In this episode, I speak with trainee clinical psychologist Skie Hewitt about the reality of training and working in psychology while registered blind. We discuss stigma at interview, navigating inaccessible systems, working with a guide dog, using technology to adapt practice, identity-first language, the emotional labour of disability, and what supervisors and services need to know to genuinely support visually impaired trainees. Skie shares practical strategies, personal reflections and hopeful encouragement for disabled aspiring psychologists, alongside essential insights for anyone committed to building an inclusive profession. This episode is ideal for aspiring psychologists, educators, supervisors and anyone interested in accessibility, disability and clinical training.

Highlights

1. 00:00 – Opening reflections on inclusion and the reality of inaccessible systems
2. 01:20 – Introducing Skie: her route from A Levels to two master’s degrees and AP roles
3. 02:34 – Discovering the Snowden Trust and how their scholarship opened doors
4. 03:20 – Talking impostor syndrome, resilience and the impact of adversity
5. 04:26 – Understanding Skie’s visual impairment and what “registered blind” actually means
6. 05:58 – Why this episode aims to empower both disabled and non-disabled listeners
7. 06:35 – The stigma Skie faced at interview and why it was illegal
8. 08:54 – Choosing a workplace based on how people made her feel, not just the offer
9. 09:36 – Where guide dogs can and cannot go and why misconceptions persist
10. 10:48 – Access refusals in taxis, Airbnbs and public spaces, and the emotional toll
11. 11:53 – How Derek, Skie’s guide dog, can be an asset and an icebreaker in therapy
12. 12:33 – How Skie discusses her dog and visual impairment with clients
13. 14:44 – Identity-first vs person-first language and why it varies
14. 15:44 – The social model of disability and why systems are often the barrier
15. 17:22 – The practical tools that support Skie at work: magnification, voiceover, contrast
16. 18:40 – The constant problem-solving required just to get through a day
17. 19:06 – How supervision and open communication create real accessibility
18. 20:25 – How Skie takes notes in assessment sessions and adapts traditional processes
19. 21:37 – Recording sessions as a tool for accessibility and learning
20. 22:32 – Braille, literacy and why many visually impaired people don’t rely on it
21. 24:00 – Technology that transforms independence, including Meta AI glasses
22. 25:00 – The braille smartwatch and why subtle timekeeping matters in therapy
23. 26:44 – Universal design vs specialist devices
24. 28:17 – Audible, audiobooks and the power of accessible learning
25. 29:14 – Managing eye health, hospital appointments and disability-related leave
26. 31:19 – Caring for Derek on placement and setting him up with his own workspace
27. 31:42 – What glaucoma is and how it affects vision
28. 32:35 – The challenges Skie’s mum faced raising a blind baby
29. 33:14 – Childhood independence, confidence and proving professionals wrong
30. 34:46 – Hobbies, travel and aerial fitness as a potential new adventure
31. 35:36 – Why disabled voices strengthen the profession — and why the work is still hard
32. 36:59 – Final reflections on making psychology inclusive and empowering future trainees
33. 38:25 – Your post-session reflection about accidentally saying “lovely to see you”
34. 39:31 – Subscriber-only content and how listeners can support the podcast
35. 40:40 – Information about the Snowden Trust for disabled students

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Psychology loves talking about inclusion. That is of course, until a blind person arrives at interview or on placement with a guide dog in toe and they're ready to work or ready to try out for the role. And then suddenly everyone realises just how inaccessible our systems really are. In this episode, I'm chatting with Skie about what it actually takes to train as a psychologist when the world wasn't necessarily designed with you in mind. We hope you find it really helpful. If you do, please like and subscribe for more. Hi, welcome along to the Aspiring Psychologist podcast. I am Dr. Marianne Trent, and I am joined here by Skie Hewitt. Welcome along Skie.

Hi. Thank you for having me.

Thank you for your willingness to talk with us so openly. And we were talking just before we started about the fact that you are now a first year trainee, clinical psychologist, and more over than that, what's even more impressive because that is an achievement itself, is that you are also registered blind and you have a guide dog called Derek. Could you tell us a little bit about your journey to being a trainee, if that's okay, sky?

Yeah, absolutely. So I suppose I started working out that I wanted to study psychology or become a psychologist whilst I was doing A Levels, as a lot of us sort of do. And I ended up doing an integrated master's degree, so sort of an undergraduate four year master's degree in psychology. And I really enjoyed that. And then I decided to apply for a postgraduate master's degree in clinical neuroscience. I really enjoyed my neuroscience modules and I thought let's go and study something a bit different, especially because I found out about a really amazing opportunity through the Snowden Trust who offer scholarships for disabled students and grants and different things. So I sort of took my shot at that and was lucky enough to get one. So I did that and then I became an AP for a year and applied for the D clin, got a few interviews, got a couple of offers, and sort of here I am. And so it's been a whirlwind of different things and changes and yeah,

Thank you so much. Like I said, we did have a chat before we hit record as well, and I feel like you might have a touch of imposter syndrome about you sky, but yeah, that that's healthy, I would say. But it doesn't mean that you're not ready to be doing what you're doing. You clearly have learned your trade and evidence that you are qualified to be where you are at. But also I think when you've had adverse experiences, it kind of helps you develop that bit quicker than people who often don't. And when you're having to be advocating for yourself constantly and relentlessly, I think it drags you up a bit quicker. Do you agree with that?

I do. I think especially when I do, I dunno when I compare myself to my peers who are my age or my colleagues who are a little bit older than me, even as an AP and my colleagues who are maybe in their thirties, and we'd talk about what they were doing at my age versus what I'm doing. And yeah, I think maybe I have just had to grow up quite quick and get used to communicating in different ways quite quickly. Yeah, so I'd agree with that for sure.

And is it okay for me to say how old you are?

Yeah, yeah. I'm 24.

Perfect. So you will be qualified long before you are 30. So yeah, well done to you. And I hope that you really enjoy training. It's a real time of transformation and you get to learn from people, some of whom you will like their approach, some of whom you won't, and you just get to keep the bits that you do. So I do hope that you enjoy training. Could you tell us if it's okay, a little bit about the level of your visual impairment?

Yeah, so as we sort of said, I'm registered blind, but that means I still have a little bit of vision that I can use. So I've always been registered blind. I was born with glaucoma and have had lots of different surgeries and subsequent sort of problems with my eyes growing up, but I've always had a bit of vision that's slowly gotten worse and now I can still read some very large text and see a few things and people to make out who people are here and there. But yeah, register blind.

Thank you. Yeah, I would love this episode to be used as inspiration for people that might have their own visual impairments to think, oh, I didn't realise psychology was maybe an option for me. Or maybe someone's told them this isn't an option for you. And so they've been discouraged by that. So maybe we can get 'em early enough in their education that they're like, oh, nice, okay, let me explore. Or maybe we can encourage people to retrain or think about what steps they might need to do. But also we really want this episode to be used by people who do not have visual impairments to think about, I dunno, language that might be okay or not that might be preferred or not preferred. And for learning about the experience of people with visual impairments to inform their practise, make them curious and maybe even think of some ideas that they might not know already.

And even before we hit record, we spoke about a couple of things and you were like, oh, I'm know about that. So we will cover some of that, but this is going to be a kind of a multi-purpose episode is the plan. But yeah, really empowering is what we want. We want to empower anyone listening for any reason. That's the plan anyway. Could you tell us a little bit, if it feels okay, you don't need to single anyone out. Have you experienced any stigma or kind of persuasion for the idea of going on to become a qualified clinical psychologist?

Yeah, it's somewhat mixed. I feel like in the visual impairment world, there are a lot of counsellors and a lot of therapists in different ways. But I think when it comes to pursuing clinical psychology specifically, there's suddenly a bit more stigma and barriers I guess. And I think for me, it did start at undergrad specifically and just people not really knowing if I could do it or if it would be possible, if it was reasonable for me to have those aspirations. But then more specifically, I had a very distinct experience when interviewing for AP positions, assistant psychologist positions where one of my interviews, I just don't, I think it was a significant lack of awareness, but they pretty much said to me if they knew that I was blind, they wouldn't have invited me to interview. They didn't think I could do the job because of different things, like they used a lot of paper forms or they didn't understand why Derek, my guide dog was there. So that was quite a jarring experience. Fortunately, I had another assistant psychologist interview that went very well, and I ended up working with them and it was an absolutely incredible team, very different experiences, but I didn't expect it, but it definitely happened. And yeah,

I'm sorry to hear that, but isn't it illegal for them to say that to you?

Yes, yes. I think in the moment I was still in that mode of you are coming to this panel interview, you're trying to impress, you're trying to get a job. And I was still very much trying to almost prove to them, well, we can do this, we can do this, and I can do the job. And it wasn't until I came away and thought about it where I then suddenly was reflecting on how not that experience was. Interestingly, I did get offered that position, but then I turned it down and accepted the other one. So yeah, it was an interesting experience. But you're right, it is illegal to do that.

Yeah, I think there's very much something about the way people make you feel. I've been in a position where I've been offered jobs and hadn't liked the process and then decided to say no. And I think that's really living up to your own values and knowing that you are worthwhile and you should be treated with dignity and respect. I do know of another qualified health psychologist who is blind and has a going dog, and so I've learned a little bit through him about where his dog can go and where his dog can't go. Could you eliminate our audience about what I might mean there, Skie?

Yeah, so this is actually quite relevant for me as well with my AP position because I was in a clinical health psychology team, which often we were then going and working in the hospital. So while guide dogs legally have access to pretty much everywhere, there are a few exceptions. So that would be places where there are strict sort of infection control sorts of settings. I'm thinking ICU because part of my work as an AP was on an ICU psychology research project. So there are certain areas in hospitals and outside of the psychology world, zoos and things can decline service dogs because they have to think about their own animal welfare. But on the large scale guide, dogs should legally be allowed pretty much everywhere by a few exceptions.

And I think some of the arguments that the psychologist I'm thinking of is actually Airbnbs and hotels and trains and taxes, and you're not allowed to say no in those circumstances. Is that right sky?

That's correct. There are, for all of those examples, I'm thinking about Airbnbs and taxis. There are a few procedures that people can go through if they do have a significant allergy, but they can't just say, I have an allergy, you can't bring your guide dog. They have to have formal paperwork and things that say that. So unfortunately it's very common. I've had access refusals pretty much everywhere as in different types of settings, Airbnbs, taxis, shops, restaurants, and it's disappointing every single time and it's constantly reminding people of the law and why it's so important to allow a service to again.

Yeah, absolutely. It's so important that we raise this narrative really and reinforce it. And actually I think Derek could be a real strength and a real asset therapeutically. So I understand he's not a therapy dog, he's not a trained therapy dog. He's, what is his name? He's an assistant's dog, isn't he?

Yeah, assistant dog or service dog. But then under that umbrella, he's my guide dog. Yeah,

Yeah, okay. But I think for a variety of clients I've worked with in the past, having a dog in the room would've been really beneficial. However, sometimes I've done some dog phobia work and depending on what breed Derek is, that might have felt not that helpful. So yeah. Do clients ever know in advance that you are going to be visually impaired or do they rock up on day one and then it's like, oh, here's Derek, here's Sky.

So individual clients I'm thinking about recently where I've booked some people in, I do give them the warning. I say, just to let you know, I have a service dog. Is that okay? Do you have any thoughts about that, about there being a dog in the room? I don't necessarily disclose right away on the phone call that I'm blind and he's a guide dog, but I say I have a service dog. And then when we meet, I'll be able to talk more about what it might mean having a blind therapist. But historically, there are a few examples. Maybe if I'm going into a group setting in a hospital where I might not tell them in advance, but that's more of a professional group setting. But I like to give people that bit of warning. People could have all sorts of previous experiences with dogs, and Derek is a big dog. He's half German Shepherd, half golden retriever. So yeah, you just don't know how that might impact on the space. And I mean it could be very positive for a lot of people just having the dog there. I know for me, he's a massive icebreaker outside of work as well, just socially and is a comforting presence for a lot of people, but you just never know how people are going to feel about it.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Derek, the icebreaker, he does sound like a big dog. I think in one of our thumbnails on YouTube, I think we've got at least one photo of Derek, so if anyone wants to check Derek out with Skie, they absolutely can. We have a little bit of a chat about how we should refer to somebody with a visual impairment. But just before we hit record, we were talking about actually over the most recent years, autistic people now like to be identity first. Is it okay to call you a blind person or a person with visual impairments or a visually impaired person? I appreciate this might be specific to you, but could you maybe explain how we would have that conversation with somebody and what your preference is?

Yeah, so it is very individual. I think the different charities that I've worked with and different people I know all have different preferences, so it is really important to ask the person that you're speaking to how they would prefer to be spoken about. For me, I think I prefer identity, first language sort of saying I like to describe myself as a blind person, or often I'll say I'm registered blind just because people have this misconception that if I say I'm blind, it means I can see absolutely nothing and that's not the case. So I often try and it's hard, isn't it? I try and balance my language to almost make sure people understand what I mean, but also advocating for a broader understanding of what the words mean as well. But yeah, I don't have enormous strong feelings either way, but I tend to lean towards identity first language.

Thank you. So maybe, we'll almost like a little bit of an imposter syndrome there about calling yourself blind because you've got some usable vision, but yeah, people's understanding of the term blind is literally that there'd be nothing. And when I was working in the community with people with physical disabilities, I very quickly learned that you can have a registration as blind, but actually still be able to even read some text as you said that you can. But yeah, you are very much. Is it okay to say disadvantaged compared to people with 2020 vision? Is that alright? That's appropriate to say?

Yeah, I'd say so. I have a disability, I'm a disabled person. There are various things that I'm disadvantaged by. I do think often about the social model of disability and how it is the environment and the systems that cause most of the problems. I can do a lot of things completely independently and work things out for myself as long as the environment and the systems are set up in a suitable way. So yeah, whilst my vision puts me at a disadvantage in some ways, I would also say the systems are often more of the problem.

And that really nicely segues us into what was going to be in our next area for conversation, which is the tools that help you to engage fully with the tasks that you need to do. Could you give us a little bit of an overview of the things that really support you to thrive optimally at work and maybe at home as well?

Yeah, I mean practically I rely on a lot of technology. So a lot of accessibility software, large screens, high contrast, magnification, voiceover. Occasionally when I need to use that, I benefit from a lot of extra time for orientation and mobility for myself, but also for Derek, he has to learn new routes and it can be tricky making sure his training is up to par and he's meeting my needs if I'm not given enough time to do all of that. It's interesting, I feel like, and I'm sure a lot of disabled people will relate to this, we get very good at problem solving and just working things out and to an extent getting by. And so I think the thing that's most impactful for me at least, is just having really direct contact with course tutors, supervisors, really open communication because it's very hard to just have cut and dry solutions to things. And one thing might work one day and not the next or for one system and not the other. And it's so granular and situation specific. So having that regular contact just to troubleshoot and discuss and even just think about how you're feeling about all of it, because it's also exhausting. I really don't want to understate how time consuming being disabled is and the administrative burden, the way it takes so much energy and thinking just to do everything that everyone else is doing. So yeah,

Thanks Sky. And if you were my trainee, I would have quite a steep learning curve to be able to think about how to teach you to do the things that I would see as kind of quite the processes that I would want you to have an understanding of. Could we almost do a little bit of a, this is how we would get around that or we would do this differently. So for example, if you were joining me for an initial assessment, I would use my remarkable tablet and I would usually, or paper in old school days, I would usually draw a family tree to get an understanding systemically of that person and their relationships. And I would usually jot down histories about presenting problems or significant bits and pieces of their life and maybe some physical health bits and their previous history with mental health services and whether they're on any medication, I do not feel I would be able to accurately hold all of that in my mind for an initial assessment, especially if I then needed to go away and write a report. So could you guide us through how you would help me as a potential supervisor to help you thrive optimally in that sort of setting?

Yeah, so I mean these are conversations I've been having a lot recently as well anyway. And for me it's because I am able to hand write something on my iPad. I know you mentioned the remarkable tablet, but I'm able to do some of that hand write some notes and make sure it's just very big and high contrast, and then I can have a closer look later and type things up. Or the flip of that, I could be sort of touch typing and then review that later. I do also, whilst yes, it is hard to remember, I would say a lot of blind people do have incredibly good memories. And I do know some people mostly will rely on their memory and sessions. That is not me yet. I might get there at some point, but obviously I'm holding a lot in mind about how to structure assessments and formulations and different things. So for me, it's a lot of still handwriting notes just in inaccessible way to me. And yeah, I imagine it's going to change a lot as I go through training as well. But that's the current plan.

And actually when I was a first year trainee, my first placement, my placement supervisor encouraged me to record, so audio record all sessions so that we could then listen back to them in supervision. But that is a whole nother conversation of cringe. But I guess that might be something that would help you to then listen back to type your reports, for example. Is that something that you've explored in the past?

Yeah, so it definitely will be the plan to record as many sessions as I can. I mean, that's recommended to all of the cohort just for the course requirements and professional development and things, but for me especially, that will be the plan to hopefully record as many as I can. Great. And do you read braille? I can. I don't just because I'm a very slow Braille reader, but yes I can.

Okay. And is that taught often to people with sight impairments or is it hit and miss? Does it depend on what kind of school you went to? For example?

I would like to think that any severely visually impaired children are being taught braille and touch typing. That was my experience. As much as I didn't enjoy it when I was little, I think it felt really unnecessary when I was younger, but my understanding is it is or should be offered to every severely visually impaired child in school,

But for whatever reason, it's just never really, it's resonated with you or you've kind of find other ways around it, or because you've got some sight, maybe you haven't had the pressure to really become very speedy with that.

Yeah, I think it's always been because I had enough sight to not have to rely on those things. I never felt as motivated to learn and get really good at it. And then a big discussion about braille at the moment is how technology is so advanced that do we even need braille? The argument is we do, and Braille allows especially completely blind children to learn a lot more about literacy and things. So I know a lot of people don't learn braille at all because technology is so advanced now as well.

Yeah, thank you. And speaking about technology, I'm aware that the meta AI glasses can potentially revolutionise what it is like to be someone with a visual impairment or registered blind because as I understand it, when you wear a pair of them, you can ask it to tell you what it's looking at or it will just read information on screen for you. When you look at it at the moment, I think you couldn't walk down the street and it wouldn't automatically say there's a black dog to your left watch out, there's a red brick wall straight in front of you. But if you said, if there is, is there anything to my left? Is there anything straight in front of me it would tell you? But you can see that over time it will be refined so that it can kind of give you more of a running narrative. Is there any other technology? Do you use Be My Eyes app or are there any other tech things that we could be mindful of?

I do use my phone a lot and sort of the built-in features, even just the camera, being able to take pictures of things, zoom into things, read menus and signs by using the camera. I do use AI quite a lot to speed up different things that I do just because they can take a bit longer or take a bit of extra eye strain. So AI is really helpful. I did also used to have a braille smartwatch, which was an incredibly interesting piece of tech that I think is currently discontinued, but they will be revamping it hopefully in the future I would be keen to get a new one. And that was really useful because I could very subtly check the time. And it's one of those things that, especially when I think about structuring therapy sessions and keeping to time how I can subtly check the time without it being really obvious.

And that was really great because it did connect to my phone and it would pop up in braille and it would also read me my text messages and things like that with the braille so I could just silently read those rather than having anything talking to me or an enormous clock that I'm having to bring right to my face. So yeah, there are some really interesting pieces of tech in the sort of vision impairment, disability space. I think the meta glasses are a really nice example of where that technology is becoming more universal to everybody and there's a universal piece of tech that also really benefits disabled people, but there is a whole other world of technology that just people don't really know about just because it's generally geared towards a specific of people.

I have to say, I don't think I'd ever considered how someone with visual impairment knows the time, and I'm sorry that I hadn't considered that. I think so many the people I work with in the past wore a watch, but yeah, would perhaps bring it right to their faces. But the idea of a braille watch for somebody that wants to be discreet or yeah, because you are thinking how long have we got left to this session? And you have to do that, or if you're thinking you are going on a bit, my friend, and we haven't really got time for this, you want to have a quick look at your watch or a quick connection with the time, don't you rather than necessarily being that explicit. So yeah, I do hope that they're able to reissue that braille watch because that does sound like a really essential leveller actually.

But like you said, it's not necessarily that we are asking you to have special adaptations. It's actually we're waiting for society to become more inclusive and then people who have got okay vision might then also really use that and benefit from that as well. For example, audible, I love listening to audio books, so I will usually listen to business books on Audible, whereas when I'm snuggled down in bed trying to get ready to go to sleep, I prefer fiction in my hands. But yeah, loads of people have learned amazing things or just listened to pleasure for Audible and audio books they like. Are you much of an audio listener to things?

I do love Audible. I have a lot of books on there that are sort of on my to be listened to list. I've not had a lot of time since starting the course, but yeah, I do love Audible. I used to read physical books as a teenager, very, very close to my face, and then I sort of transitioned to my iPad and I'd have the text really, really big and really high contrast, and I can still do that, but it's very taxing. So audio books are just brilliant for that. And it is a nice example of just how universal design and accessibility just works for a lot of people that way.

Yeah, it really does. And if it's okay, could you tell us a bit about whether your eyes cause you discomfort? So you said you might get eye strain. Are you having to apply drops? So are you having to have any time off? Are you having to have shorter days to be mindful of your eyesight? How does the actual physical care of your eyes

Work? So I used to have a lot of pain and then I had some surgery, which has resolved a lot of that. So I wouldn't necessarily say I deal with a lot of eye pain anymore, which is really great. That was very, very hard at university during my undergrad. I missed a lot of lectures and had to catch up online and things. But I suppose one of the reasonable adjustments that I have now in work is disability related leave or special leave to attend specifically my eye hospital. Recently I had a bit of a eye scare where we weren't sure if I was having a retinal detachment and I had to go to hospital quite a lot in the space of a week. And luckily the staff and the course have all been incredibly supportive and understanding. But yeah, it's just another thing that I have to think about how I structure my days and my weeks and making sure that things like lighting are suitable and that I can navigate a space and that Derek's needs are met and I can get him water and take him outside when I need to. There's just lots of thinking about the practicalities and travelling to and from placement and teaching and

Yeah, it's a lot to think about.

And when you are on a placement day, I presume you have to take, do you take food for Derek or is he a dog that only eats at morning and night? How does that work practically?

He just has breakfast and dinner and then throughout the day as I believe most service dogs do, I have a treat pouch on me and he'll get different treats sort of constantly training. But yeah, so luckily I don't really have to think about bringing any food unless I was doing a late shift. Say for example, if I was going to work 12 till eight instead, then I'd probably bring his dinner and give it to him there. But I do have to think about setting up a little space for him with his bed and his water bowl and a toy and things like that.

So one placement, you'd have an extra bed and you'd leave that placement I guess, rather than having this big rucksack with Derek's things and your things and everything. Many beds for Derek that Derek approved and he's a fan of, that seems important. Absolutely. Could you tell us before we finish what is glaucoma in case people aren't aware?

Oh, you're going to test me here. It's one of those things that I've just sort of grown up being told about and I think about did anyone ever really teach me? But basically it means that I have high pressure in my eyes, so the fluid inside my eyes builds up and doesn't release how it should, which can put pressure on the optic nerve at the back of the eye, which then causes permanent damage and vision loss. And I know generally it's considered to be something that affects older people later in life, but it can also be inherited or you can be born with it. They're not entirely sure on the causes, but it can also be very aggressive when you're born with it. And then it can lead to a lot of secondary eye conditions as well of all the drops in the surgeries. Yeah,

Thank you. That seems really important that we have an understanding of what that is, but it sounds like you've had to endure a lot since you were born and your parents must have really had to work hard to advocate for you and your needs as a blind baby and a blind, I cannot imagine trying to parent my children when they were toddlers if they hadn't had lots of usable vision. It feels dangerous enough with kids with more vision. How did they, do you know much about how they did that practically?

Yeah, so my mom raised me and my sister and my sister's fully sighted, but I know that it was a struggle. I was always in pain. I could never lay down. I was in lots of pain and I had to have blankets over the push chair because the sun was too bright. I remember having even into middle childhood blankets over lamps and things. Things were too bright as far as my vision. I was a very confident child and I think I could see enough that I could get by, and I'm sure my mom had her worries here and there about me running down a hill and into something. But generally I think she encouraged me to just explore the world and climb trees and be as adventurous as I could. She didn't want me to not do things. Doctors said to her that I would never ride a bike, and she sort of took that as a challenge. Like, yes, she will ride a bike. So yeah, I think it was more so the pain and just she had to pin me down to do eyedrops and things, which must've been brutal for her to do.

Yeah, well my heart goes out to her. But also to you being a little distressed baby, not wanting these drops and finding everything so painful, it's not been easy for you. Do you still do sport? Do you still do exercise? What are you up to for your hobbies?

I definitely don't do as much active stuff as I'd like. I've recently been in touch with a local aerial fitness studio, trying to see if I can try some of that. Cause that sort of piques my interest just to get a bit more active and try something new. I love learning new things, so we'll see how that goes. But more generally, I love travelling. My fiance and I went into railing for a couple of months around Europe, which is a whole other world of thinking about how you do that when you're disabled. But yeah, I love going out and exploring and trying new things.

Amazing. I'm thinking that Derek would much prefer the trains than the aerial hoops. I'm not sure we're going to getting Derek on the ribbons anytime soon. Thank you so much for your time. Is there anything you think is really important that we share with the audience before we finish Sky?

I think just to say how valuable and enriching disabled voices are, not just in clinical psychology, but just broadly. I think society's attitudes are improving, but it's still generally, I think often disabled people are overlooked and just disability as a minority is overlooked. It's the only minority group that anybody can join at any point. You're just an illness or an accident away. And I think it's important to be mindful of that and how we make the world more accessible and inclusive and value the contributions that disabled people bring because we are, I am generalising, but we are great problem solvers. We are incredibly ambitious, I think often to our own detriment. We're trying to overcompensate, but yeah, we have a lot to bring. So yeah, but also it's very hard acknowledging that is important. I don't want to make this too, it's an inspirational story because it's hard. It's very hard advocating for yourself all the time and pushing the boundaries all the time, but it's doable and enjoyable. Do you enjoy what you do? Yes, I love it. I absolutely love it. And yeah, I mean, based off the fact I did two masters, I loved university and I'm loving the d clin course so far. So yeah,

Amazing. Long may that last and thank you for helping myself, but also our audience really think about this and empower people to pursue what is a bit of them really, regardless of what they might have been told about themselves or what they might believe about themselves as being possible or impossible. Thank you again so much for your time and do stay in touch. Skie,

Thank you so

Much for having me. It's been great. Oh, brilliant. Thank you. Skie, thank you so much for Skie's time. And to you, if you are listening or watching this as someone who is not visually impaired, what I would say is that you likely will make mistakes. You likely will make faux PAs. Just as I finished my call with Skie, I said, lovely to see you. And then we hung up and afterwards I sort of caught myself just as I was clicking the, oh, my watch is telling me the time, that's not helpful. Just as I was clicking the end button, I sort of realised what I'd said and I think we have to forgive ourselves, but also if that was in a client session, I would likely say, I'm really sorry. At the end of our session last time, I realised I did say, lovely to see you because it was, but I appreciate that might not be a phrase that feels particularly inclusive.

Yeah, this is, dunno, the way that I am pleasant with people and it was lovely to see her is everything. We can second guess ourselves as well. But yes, that was my own little in-process moment. I hope you've found this helpful. If you have, why not like subscribe, drop a comment, maybe even drop a question in. If you've got any questions about what it's like to navigate the world as a visually impaired person, we can absolutely get Skie answering some of those. Please do subscribe or follow for more. If you're on Spotify, you can drop any questions in there as well. By the time this episode comes out, there will also be the opportunity for subscriber only content, which will be available for a small fee, which is to help me to be able to continue to bring you really high quality great episodes. And that is going to be available from YouTube and from Spotify and I hope from Apple Podcasts as well.

So do check that out. And there's a chance to get some kind of behind the scenes stuff, some more insightful kind of reflective pieces from me thinking about how I begin to plan and put together things. And actually, even if you're listening to this as a qualified member of staff or someone that just passionately believes psychologists and people working in psychology are to be invested in the, you might consider subscribing just for that content so that you can help to support my creator costs to keep me being able to do this for longer. Thank you so much for anybody who's already doing that. By the time this goes live, I would love your feedback as well. In the episode, Skie and I briefly touched on the Snowden Trust and it was a Snowden trust that offered a scholarship to Sky, so she was able to do her second master's. If you are disabled and interested in accessing education, please do check out their website, which is snowden trust.org.

If you're looking to become a psychologist, this podcast, you'll be with Dr.