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UEL students act out their future in innovative psychology workshop

Friday 29 February 2008

Psychology students from the University of East London (UEL) got a chance to act out their future as professional psychologists when an innovative collaboration between UEL and Bath Spa University took place at the Stratford campus on Thursday 14 February.

Professor Irvine Gersch, UEL's Director of Educational Psychology, joined forces with his daughter, Emma Gersch, Senior Teaching Fellow on the Performing Arts programme at Bath Spa, to organise a drama workshop aimed at enhancing the interpersonal skills of students on UEL’s Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology.

Performing Arts students from Bath Spa led role-play activities specially designed to allow the group of 15 UEL students to experience situations likely to be encountered in their future career as educational psychologists.

Professor Gersch said: “As a professional psychologist, it is essential to have excellent interpersonal skills and to be able to respond well in a variety of challenging interview situations. The points raised in this workshop could be taught through textbooks, research or Powerpointslides, but nothing beats realistic practice.

“One of the great things about this workshop is that we're able to freeze the role-plays at any point to try different things and discuss the results. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the students to gain confidence, reflect on their skills and benefit from the constructive criticism of others.”

The students’ anonymous feedback on the sessions was extremely positive, with comments including: “an excellent learning experience”, “a great way to practice our skills”, and “acting made the session really helpful.” 

UEL's School of Psychology is home to London's largest BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology and one of the UK's leading centres for postgraduate professional psychology training, with specialist programmes in Clinical, Counselling, Educational, Occupational and Positive Psychology. 

For further information, visit www.uel.ac.uk/psychology or call 020 8223 4104.

For details and pictures contact Daniel Cherry: 020 8223 2194

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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