Reasons...

[Psyclops]

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How about a thread talking about why we got into the field, if it's not sharing too much. Psychology, and particularly clinical psychology, draws quite a bit of interest from alot of different people. Some have an interest b/c they want to help people. Others couldn't care less about helping, they are interested in human behavior from a scientific standpoint. Others seem to want to go into it because they enjoy the power it affords them, and they enjoy telling people what to do. Some do it because they want to figure themselves out. The list goes on. I think this is something everyone should really think hard about before going into the field.

For myself, I tend to be less motivated by the helping side and more by the science side of things. I just find it incredibly interesting.

Please share your reasons for being intersted.

 

[clinpsychgirl]

How about a thread talking about why we got into the field, if it's not sharing too much. Psychology, and particularly clinical psychology, draws quite a bit of interest from alot of different people. Some have an interest b/c they want to help people. Others couldn't care less about helping, they are interested in human behavior from a scientific standpoint. Others seem to want to go into it because they enjoy the power it affords them, and they enjoy telling people what to do. Some do it because they want to figure themselves out. The list goes on. I think this is something everyone should really think hard about before going into the field.

For myself, I tend to be less motivated by the helping side and more by the science side of things. I just find it incredibly interesting.

Please share your reasons for being intersted.

Personally, I don't think that wanting to "help" people and an interest in research are mututually exclusive. I think it's a bit troubling to attempt to categorize people with an interest in psychology in that way.

My story of why I became interested is a good example. Essentially, I became interested in the field due to experiences involving my brother and his struggles with mental health. He was placed into a special needs school where he was never appropriately diagnosed (they call it "emotionally disabled") and he had built-in "therapy" that consisted of playing board games. Myself and my working class family were at a loss for how to improve this situation.

From these experiences, I began to wonder about the clinical utility of DSM diagnoses, treatment outcome research, and more broadly, policy that effects the function of children with mental health needs.

I work now at a research center that's mission is rooted in the improvement of children's mental health. We take EBPs and impliment them into real world settings (like schools) in order to foster practice that is both empirically validated and feasible. We promote policy change regarding children's mental health at federal and state levels, and have met with success. I am so proud to be a member of this center.

Although I plan on starting a research oriented Phd program in clinical psychology this fall, I plan to stay true to my interest in dissemination of empirically-supported treatments for children throughout my career and continue to good work that my current place of employment has begun.

 

[soaringheights]

I got into psychology because I have been fascinated by the working of the human brain ever since I can remember. Though I believe that the biological processes of the brain play an important part in determining behaviour, I also believe that human cognitions play an equally, if not a bigger part, in determining the person that we become. As I got into the field, I became more interested in the manifestations of various psychoathologies. So, I hope to chart a quality career in psychopathology research, with an emphasis on the role of cognitions in the development of psychotic disorders.

 

[Psyclops]

Personally, I don't think that wanting to "help" people and an interest in research are mututually exclusive. I think it's a bit troubling to attempt to categorize people with an interest in psychology in that way.

One doesn't need to categorize, I take it you hate categorization anyway 😉. I was just listing some of the reasons....to get people started. Good post by the way.

 

[clinpsychgirl]

One doesn't need to categorize, I take it you hate categorization anyway 😉. I was just listing some of the reasons....to get people started. Good post by the way.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you intended to say that people could either value one or the other. At any rate... you raise an interesting topic.

With regards to categorization, I think it's important to assign people appropriate diagnostic labels (albiet all of the hooplah with the DSM-IV) so that they can receive appropriate treatment. For example, if someone had given my brother his proper diagnosis, he could then receive evidence-based treatment for his disorder.

I hate the "adjustment disorder" and "emotional disability" labels that are often part and parcel of school-based mental health care for fear of "stigmatizing" children. So it worked: The school officials didn't "stigmatize" him- but he didn't get proper care. Anyway... I guess this is a topic better suited for another thread!

 

[SaraL124]

I got interested in the field from a research standpoint. I read some articles and books by Dr. John Money who did the Joan/John twin study on gender identity in the early 70s and I became facsinated with that area of psychology. From there, I had a research assistantship in gender id. research with "hermaphrodites" and then segued into the field of sexuality with an emphasis on HIV prevention. From there I focused my interest on reproductive health in young adult women. I am still incredibly interested in gender id research, there's just not much of it going on at places I was willing to go.

 

[Psyclops]

It is a bit off topic...but that's ok lets start a new topic...I've already got the DSM one up there if you care to dig for it....I like when people talk about this stuff....Anyone else care to share thier reasons.

 

[Mell-Dogg]

Great idea for a thread topic! I got into the field because I'm very intropective and feel that I've been quite effective in analyzing the ways in which my cognitions, reaction to affective experiences, etc. have impacted my quality of life and ability to cope in various circumstances. I am also very quantitatively-minded, however, so I've long had a sense that research in clinical psych would enable me to use both my quantitative skills and creativity as well as to make a serious living out of my interest in the impact of "mental process" on quality of life. I want to help those who are struggling psychologically and am interested in clinical work. I think of the clinical side of things, however, as motivation and ideas for research; a reminder about why I'm doing research in the first place!

 

[Psyclops]

Wow, Mell, I think you summarized my feelings exactly. I'm going to give that a ditto.

 

[irish80122]

I will do my best to describe my motivation. I think my primary goal is to help, I am one of those people who just really want to help others in whatever way they can...but it is more than just that, I also want to understand. My research interest is suicide and prevention, especially among high-achieving college students (but just suicide in general too) because it bothers me to no end that people can look at their lives and not see any hope, especially since hope is almost always there. It angers me that people are losing their lives, by their own choice, just because they can't see what is there and what they have going for them (it won't be mentioned in applications but I was once there, hence why it really drives me).

My goal with clinical psychology is to better understand the workings of a suicidal mind and find better ways to identify those who are truly suicidal as well as better interventions so we can better treat suicidal ideation. I want to help, that is without question, but especially with this topic I want to know; I want to truly understand what is going on and how best to counter it. Anyways, that is why I am here...I hope I kind of followed the guidelines.