Mention traumatic brain injury in PsyD Interview?

[PsychBiker]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I will try and keep this short. Two months ago I got into a car accident that left me in the hospital for over a month. The bottom line is that my mandible was destroyed (and plated back together), one of my vertebrae was fractured, and I had some mild diffuse axonal injury (brain damage). The CT reports include documentation of hemorrhages in all the lobes on the right side, specifically there were large subdural bleeds in the tentorium cerebelli. Long story short, my current issues include: reduced active memory capacity, mild word finding difficulty, minor agraphia issues (because I am left handed, my writing and typing abilities have been slightly diminished), and there is just scarring on my face and neck. These issues are improving over time and the issues are practically not noticeable to others. Obviously, I notice it more than anyone else. A full neuropsych battery is currently being done by a ABPP Psychologist and a MD.

My background is that I have completed a MA in a PsyD program and I am state-licensed as a therapist. Due to the accident and because I am moving, I will be applying for PsyD programs in a new location during the next app cycle. This is an assumption, but if my neuropsych testing comes back with no significant issues to report, what kind of disclosure should be involved in a grad school interview? The accident itself has given me a great deal of experience on being a Nueropsych patient in a locked ward as well as more knowledge on the brain - so that is something I want to show off in terms of experience during an interview. I will obviously tell them that I was in an accident, but if I have no cognitive problems at the time of the interview, how much disclosure on previous issues should be disclosed? I won't deny who I am, but I do want to be fair to the faculty as well as for myself.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[HomeworkHelper]

Boy, if there are no cognitive problems, I'm wondering whether it makes sense to report it. What I'm thinking of specifically is when people are applying to grad school have a history of psychotherapy or mental illness, according to my knowledge people are encouraged not to report it. It may seem like overreporting at the application/interview stage, and some people may be biased against taking someone who "may not be able to cut it"...whether or not it's true. When there's high competition for positions, people may use any criteria to turn you down. Even if there are mild cognitive problems that could be accommodated (by being engaged with disability services), I might still say don't report it initially.

 

[CheetahGirl]

First of all, here's wishing you a speedy recovery & hopes that all will return to optimum functioning!

You can be forthcoming in how the experience inspired you, but I would not disclose any information that appears pathological (i.e. any cognitive deficits or impairments). Certain personal experiences with therapy are fine (like ‘my parents sent me to a therapist after the death of my sibling and it introduced me to the profession'&#8230😉, but I would not disclose too much (like ‘my trials and tribulations of being bipolar have given me unique insight' 😱 )

One of the factors that admissions committees will assess is your stability to do the work AND FINISH THEIR PROGRAM in a timely manner, i.e. ego-strength (for those dynamic people). If you are already "starting behind the eight ball," then they will empathically wish you well, but will bid you farewell because of the risk of taking on students who disclose that they may have the potential to drop out (not saying that you would). It may seem discriminatory, but with a field that is so competitive, they will find some reason to turn an applicant away because of too much personal self-disclosure that did not demonstrate good judgment, strengths, and adequate tolerance for the rigors of graduate training.

Ask yourself: Is it relevant? Will it make you seem like a stronger candidate as opposed to someone who did not have that particular experience? If the answer is no, err on the side of caution and do not say too much more (i.e. "I had an accident that afforded me these unique experiences, but I'm fine now"...and move on.) You don't want to spend valuable interview time convincing them you are okay now.


Good luck!

 

[psychRA]

I'm going to agree with what others have said. If you don't absolutely need to disclose this information (and interviewers should not be asking you about medical issues), I would not bring it up. Programs are not supposed to discriminate against applicants on the basis of something like this, but I do think that in some cases, programs have valid reasons to be concerned, either because an applicant discloses something that raises doubts about their ability to succeed in the program, or because over-disclosure raises red flags about that person's boundaries and appropriateness. I have no idea how your particular case will come across, but the risks seem to outweigh the benefits.

Two reasons:
1. Spending time on the ward as a patient is very different from being on the ward in a professional capacity. While your experiences have certainly given you more knowledge and insight about what it's like to be in that setting, unless they gave you training on neuropsych testing and rehab psychology while you were there, it isn't directly relevant to your future training. If you learned useful information about brain function, I think it's fine to incorporate that knowledge if it's appropriate, but you could just as easily have learned about brain function by doing independent reading. You don't have to qualify your knowledge by explaining exactly how it was acquired.

2. I would want to steer clear of giving any indication that you might have cognitive difficulties that might impede your progress in the program. Yes, programs are required to make accommodations, and that's why you will definitely want to bring that up with the appropriate staff AFTER you've been accepted, assuming that you need accommodations at that point. Since your injury was 2 months ago, you'll probably continue to experience improvements in cognitive function over the next 4-10 months, give or take, yes? Since you don't know for sure what the picture will look like yet, there's no need to raise concerns at this point that may or may not be warranted. Even if your accident had been 10 years ago, I wouldn't necessarily bring it up, but the fact that you're still healing is all the more reason not to draw unnecessary attention.