Hadia Sarwat

Program: MS- Clinical Psychology- Karachi Campus

Batch: 2018

Program: BS-Institute of Professional Psychology- Karachi Campus

Batch: 2016

Psychological Well-being Practitioner at the Oxford Health Trust, National Health Services (NHS) Foundation.

After completing my A-Levels, with mostly business subjects, I was unsure of what career path I wanted to take. I knew business was not my calling and so I chose to pursue a certification my mother really wanted me to pursue. This was the Montessori Directress Course by the Association Montessori International (AMI). This was a one year course which taught us how to work with children aged 3-6 years old. While I was in the course I realised unknowingly I have actually been pushed in the right direction. This felt a bit more of something I could see myself doing for the future.

After completing my certification, I went on to teach as a Montessori teacher and loved every bit of that job. However, soon I realised I wanted to do a bit more, learn more, develop more. The course had made me curious about mental health as that was a big part of the course.

I started searching for places in Karachi that had degrees in Mental Health and of course stumbled upon Bahria University (BU), Institute of Professional Psychology (IPP). It appealed to me because I could see a well-established, yet growing institute. I wanted to be a part of it.

I enrolled in the Bachelors of Psychology program at IPP- BU and started my journey in Mental Health. Every day I fell more in love with the subject and my keenness to learn about it grew further.

I made great friends, met amazing teachers and learnt so many new things about mental health and life in general.

I completed those 4 years and went on to work at a Mental Health Organisation called Care for Health. While it was a small organisation, it appeared to have a big impact through the work they were doing. I spent over 2 years working at the organisation and pursued my Masters in Clinical Psychology from IPP-BU, along the way.

At first I was unsure how much the Master’s program would add value to my career progression. However, the excellent coursework, relevant work experience that the internship program at IPP provided me with, very quickly changed my mind and I started to value the opportunity of studying at this excellent institute more and more every day. Soon I was offered to teach at the institute as a faculty member for psychology and to this date, that has been the best and most cherished work experience I have had the chance to engage in.

Eventually, after a few years of working at IPP and completing my Master’s degree, as fate had it, I had to move to England after getting married.

This move created a lot of anxieties for me with regards to my career. I was worried that my qualifications from Pakistan may not translate very well to the UK. I was soon proven wrong.

As I mentioned earlier the thorough course outlines, the exceptional teaching modalities, when checked through documentations in the UK equated to degrees being provided by the UK. This was a relief and I did feel embarrassed for ever doubting my qualifications from Pakistan.

I currently work as a Psychological Well-being Practitioner at the Oxford Health Trust, National Health Services (NHS) Foundation. I plan to expand my knowledge in the application of mental health through my work experience here and wish to make a positive change back home in Pakistan, and to be able to give back to my country and institute that enabled me to remain a contributing member of the society through my qualifications.

I am grateful to my family, friends, teachers and well-wishers who I met along the way. I am especially grateful to my mother who pushed me in the direction when I didn’t know any better.

The lesson I wish for anybody to take from my journey, would be to not doubt your qualifications from Pakistan, and not doubt the efforts you have put in to learning no matter where you have learnt from. Own your learning and value your experiences.