Kaitlyn's Path to Clinical Psychology

Hello everyone! My name is Kaitlyn, and I am currently a second-year clinical psychology doctoral student pursuing my Psy.D. at Midwestern University-Downers Grove. I earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in neurobiology and psychology with a certificate in criminal justice. My career goals include becoming a clinical psychologist for a forensic psychiatric hospital or a court system, performing clinical and forensic evaluations. I also hope to become an advocate for individuals with severe mental illness as well as an advocate for those in the criminal justice system suffering from mental illness. I hope to continue to conduct research throughout my career on the interaction of mental illness and the legal system as well as the role of spirituality/religiosity in mental health. While my future career is not based in a lab, it is one that mixes science, research, and clinical practice a great deal.

How I first Became Interested in STEM

The path I took to finding my role in the scientific community was not a very clear one. Growing up, I was a quiet, observant child who loved people but just wanted to learn about why everyone was so different. I had developed yearning to understand what makes people think and behave differently, especially those whose thoughts/behaviors were getting them into trouble. At the time, I could not see a job that would let me fulfil this desire. I was the type of person that could see myself pursuing many different career paths, but I always especially enjoyed my math and science courses. I started off my undergraduate career with an “undecided” major in the BioHouse Learning Community so I could explore my options and be surrounded by other first year students who shared my love for science. It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I decided to declare as a psychology major because it would give me the foundation I needed to understand human thought processes and behaviors, and more specifically, the mental illnesses that lead to atypical thoughts and behaviors. I still was not satisfied, so I also declared a neurobiology major so that I could gain a deeper knowledge base to better understand the biological influences involved in these atypical processes in mental illness. To broaden my interest with the criminal mind and criminal behavior, I added a criminal justice certificate to round out my undergraduate education.

As a first-generation college student who was very successful throughout high school, I felt a ton of pressure to be successful in college. Because of this pressure, I thought medical school would be the end goal that I would pursue after my undergraduate career. I was always hesitant in my decision to be on the pre-medicine track as it did not seem like the right place for me to find a job that would allow me to help people understand their thoughts and actions. I was in and out of pre-health clubs and attended many talks and seminars about applying to medical school. I learned as much as I could about how to be successful in the field of medicine, but as I reflect, I can see how unfulfilled pursuing medical school made me feel. I was constantly applying to research labs on campus but struggled to find one willing to take me on, as they were extremely competitive at UW-Madison. Finally, I earned at spot at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center as an undergraduate lab assistant helping on a project investigating the effect of dietary restriction on prolonging the lifespan of rhesus macaque monkeys. This was completely unrelated to my interests, but I wanted research experience and ended up loving my job and the unique opportunity it gave me. I also pursued volunteer opportunities through UW Health Hospital where I was able to assist with the Reach Out and Read program, reading to children at a pediatric clinic as they waited for their appointments. I then transitioned into the psychiatric unit providing companionship to patients in the form of talking, coloring or playing games.

I never truly felt that spark of excitement about my future until the middle of my junior year when I attended a panel talk on careers in psychology. This is where I first heard about the field of clinical psychology, both the Ph.D. and Psy.D. routes. I learned about the way evidence and clinical work are combined to focus on the research, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness. Finally, I felt I had found my place, and I realized this could be the career path for me. The opportunity that really solidified this interest was a summer internship I completed for my criminal justice certificate at Mendota Mental Health Institute, a maximum security forensic psychiatric hospital in Wisconsin. Here I was under the supervision of a clinical psychologist and the Psy.D. student completing her final doctoral internship. I was able to observe and participate in everything this student did including competency to stand trial evaluations, group competency restoration session, individual therapy, report writing, research, and research paper writing. I worked with an extremely rare population of men who were accused or convicted of a diverse set of crimes and were severely mentally ill and some behaviorally unstable. I was hooked, and I knew I needed to apply to graduate programs that would lead me to this profession.

Struggles on the Way to Success

One of my biggest struggles pursuing this field was deciding between the Ph.D. and Psy.D. clinical psychology routes. I had finally gotten into a psychology research lab investigating externalizing disorders, so I truly got a feel for research. My PI was a Ph.D. clinical psychologist with a passion for research so I felt pressured to pursue a Ph.D.. There are many misconceptions about these two pathways since the Ph.D. is typically a scientist-practitioner model with a primary focus on research and the Psy.D. a practitioner-scientist model with a primary focus on clinical work. Psy.D. programs are often viewed negatively as some consider them to be less rigorous than their PH.D. counterparts. I even had multiple Ph.D. clinical psychologist, with careers in research and academia, express these negative views of Psy.D. programs. However, after being involved in the lab, I knew my passion lied primarily with clinical practice. Through research of my own, it became evident that both programs ultimately receive the same qualifications, and so, I decided to pursue the Psy.D. route knowing that I would still be implementing research either way.

I often doubted my ability to be good enough for either program. I was warned that the odds of getting accepted to graduate school were very low, even lower for a student coming right out of undergrad. Yet somehow, I beat those odds. I applied and interviewed at many places and even had options to pick from. My goal was to find a Psy.D. program that also placed an emphasis on research that would properly set me up to be a competitive clinician and researcher in the future. This is what I found in Midwestern University. Not only did I feel comfortable with the faculty and the campus, but I knew the quality of education I would be receiving was exceptional. I also saw great opportunities to further pursue my desire to be involved in the justice system.

Next Steps to my Dream Career

While I am already into my second year of graduate school, I have a long way to go before I reach my goals. My dissertation is in the very early stages of development and my clinical work is just about to start. I am the vice president of my graduating class and continue to look for more opportunities to be involved in my program and my campus community. I continue to build my professional relationships with my faculty and peers who will one day be my colleagues, all specializing in different areas of psychology.

Advice to Anyone Interested in Science and Psychology

My advice to anyone looking to pursue a future career in science and psychology is to believe in yourself. I never thought I would be good enough or smart enough to make it to graduate school, but I really believe anything is possible when you set your mind to it. Studying hard, getting involved, stepping out of your comfort zone, and building professional connections really will get you far in life. Graduate school is not for everyone and that is ok, but your educational and personal growth do not need to stop after your undergraduate years. Once you find what you are truly passionate about, explore all your options until you find the career path that will fully embody those passions.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I know some people do not view psychology as part of the STEM community or part of the sciences in general, but through clinical psychology I was able to combine my love for science and people and pursue my dream career. If you have any questions or want to hear more about my journey or my field, please contact me!