Question: Why did you decide to be a child psychologist?

Simone Bijvoet answered on 15 Jun 2011:

That’s a good question. I’ve decided to study psychology because I was interested in people and why we behave in certain ways. In my third year I specialized in clinical and developmental psychology. Clinical psychology means looking at people who are mentally ill, for example being depressed. I worked in a mental health care centre for a while with adults who were abused in childhood, but I realized that it was all a bit too heavy for me. I didn’t go home happy and was often still thinking about the patients when I got home.

This is when I decided I wanted to go into child psychology. I love working with kids and enjoy watching how kids of different ages are able to do different things. Also I believe that things that happen in childhood and the experiences you have when you are young are very important for your whole life. That is why my goal is to try and get the best out of kids, focus on every child’s good qualities and try to stimulate that rather than focus on what you cannot do. I call it positive psychology!