Concordia

Concordia Winter 2021

A Life in Psychology

“They can because they think they can” the title of a new book by Hugh Koch (1964-1969) . Having worked as a therapist, psychologist and academic he reflects on a lifetime spent in the field of mental health.

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because they think they can” – an interesting predictor of my career. Chronologically, I have worked in the NHS mainly as a therapist (1973-1986), an NHS Senior General Manager (1986-1991), a Total Quality Management Consultant (1991-1993), an Expert Witness Psychologist in Civil Litigation (1991-ongoing) and more recently as a Professor in Law and Psychology at Birmingham City University (BCU) (2017-ongoing). A wide variety of careers, all encompassing different aspects of psychology. With therapy, it is a challenge to find ways to help people with problems of depression and anxiety which they find useful and empowering. People have unique ways of seeing their world and need someone to listen to them. With expert work, I learnt how to be logical and evidence-based and found lawyers, barristers and judges a fascinating group of colleagues, especially when appearing in court. Much of the time I have felt empowered in my career in psychology to look for different opportunities, move towards them (by relocating,

Having spent an enjoyable and busy five years at Merchant Taylors’ playing sport, learning about science, and playing some more sport, I left Moor Park to study Biochemistry at Bristol University. Academic streaming is an interesting concept and I certainly enjoyed the mathematical and scientific tradition and discipline. However, at Bristol, I decided the psychology course was more to my liking, especially in its emphasis on the interaction with and understanding of people. It also had the focus on ‘reliability’ and ‘validity’ and its nickname was “The Science of Mental Life”; a good catchphrase. I had always been interested in ‘thinking about thinking’: this meta-cognitive trait has been with me from pre-teenage years, carried forward with exposure to CBT, Cognitive Analytic and meditation/mindfulness techniques. I found mental positivity and resilience helped me to succeed and have a ‘bias for action’. I recently found an old photograph of a poster I brought my parents back from the USA in 1973 (aged 22) showing two seagulls flying free with this quote “they can