GradPSYCH - January 2012 - (Page 23)
“The PhD is long and there are disappointments and roadblocks. If you are sufficiently excited by your project, you can dust yourself off and keep going.”
PaTricia DibarToLo Smith College
a new experience can show you what you really want to do.” was certainly the case for Andrada, who had the unfortunate If you do realize grad school isn’t the right place for you, don’t experience of having two dissertation advisers retire while he was take it as a failure. Sullo, for instance, is still undecided about working on his PhD. “I seemed to be getting a message from finishing, and has begun work on a book about math anxiety. the universe that the doctorate wasn’t for me,” he says, and he Having that project in her back pocket, she says, “is a reminder dropped out briefly as a result. Luckily, Andrada’s adviser came that there are other ways that I can still make a difference in out of retirement a year later and encouraged him to finish. people’s lives. It’s important to keep that in mind.” n Advisers need not retire to seemingly disappear. Lawless, for instance, found her adviser too intimidating and cold at first. Emily Wojcik is a writer in Leeds, Mass. Though she prided herself on her independence, Lawless quickly realized that she needed more one-on-one support. “I would have these super-freakouts where I thought, ‘I just can’t do this,’ and realized I needed to approach him, even though it felt hard to Graduate School of Psychology do.” After a grant she won was delayed, causing further issues with her research, Lawless finally got up the nerve to speak The course work provided cuttingwith him about her fears and struggles. edge academic theories that As a result, she says, he worked with her made me exceptionally prepared to secure the necessary funding and her to pursue my doctorate in clinical psychology.” dissertation is back on track.
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Quitters aren’t always failures
It’s not unusual to feel stressed, overwhelmed or even unhappy in a PhD program — most students will admit that they’ve wanted to give up at some point. However, you know you’re on the right path if these feelings pass relatively quickly, says DiBartolo. “The PhD is long and there are disappointments and roadblocks,” she says. “If you are sufficiently excited by your project, you can dust yourself off and keep going.” But if discontent lingers, pay attention — your feelings may indicate a need for reflection or even a break to try something new, says DiBartolo. “You can’t plan how your life will go ahead of time. Sometimes
Master’s degrees in: • Contemplative Psychotherapy • Somatic Counseling Psychology Concentrations in Body Psychotherapy and Dance/Movement Therapy • Transpersonal Counseling Psychology Concentrations in Art Therapy, Counseling Psychology, and Wilderness Therapy • Ecopsychology (low-residency program)
—Arielle Schwartz MA, Somatic Counseling Psychology, 1999
800-772-6951 www.naropa.edu/gsp Transform Yourself, Transform the World
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GradPSYCH - January 2012
GradPSYCH - January 2012
Contents
Psychology grad school enrollment drops, despite record numbers of applicants
Students leave their iPods at home during ‘crunch time’
Media Picks
Chair’s Corner
Odd Jobs
Research Roundup
Hot careers: Video game design and development
Friends and co-workers
Time to bail?
Scaling Mount Publication
Need to heal thyself?
Staying connected
Matters to a Degree
Power up your PowerPoint
Dissertations vs. diapers
Searching for answers
Bulletin Board
Jobs, internships, postdocs and other opportunities
The Back Page
GradPSYCH - January 2012
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