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IN THE MIND OF YOUNG, SASSY, PSYCHOLOGIST

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“I was born in Eswatini and raised in Manzini. I hold the privilege of being member of a family of five. My mother, Nompumelelo Masina-Mncina and father, David Mncina, are held in high esteem and I am eternally grateful for their input in ensuring a safe and healthy family environment,” said the beauty as she introduced herself to STYLE. We had the golden opportunity to get this psychologist’s mind and we learnt a lot about her field and her fun side as well!

On Psychology as career choice and perception
From my pre- adolescent years, I was always exposed to working with others, taking instruction and being entrusted with leadership roles – particularly at church. This is where I believe I gained my interaction and communication skills and from there, gained interest in working with people.
My perception of it then was ‘helping people with their problems’ and I gained insight on the career by following Clinical Psychologist Ndo Mdlalose’s opinion section on various life and adjustment topics. Conclusively, I would note – without a fraction of doubt that by the time I finished high school – I knew psychology was what I wanted to do.

If not psychology, then what?
I took communication as a second major in undergrad, and I guess it leans toward still being able to work with individuals and organisations. Medicine once enticed me, but I quickly resolved and just hoped that psychology would be the career that I nested in.

Steps – inside and outside class
For one, I made sure that my subject choices in high school would place me in a better position to get into the programme. My teachers saw different strengths and encouraged depth of understanding and consideration – but I really knew, confidently, what I eventually hoped to become.
Research, research, research on the field, it’s job potential and earning potential. Listen, everyone needs a financial safety net, so I went into psychology knowing, how long I needed to commit to studying, funding and where it could potentially place me in the world of work.
Once I was in the process, I worked diligently and consistently kept my performance scores at above average because I understood the competition of making it into Master’s as you see an intake in the hundreds in undergrad only for the Masters class to take 12.
I also took a gap year and worked in psychosocial settings where I gained more knowledge, particularly with children and adolescents. In varsity, I always probed, remained inquisitive and interested in the career. I would speak to my lecturers and share my dream of practising so that I would be accountable to them for effort and persistence in achieving that goal.

The Challenges
My challenges were entry into Honours for one, where my initial tertiary institution had reached its capacity and as such, I had to take a meaningful gap year, in hindsight, and re-apply at a different institution.
Funding at Master’s also proved challenging and it called for getting great understanding about university funding for merit students and because of my performance, Wits, together with the SA National Research Fund assisted with my Masters tuition. It is costly – so it renders beneficial for one to work really hard so as to qualify for merit awards and funding opportunities. Time: it averages an intense 5 – 6 years to get a Master’s degree in psychology and at times in process, worth is questioned and also the weight of the reward is often doubted. To this, I believe it helps to be surrounded by people in the field who pose as counsel and encouragement to see it through.

Alignment
I always say that psychology is an extension of who I am. Everything that I aspire to is aligned with psychology. The vision I have and share with colleagues and family is to really extend worth to what I do because I realise the profound value it has been to my life and others. I can safely say, psychology chose me, and I chose it. I would not reconsider doing anything else. It fits, it is the fabric of my being and I absolutely love it.

Help for therapist
As students as well as in practice, we are always encouraged to be in therapy or to see a psychologist. Often it is the order of life to possess great insight in how best to negotiate another’s life crisis but never your own and as such, one of the  hings you need to possess is a level of, maturity, insight, understanding and authenticity with self. We all have triggers and it is in the best interests of the client and the process that you do not allow your own personal and unresolved issues to choke the process of your client.

Words of encouragement
Your vision is for an appointed time – and in that, be relentless in your pursuit. You will learn so much about yourself that may intimidate your process in trusting that this is truly your career. What I have learnt is your vulnerability is the very thing that makes therapy; real, relatable and within reach to the people you serve. See it through, some days are better than others, but you will be happy that you saw it through.

Mental Health
To achieve balance, you need to be able to negotiate the good and bad parts of the self. What this calls for is awareness, truthfulness and a healthy reconciliation of your true self and the person you desire to become. Avoid excessively leaning to people and objects for validation, confirmation and worth because once you do that – we own your peace.
Live as real to self as you can – you can never truly satisfy the other nor do you possess the power to. Work out what you can and cannot control and let that be the springboard to which you negotiate life and the currency of living.

Wise words
Wealth of life is your inheritance – society will fight to give you a counter-narrative, they will weigh your worth to substance and power – but ultimately, you control the narrative.






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