Internship Term Paper

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1. An autobiographical statement
During my high school days, English had been my favorite subject. It was really very interesting to me the research topics that I used to present to the class after gathering evidence and support for the topic. I liked the idea of in-depth analysis and interpretation of the situation that’s why I decided to take up English as my major and then to use my analytical abilities in the field of law. This stemmed from my enjoyment over articulating a position, researching it, and presenting that position to others.

But it did not work out like that. I have a very concise view of people around me and I am a staunch believer that every individual possess its own identity and with it the view to look at the world. When my teacher in one of the literature classes analyzed the literary masterpieces of the western classical world and exalted these writings as being characteristic of the nature of man and his struggles to live and flourish within the world. I simply rejected the ideal of one man’s perspective applicable to all beings struggle. I considered other subjects as my major and looked for that in which my analytical and research skills are exposed. Then I selected principles of psychology courses that provided a broad overview of psychology. These classes were very exciting as they consisted of a significant review of major research findings in areas such as social psychology, abnormal psychology and human growth and development. It was invigorating to be learning new concepts that were not simply based on opinions but rather opinions subjected to the rigorous empirical validation.
During my course of study, I spent two of my summers working as a camp counselor with girls aged 10-12 and adolescent young women aged 13-17. These counseling sessions helped me a lot in developing a sense of community and group spirit within the camp. As for some it was first time camping out, homesickness was the major issue I dealt with. I found out during the session that I really enjoyed listening to the needs of others and providing comfort and encouragement.

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In my college final year I worked as a Recreational Therapist Assistant in a facility that provided a continuum of care. There was a retirement wing, assisted living wing, and nursing home wing. The facility also provided rehabilitation for individuals recovering from stroke, heart attacks, head trauma, and so forth.
In this capacity, I assisted in:
• Planning and enlisting staff and resident involvement
• Services to enhance resident quality of life
• Activities of daily living, such as eating, reading mail, and working on hobbies.
• Calming restless or anxious residents.

This was an experience in which I encountered residents from all walks of life, with varying socio-economic statuses, ages, races, genders, and levels of physical and mental impairment. The experience supported my desire to want to learn how to promote physical, mental, and emotional well being in an individual regardless of the perceived positive or negatives associated with a particular environment.

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Thereon, I decided to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology so that I may be able to apply the science of psychology in the context of clinical practice in order to help individuals suffering from psychological difficulty and to promote human health and well-being. With this goal in mind and desire to be an effective professional in the clinical psychology field, I applied for the doctoral degree. In my approach towards the science, I would like discussing a particular treatment approach with a client so that it may help them make an informed decision. A full-fledged research would help me cater to my client’s psychological difficulties.

2. Approach to case conceptualization and assessment informs your interventions
My primary theoretical orientation is cognitive-behavioral which is based on the premise that affect and behavior are largely determined by the way, in which an individual structures the world.
In developing the conceptualization I consider the following points:
• Client beliefs and the underlying reasons
• Etiology of the disorder
• Factors that impact the present psychological difficulties
• Liabilities associated with the impairment and with the effectiveness of potential treatment
• Coping resources that the client possesses that may be utilized in therapy (e.g., capacity for openness, good ability to establish rapport, high level of emotional support from family, intellectual resources and insight, and motivation for treatment).
 

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From this initial conceptualization of the client, I assess the approach to assist in forming clinical conclusions. As clinical determinations, such as diagnosis, are subject to the limitations of human judgment, including stereotypes, prejudices, and biases, the assessment tools can be helpful in compensating for clinical basis by providing objective, scientific pieces of data.
Functions that assessments perform include:
• Clarifying the treatment plan by helping the clinician confirm or disconfirm clinical hypotheses
• Assist with treatment implementation by suggesting treatment modality and goals and prognostic indications of the likely response to various forms of treatment
• The ability to assess pre-treatment and post-treatment outcomes.

Assessment also provides useful insights any symptomatic change in the behavior indicating that the procedure is not effective. Further, it also provides insight regarding diagnosis by suggesting diagnostic impressions, relative likelihood of the diagnosis, and eliminating important diagnostic rule-outs. The patterns of responses on the intelligence tests and/or personality measures provide evidence for and against a particular disorder (e.g., major depression versus dysthymia).

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When ruling out hypotheses regarding differential diagnosis and identifying appropriate treatment interventions I tend to use the scientific skills of critical thinking and problem. As an example, I often cross check, by finding other ways of asking about the same symptom. For instance, in an ADHD evaluation, I might ask other people, such as parents and/or teachers to verify the symptoms. Once the diverse data about the client has been organized according to the cognitive-behavioral orientation and an assessment has been conducted to evaluate clinical judgments, then the rationale or blueprint for treatment is formed.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a problem-oriented psychotherapy, which is aimed at modifying the faulty information-processing activities evident in psychological disorders. In this connection, I intend to incorporate a learning paradigm teach clients techniques of monitoring cognition, recognize connections between cognition affects and behaviors, substitute more reality-oriented interpretations for biased cognition, and to alter dysfunctional beliefs that predispose a client to distort his or her experiences.

I also take into consideration previous assumptions while treating clients utilizing a downward thought process in order to understand the underlying core belief of the present dysfunctional thoughts. I am more interested in using empirically validated cognitive and behavioral techniques and emphasize the empirical validation for the intervention (e.g., relaxation training, and assertiveness training, cognitive restructuring). This approach provides the client with the interventions that have been shown to be the most effective in treating their particular psychological disorder. There are steps, interventions, and actions through which the client can receive instruction and then perform to improve their present condition and future psychological behaviors.
 

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3. Experience with diverse populations
I have had the opportunity to work with people from a variety of backgrounds like African-American, Asian American, Hispanic, Caucasian, and Bi-racial/Multi-racial and representing different religious and spiritual values.

I also did many Training courses; the first one was the “Multicultural Psychology” that specifically focused on understanding various lifestyles, experiences and religions, and effects of cultural changes on behaviors. The group supervision has always included individuals from a variety of cultures, further enriching how I conceptualize my work as a therapist.
I learned basic interviewing and assessment skills for multicultural psychology assessment in the clinical interviewing, psychopathology, intelligence testing, and personality assessment courses. Further to enhance my knowledge and understanding of the issue I took courses in the clinical diagnosis and treatment planning, psychotherapies, and community psychology courses to deepen my knowledge and understanding of the therapeutic approaches utilized in multicultural psychology. Such as incorporation of culturally appropriate social and community supports available within the client’s community.

I have been exposed to diversity training and the importance of providing quality treatment informed by the client’s cultural and social background and values throughout my academic and clinical training. Conceptualizing the multicultural issues in clinical practice I first begin with the effects of ethnocentrism on a particular client. Afterwards, during the intake interview, I conduct an acculturation assessment. Further to the efforts, I develop a thorough treatment plan utilizing the acculturation information. The Treatment plan recommendations reflect an application of culture-specific intervention modifications.

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The assessment and evaluations and the formation of this approach of making a Treatment Plan has helped me in counseling and making therapeutic diagnosis. For example, there have been some studies that suggest that the interracial marriage of Caucasians occur most frequently with Asian Americans, followed by Hispanics, and then African Americans. In using this research in the treatment of a Caucasian couple whose adult child is considering marrying someone of a different race, I would attempt to offer respect and unconditional acceptance to allow the couple to honestly discuss their feelings and what it would mean to them if their child married within their race of outside of their race. I would also points out the possible implications of a marriage to an Asian American, Hispanic, African American, Native American or other racial/ethnic group.

My clinical experiences thus far has moved me to a deeper level of compassionate empathy and I have witnessed clients express his or her worldviews, beliefs, values, and interpersonal styles in his or her own unique manner. I have learned to meet each new client as a student, first, and a psychologist, second. It is my responsibility and privilege to acknowledge each client, as an individual with his or her own personality needs capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and resources. I must understand the bio-psychosocial needs that are met by an individual’s behavior if they are to effectively replace a maladaptive behavior pattern with a more effective behavior pattern. I then act as psychologist to apply my knowledge, experience, and training to adapt treatment protocols to the needs of the individual, as no single approach can fully cover all cases and no two individuals experience mental illness in the same way.

4. Research interests
Primarily, I am interested in conducted research in a concise and professional manner utilizing the scientific tools of applied clinical psychology in data analysis and interpretation. Rather, I must say that I have good experience in empirical research methods, thereby, integrating the clinical and scientific assessment procedures in approaching a problem at hand.

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Giving an example from my past three years of experience in this connection, of the marriage research team in which I was conducting the research on married couples. To start with I provided the couples the results of the telephonic assessments and the written reports for marital enrichment. This helped me in gaining in-depth knowledge of the behavioral outcomes of the married couples at different relationship development stages. A noteworthy fact is that the whole research was based on the interventions by Internet or by distant communication methods, which I believe is the present day need and means to be abreast with the technology.

At present I am using the online data collection procedures for the assessment of longitudinal marital vows. This research address the themes of changing behaviors and values in a matrimonial relationship, such as value of promises, commitments and satisfaction, and how these change over time as the relationship progresses. My research provides ways to explore further in to the issue of additional variables that characterize each stage like personality traits, and models for adult relationship developmental stages that would in future is likely to help a clinical psychologist like me to understand through proven scientific knowledge the adult clients. It further gives an insight into the their beliefs, values, perspectives and the stage of their marital relationship.

My research would then make it easier for me to conceptualize the various types of beliefs and thought and the paradigm shifts that a client may experience than the client who is newly married. My dissertation in an examination of treatment effectiveness of a self-administered intervention designed to promote forgiveness within a given population in outpatient physiotherapy, shows that I am inclined to integrate science and practice in the field of clinical psychology.

 

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