Yearly Archives: 2014

I Have a Condition?

Hello everybody!

This is my ever first blog post. I am extremely new to the blogging world, which means that I have plenty to familiarize myself with! I’ve decided to start blogging for two main reasons:

1) It’s something I have always (well, since blogging became a thing) wanted to do but never had the courage to. Recently however, a dear friend adamantly exclaimed, “Lisa honestly! If I can do it, anyone can do it!” So, here I am (let’s see if she was right!)

2) I need all the writing practice I can get, given that I am merely 1 month into a 4-year PhD program!

The blog is called PhD Imposter purely on the basis of the following true story:

When first considering the idea of actually undertaking a PhD, I was having a conversation with my then undergraduate thesis supervisor and my now PhD supervisor/mentor. She was in the middle of listing the various reasons why she believed that I would be a suitable PhD candidate (none of which I agreed with). One can only take so many encouraging commendations, and so I couldn’t hold it in any longer! I blurted out, “Okay, I really think that you think that I’m better than what I actually am.” In those exact words.

After asking me to clarify, I did, and she paused for a moment, then looked at me earnestly. I honestly thought that the next words to come out of her mouth would resemble something along the lines of, “Yeah, maybe you’re right, forget what I said, best of luck with your future career.” Instead she uttered, “You have a condition you know – and there’s a name for it”. “A condition?” “Yeah, a condition”.

Ashamed, the first thought to pop into my mind was not, “I wonder what is this condition could be?,” but rather, “I wonder if there’s a pill that I can take to make it go away.” I immediately envisioned a morning fixture, like a chewable vitamin C pill, that would eradicate the condition over a period of time. Filtering my thoughts before I spoke, I decided to err on the side of caution and simply ask, “So…what’s the condition?”

“Imposter Syndrome”, she replied.

I must have had the unfortunate look of a panic-stricken little Albert (post conditioning), just as he encountered his very first white furry object.

Once she began to explain, I was utterly dumbfounded. I don’t know if any of you have ever had that experience when it feels like somebody is reading your mind and communicating your exact thoughts right back to you – it is both liberating and somewhat bizarre. It was as if she had been the homunculus inside of my head since the beginning of my academic career (i.e., primary school, age 4). The more she spoke, the more amazed I became. After all, this was my secret that she was unearthing, this dreaded secret that I didn’t really belong in the building at all – everybody just thought I did! I couldn’t believe that there was a name for it! And better yet, I couldn’t believe that other people, particularly in academia, felt this way. I immediately began to laugh at myself!

I decided to do some searching (largely in hopes of finding an immediate and effective cure!) Originally coined by Clance and Imes (1978)*, the term itself “is used to designate an internal experience of intellectual phonies, which appears to be particularly prevalent and intense among a select sample of high achieving women” (originally their research focused predominantly on career women). Today, most people would recognize the expression as signifying a ‘pathological’ inability to internalize one’s own achievements, such as when people believe that their successes are merely due to luck or chance, and consider themselves less able and less intelligent when compared to their peers. As such, they begin to feel out-of-place amongst their colleagues, ultimately coming to believe that they do not belong where they are (hence the term ‘imposter’).

I must admit that to this day an enormous part of me still longs for a pill that could be taken every morning to eradicate this debilitating condition. But alas we, self-proclaimed imposters, must chew our vitamin C pills instead and struggle on!

‘Til next time.

*Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. (1978). The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention. Psychotherapy Theory, Research and Practice, 15(3), 241-247.

Editors Note: Lisa Murphy is a doctoral student in the School of Applied Psychology, University College of Cork in Ireland. This post was co-published on her blog: PhD Imposter. For more reading on the Imposter Syndrome, check out the gradPSYCH article, “Feel Like a Fraud?”

How to Succeed When You Lead

Serving as the Chair of APAGS was an incredibly formative professional development experience. In reflecting on the year, with its successes and challenges, several leadership lessons emerge that I will take with me. I hope they are as helpful for you as they have been for me in learning what it means to be a leader, and to lead.

Be Principled

Leaders often face an array of complex, difficult, and even controversial decisions. A guiding framework for making decisions – especially difficult ones – is to align with both your individual principles and the values of the group you represent. You are more likely to make good decisions when you can clearly articulate the principles and the rationale behind them.

Say No

We create strategic plans and mission statements to give us direction and help us decide what we hope to achieve and how to get there. Equally important, they also should help you decide what not to do. Your group will function best when it sets clear priorities and engages in activities that are in alignment with those goals. This means learning to be comfortable saying “no” to opportunities or projects that detract from your ability to realize your vision.

Embrace Disagreement

Disagreement can be uncomfortable and difficult to manage. Yet disagreement is a critically important part of group process. Disagreement usually means that you are discussing something important. Groups can move forward constructively in the absence of consensus. In fact, if you wait for everyone to agree, you may never get anything done. Leading means being willing to move the group forward towards a solution everyone can live with. And working through disagreement to find common ground results in the best and most thoughtful outcomes.

Be Willing to be Unpopular

Being a leader means being willing to be both loved and hated. Leaders make difficult decisions, and receive both praise and criticism for their actions. At times, the right (principled) decision may not be a popular one, or may cause friction with other groups. Leaders need to find the courage to fight for what they believe in, even when there is some risk involved. Stand by – and share – your principles and what you believe is right and why. This is the definition of good leadership.

Communicate & Collaborate

The importance of communication and collaboration cannot be underestimated. Groups in power are most often criticized for a lack of transparency in their actions and decision-making. Decisions will be tough, and decisions will be unpopular. Communicating openly and clearly with your constituents is your greatest protection against mistrust and criticism. When difficult decisions are made, explain your thought process and your rationale (and yes, sometimes even your struggles in making the choice). Transparency and a collaborative style will go a long way towards earning trust, even when you make decisions that may at times be controversial.

I hope these reflections are helpful, and that you will consider embarking on your own leadership journeys. Being involved in the field is a professional responsibility, and being a leader is a great way to contribute and use your skills. Leadership can be challenging, but it is incredibly rewarding and meaningful work. We can only make change happen when we sit at the table, and our voices are powerful – if we choose to use them.

Visit the APAGS Governance webpage for more information on leadership opportunities.

Being an Undergrad Isn’t Like Being a Grad Student

Do you know what to expect as you transition from college to graduate school in psychology? (Source: “Graduate School of Social Service Diploma Ceremony” by Bruce Gilbert on Flickr. Some rights reserved. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.)

There is a lot of advice out there about the transition from high school to college. What I have rarely seen is any discussion about the many changes students face when they transition from college to a Master’s or Doctoral program in psychology. Here, I provide some personal reflections on some of those changes.

Commuter life
Living on campus as an undergrad, I had the opportunity to become involved in many extracurricular activities, stay out late around campus, get out of bed just in time for classes — and with luck, still be an “A” student. As a graduate commuter, there seemed to be less of an opportunity to feel as connected to individuals and even the college as a whole. I had to really put in effort to get to know people outside of class. It was easier then to just grab a cup of coffee with someone after class or possibly run into them in the residence hall. While my graduate school cohort made a conscious effort to get together throughout the year, it many times took a lot of planning!

Program Size
As a graduate student, there was also a feeling of being such a small presence on campus. In college, I attended a large state school with over 20,000 students. Later, I had to get used to only about 60 people total in my program or only 7 in my cohort. I was no longer one of thousands of undergraduate students. I’m not saying that one is better or worse but it was definitely a shift!

Workload
My undergrad schedule consisted of mostly large classes where we completed many readings, took multiple choice exams, wrote 2-3 page papers, and had the very rare group project. Conversely, I like to think of most of my graduate school classes consisting of the 3 P’s: papers, projects, and presentations. I have had greater opportunity to collaborate with others which can be hard to coordinate due to vastly different schedules. In terms of papers, if your writing skills aren’t up to par before you start graduate school, they will definitely be developed by the end! Writing a 10-15 page paper doesn’t feel like such a daunting task as it once did. Graduate school isn’t about being able to memorize rote facts towards an exam anymore. Being in graduate school is one step closer to being in the profession: So much of what is learned in the classroom is directly applicable to the future.

Being in graduate school is one step closer to being in the profession: So much of what is learned in the classroom is directly applicable to the future.

Work-Life Balance
In grad school, I’ve struggled the most with work-life balance and maintaining relationships. Trying to juggle 2-3 days of externship, working part-time as an adjunct at a local college, taking 4-5 classes per semester, and conducting research really made it difficult to even begin to have any type of social life! When I was in the earlier years of my program, my friends would always invite me out and most of the times I had to decline. As the years progressed, the invitations came less frequently, which was a bit disheartening. Having social support is really important and I’ve come to learn other ways to keep in touch with friends while also getting my work done.

As a minority student
One of the interesting aspects I’ve gotten used to is being more of a racial and ethnic minority in school. Although in my head I knew the statistics about the representation of students of color within graduate psychology programs, it still felt surprising to me how salient my minority status has become to me. Being a Black graduate student, it has become more important for me to get involved with issues of diversity than it did as an undergrad. While I had been involved in diverse student groups, I felt more compelled to become active in groups such as the Association of Black Psychologists and APA Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race) in order to receive support, network, and develop both personally and professionally.

Overall Advice
My suggestion is to put in the effort to maintain your relationships, hobbies, spirituality, and your sense of self in graduate school. While getting into a program is a great achievement and deserves your best, you can only give your best when you feel at your best so it’s important to do whatever needs to be done to stay on top of your game!

Editor’s note: Allyson Regis is a fifth-year counseling psychology doctoral student at Fordham University. For more on the leap from undergraduate and graduate training, read this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. To participate in a November 6, 2014 webinar with APAGS on finding and evaluating the right graduate program for you, sign up here.

Be the First Student Voting Member on this Professional Practice Committee

CAPP, the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice is the main governance group over the Practice Directorate and the management of the APA Practice Organization, a 501(c)(6) organization that advocates on behalf of professional psychology. APAGS has typically appointed a liaison to attend CAPP meetings as a student representative. However, some structural changes were made to CAPP that will begin in January 2015, including the opportunity for APAGS to elect a graduate student member to serve and vote on CAPP.

This is an exciting opportunity for students interested in advocacy at the federal level, and this is the first time ever that an APAGS member has been invited to be a member of CAPP. This opportunity is to serve as a full member of CAPP, with voting privileges.

Responsibilities for serving on CAPP include the following:

Attendance at 3-4 business meetings per year, typically held at the APA building in DC or in a hotel in DC. Room, board, and ground transportation will be funded. Meetings are typically Friday/Saturday.
Attendance at State Leadership Conference, a 4 day conference in March, culminating with visits to your state’s Congressional delegation to advocate on professional issues in psychology.
Participation on the CAPP listserv, where business discussions occur between meetings.
Participation on conference calls that are scheduled on an as-needed basis.
Preference is for a two year term on CAPP. Term would begin January 2015.

Eligibility

Requirements for applicants:
- Must be currently enrolled in a doctoral program in clinical, counseling, school, or combined/integrated psychology (a program that will allow the student to be eligible for a license in psychology).
- Must graduate no sooner than May 2015.
Preferences for applicants:
- Applicants from APA accredited doctoral programs.
- Experience with advocacy in psychology (through APAGS Advocacy Coordinating Team, State/Provincial/Territorial Psychological Association, APA Division, or other group).
- Interested in promoting professional issues in psychology.
- Experience in leadership in psychology organizations.
- Ability to speak comfortably/confidently among groups of mid- and late-career professionals.

Application Process

Please provide the following information in one file (Word document or a PDF):
- Cover letter expressing interest in the position, eligibility and qualifications for the position, leadership experience, ability to commit to the responsibilities, your student status (when you anticipate graduating), and any other information you feel is important (750 words maximum).
- Condensed two page curriculum vita, highlighting goodness of fit for this position.
Submit your application to Jessica Andrade, jandrade@apa.org.
Deadline for applications is NOON eastern standard time, October 22, 2014.

Selection Process

A group of 5 members of the APAGS Committee will review applications and provide up to three applications to the full APAGS Committee to vote on.
The 9 members of the APAGS Committee will elect one of the applicants at its Fall Business Meeting, October 31-November 2.
Notification of decisions will occur on or before November 7, 2014.

What’s in a Name? An Inclusive Name for an Inclusive Committee

A few members of the committee formerly known as CLGBTC strike a pose at APA’s 2014 Convention in DC, from left: Natalie Alizaga, Nick Grant, and Julia Benjamin. (Source: the author).

The APAGS Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns disagrees with Juliet’s assertion in Romeo and Juliet that “a rose by any name would smell as sweet.” Research indicates names do have the power to affect the way we perceive and interact with reality and the way we see ourselves and those around us.

Our committee believes in the importance of names—which is why we changed ours.

Our name started as the “Task Force on Sexual Minority Concerns,” which then changed to the “Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns.”
In 2001, we became the “Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns.”
Over the past few years, the committee has become aware that individuals are increasingly using labels beyond “lesbian,” “gay,” “bisexual” and “transgender” to describe themselves. We contemplated incorporating additional specific identities to our name, but felt the “alphabet soup” created by the acronym used to represent those identities would be increasingly unwieldy and confusing.
After much discussion regarding how to shift our committee name to represent the diversity of our student members, we decided to change our name in September 2014 to the “Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.”

This mirrors what’s happening outside of APAGS. Some groups have begun shifting away from adding more letters to their acronyms and toward using more inclusive phrases like “Gender and Sexual Diversity.” This can be seen elsewhere in APA; in March 2014, APA Division 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues) launched a new quarterly peer-reviewed publication titled Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.

When we introduced the idea of our own name change to the full APAGS committee, it was unanimously and enthusiastically approved. Thus, as the new Chair of this committee, I am very excited to present to you the “Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity!”

I am very excited to present to you the Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity!

Since its foundation 22 years ago, this group has worked to support graduate students who identify within the spectrum of sexual orientation and gender diversity by advocating for their concerns and providing educational, personal, and professional development opportunities. That hasn’t changed, but our name has.

Our website will show our new name soon, but we wanted to let you all know even quicker! Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in getting involved with the committee or if there are ways we can support you in your graduate training. We are here for you.

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