Tag Archives: graduate school

Join the APA Student Twitter Team!

For those of you going to 2014 Convention in Washington D.C., APAGS would love to hear about your experience. As a member of the APA Student Twitter Team, you can share your thoughts and impressions about your experiences while at Convention. If you are at a session you find interesting, why not let other Convention attendees know? If you just met a psychologist whose research you admire, then share your excitement!

Example tweet. This could be you!

Example tweet. This could be you!

Throughout Convention, tweets from team members and others using the #APA2014 and #APATwitterTeam hashtags will be displayed on a large tweetwall for all attendees to see.

Perks of being a Twitter Team member include:

  • an exclusive ribbon
  •  an invitation to a social event with food and a chance to win some great prizes (GoPro camera, tablet, and more)!

All you need is an open and active Twitter account. To apply, please click here.

#StopSkippingClass! The need for social class stories in psychology education

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of President Johnson’s “War on Poverty” yet inequality is at an all-time high in the United States.

Within the field of psychology we continue to perpetuate middle class ideology in terms of clinical practice normed for middle class people, research subject selection, and theory development. Socioeconomic status (SES) as an area of cultural competency lags behind other multicultural areas. The SES literature currently does not even have congruent language for describing SES. Terms such as social economic status, cultural capital, tax bracket, and social prestige–along with others–are used interchangeably to describe and measure a spectrum of social class variables.

Within psychology, we continue to perpetuate middle class ideology.

Empirical issues aside, psychology has many social class issues within its training process. Graduate students have now lost access to their Subsidized Stafford Loans, which pragmatically translates to an $8,500 pay cut for graduate students across the country (prior to 2011, this was the amount allotted to all graduate students for a subsidized loan). Students previously had access to both subsidized and unsubsidized loans and could take out both or either in order to pay for school. Students are now only left with the unsubsidized option, which begins accruing interest the second the loan is taken out.

Students pursuing clinical, counseling, or school psychology continue to take on years of unpaid or underpaid internships and practica while attending school full time. In an era of an internship crisis, the application process has become outrageously expensive with some students spending thousands of dollars between interviewing and relocating. It is reasonable to conclude that those that can afford it are able to apply to more sites, visit more sites, and have in-person interviews, which may be substantively different than ones conducted virtually.

If this was not enough to squeeze psychology grad students, APPIC increased the cost of applying to internship sites this year, a 228% increase for clinical, counseling, or school psychology students applying to 15 potential sites. If you apply to 15 sites ($400) and obtain a match number ($110), you will have spent $510, which does not include travel or other fees. Similar to when affirmative action was struck down in my home state of Michigan, I worry that these financial barriers will continue to exclude individuals from low-income backgrounds from becoming psychologists.

The biggest issue for me as a member of the APA Committee on Socioeconomic Status and former APAGS Regional Advocacy Coordinator is the perpetual silence on this issue from students. The Budget Control Act of 2011 passed with little more than a peep from graduate students across the country.

The biggest issue for is the perpetual silence on this issue from students.

This blog post is an effort to break the silence. As the future of psychology, students need to begin openly discussing social class issues. If you feel strongly, please begin a dialogue about:

  1. Your own social class story/financial difficulties in graduate school.
  2. Clinical stories of how your work is impacted by social class variables.
  3. Discussions of how to incorporate social class into your research.

You can do this by responding to this post, submitting your own story to this blog, or tweeting using the hashtag #StopSkippingClass.

Kipp Pietrantonio
Kipp Pietrantonio

Editor’s Note: This blog was written by Kipp Pietrantonio, Ph.D. Please visit the Committee on Socioeconomic Status to learn more about efforts at APA to raise awareness of SES.

 

 

My life as a grad student with a chronic illness

APAGS recently spoke with Stacey Feuer, a fourth-year clinical psychology doctoral student, about her experiences of living for the past 17 years with Gaucher disease, an often invisible chronic, genetic illness characterized by its numerous effects on the body’s organs and systems.

Stacey Feuer.

APAGS: Stacey, please tell us a little about yourself.  

SF: I am currently at NOVA Southeastern University in South Florida and my focus is on health psychology, specifically the psychological impact of people living with chronic medical illnesses. Next month, I will be working with people living with HIV/AIDS during a service trip to Swaziland in Africa. I am excited to present a paper at the annual APA convention in August with Dr. Barry Nierenberg and fellow student Sarah Cooper on an integrative model we are developing to evaluate and treat medical patients. I am also involved in other research projects — one involving cognitive contributors to pain, and another on applying positive psychology to individuals living with spinal cord injury. My future plans are to continue working with people living with chronic medical illnesses as both a therapist and advocate.

APAGS: What are some of the challenges of having Gaucher as a grad student?

SF: It has been challenging in many ways. Many people, including faculty members, have difficulty understanding how this illness has impacted me because even at my sickest points I have looked perfectly healthy from the outside. As with any chronic illness that has exacerbations and remissions, it is sometimes difficult to make short- and long-term commitments with friends when your health may change from one day to the next. I have been very fortunate, however, to have some wonderful people in my life.

Even at my sickest points I looked perfectly healthy from the outside.

Returning to school as a full-time student has only been possible because of certain accommodations. This has been essential to keeping up with all of my required coursework and commitments by helping to reserve my energy and pain levels as much as possible. Since my treatments take approximately half a day at a doctor’s office, it has been necessary for me to not schedule other commitments on those days. I have learned to tell others that I am simply unavailable.

APAGS: Have any positives come from this experience?

SF: The biggest positive has been the opportunity to use my experiences to help others in similar circumstances. Isolation is one of the biggest contributing factors to depression and anxiety in people living with chronic illnesses. It is very rewarding to be able to have a positive impact on the lives of individuals who are living with ongoing negative circumstances.

It is very rewarding to have a positive impact on individuals living with ongoing negative circumstances.

APAGS: How has Gaucher shaped your decision to study psychology?

SF: Being diagnosed with Gaucher 17 years ago has had a huge impact on my decision to pursue my doctorate in clinical psychology. In my twenties, there were several years in which I was very sick, requiring several surgeries and being essentially bed-bound. During this time, I was never able to find a therapist who understood chronic medical illness. I eventually went back to school for my master’s degree in leadership development and healthcare; however, I realized that I wanted to have a more personal impact in the lives of people. This realization encouraged me to pursue my doctorate in clinical psychology and to concentrate on health psychology.

APAGS: How did Gaucher inform your decision to find the right graduate program for you?

SF: I chose NOVA because it met two basic criteria (besides academic ones) — the warm weather and proximity to a Gaucher specialist. Due to the Gaucher, I have significant bone damage. These bone issues are the primary source of my chronic pain and are exacerbated by cold, damp weather. In addition, I knew there was a Gaucher specialist 30 minutes from Nova. Most doctors are unfamiliar with rare diseases and this can make communicating with them about your needs very difficult. Knowing that I would be able to have regular access to someone very familiar with Gaucher was key.

APAGS: Thank you, Stacey. Finally, is there something you want to pass on to fellow graduate students who may have similar health challenges?

SF: I have met many students in my program who are also balancing a demanding doctoral program with chronic medical problems. We have been able to support each other most importantly by reducing that sense of isolation and validating each other’s experiences. We also swap “war stories” and share tips on how to get through the program (like discussing which professors are most likely to work with you), and remind each other to take care of ourselves.

We support each other by reducing that sense of isolation and validating each other’s experiences. We swap “war stories” and remind each other to take care of ourselves.

Recently, I decided to take an extra year to complete my coursework due to my health and general burnout. I learned that several others have made this same decision for similar reasons. There can be so much pressure to complete these programs in their prescribed timelines which often do not work for someone with ongoing health issues. I would strongly encourage other graduate students with similar health challenges to seek out peers, faculty and staff with whom they can talk about their challenges and who will help them complete their education in a way that best fits their situation. Having that support is so important and can make all the difference.

Disability and diversity in graduate school training

Why is it that this population is often left off the page? Where is the training in disability competencies?

According to the United States Census Bureau, the number of people with disabilities in the United States is 56.7 million, or 18.6% of the population. That is more than the percentage identifying as Hispanic or Latino (16.9%) and as Black or African-American (13.1%), and may be an under-count because reporting disability on a census survey is tricky.

Whereas disability rates are high, chronic disease rates are higher. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about half of all US adults (or 117 million people) have one or more chronic health conditions like heart disease, obesity, arthritis, diabetes, or cancer — and 25% have two or more such conditions.

Suffice to say, a lot of people with chronic illness and disability (CID) live in the US and make up its largest minority group. So why is it that in our discussions of multiculturalism, this population is often left off the page? Where is the training in disability competencies?

Disability is no longer the realm of the medical doctors. Regardless of which applied arm of the field you call home, whether it be health, rehabilitation, clinical,  counseling, or school psychology, your clients will be people with disabilities. In fact, depending on where you are in the country, it is more likely you will work more with this population than any other minority group.

If you’re moved to learn more, start by asking yourself where you fall on the ability continuum, and what privileges this affords you. It was my realization of the privilege I held for my ability — more so than all other privileged identities I possess — that drove my passion for disability and rehabilitation competencies.  One way that I develop these competencies outside of my program is through volunteer service in the community and at conferences and trainings. (On a side note, I believe disability advocates still have work to do to move CID closer to the fore even in those arenas that celebrate diversity, such as the biennial National Multicultural Conference and Summit, an excellent event held next January in Atlanta).

Recently, discussions and publications addressing intersectionality issues have incorporated disability a bit more, which is a great thing. At the same time, it is possible that the unique cultural aspects and experiences of individuals with CID get overlooked. Now is the time to advance the multicultural discussion to include disability as a diverse and cultural experience.

Please check out this great training video with Drs. Linda Mona and Julie Williams. Parts two and three of the video can be found — along with a host of other resources — at the APA Disability Issues Office webpage.

Disability as a Diversity Variable: A Call to Action within Psychology

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the topic and any experiences you may have had in disability competency training.

Philip Keck

Editor’s note: Phillip Keck is a Counseling Psychology doctoral student at Ball State University and the APAGS liaison to the APA Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology. 

Seven steps to self-advocacy

Wendy RasmussenFinding 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.]