Jade Samways, Sussex Psychology graduate

Jade Samways, 22 from Portsmouth, has graduated this summer with a first class degree in Psychology.

Jade enjoyed a lot about her time at Sussex, not least the landscape around campus.  She said: 

“At Sussex, the mixture of having the South Downs, the beach and the Lanes on your doorstep means there’s lots to explore - you will be surprised how much free time you have at university.

And in terms of her course, it had to be Psychology. Jade says she is really passionate about mental health, and as an analytical and reflective person who likes helping other people, it was definitely the right course for her.

Jade loved her third year project, and explains it here:

“I was very inspired by my dissertation supervisor, Dr Fran Meeten, and I learnt a lot from her during my dissertation project.  My final project was about Generalised Anxiety Disorder, and in particular about positive or negative interpretation biases. That means, whether a person is likely to interpret a situation or interaction with another person in a positive or negative way. A person with a negative interpretation bias might assume that, for example, an acquaintance who didn’t acknowledge them in a supermarket was deliberately ignoring them. A person with a positive interpretation bias might assume that their acquaintance just didn’t see them. I was looking at training people in interpretation biases. That’s important in clinical psychology because how easily someone can be trained at this can predict how well they’ll respond to therapy.

“My experience has motivated and inspired me to work in the clinical field.”

Jade is going to stay in Brighton to volunteer in an NHS Autism Assessment Centre and will continue her job tutoring children with autism.  She is considering doing a Clinical Psychology Doctorate.

Giving advice to prospective students, Jade said:

“I would recommend going to Open Days (even virtual ones) and asking current students on the course lots of questions - they can touch on their lived experience about what it will be like studying the course in terms of assignments and modules. Also, definitely look at the course outline and the modules being offered by each university, as they differ quite considerably.”