It's time for another work life.

I'm de-registering as a psychologist.

Deep breath.

After over 35 years as a psychologist, I am applying to de-register today. It’s unsustainable for me to make a living in my chosen sub-speciality of disaster psychology here. It sounds crazy with the world as it is today, but it’s true.

I started my journey dropping out of a business economics and accounting degree to switch to psychology after just one term. I sat the rest of that year out, but the adventure started there. Along the way, I picked up an honours degree, a Ph.D., and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. I’ve worked in academia as a researcher, teacher, manager, analyst and writer, as psychologist in primary care clinics in both NZ and the UK, as a policy advisor and lead in both NZ and the UK, and as a Private Secretary to a Minister of State in the UK Government, as well as serving as an advisor to the WHO. Such was my enthusiasm to bring progressive change through a psychological lens, I even ran for Parliament in NZ in 2017. 

More recently, it’s been an honour, privilege, and a lot of fun working with various forms of media internationally and in NZ, starting many years back when I was commissioned  by the BBC to write and co-present a series for the World Service on Learning to Learn (ts Andy, if you’re reading this). More recently, it’s been amazing to write for diverse publications such as Psychology Today, The Hill, The Guardian, BusinessDesk, Stuff, The Spinoff and many more. I even wrote three books since 2020, and was picked up by a mainstream publisher - thanks to Penguin Random House NZ for your support. 

I’ve loved doing the parenting slot regularly with Kathryn Ryan and the Nine to Noon team at RNZ - they gave me my first big break in NZ. Thanks to Justin Gregory for the introduction, and to James Nokise and Charlie Bleakley for the pleasure and fun of working on Eating Fried Chicken in the Shower - one of the best, most interesting, most fun projects I’ve worked on. I still get emails about it today, when though we haven’t made any new content for a couple of years now. And it’s always been fun to talk with Jesse, Wallace, Karyn and Mani at RNZ too.

It’s been an honour and a privilege to serve in so many response and recovery operations, ranging from H1N1 and Covid-19 pandemics, terror attacks, the Canterbury earthquakes and many more besides. Thanks to the agencies, organisations and most excellent people I’ve worked with, as well as the journalists I’ve spoken with. The science communication aspect of my strange role has been the most rewarding aspect of the last few years. Thank you to the Science Media Centre in NZ for all your support and encouragement.

Because of these diverse experiences, I developed as a psychologist in ways that were unconventional, outside the traditional career paths - which was great, but often meant that I had no real clear way forward. And that was fine, but it also meant that it was sometimes hard to find work. And when it came, it came all at once, like a firehose.  

I remember visiting my old training programme back at UCL in London, where I talked with my Head of Programme who advised that I should probably never return to the UK to work as a psychologist because I would most likely be very bored. I also recognise that working in these roles in New Zealand has been an incredibly rich experience for me.

I have tried to leave psychology a few times, knowing that I was good at it, but that there were other paths in my life that I wanted to explore. First, back in 2009, I got a place on the Faststream Civil Service Programme in the UK Government, designed to train for leadership of the Senior Civil Service. In any one year, they selected 300 people from over 12,000 applicants to join this programme. It was kind of a big deal. When the Canterbury earthquakes struck in 2010-11, and I was spending much time based in London but assisting with the work back in NZ, I resolved to return to assist. The work was too close to my heart for me to turn away. I gave up my career track to move back to NZ, and to assist in the best way I could, spanning Wellington to Canterbury in an advisory role, leading research projects and advising on policy design and operational concerns where I could. 

I did this for 7 years. 

Once I felt like my part in this work had come to an end, I left my academic role in 2018 (it’s amazing how many people think I am still based in academia), to take more of a lead role in parenting our children. But at the end of 2019, I could see another pandemic brewing, and in early 2020, we took a family decision to pivot to return me back to advisory work again.  I spent a lot of time creating content for the public and health staff in many formats, working with Government agencies and advertising agencies, and much time talking with media in a science communication and psychological response design role. It was both the most amazingly influential and exhausting public service role that a public mental health oriented psychologist could dream to have. But, in retrospect, it also probably hastened my design to leave the profession as soon as I felt morally able to do so. 

I was about to leave when the Delta variant emerged. So I delayed my exit. When Omicron came, I drew a line. Who knew what would come next and how long it would last? I decided I needed to stop second-guessing what was going on in the world, and to return to a different tempo and decision-making framework instead. 

So that brings me to today. I’ll be posting on social media differently, and most likely won’t be on TV and Radio any where near as much as I have been  - so the best place to find me is probably my website (which is due a revamp too) SarbJohal.com, or my YouTube channel youtube.com/@apluschap

But I will be available for public speaking on my experiences, what it has taught me, and what perhaps I can teach to others because of my journey. You can contact me directly, or through my representation at Johnson & Laird.

I’ve a couple of small projects that I’m mulling over, but hit me up if you’ve got something (part-time) different for me to think about. I’ll be spending more time in my parenting role, too. Who knows what other paths may open up to me now? Please contact me if you’d like to talk. I may say no, so please don't be offended. I’m going to take my time over this. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate your contact. 

Talk soon, Sarb