Finding the right soil
After finishing my Master’s degree in Psychology: Understanding Domestic & Sexual Violence at the University of Worcester, I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I completed it in one academic year while also working full-time as Head of Training & Development at the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV). I completely missed a beautiful summer, closing one laptop at 5.30pm and immediately opening another.
Yet the moment I submitted my dissertation, instead of relief, I felt a strange sense of loss, the kind that comes when you finish an excellent book or when the final episode of your favourite series ends too soon. I realised I wasn’t done. Something in me wanted to keep going, to dig deeper.
Throughout my Master’s, I was lucky to be taught and mentored by Dr Beverley Gilbert, whose warmth, intelligence and integrity shaped so much of my learning. Her published work on peer mentoring and survivorship resonated deeply with my own ideas. Tentatively, I asked her whether she thought I was good enough to do a PhD. She couldn’t have been more encouraging. When I asked if she would consider supervising me, she said yes without hesitation — and that small moment of faith changed everything.
So I began the nerve-wracking process of applying to Worcester for my PhD. I already knew I wanted to build on my Master’s dissertation by focusing on survivors working in the violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector, so I wrote my proposal and submitted it. But something didn’t feel quite right. We couldn’t identify the right second supervisor, and the first-year requirement to complete a postgraduate certificate in research methodology filled me with dread. Despite my long history with what I still think of as my local university, it didn’t feel like the right soil for what I wanted to grow.
After a lot of thought, I decided to apply to Anglia Ruskin University, and that’s where everything began to align. I was accepted by two brilliantly knowledgeable feminist scholars: Dr Melanie Boyce and Dr Adriana Sandu. Both have vast experience and academic depth, and while I initially felt a little intimidated by their expertise, I knew I would learn so much from them. To my delight, they invited Dr Gilbert to join as my third supervisor, because I couldn’t imagine doing this journey without her.
With these three women guiding me, I finally felt I had found the right environment…supportive, feminist, intellectually challenging, and grounded in compassion. I had found the right soil.
This marks the beginning of my PhD journey exploring how domestic abuse sector services support women employees who are themselves survivors. Like many of the women I study, I’ve learned that growth after trauma depends not just on strength, but on the environment that surrounds you. Survivors need the right soil, space, support, and safety, to take root and thrive.
And I’ve found mine.