Sailor's experience backs up psychology pathway

Her journey to become a Navy psychologist involves the Navy’s Tangaroa Scheme, where students undertake officer training and then attend university, on full pay and associated expenses, to complete university studies. Traditionally set up for engineering degrees, it works just as well for other sought-after professional qualifications.

Originally a Leading Hand, she commissioned from the ranks to Sub Lieutenant at Defence House in May. As an experienced sailor, she will undertake the four-week officer commissioning course for senior rates, rather than 22 weeks of Junior Officer Common Training.

It is unusual to offer the officer programme to junior-ranked sailors, but SLT Olthuis had completed her Petty Officer requirements.

It will involve plenty of further study, including a Masters degree and professional registration, but experience counts, and that’s the point of the programme.

She joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2015, arriving with a sporting background with New Zealand titles in age group multi-sport and secondary school waka ama. She was course Dux of her Seaman Combat Specialist trade training, going on to serve in HMNZ Ships Te Kaha, Te Mana, Canterbury and Wellington.

She completed a Defence Diving course, then tackled what she considers to be a turning point in her career, the Army-led Aumangea programme.

Aumangea involves New Zealand Defence Force personnel placed in an austere environment where they are challenged mentally and physically over 35 days. A drive to succeed, a creative mind and a talent for improvisation are all tested, with personnel learning about self-leadership and confidence.

SLT Othius, then an Able Rate, was awarded dux of the programme, being the first female and first Navy candidate to do so. She later was the first Navy person to become a fulltime Aumangea instructor in 2019.

She says that posting was when she connected deeply with her purpose in the New Zealand Defence Force. She had gained a powerful insight into human performance and behaviour, and the belief that people are capable of much more than they think.

“Seeing people go through that space in Aumangea, watching them make sense of their situation. I learnt a lot seeing how a whole cohort reacted, seeing their behaviours in raw form. It was amazing and humbling at the same time. I was very lucky to have been able to do that while it was around.”

SLT Olthuis started her degree studies in 2022. She sought and obtained scholarships to support her qualification for the Fleet to Psychology programme in the forms of a Massey Excellence Scholarship and the Targeted Tertiary Study Scheme that opened up to junior rates in 2023.

She says she has always wanted to commission and was keen to study more. “I put a case forward for the Commissioned from the Ranks course. I was Petty Officer qualified, and if I had done the full officer training, it would have delayed my studies by a year.”

Continuing with distance learning was something else she was able to negotiate. “They said, it’s working, keep going. It was a win-win for me and the Navy, and shows the commitment and flexibility for people to achieve these qualifications.”

She says she feels privileged that she was given the freedom to explore the many opportunities available in the Defence Force.

“Being accepted into the Fleet to Psychologist tertiary programme feels like a collective achievement. The efforts of those supporting me through the application have all got me to where I am now.”

Fleet Psychologist Lieutenant Commander Ryan Hissong says the programme is designed to leverage the knowledge and pre-existing relationships of experienced personnel to further the reach and impact of Navy Psychology services.

“The scheme was signed up in 2019, where we look for experienced, suitable Navy people as part of the Tangaroa Scheme. It reduces the risk of job fit and brings invaluable experience to the job.”

He says it’s not the intent to stop direct entry recruitment to Navy psychology. LTCDR Hissong is a qualified psychologist who came to the Navy from a civilian career. “I remember having this idea that, as a culturally competent psychologist, Junior Officer Common Training wouldn’t have been essential to me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Life in service, particularly in the maritime context, is its own unique culture. From relating to people’s experiences to gaining credibility there’s a lot to say for having psychologists in uniform. So it’s great to have someone who has come through with such a rich Navy background.”

He says trainees need to maintain minimum grade requirements throughout their degree and Masters studies, which is also funded.

“Once they have achieved their Masters in Psychology, they can become a trainee psychologist and undertake supervised practice leading up to registration with the New Zealand Psych Board.”