Unlocking Success: Positive Strategies for Stage 2 Occupational Psychology Chartership

Qualification in Occupational Psychology

How mindset, method, and meaning shape the journey to becoming a Chartered Occupational Psychologist

If there’s one thing Stage 2 has taught me so far, it’s this: Chartership is a developmental process that reshapes how you think, practice, and understand yourself as a psychologist.

Having now completed two competencies, Training and Engagement, I can already see how much this journey has changed the way I design work, make decisions, interpret behaviour, and understand organisations.

This blog pulls together the theories, the research-backed strategies, the expert insight, and the lessons I’ve learned so far… in the hope it helps anyone navigating (or preparing for) the same journey.

1. The Theories Every Stage 2 Candidate Should Have in Their Back Pocket

Stage 2 isn’t about listing theory, it’s about using it. These are the models that have genuinely shaped my practice so far.

Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000)

Brilliant for understanding training engagement and motivation at work.Supports autonomy, competence, and relatedness — the three things that make learning stick.

Job Demands–Resources Model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007)

Essential for spotting what fuels or drains employees.Transforms “engagement” from a feeling into a measurable, changeable system.

Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988)

The foundation of modern training design.Particularly relevant to my specialism in fatigue and human factors.

Psychological Safety (Edmondson, 1999)

The invisible layer that makes every conversation, training session, and engagement interview successful.

Behaviour Change Models (COM-B, Fogg)

Because all organisational work involves behaviour change — consciously or not.

These theories aren’t for show.They’re what Stage 2 assessors expect you to use when you justify your practice.

2. Research-Backed Strategies for Stage 2 Success

Below are the strategies that have made Stage 2 feel meaningful, not overwhelming.

Treat Stage 2 as a development journey

Most people enter Stage 2 thinking the assessors want polished project summaries.

They don’t.

They want to understand:

• the thinking behind your decisions

• the growth behind your reflections

• the reasoning that shaped your outcomes

• the identity you’re building as a practitioner

You will learn more from the projects that went sideways than the ones that went smoothly.

Stage 2 asks:“How did this experience shape you as a psychologist?”

Not:“What did you do?”

This mindset shift is huge and it changes everything.

Evidence-based practice is non-negotiable

Stage 2 expects you to:

• justify every decision

• reference research meaningfully

• demonstrate psychological reasoning

• show your intellectual rigour

• be deliberate and defendable in your methods

  
  

Your work must clearly show:

Theory → Reasoning → Action → Outcome → Learning

Weak evidence-based practice says:

“I used this because I’ve used it before.”

Strong evidence-based practice says:

“I selected this model because research shows X, and therefore I predicted Y, which shaped Z.”

Assessors want depth.

Keep a ‘reflection log’ from day one

This is the biggest lifesaver. Get one notepad and keep it all together, thoughts, notes, feedback, feelings, chats with supervisor.

A reflection log prevents:

• forgetting important learning

• losing detail

• reconstructing decisions months later

• superficial reflections

  
  

Your weekly log should capture:

• moments of clarity

• moments of confusion

• ethical tensions

• theory-in-action

• unexpected stakeholder reactions

• emotional responses

• patterns you only notice later

  
  

Reflection is the backbone of Stage 2 development.

Use supervision wisely

Supervision is professional shaping.

Bring to supervision:

• dilemmas

• uncertainties

• alternative interpretations

• concerns

• moments you can’t explain

• ethical grey areas

• your raw thinking

  
  

Your supervisor cares far more about your decision-making process than your performance.

A good supervision session is one where you leave with:

• deeper clarity

• more perspective

• better judgement

• enhanced ethical reasoning

  
  

Supervision is where your practice sharpens.

Start building your “psychologist identity” early

Stage 2 changes you.

You begin as “someone who knows psychology.” You end as “a practitioner with a psychological identity.”

Identity includes:

• your niche

• your theory preferences

• how you reason

• how you justify

• your ethical position

• how you see organisations

• how you design interventions

• your voice as a professional

My identity is clearer now:

I am a human-factors focused Occupational Psychologist specialising in fatigue, cognitive load, clarity, and behaviour design.

Once your identity forms, your writing becomes stronger and so does your practice.

3. Expert Opinions: What Chartered Psychologists Want You to Know

From supervisors, assessors, and chartered psychologists I’ve spoken to, three messages stand out:

Clarity beats complexity

Depth trumps volume every single time.

Reflection is more important than scale

A small project deeply analysed is better than a huge one poorly justified.

Ethics should be proactive, not reactive

Predicting risk shows competence. Explaining a problem you stumbled into shows the opposite.

4. My Personal Experience So Far (Training & Engagement)

Training / L&D Competency

Designing fatigue training for the energy industry

• why cognitive load is a hidden performance killer

• how fatigue impacts learning

• how to make theory accessible, not academic

• how to design psychologically safe training experiences

• how to structure content for clarity and behaviour change

  
  

Training is translating psychology into action.

Engagement Competency

This competency surprised me. Engagement is emotionally complex, politically layered, culturally shaped, and often misunderstood.

I learned:

• the gap between “what leaders think” and “what employees feel”

• the role of fairness and clarity in engagement

• how organisational signals silently shape behaviour

• how different stakeholder groups interpret the same data differently

  
  

Engagement is about clarity, trust, autonomy, and psychological safety.

Stage 2 Is Hard… But Transformative

This is intentional...

If you approach it with:

• curiosity

• evidence

• reflection

• supervision

• willingness to grow

You’ll become a practitioner with clarity, confidence, and competence.

It’s the shift from studying psychology to applying psychology and that’s where the real transformation happens.

About the Author

Written by Georgia Hodkinson, GMBPsS, Trainee Occupational Psychologist (BPS Stage 2), Organisational Psychology Consultant, and Founder of Georgia’s PsyWork Ltd.

Georgia specialises in human factors, fatigue, performance psychology, cognitive load, and behaviour design, supporting organisations across sectors including energy, tech, healthcare, and leadership consulting.

She designs training programmes, behaviour-led interventions, communication frameworks, and human-performance tools, with a focus on clarity, usability, and psychological safety.

Georgia is also the Director of Operations & Marketing at the Psychology Business Incubator (PBI), where she co-develops workshops, tools, and collaborative opportunities for people who love psychology.

Her work blends curiosity, empathy, evidence, and applied sensemaking, with a belief that sustainable organisational change starts by understanding the humans within the system.

Learn more at: www.georgiaspsywork.co.uk