The first group of trainee forensic psychologists from the University of Bath has completed a year-long placement with Swindon’s Society Without Abuse (SWA), gaining hands-on experience helping people address harmful behaviour in relationships.
The placements formed part of SWA’s specialist Open2Change programme, which works with people aged 16 and over who recognise that their behaviour has become abusive or harmful and want support to make lasting changes.
Over the past year, MSc Forensic Psychology students Sophie Grimshaw and Nethmi Udugama Koralalage became fully integrated members of the Open2Change team. Following an intensive induction programme, the pair worked under the supervision of experienced Behaviour Change Workers before progressing to manage their own supervised caseloads, delivering one-to-one interventions with programme participants.
The placement was designed to mirror the training and responsibilities given to newly appointed members of staff, providing valuable real-world experience while ensuring participants continued to receive specialist support.
Reflecting on her placement, Sophie Grimshaw said the experience had reinforced her career ambitions.
She said: “The year with SWA has been really, really good and I did a lot more than I thought I would do. It was beneficial to have my own case load and be working to help people change; it was very rewarding to reach the point with people where they reflect on their actions and realise they wanted to change their behaviour.
“I feel like I’ve made a difference and helped people and working on Open2Change has confirmed that this is what I want to do. Domestic abuse is still so prevalent but the world needs to know that there’s support out there.”
As part of the partnership, Nethmi also spent time supporting SWA’s pilot Open2Change programme in Bath, working alongside Behaviour Change Workers delivering the service there.
With the first placements now complete, SWA has welcomed its next University of Bath trainee, Clara Pieltain, who will spend the coming year working with the charity.
Clara said: “I have a real interest in women’s safety and violence against women and girls. I’m hoping to learn a lot over the next year and get hands-on experience understanding the reasons why people harm and their experiences and internal processing.
“After graduation I’d really like to work in areas like expert testimony and really work towards change and so I think working with SWA and Open2Change this year will help me develop a really good base and the skills I need.”
Kate Rowland, Chief Executive of SWA, said the collaboration benefits both students and the charity.
She said: “Our Open2Change behaviour change programme is a crucial tool in breaking the cycle of abuse and changing attitudes. Our experienced Behaviour Change team have worked closely with Sophie and Nethmi over the last year to ensure they develop the skills and approaches needed to be able to give them a rewarding and useful placement, whilst supervising them to ensure they uphold the quality and professionalism that we would expect of any member of staff.
“Sophie and Nethmi have been such an integral part of the team and we have been incredibly impressed with their skill and professionalism. We’re confident Clara will be just as instrumental in changing lives for the better too.
“By partnering with the University of Bath to host these placements, we not only help to train the next generation of experts who can help end domestic abuse, but through working with a number of universities in the region, we also benefit from being able to access the latest research and approaches to ensure our Open2Change programme is as effective as possible.”
Open2Change forms part of SWA’s wider work tackling domestic abuse through education, prevention and intervention. The charity, originally founded as Swindon Women’s Aid more than 50 years ago, supports families across the area while also working to prevent abuse before it escalates.
Anyone affected by domestic abuse, or concerned about the behaviour of someone they know, can seek confidential advice through SWA’s services and dedicated helpline.
