Tag Archives: Advice

One year out: Life after the diploma

While I love seeing graduation pictures of friends and colleagues on Facebook, it makes me think what a sudden change life brings after the celebration wears off. It seemed like one day I was knee-deep in dissertation data, and the next day I was hanging my new diploma on the wall of my new job here at APA. The transition from graduate student to early career psychologist (ECP) is fast, and sometimes furious. I asked three graduates from one year ago how they navigated life after the diploma.

Meet the grads:

Rachel Becker Herbst is a 2013 graduate of the Counseling Psychology PhD program at the University of Miami and a postdoctoral fellow in Pediatric Primary Care at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Amanda Kraha is a 2013 graduate of the PhD program in Experimental Psychology from the University of North Texas and will be a lecturer at Indiana University East this fall.
Steven Kniffley is a 2013 graduate of the PsyD program in Clinical Psychology from Spalding University School of Professional Psychology and a Child and Adolescent Acute Services Psychology fellow at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. He will be an assistant professor in Wright State University’s School of Professional Psychology this fall.

What has surprised you thus far about being on the other side of the doctorate?

Rachel Becker Herbst and her advisor, Dr. Etiony Aldarondo.

Rachel: Life catches up with you! Relationships, finances, and life decisions once in deferral re-activate, bringing relief that you can devote time to them, but they require more effort than you anticipated.

Amanda: Ageism is definitely something that has surprised me. I’ve actually had staff try to kick me out of my classroom (during a class, unfortunately) because they assumed I was a student. I was told to expect resistance from students due to my age, but that just hasn’t been the case—overwhelmingly it has come from staff and fellow faculty.

Steven: The aspect of graduation that I have found most
challenging is the transition from a trainee identity to a professional identity. Inherent in the student identity is an expectation of evaluation, deferment of final decisions to a supervisor, committee, or program, and a learning focus rather than a doing focus. Within a professional identity, the evaluative component includes a fluid self-directed evaluation; the idea that one is fit to do the work of psychology independently.

What advice can you pass on?

Amanda Kraha.

Amanda: I’d have to say get away from the “graduate student” mentality as soon as possible. If you start acting like faculty, you will start thinking like them. This transition will make both phone and campus interviews much easier.

Rachel: Network with other ECPs (early career psychologists) and lean upon mentors to learn how to navigate your post-graduate life. Learn strategies for loan repayment and EPPP studying, strive toward work-life balance, and navigate your newfound identify. Use your post-doc year to solidify your professional and personal identity, goals, and desires. Finally, ask questions. Many professionals have taken creative routes to their current positions. They are typically open to using their own experiences to share life lessons and struggles.

Steven Kniffley.

Steven: I have had to come to terms with the idea that I bring to the table a valuable skill set that should be compensated appropriately.

Have a diploma yourself, dear readers? Leave your thoughts and advice in the comments!

Seven steps to self-advocacy

Finding your voice when things aren’t right

It wasn’t too long ago that I faced an ethical dilemma in my practicum, requiring me to quickly learn to speak up for myself and my clients. This was challenging on multiple levels: I knew I should speak up, but could I? What if the situation didn’t turn out in my favor? Would I be marked as a problematic student? Could I continue to work in that environment?

What I’ve found is that there are so many situations that we face as students that require self-advocacy skills—requesting to work with a faculty member, resolving conflicts, asking to get your training needs met, and so on. The earlier we gain experience in advocating for ourselves, the better prepared we will be to advocate for our clients, research participants, students, and colleagues in the future.

It’s true that no matter what job we end up with and where it is, we will face the need to self-advocate. Here, I use my own research, personal experience, and conversations with a long-time faculty member at Iowa, Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Altmaier to offer a set of steps to encourage you to be your own strongest advocate.

1. Start small!

When I asked Betsy if she could remember a time or event that was pivotal in finding her voice, she said, “After passing comps, I asked my advisor if I could call him by his first name.” On the surface, it may not seem like an earth-shattering request, but this bit of self-advocacy toward lessening the power differential positively affected their relationship. Betsy suggests starting out small and focusing on first steps, rather than worrying about your end goal. For example, if you’re interested in working with a faculty member on their research but are feeling a bit intimidated, try starting out by asking to meet and get suggestions. Get on their radar first and go from there.

2. There are resources available to you as a student–use them!

One of Betsy’s roles is to get students prepared for the internship match and entry process. She encourages students to get in the practice of locating and accessing resources before heading out. Internship sites often expect trainees to advocate for getting their training needs met. Already having that experience under your belt can make the transition process much smoother. Luckily, as students we have access to peer support, structured resources such as the university ombudsperson, and resources outside of our universities (thanks APAGS!).

3. Don’t let the fear of mistakes get in your way!

Most grad students have experienced the pressure of trying to be great at everything. Self-advocacy can seem particularly risky because it puts us in a vulnerable position. Again, this is where being a student is actually a positive: faculty members expect we’re going to make mistakes and learn from them. If your efforts don’t go perfectly, ask yourself: What did I learn from the experience and how can it inform future self-advocacy efforts?

4. You have skills, people!

Ever worked any kind of job? You practiced systems entry skills then, such as assessing your environment and your competence, locating resources, learning written and unwritten rules, and so forth. If you haven’t worked before, you’ve at least gotten into grad school because you’ve shown initiative, hard work, overachievement, and dedication. Realizing you already have the transferable skills you need can go a long way.

5. Know your audience!

Think like a marketer and know your audience. Tailor your message so that it’s relevant to the person or group you’re speaking to and is framed in a way that your audience can hear. This can help you feel more confident.

6. Know your product!

Similarly, know what it is that you’re trying to communicate inside and out.

7. Create your own support network!

Think about those on your side—fellow students inside or outside of your program, fellow clinicians at your practicum site, fellow lab mates, professional mentors, faculty members. Whether you’re advocating against ethically-questionable practices, or simply trying to work with a researcher you’re intimidated by, having a support network in place will be extremely helpful.

Getting in the practice of using your voice while still a student should benefit you throughout your career and personal life. Best of luck!

[Editor’s note: Wendy Rasmussen is a doctoral candidate in Counseling Psychology at the University of Iowa and an Ensign in the US Navy Reserve.]

Mentorship networks: What they are, what they are good for, and how they are built.

Mentorship is a term that psychologists of all stripes often use when having conversations about their professional development. It refers to a special formative relationship between a mentee (i.e., a person who is in the process of learning) and a mentor (i.e., a person qualified to teach). In such conversations, it is not infrequent to hear psychologists (and psychologists in training) refer to their mentor or –more importantly for the purposes of this blog- their mentors.

In this blog entry I would like to present you with an idea, self-evident to some but unknown to others, that a psychologist’s professional development is best served when mentoring occurs in the context of a mentee having a network of mentors rather than a singular person who serves in that capacity.

Why have mentors?

1. Beyond justification implicit in popular folk sayings (i.e., “two heads are better than one”), there are several reasons to ensure that your professional development is guided by more than one qualified person. Perhaps foremost among these is the simple fact that –barring conditions of divinity that are at the moment outside of the realm of empirical confirmation- no one person can know everything there is to know about every domain of your professional development. Having a network of mentors raises the possibility that the guidance you will receive in any one professional decision or domain is being provided by the most qualified person you know in that area.

For example, in my own career this has meant relying on relatively recent job applicants to provide me with practical guidance when looking for a job and on more experienced faculty members when looking to avoid common mistakes that job applicants make. Having access to both groups of mentors allows for a more complete picture of the job search process, and ultimately a better and more successful search. The same principle applies to most domains of professional development in both research and practice.

2. Another reason to make sure and develop multiple mentorship relationships is that –like most other relationships among human beings- each of these will wax and wane repeatedly over time, and sometimes because of factors outside of your control. Having multiple mentors raises the possibility of accessing someone who is ideally motivated to support you exactly at the time you need it.

The most poignant example from my own career came when a mentor that I most often rely on for advice on publishing and writing was faced with an unfortunate series of severe health and family problems. Demanding that mentor’s time and resources under those conditions would have been selfish and indelicate. Having other mentors to rely on in that area allowed me to receive the guidance I needed in order to continue meeting demands of my chosen career as an academic. It also freed my time so that my conversations with the burdened mentor were spent honoring and supporting her through difficult times.

3. Having multiple mentors can also allow you greater freedom and independence. I run into colleagues, both practitioners and scholars, whose reliance on one or only a few mentors has limited –rather than enhanced- their professional choices (e.g., “I wish I could apply for that job, but I don’t know anyone in that system” or “I can’t publish this, it goes directly against what X has been saying for years.”). I’ve had only a few experiences where I have felt as they do. It is -to say the least- unpleasant to feel that after all the work you’ve put into experiencing success in your field, your growth is now inordinately affected by the whims of a person who you have little influence upon.

Whenever I’ve discovered that my professional development environments make success contingent on unfailing alliance to one particular person or set of ideas, I have immediately begun looking elsewhere (a decision most always supported by the mentors in my network).

4. This brings me to a final benefit of mentorship networks, support. Given your condition as a human being developing a career, it is possible –if not likely- that despite the availability of an ample number of fantastic mentors you will make one or more mistakes regarding your professional development. At those times, it is wonderful to have available to you a number of qualified people who are not within your immediate professional context that can help you navigate back to a sound professional course.

In the midst of my worst professional decisions, it has been my mentors who have helped me plot the course out of those decisions, and whose support has led me to believe a successful resolution is possible.

I’m sold, how do I build a mentorship network?
Before discussing specific tactics, I’d like to present you with a thought regarding the attitudinal predisposition that might facilitate your success in this endeavor: “It is difficult, if not impossible, to be mentored without being humble.” Mentorship relations are premised on the fact that a person has something to provide you that you do not have. Valued mentors are often willing to give you that something (e.g., knowledge, a skill, experience, a professional contact, etc.) in exchange for nothing other than the satisfaction of seeing you avoid a pitfall they encountered or watching you develop. Demanding and entitled attitudes on the part of mentees (often soon to be “former mentees”) certainly seem to be antithetical to fostering a mentor’s willingness to continue to assist you. Humility, appreciativeness, and graciousness seem to best honor the benefits received from your mentors.

As for where to begin, I would suggest the best place to begin building mentorship relationships is in your natural environment. Among graduate students perhaps the most natural mentors in this environment are faculty and other advanced students. For lack of humility, I’ve seen younger students ignore incredibly helpful information provided to them by more advanced students. For lack of appreciation, I’ve seen advanced students and faculty stop sharing helpful information with “could have been mentees.” The medieval philosopher Dominic of Guzman is said to have written “appreciate all the wisdom you encounter, regardless of its source.” That is perhaps the attitude most productive to developing mentors. I’ve received incredible advice from people who I’ve not expected it from, often ones who I am not particularly personally drawn to. Making sure to note the appreciation I have for that wisdom (e.g., through written or verbal comments) has ensured more wisdom in the future.

A second natural place to seek mentoring is through programs and structures developed specifically for it. Many educational institutions, programs, and professional societies have formal mentoring or professional development programs. If you find one that works for you, you’ve found a rare commodity that you should not undervalue. (This blog I hope is one example).

Professional societies provide one final place to identify potential mentors and build mentorship relationships. The more you interact with people who share your interests, the more you are likely to find some among them who are willing to guide you. When you find these people, honor and appreciate them. I’ve met some of my most valued mentors and mentees (some of whom in turn have mentored me in specific domains) sitting in the audience of a professional presentation or over lunch at a workshop.

Some final observations
Here are some things I’ve learned in the road to developing and maintaining my own mentorship networks.

1. I repeat, and will repeat it again and again, humility and appreciation go a long way. If a person is helpful to you, let them know it. A doctoral student recently came into my office frustrated that I had stopped giving her direction as I did before. Her frustration was surprise to me as I had scaled down my advice based on the lack of feedback from her about it. It is my job to teach all students at my institution. It is my pleasure and privilege to be able to mentor some. I am more likely to mentor students from whom I get a sense my mentorship is valued.

2. Initiative can work miracles. I once wondered out loud why a friend of mine got advice from one of our mentors that I –despite having more contact with this mentor- did not get. Her answer: I ask. Lesson learned, I now ask. I don’t always get an answer (or the answer I want), but –unsurprisingly- the net amount of times I do get an answer has increased exponentially.

3. Not everyone can be a mentor to everyone else. There are several professionals that I respect and admire who I’ve hoped to develop mentorship relationships with, but these have never materialized. While the reasons for this may be varied (e.g., lack of time, lack of personal compatibility. etc.), one thing I’ve learned is not to take it personally. Sometimes the inability to form a mentorship relationship has stemmed from an identifiable reason that helps me grow, others it has not. In either case, it is good self-care practice to learn as much as you can from that event and then proceed to move on with your life and professional development.

In my own life, I often refer students and more junior colleagues who seek advice or consultation from me to someone else. It is not because I do not like or value these people. Much to the contrary, it is because I value them that I refer them to someone who can serve them better than I can at the time.

4. The way you make mentors will likely match your personality. I have a colleague (that is at times a mentor to me) who has the enviable ability to walk up to seemingly anyone and enlist their help. Although I am sure that the process is at times effortful for her, observed from the outside it seems graceful and uncomplicated. As much as I’ve tried to develop that skill and will continue to work at it, it is still something that does not come naturally to me. However, for reasons I don’t fully understand I seem to do well at being an effective contributor to committees, workforces, and other such groups. It is in the context of these that I have forged many of my mentoring relationships. I have other colleagues who develop mentoring networks through social engagements at conferences such as informal lunches, tours, etc.

While it is likely wise for all professionals to take advantages of as many opportunities to develop mentoring relationships as they are afforded, my point is that not everyone will excel at the same types of opportunities. Find your strength and exploit it.

Best of luck building your mentorship network, managing it is a whole different issue (and perhaps the subject of a future blog entry).

Editor’s note: This post was written by I. David Acevedo-Polakovich, PhD; Assistant Professor; Central Michigan University. It originally appeared on the Multicultural Mentoring blog by the Society of Clinical Psychology’s Section on the Clinical Psychology of Ethnic Minorities. (APA Division 12, Section 6). It is reposted here with generous permission. Over time, you will see all eight original posts on gradPSYCH Blog.

New support videos for LGBT college students on Youtube

The APAGS Committee on LGBT Concerns produces short Youtube videos on topics that frequently arise for graduate students related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender topics. Just last week, the committee debuted two new videos. Check them out below and visit the committee’s training video page for two others.

Seeking support as an LGBTQ student in college — Discusses how LGBTQ students can feel comfortable in college and find various sources of support on and off campus.

Navigating discrimination as an LGBTQ student in college — Discusses stigmatization and discrimination that LGBTQ students might face on their college campuses, and offers different ways students can address them.

5 Lessons from Harry Potter to Deal with an Advisor who is Like Voldemort

Mattu, 2011

So what do you do if your advisor is as evil as Voldemort?

Graduate school is full of enough challenges and hoops to deal with a toxic advisor. But just as Harry Potter was able to overcome Voldemort, you can graduate with your degree, if you think about the allies that Harry developed over the course of the series. These allies all taught him something important, and you can too by discovering people who are like them in your life.

1) Get Hermione on your side – You need a smart peer on your side who can give you feedback on drafts of your proposal, or challenge you with tough questions before your defense. You want someone who can give you truly constructive criticism, without being mean about it.

2) Find Ron – Everyone needs a best friend, with whom you can commiserate after a tough test or a difficult meeting with your advisor. Social support is so important on the journey to earning your degree! Find someone whom you trust.

El-Ghoroury, 2012

3) Seek Dumbledore – As the headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore often went out of his way to protect Harry (even if Harry didn’t know it). It helps to have an ally among the faculty in your department, particularly someone with some power, such as the department chair or the director of training. An ally who is well connected can be a buffer for you in your interactions with your advisor, particularly on committees.

4) Discover Remus Lupin – While Remus Lupin was Harry’s teacher for one year, the most important thing he taught Harry (the “expect patronus” spell) was something he taught outside of class. Find a mentor who is not at your school who can be a source of support as well as instruction. Perhaps you can find a mentor from your undergraduate institution, or from a conference.

5) Reach out to Sirius Black – Although his parents were deceased, Harry had a godfather, Sirius, who played an important role of loving Harry. Reach out to your parents or family for support in grad school, even if all they do is empathize with you and tell you it will get better.

If you can find these types of allies, you will be well on your way to handling a tough advisor.

There is just one last question to consider: Is your advisor Voldemort, or is he really Snape?

El-Ghoroury, 2012

In the books, Harry is convinced that Snape is a bad guy and out to get him, but he learns in the final book that Snape had been protecting him the whole time he was at Hogwarts. Is your advisor really trying to harm you, or are the challenges he’s giving you merely lessons to make you a stronger psychologist?

If these allies don’t help, you may need to learn some spells. Expelliarmus!