

Student Interviewer  00:52

Well, I'm planning in the future to just go into some sort of psychology related area, I guess. So that's probably why I chose you. I did Sociology, and French. And just like not very science based, but in college, I'm going to do Biology, Psychology and English Lit.

Charlotte Pitt  01:13

Hi, my name is Charlotte Pitt. I'm a Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. I currently work in a child and adolescent mental health unit in Birmingham, two and a half days a week. And I'm also about to start working in a school as a therapist.

Student Interviewer  01:36

What does an average day at your work look like?

Charlotte Pitt  01:40

The first thing that I do in the morning is join a team called the multidisciplinary team. So we come together and there's people from all different disciplines, and professions who come together to gather for the day, think about any risk, any cases that needs thinking about anything that's happening on site or any, any changes to the normal running of the day. So in that team, there would be psychiatrists, psychologists, family therapists, team leads psychotherapists. Then I move on to, my day can be quite varied. So I meet for individual therapy with cases. So I work with any age from naught to 25. And if a young person is accessing therapy with me, once weekly therapy, then they might have a therapy session, then I might do some consultation work. So meet with somebody from a different profession and think about a case for a young person, then I might have my own supervision. So part of my work is to make sure that I think with other people about my work, so that's supervision. Or there may be a team meeting, so that's a kind of an average day

Student Interviewer  02:55

What university did you go to, and what topics did you study?

Charlotte Pitt  03:00

I went to Swansea University, University of Wales and I studied Sociology. At A level I did English, Spanish, and History of Art. And yeah, I studied Sociology at university. But I didn't really know what I wanted to do. So I got to university through clearing, and did sociology, and really found this career, got into this profession a lot later on in life.

Student Interviewer  03:38

So how did you find out that you wanted to work in this field and do this as a career?

Charlotte Pitt  03:43

I think I really didn't know what I wanted to do. I think I had some friends at school who absolutely knew what direction they wanted to go in. And I didn't so I, I was very lucky where I didn't sort of have pressures on me. I didn't put pressure on myself. I didn't have pressures to find the career I wanted, I was able to explore. So I did a Teaching English as a Foreign Language course and then went and lived abroad. I went lived in Germany, and taught English to adults for business. And then I fell into teaching children English while I lived in Germany. And then I got quite into training other teachers how to teach English, so very different to what I do now. And the more I did that, the more I saw or learned about behaviour difficulties in the classroom and was really interested in why children were behaving in the way they were behaving and what was going on in their world, what were they trying to communicate through their behaviour. So I studied abroad, I did a long distance degree, supporting and understanding children with social emotional and behavioural difficulties, and then I did a Master's in that while I lived abroad, which was a challenge. And then realised that actually, that was my area of interest. And I came back to the UK and I worked in schools for permanently excluded children. And then realised that I just didn't have the tools to work with these children. And I wanted to try and make sense of their world and what they were communicating. So I looked on the internet and looked and looked and looked and found, or stumbled across psychotherapy, and did some research as to into different places where I could learn about psychotherapy, and then applied at the Birmingham Trust for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and started my training.

Student Interviewer  05:47

So what was your training like at the trust? What did that look like?

Charlotte Pitt  05:51

Yes, so the training I did in total, it's a six year training. So the first two years, which is called the preclinical training, is really about observing behaviour. And the way that that I learned how to kind of observe is through observing a young infant, a baby, which was really interesting. So I wasn't engaging with the family or communicating with the baby, I was really an observer. I did that for two years, once a week. So I sat in with a very generous mum and generous baby who let me do that, just to really practice and develop my observation skills. So not always jumping in to try and help or fix or give advice or answer questions, but actually just sit and notice how I'm feeling and what might be going on in the room. So that was the preclinical and we did theory. So we look at, we looked at psychoanalytic theory. And we also do a seminar, the preclinical a seminar called work discussion where you bring examples from your work, and you think about them from a different perspective, a psychoanalytic perspective. So that's a two year preclinical and then I applied everybody has to apply to do the four year clinical training. And that's then a funded post by the NHS in a CAMHS clinic. So CAMHS is Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. So I had a four year placement, with NHS CAMHS, in Coventry, I trained. And that's where I really learned the skills that I use in my work today. Very intensive training, but really prepared me for the work that I do.

Student Interviewer  07:55

What advice would you give to someone who's training to do like a job similar to yours or your job?

Charlotte Pitt  08:00

I think one thing that I learned through my training is to ask for help, but also to know where to go to, to ask for help. So there's different you know, in my training, there were different people offering me different things. So I had my training school, I then had my training placement, I had a supervisor, I then had my own analysis. So it's learning who's available in your world, in your training and who to go to, with what. I think also, what another thing that was really important for me when I was training was to be able to be quite boundaried. So when I was at work, I was at work and I, you know, I was really committed to my work. But when I was at home, and I finished work for the day, that I switched off, and that I have things in my life that are separate from my work. I think that's a really important skill in this line of work to be able to separate out, work home, whatever it is, to have a life outside of your work.

Student Interviewer  09:03

Do you think that studying Sociology at university helps your career? 

Charlotte Pitt  09:08

Oh, definitely. When I look back, I wrote my dissertation on family responsibility. So even back then I was really interested in relationships and family dynamics, and how people think, how people work and one of the main questions for my dissertation was, Is it okay to ask your family for help? Should your family offer how that was one of the big questions and how that varies with age and culture and socio economic factors. So it was studying sociology really, I think was the basis of my career. I didn't know it then. And I don't think you can, but I think I was always interested in people and how people work I think.

Student Interviewer  10:03

What are the biggest challenges and like successes or highlights of your job?

Charlotte Pitt  10:08

I think challenges, you know, the work I do, you know, I meet some young people and their families who have really suffered quite significant trauma, or abuse, or are really struggling with their mental health or are very poorly. But I think when you've had a good training, and you've got the right structures in place around you, and you're able to use them in the right way, you know, that can be key. So I know I have a good a good team to manage some of those struggles, Highs are, knowing that, that actually I'm really helping young people and some people really benefit from this way of working in this way of thinking. Yeah. And then hopefully, they are given the tools to be able to go on and live fulfilling healthy lives, both physical health and their mental health.

Student Interviewer  11:07

Do many women work in your field? Like is it evenly split? Or does one gender like dominate?

Charlotte Pitt  11:12

I would say, there's more women than men in this profession. There is definitely a male presence, but I think it's probably more women than men. Although saying that, where I trained, there were male psychotherapists, where I work now there are male psychotherapists, so I'd say it's probably more women, but but not sort of predominantly.

Student Interviewer  11:36

What would you recommend someone to study at university?

Charlotte Pitt  11:39

I think what is very common in my line of work is that people tend to not go straight into this career at a young age. So most people who do this training have tended to come from, they've had a career before they become psychoanalytic psychotherapists, so I have colleagues who've worked in all sorts of areas from education… I have a colleague who was a professional musician before she retrained as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. So it's, it tends to be people tend to come into this profession, perhaps as a second career, not directly from uni. But I think things are changing. And I think my feeling is, is that university, if you want to get into something like this, then then yes, do something like psychology, sociology. But I would say that actually, this this career, this profession, it doesn't matter what you studied at university, it's actually something that, that I think you come into or you arrive at from your life experience, in general, it's about choosing something that you're interested in. But I think university teaches you so much more than just the subject you're studying. And it's about, it's about the experience as a whole.

Student Interviewer  13:01

You mentioned something about working in a school, what was that like for you? And I think you said something else that you're going to start working in school? What's that going to be like? And what was it like when you worked in schools previously?

Charlotte Pitt  13:13

So the schools I worked in previously, where I worked in a school for permanently excluded boys, actually secondary age children, it was really hard actually. And, you know, children who are traumatised or have experienced trauma or abuse tend to be the children that communicate that through their behaviour, because they can't find ways of managing or the ways that they find of managing are different and are seen as as behaviour problems. And of course, you know, they can be disruptive to mainstream settings. So, but I found that the usual kind of rewards and consequences, what just weren’t, didn't mean anything to these children. And I wanted to learn about their communication, what they were communicating through their behaviour, and what it was like to be them and to, you know, how they were seeing the world and managing the world, managing their anger, their frustration, how they made sense of relationships, and so that in that setting, I didn't have this training, but didn't have that experience and the knowledge I have now. So it was very hard. It was very rewards and consequence based and I struggled with that, as well. So I thought, right, I need to go find another way of helping these young people that isn't the normal, you know, how kind of ordinary children would respond to structures and rules and behaviour. So psychotherapy and psychoanalytic thinking has really given me a whole other way of working with young people who are communicating that they're struggling and that they have problems with their mental health. So I went away and did that training. And now I'm going back into a school to try and see whether the training I've had and, and other ways of responding to young people's needs, can be of use to them. So I think for me, it's, it's never about finding the right, the right course or the right thing. It's, it's constantly being a journey. And then going back using what I've learned, seeing if it helps, and that's that's how my career's progressed really, which I found that quite, quite exciting, because I haven't had to know what I want to do, or be able to tell everybody, this is what I want to do. But it's, I've been able to kind of follow my interest, follow the needs of the children that I work with. So it's really exciting to go back into education and take what I've learned working in the health service, actually.

Student Interviewer  15:53

I've never like gone to therapy, and I don't really have many friends who like do therapy and stuff. But what does a typical therapy session look like? I guess, I feel like that's quite a hard question to answer. But just sort of like a general one.

Charlotte Pitt  16:07

I can answer kind of more generally, I think the way that that I work is that the young person, what's really important is that they consent to therapy. So they're not being asked to or expected to come by someone else that they want to be there. a therapy session lasts for 45 or 50 minutes, it's the same day, every week. So it's got regularity. So the young person can build up a relationship with their therapist, a therapeutic relationship, a trusting relationship. And within those 45 or 50 minutes, depending on how old the young person is, but I'll talk about an adolescent, they would really bring to the therapy session what it is that they want to bring. So it's not me leading or asking them to kind of do homework or have set specific goals or tasks, the young person comes to their session, and lets me know in the way that they can. So it might be with words, or withdrawing, some people find it really hard to find the language and the words. So they might use some resources like pens, and paper, or maybe some other equipment, we have different things that they can use that maybe string and playdough. And we have a box that they may be able to use to communicate what might be going on for them. And then I might make a comment or an observation, like I was saying earlier that the observations, the preclinical really enables me to just observe what the young person's bringing, and also to notice how I'm left feeling, being with that person. And then I might make an interpretation or a comment and then see how they respond. And in that way, a language is built up with the young person and their therapist that feels right for them at their own pace, in an attempt to understand what it's like to be them, how they make sense of the world, and where they may need some help thinking about it, you know, where they might be getting into trouble or difficulty with their mental health and how they're processing things. And then that psychoanalytic therapy tends to last quite a long, a longer period of time. So it's not like a six week or 12 week block, necessarily. We work longer with, with young people to give them time to build up that trusting relationship and be able to think about some of the things… you know, when you get upset and you're crying, and you don't really know why. And somebody's like, well, what's the matter? And you're like, I don't know. And, you know, you need time to be able to build up that that relationship with a therapist. So I think that gives a bit of a snapshot. Hopefully it's snapshot of a, of a therapy session.

Student Interviewer  18:55

Yeah, no, it's really interesting, I think, especially since you work with young children. So you mentioned, because typically I think of therapy sort of think of older people. But I think working with young children seems more talked about these days. And it's just really interesting.

Charlotte Pitt  19:08

There is a really big push for early intervention that actually if we can provide a space for young people to think about what it's like to be them and how they see the world and make sense of the world and give them the tools that actually that could really help in the long term so that the children are becoming, moving into adult adulthood with some of those things having already been addressed or thought about, I think it's really important. And I think that, you know, the government are noticing tha,t and schools are noticing that and there is a big drive to think about mental health and young people's mental health. And we're important to say that there are lots of different types of therapists out there and types of therapy. So my work is one particular strand, which is the right kind of therapy for one particular person, but may not be the right kind of approach for another. So there are other types of therapy like cognitive behaviour therapy, for example, which has a different approach. So it's about finding the right match for that individual person, which is a big part of my work as well, during assessments and thinking with young people about what might be the right kind of treatment for them, not just assuming that the way I work is the way that would be right for them. So that's a really big part of what we do as a team within the mental health service in the NHS, which is also something I'd like to bring back into schools. You know, what, it's not just one, one type fits all. But can we think about different types of therapy, different types of treatment? And what might be right for the individual? So I think it's really important.

Student Interviewer  20:49

Yeah, thank you. That was really cool, like insight into your job and answered a lot of questions I had about sort of like the field that you work in. I think a lot of people talk about it. And I know, friends who have gone to therapy, and when like a few years ago, I did like a group therapy session with a few people in my form, because we sort of experienced something traumatic, I guess you'd say. So I think it's becoming a lot more talked about and a lot more accepted. And a lot more sort of normalised like it's not seen as a shameful thing to be like oh my gosh, I just had to go to therapy. Like I think it's a lot more talked about, and sort of, I guess, like, maybe even like, celebrated, I guess, because it seems like a good thing, like important for people.

Charlotte Pitt  21:24

Yeah, I mean, I completely agree there's, there's definitely much more of an acceptance around therapy. I also think, Well, what I find really interesting is that there's this idea that you only need therapy, if something happened, or if there's been a trauma or there's got to, there has to be a reason why you have to be in therapy as such. But that's kind of what I was alluding to earlier, sometimes you just don't know why you're feeling lonely, or why you're feeling frustrated, or why you're feeling sad. And things in your world can be quite stable. You know, you can have good friendship group, you're doing well at school, you know, family life is good. And yet, you're still feeling something doesn't feel right. And I think there's this idea that if you've got stability in your life, you should be feeling fine. And sometimes you don't. And therapy, I think can be a really helpful space. And I know it's not accessible to everyone. And it can be very expensive. And it's hard to access this group therapy, which can be a way of combating that we're working through that. But therapy can be a tool or a way for people to just be able to think with someone else that isn't your mate, isn't your mom, or your dad, or your teacher, someone who's very separate to you, to your day to day life, where you can go and kind of explore what's going on in your mind and in your world. Leave it with your therapist, and then get on with the business of living. And I think the myth has been kind of reduced that you can only have therapy if something terrible’s happened. And that actually a thinking space can be really valuable for people. But it is about resources. And I know it's not accessible to all. I was just wondering about provision in your school, actually. Is there access to therapy in your setting?

Student Interviewer  23:15

Yeah, that is I think my school’s was very good at it. It was year 8, and we got offered group therapy, and just our form. And if you wanted to do it, you could do it. And I think a lot of people chose to do it. I think now if you just go to someone like a teacher, or like one of the people who are in the office and stuff, I think it's good access, like I know, my friend has had a few here, and my other friend’s had a few. And there's like leaflets I think of outside of school places, because some people probably don't feel comfortable. Because I would get that because they feel like they're going to be like feeding everything back to your teachers. But I think it's good. I think I mean, it can always be improved. But I think it's really good. Because I'm in year 11. So obviously we've got exams and stuff we had like meetings with some of our teachers, and they would be like, if you wanted therapy, you could just ask and be like, hey, like, is it alright, if I see the school therapist? So I think it's really good.

Charlotte Pitt  24:04

I think you raised an important point, which is about confidentiality and you know, the, what gets said to who and things like that. And then something about setting up a contract or an agreement, which is a really important part of the therapy. But you know, where I work I work in, in a CAMHS clinic, which is specialist sort of pre inpatient support. But actually, you know, those are young people who are really, really struggling, but actually that there are in inverted commas kind of ordinary, young people out there with ordinary struggles, who are as deserving of a space to think and I think that's the difficulty and the challenge actually for the mental health profession in schools is to pitch it right. So is there access and sort of early intervention in schools for young people who are struggling with their mental health. And then of course, the kind of more specialist help for, for young people who are seriously struggling with their mental health and that there's a balance. But I think my line of working, you know, can address that, you know, we can work really kind of intense specialist level. But I'd also like to make psychoanalytic thinking available to… Yeah, ordinary sounds like a terrible word, but just ordinary people with ordinary struggles, because we all have mental health, and we all would benefit or can benefit from a space to think about it. Yeah, sounds great that that school offering a space.

Student Interviewer  25:39

Yeah, I think it's improved a lot, especially after like lockdown and stuff, like I've just seen it more talked about in my school, like, it could have been there, before it all happen. But I think they just start to notice that the importance of just offering it, as opposed to just expecting people to be like, hey, I really need help, they sort of be like, do you want to meet the therapists? They changed it a bit.

Charlotte Pitt  26:00

Yeah, so rather than, than the young person sort of having to actively try and find something or seek it out, there's more of an idea that it's available, or there's a space available. I think, also, you know, the pandemic has really raised our awareness of, of mental health struggles. And, you know, there were, like you said, there were difficulties before, and there were services available pre pandemic, but, you know, it's really been exacerbated by the pandemic, and, and that, that affects, you know, the pandemic affects you, whatever age you are, you know, whether you're in utero even, or whether you're towards the end of your life, you know, everybody was affected. And we're seeing the, the impact of that now in our services. So we need more people to train.

Student Interviewer  26:49

So have you seen like a big difference, because of the pandemic in just like the concerns they're raising?

Charlotte Pitt  26:56

Absolutely. So if you think, you know, we really, kind of key area of interest for psychoanalysts, or psychoanalytic therapists is, is very early development, even to you know, early history, early, early development. So, very first days, even what was it like for the baby? They were in the mum, being carried by mum, what was the experience then for that that young person because the body is growing, but the mind is also growing within those nine months. What was the labour like, what was the birth like? Those very early years, and if you think there were women and men who were separated, going into hospitals who young mums or mums who were giving birth without their partner there, who couldn't have the support their families around them in those first days, and months, who missed out on going to baby groups or, you know, whatever age it is, that the babies were, and the young children were. And all of that impacts on our state of mind and how we manage and see the world. And so I think, even for the for tiny, tiny babies all the way through to sort of end of life, you know, we all were affected. So we've seen no more referrals for anxiety, going outside separation anxiety, things like that. Low mood and depression. So yeah, the impact is, is definitely evident now.

Student Interviewer  28:30

How would you recommend for young people to reach out for help?

Charlotte Pitt  28:34

Well, I think there are different avenues aren't there, you know, depending on the young person and what's available to them. But, you know, the first point of call is probably family, letting your loved ones know, if that's not possible, then you've got your school and your support networks, or perhaps a trusted adult in school, and letting them know that you're struggling, you need a space or you're looking for something else. You can also depending on where you are in the country that every area has a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. You can refer yourself depending on where you are. But I imagine across the country you can self refer depending on the kind of urgency and what you know what you need, if it's a safeguarding issue, or you're feeling really risky, you can you can take yourself to A&E, you can phone the police. So, you know, there's all sorts of different levels, depending on what the need is what the level of risk is. I think a lot of people tend, you know, this is an area that's quite I'm quite interested in, you know, you tell your friends, don't you have your friendship, support networks, and I think it's educating young people you know what to do if a friend is telling you something, how to manage it, not to manage it on your own, where there are trusted adults and trusted relationships and so on so that young people are supported to support their friends, when they're telling them things that really need to be shared with the grown ups more managed in a outside of the friendship group. So there are lots of different avenues depending on on the young person really and their need.

Student Interviewer  30:17

Could you define the difference between mental health and mental illness?

Charlotte Pitt  30:21

If you're under a psychiatrist and you have a diagnosis, then I think that would probably be mental illness where it's been diagnosed. Mental health, I think I've touched on this earlier, everybody has a mind, and everybody has to manage pain. And everybody manages feelings of joy and pleasure. And I think, you know, I think that would be the difference that we all have a mind, we will have mental health, but when it's when it's diagnosed, or where it's not necessarily just diagnosed, but where it's having such a huge impact on your day to day functioning, and your relationships and your capacity to enjoy life and thrive, then I think that kind of would perhaps come more under mental illness. And if that's what's happening, then that's the point where you need to see a GP or you need to see a professional.

Student Interviewer  31:20

What would you say to your teenage self, or just teenagers now that you're a psychotherapist?

Charlotte Pitt  31:26

Ah, that's a really good question. That it's okay not to know, and that you can't know, everything. And if you think you know, then you've got something wrong, because you can't know everything. And it's alright not to. You know, as a teenager, I thought I needed to know, I needed to have clarity, I needed to be decisive. And actually, as I was saying earlier, arrived at a career that I'm passionate about, and I very much enjoy. And I arrived at it later on in life. Because I was just able to, to kind of follow my feeling of follow my gut, rather than having to get it right, having to get the grades, having to perform, having to be successful, have a lot of money in my bank account, you know. So I think it's, I would have said to myself, don't worry, if you don't know, it's okay not to know. Doesn't mean you shouldn't work hard and be ambitious, and but that you can't always know. And the best way of learning is by exploring and being curious. And I was very curious about the children that I've met along the way and why they're behaving like they are and what they're communicating through their behaviour. And that's what led me to this line of work.

Student Interviewer  32:45

When did you sort of, like realise that it was right to just not have everything figured out? And you sort of like, remove the pressure of people being like, oh, like what you're going to do like, like the need to just have your whole life planned out? When did you realise that? That wasn't like, necessarily needed?

Charlotte Pitt  33:03

I think I still have those that pressure, you know, you want to get things right, you want to make the right choices, you know, even in my day to day life. Now, you know, there are still pressures, and am I doing the right thing, and but I think it's just knowing that, that whatever I decide in that moment, that's the best I can do in that moment. And I think there are lots of pressures on young people. And the pressures were the same for me, I needed to pick my GCSEs pick my A levels. As I said, I got through to university through clearing because I didn't get the grades. And actually what I wanted to study and where I wanted to study I didn't end up doing but I had the best time in Swansea doing Sociology, so it didn't matter. At the time, it mattered a lot, you know, I thought, Gosh, I'm failing here. I think the turning point for me was probably in my training, perhaps second year, third year into my training, where I realised actually, you can't fix things, you can't get things right all the time, you can't know. And it's quite a relief to young people. When you as a grown up, say, well, actually, I don't know. But I'm doing the best I can with what, what I can tell you and the experiences I've had, but the pressures will always be there. Whether you're 17 or 70. It's just finding a way of, of kind of managing them in a more friendly way, you know, friendly to yourself. I mean.

Student Interviewer  34:31

Do you think that there's like more pressures on teenagers nowadays than there was like 20 years ago, or when you were growing up?

Charlotte Pitt  34:38

I think it's probably changed but still the same. I mean, for anyone, any adolescent who's trying to grow into a young person, into young adults, and manage all the complexities and the developmental task of wanting to be a baby and kind of go back home and be looked after and wanting to set yourself free and go to uni and fly the nest and be independent, that's the task of adolescence, whatever generation 30 years ago, 20 years ago, now. I think it's a huge task to, to allow yourself to be independent and want to leave home and, and be your own person, but also, you know, want to be scooped up by school and by mum and dad and whoever your support network is. So I think the pressures are the same, then as they are now because you’re adolescent, but there are big differences. Of course, you know, you've lived through a pandemic, which I certainly didn't, you know. In terms of world events, there were things going on. That's, that doesn't change. There's always things going on globally, that impact our lives, and our mental health. What do you think? Do you think you've got it harder than we did?

Student Interviewer  35:56

I think it definitely changed, I would guess, like, as you mentioned, like the pandemic, and also just like social media probably, like definitely has a big impact, I think, I mean, it could be a positive impact as well, because I think people are noticing about the downfalls or like the negative sides of social media and sort of just like making it more positive. But I think social media definitely has changed pressures a lot.

Charlotte Pitt  36:17

Definitely. Yeah. So you're right to mention social media. But I think you're right as well that the only reason I found this profession was because of Google, you know, that I was able to research and look what's out there and learn about what's possible in that way. So I'm very grateful for that in terms of technology, but it does come with real struggles that yeah, we weren't, I wasn't facing in my teenage years.

Student Interviewer  36:45

Do you have any light things to read, or watch your like yeah, social media, like follow, about like looking after your mental health and also your career in like therapy and stuff.

Charlotte Pitt  36:57

The training that I did, I belong to a registering body. That's another thing to say that if you're looking for a therapist, make sure that you do your research on who they are and their training. My registering body is called the Association of Child Psychotherapy. And they have a website and a Twitter account. So you can go and read a lot more about this type of therapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy on their website, the acronym is the ACP. You know, that's specific to my training and my career. But I think all local authorities have a mental health service, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. Sometimes they have a different name like Children and Young People Service, for example. But they will have resources on their webpage. And also there is more access now to things online tech services, there's also a push in certain areas for mental health in schools. So finding out what's in your local school. So that would be my go to. I can't suggest something sort of specific to follow, or watch, particularly, but yeah, look at your local NHS, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service page, or go to the ACP website for this specific type of therapy.

Outro 38:23

Thank you for joining another STEM Untapped podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, then subscribe for free on your podcast app. You can follow us on Instagram @STEMUntapped. If you know of a school or group of students who would like to interview female or non-binary role models do get in touch. Likewise, if you know of anyone who would be a great role model then let us know. Our details are all documented in the show notes.