I was told by a psychologist who graduated my program that my personality is more suited for working with criminals, but my passion is in helping people suffering from SMI which is from my own experience with it, as it is rampant in the household I am from. I am rather analytical and mechanical, and the curative factors of empathy, understanding, listening, basically the therapeutic alliance, will be a great challenge for me in the later years of practicum. I am a die-hard academic, I chose the scholar-practitioner model (Vail) because I am experienced in research in psychotherapy, as my honors thesis was accepted in that area, and I am soon to be working on getting it published, and I had the highest GPA in my department upon graduation from undergrad...so I was on equal footing for research or practice, and after seeing so much politics in research, and enjoying scholarship more, I said practice. I was offered a Ph.D. and a Psy D, also an MS in clinical rehabilitation counseling. I chose Psy D.
What I am known for is soaking up books and articles like a sponge, basically being a voracious reader, but I am also creative and have strong critical thinking skills....maybe too strong, stronger than my feelings and empathy are. I was well-trained in research, and my habit of thinking critically is my greatest strength (I mean I can butcher articles and come up with research questions easily), yet it is all I know as of now. I was told by a professor in undergrad that my personality will change in graduate school, which is odd because I always read that personality is relatively stable, and I am at a serious fork in the road.
I don't know whether my empathy for people suffering SMI or my intense critical thinking habits should be the basis for a career. I was planning on working in a mental hospital, specifically with schizophrenia patients, but I may be of better service dealing with dark pathology. My research has been on a stigma intervention, which is reflective of my narrow empathy, which is almost limited to people with MI, and I just sort of don't know where to go from here. I am capable and motivated, but I do not know what I should be setting my sights on for a career.
Advice from forensic psychologists and SMI specialists is most welcome- and thank you.
As a side note, I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, but my case is well-controlled with treatment and insight. I currently am a leader in an online support group for schizophrenia patients, and I have something that most others do not have: the right to say "I understand." when told the horrors of psychosis. That is where my empathy comes from.
The colder, calculating, critical side comes from being a former Krav Maga fighter. Krav Maga is a science-based hand-to-hand combat system. It was prep for the military, but then I came down with a psychotic break and retired.
What I am known for is soaking up books and articles like a sponge, basically being a voracious reader, but I am also creative and have strong critical thinking skills....maybe too strong, stronger than my feelings and empathy are. I was well-trained in research, and my habit of thinking critically is my greatest strength (I mean I can butcher articles and come up with research questions easily), yet it is all I know as of now. I was told by a professor in undergrad that my personality will change in graduate school, which is odd because I always read that personality is relatively stable, and I am at a serious fork in the road.
I don't know whether my empathy for people suffering SMI or my intense critical thinking habits should be the basis for a career. I was planning on working in a mental hospital, specifically with schizophrenia patients, but I may be of better service dealing with dark pathology. My research has been on a stigma intervention, which is reflective of my narrow empathy, which is almost limited to people with MI, and I just sort of don't know where to go from here. I am capable and motivated, but I do not know what I should be setting my sights on for a career.
Advice from forensic psychologists and SMI specialists is most welcome- and thank you.
As a side note, I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, but my case is well-controlled with treatment and insight. I currently am a leader in an online support group for schizophrenia patients, and I have something that most others do not have: the right to say "I understand." when told the horrors of psychosis. That is where my empathy comes from.
The colder, calculating, critical side comes from being a former Krav Maga fighter. Krav Maga is a science-based hand-to-hand combat system. It was prep for the military, but then I came down with a psychotic break and retired.