Denisse Levermore

I decided to study this course at the University of Northampton because I’ve studied at UON before and had a great experience with supportive, engaging and knowledgeable lecturers, so I felt assured that with such a unique course, this experience would be replicated. Also, the course is all online in the evening, so it fits well within a busy life schedule.

My career goals/aspirations are to pursue a Professional Doctorate with research interests in infant/children’s/young people’s mental health. I’d also like to support and progress within my current roles, both in NHS child and adolescent mental health services, and as a lecturer.

Studying this course will help my career when I graduate because it’s so unique and hugely important to all services working with families and children, so I feel that the knowledge and qualification I will have gained will further demonstrate this. I hope to inspire others to study infant mental health to support their understanding and ultimately improve health and care outcomes for babies/children and families. From a personal development perspective, it’s been a little while since I’ve studied at this level, so getting back into academic study post-Covid has been challenging, but inspirational, and I’ve really enjoyed it, instilling a belief that I can do this and am able to take this further to a Prof Doctorate level in the near future.

The knowledge and understanding I’ve gained on my degree that I feel will be most useful in my future career is an awareness of the political impact on health and social care outcomes for infants and families, as well as contemporary issues and how these impact on infant mental health, e.g., Covid and the cost-of-living crisis.

I’ve also gained some valuable skills:

• academic writing/increasing criticality within my writing at postgraduate level
• engaging with a range of assessments e.g., posters, presentations, portfolios, reflections
• challenging my learning by engaging with aspects that I struggle more with, e.g., quantitative research

If I could give any advice to someone interested in this career path, or anything I wish I’d known earlier, it would be to challenge yourself to engage with all aspects of the course. The infant mental health knowledge and skills you gain from this level of study will be valued in whatever career you choose and will offer you a unique perspective that very few will have, so value this and spread the word!

I’ve found my UON experience to be supportive, with engaging lecturers, within an accessible and inspiring course format.