Following the path to a Doctor of Psychology and a life serving the psychological needs of others has not been an easy one, the omnipresent question of listening to my parents or to listening to my heart. In a high school introduction to psychology class, my teacher played a movie for us as a treat, the true story of an abused girl with a childhood so traumatic she developed multiple personalities, a story – admittedly extreme – but so compelling and fascinating, illustrating the power of the mind over the body. And my parents, so concerned, convinced me to pursue all the pre-med courses as a part of my undergraduate studies while I wanted to pursue psychology. Their traditional Indian thinking, culture, and a generation apart from mine, was closed to my plans of attending to patients’ minds rather than their bodies.
By volunteering my time at the temple and counseling teens who had recently emigrated to America, I could share my immigrant experiences, helping the teens adjust to the new school system brought me immense personal satisfaction, increasingly certain of my future as a psychologist. The interaction was exhilarating, and I found myself returning to these experiences in the future as my theoretical psychology base widened, rethinking the paths I took and how I would address them better in the future.
My experiences counseling teens at my temple inspired the direction of my graduate studies. I seek a whole immersion experience in the effects of immigration on attachment styles, domestic violence in minority populations, and intergenerational parenting issues in multicultural immigrant families. I am particularly dedicated to the study of strategic methods of therapeutic intervention. I see XXXX College’s systems approach to clinical psychology as an ideal fit for my graduate direction.
As a psychologist, I look forward to encountering many patients from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures and need to be prepared for this. Culture is a significant factor to consider as it affects human psychology and behavior, particularly trust. Coming from an Indian family, I was raised with one view of the world but have also immersed myself in American culture and am an amalgam of my dual experiences, having observed, and appreciated the myriad cultures that abound in this incredibly diverse nation.
For the last 14 months, I have been assisting Dr. XXXX with a pilot survey assessing a random sampling of people and their attitudes toward factory farms. More specifically, the survey addresses the relationship between preconceived notions of factory farms and the person’s decision to consider or act upon that knowledge actively. My role has been autonomous, collecting in-person surveys, analyzing data, and scripting a research paper. While the content of the study is not within my scholarly research interest, I have gained invaluable experience in the fundamentals of conducting a clinical research project, an experience that will aid me tremendously with my doctoral dissertation.
Since last year I have either had two part-time internships and a full course load or a full-time job and a full course load. Yet, I have maintained a near-perfect GPA. My commitment to my academics is clear from my transcript and resume. Being awarded the Ann S. Khel Scholarship indicates the concern and the energy I give to community service since it is a two-year scholarship from the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at City College of New York. It is awarded based on demonstrated commitment to public service. Working at the Jewish Board of Children and Family Services, the New York Psychoanalytical Society, and Northside Child Development in East Harlem has given me exposure to many minority and immigrant children while attending to a variety of special ed, developmental delays, behavioral, communicational, socialization issues, increasing my personal and professional satisfaction and joy. I have found enormous satisfaction in working with relationship dynamics between children and their mothers and helping them to develop healthy, fulfilling, and communicative relationships.
I anticipate a lengthy career as an effective psychologist. Ideally, I would like to work for or consult with a non-profit group or community agency assisting the socio-economically challenged. The ideal would be to aid in developing a non-profit organization that serves and encourages at-risk, minority, or immigrant communities, particularly women and children, to better their lives through healthier life choices; strategies of being. My most significant contribution to my patients will always be improving their emotional, mental, and psychological well-being.
XXXX College is my first choice for graduate studies because of its small classes, gaining one-on-one type attention from professors, and a more intimate experience in the academic community. More importantly, XXXX emphasizes not just the mind of their students but their spirits as well. Finally, I look forward to enjoying the breathtaking pastoral campus.
It is my enthusiasm, dedication, and critical thinking skills that have gotten me this far and have led me to this moment, most eager to succeed in your PsyD in Clinical Psychology program.
PsyD Clinical Psychology Statement of Purpose