Do you love psychology?

[Brad S]

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I'm an undergraduate, perusing the forums for insight into how to approach my psychology education. I am overwhelmed by the mass of difficulties everyone seems to be dealing with on the forefront- from choosing and being accepted by schools, to getting into schools, to debt, applications, assessment testing, opinions on which schools with what credentials are worth attending, etc.

If you're a practicing PhD or PsyD:

1 Did you have specific overwhelmed feelings or terminal-seeming troubles?

2 How did you overcome them? Did you just trudge through, or did you find a way to really conquer doubt and difficulty?

3 What is the most satisfying part of what you're doing in your field right now?

 

[CheetahGirl]

Hey Brad S,

Since this is Student Doctor Network, you're most likely going to find students-in-training, not fully practicing. If you're really curious about the entire process, you could start with therapy yourself. Most programs strongly encourage it and you'll get ahead on your own introspection. I'm in a Clinical Psych PhD program. My specific overwhelming feelings came from how competitive these programs are and how was I going to possibly get into a good one. But, like any goal-setting, you put your mind to it and you figure out what you personally need to overcome (i.e. self-discipline, financial means, decision-making) and you just do it. Things will get in the way, but things get in the way anyways - that's life. The most satisfying thing in my field right now is the clinical training – the insight into the human condition. This feeds directly into the most satisfying thing in my life which is my family - my husband & children...they are the reason that I work my ass off for the career that is the best fit for my personality and my skills. Once you start your training, it opens doors that you didn't know about before...just like parenthood, or other careers (i.e. medicine, aerospace engineering, owning your own business).

Also, looking at a future in psychology from the outside does seem overwhelming... and guess what?... it doesn't lighten up b/c life gets more complicated as you get older...but, you can change your perspective (if you want), and start looking at the goal from the inside...embrace it as your own (in social psych: the in-group) and it becomes part of your path, less overwhelming and more like challenges that you have to attend to...speaking of life’s goals and challenges…let me tuck my ego-ideal away and get back to my paper writing. Good luck!

 

[Brad S]

Thanks for the insight! I'm glad to hear that there is some gradualness to the process and I'm not expected to be omniscient prior to starting.

"One day, about 500 years ago or thereabouts, there was a guy once who had motivation before he started doing anything... Well, ever since then, the rest of us have to start doing something before the motivation kicks in."