Morgan Beckles knows first-hand how it feels to struggle with mental health issues and not be able to access the right help.
The 29-year-old, who is studying for a PhD in psychology while gaining practical experience as a trainee clinical psychologist in London, had her own struggles with anxiety several years ago.
“If you’re kind of a little unwell, it’s really hard to get any help and I was in that position myself,” she explained.
“I didn’t have a full-time job, and I wasn’t severely unwell, and I didn’t have insurance to be able to afford getting help.”
Ms Beckles experienced the “gap in Bermuda” in terms of affordable, available services, and noticed the lack of diversity in the psychology profession.
She said: “The thing that spurred me to think ‘oh, maybe you want to be a psychologist’ is based on my own experience with mental health and hardly ever seeing anyone that looked like me that could help me.
“I wanted to be that person for other people …”
Early intrigue
Her interest in psychology was sparked as a teenager when she studied “peace and conflict” as part of her International Baccalaureate at Bermuda High School for Girls.
Ms Beckles said: “It’s all about why there’s peace and why there’s war in the world and in history, and that included learning psychological theories about groups and group conflict.
“I found that so interesting and in particular – because around that time there was a lot more gang activity in Bermuda – I found it really interesting to apply those kind of group psychology theories to understand, in a compassionate way, why these young men are getting involved in gangs and being violent between each other.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to become a psychologist, but I knew I just wanted to learn more about people’s behaviours.”
After school, her passion for gymnastics led her to study in the United States. She ultimately quit the sport and switched to a psychology undergraduate degree at the University of Western Ontario, in Canada, still without a clear idea of a future career path.
Search for belonging
Back on the island, Ms Beckles interned briefly at The Royal Gazette and returned to the topic that fascinated her during her IB. She wrote about mental health issues that gang members may experience, interviewing forensic psychiatrist Sebastian Henagulph on the subject.
“He had such a compassionate way of looking at that,” she said. “A lot of these men are looking for a sense of belonging and achievement and a sense of family, and that’s what they get from being part of the gang.”
The search for belonging resonated with Ms Beckles, a former Harrington Sound Primary School pupil, who identifies as neurodivergent and queer.
She said: “Bermuda is such a small, open, lovely, loving, happy country, that also has quite a conservative and religious culture that can be hard for LGBT people like me, growing up and hearing really unhelpful and harmful messages about LGBT people.”
How can I help?
Ms Beckles viewed the impact of gang violence on those affected as “equivalent to living in a war zone” and she began to consider how she could help to make change.
She volunteered with Mindful Bermuda, visiting public schools and teaching mindful practice to pupils. That “inspiring” experience led her to think about becoming a child psychologist.
Now, with a master’s degree from the University of Westminster, in London, and in the final year of her doctoral studies at the University of East London, she is considering other areas of specialism.
“My first paid job, I actually happened to get work at the other end of the life spectrum, where I was working with older adults,” she said.
“These were people who were 70, 80 and 90 and this was on a mental health ward and that changed everything for me, because I learnt that not only is it really interesting to get to know people who’ve lived entire lives that I haven’t lived yet …. I also learnt that … older adults get left behind and forgotten.”
She recalled a pivotal moment when a woman on the ward with dementia asked if Ms Beckles could accompany her to an appointment she was dreading.
“I remember thinking ‘oh, that’s where the job is’. It’s connecting with people. One of the things I’ve learnt when people have dementia is that they never forget how someone made you feel.”
Providing support
She is dismayed by “chronic” underfunding for older mental health patients within the NHS, with resources often directed towards youngsters.
And she has joined protests in London against the British Labour Government’s plans to cut disability benefits for those with mental health problems.
“Things can be done about it and clinical psychology isn’t just talking one on one with a person,” Ms Beckles said.
“Sometimes that’s just validating that there is nothing wrong with the person and that they are having an understandable and valid reaction to the injustices of society.”
She added: “Sometimes clinical psychology is going to protests, advocating for people politically. It’s not just being in a room having a chat.”
She is now in the third and final year of her doctoral degree programme, combining studying and writing a 28,000-word thesis with a paid role in the NHS as a trainee clinical psychologist.
“Every day is different,” said Ms Beckles, who loves the variety. She has especially enjoyed working in community and collective care, citing a yoga class for Bangladeshi women and a football team for young black men.
“It’s all about being part of a group and just uplifting the entire community, rather than just one person.
“Community psychology finds its roots in something called liberation psychology and de-colonial psychology, where we are not coming as experts with a top-down approach to tell people what they need.”
It’s an approach she wants to bring home one day.
“I am so excited to learn a lot more from being here in England … I just want to get as much knowledge and experience as I can before coming to Bermuda.
“I have so many ideas of things I’d love to bring back.”
