Class of 2011!!!

I looked at the requirement for the MA in Counseling Psychology - Holistic and I was surprised to see it wasn't too bad. Here are the following requirements:

1. A transcript of the conferred BA degree and any post Bachelor credits or degrees

2. Personal statement, two copies of a statement that is 5-to-10 double-spaced, typewritten pages describing any personal or professional growth work or events that have shaped the applicant’s life, reasons for applying to the area of specialization, any study (academic or otherwise) pursued in this area of interest and future professional and personal goals. 

3. Letters of recommendation are strongly recommended, but not required. Letters should be from friends,
professional associates, teachers, supervisors or others who can comment on emotional, spiritual, intellectual and practical development, as well as assess capacity for graduate study in the degree area.

4. Finally, the one that I am a bit nervous about, an admission interview.

I am going to be working on my personal statement this summer because I plan to apply in Spring 2012. I feel like a deserve a little break for now! I want to save up some money and take a nice vacation before dedicating most of my time in school again. Right now I am just looking forward to graduation tomorrow!!! I cannot wait to cross the stage and feel that adrenaline rush I always get during graduation! This is my last post and I will like to end by saying, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2011!!!! 

getting closer

So, as I am getting closer and closer to graduating (only 5 days away) I am starting to realize that maybe having a B.A. in Psy won't be so bad. There are many fields you can go into with a B.A. in Psy, but of course most of them require a Masters. I already had an idea that would be the case, but I think my disappointment came from not knowing what field I wanted to go into to. After doing a lot of research I narrowed down my options to M.F.T. (Marriage Family Therapist) or M.A. in Counseling - Holistic. I know in my last blog I said I have been doing some research on J.F.K. University and was going to talk more about their M.A. in Counseling, and indeed I found out a lot about their Masters program in Counseling. First of all, in order to get a Masters in Counseling you need to chose from one of the following programs: Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology - Holistic or Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy

Students in the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology – Holistic program must select from one of five specializations:

• Integral Psychotherapy
• Somatic Psychology
• Transpersonal Psychology
• Holistic Studies (an integration of somatic and transpersonal psychologies)
• Expressive Arts                        

The program I found the most interesting was, The Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in holistic studies which prepares students for careers as psychotherapists with a special emphasis on transpersonal and somatic approaches to psychotherapy. MOST IMPORTANTLY it meets the educational requirements of the California Marriage and Family Therapist license. Which magically happens to be my other option!!!! I was super excited for this!! It is a win/win situation for me :-)
On my next post (probably one of my last 2 posts, sad face) I will be reviewing the requirements for this program so I can get started on my next step, applying!!

John F. Kennedy Univerisity?

I've been talking to one of my coworker about grad school, she herself has a masters in Eng, so I have been trying to get all the advice I can from her. Today when I went to work she gave me an add she found in the newspaper about a school called John F. Kennedy. It says they offer masters in Clinical and Counseling Psychology, M.F.T., and Sports Psychology. Also, in big bold letters it says CHANGE YOUR FUTURE.TODAY. Can John F. Kennedy do that exact thing for me? So when I got home I took it upon myself to do more research on that school. This school has campuses in Pleasant hill, Berkeley, Campbell, and Costa Mesa. Overall, I was satisfied with what they had to say about their masters in M.F.T.,the Master of Arts (MA) in Marriage and Family Therapy course of study fulfills all educational requirements for the California (CA) Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) license as prescribed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), and with additional coursework, the requirements of the CA Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) license as well. These programs prepare students for future clinical work in private practice settings as well as county and/or community based agencies. This sounds more up my alley, in their website http://www.jfku.edu/ they go more into detail and provide many other doctorate and master's programs they offer. Next time I will be exploring their masters in clinical psychology they offer.

what exactly is a MFT?

Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) are relationship specialists who treat persons involved in interpersonal relationships. They are trained to assess, diagnose and treat individuals, couples, families and groups to achieve more adequate, satisfying and productive marriage, family and social adjustment. The practice also includes premarital counseling, child counseling, (the one that interests me the most) divorce or separation counseling and other relationship counseling. Marriage and Family Therapists are psychotherapists and healing arts practitioners licensed by the State of California. Requirements for a license include a related doctoral or two-year master's degree, passage of a comprehensive written and oral examination and at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience. that is a lot of hours, let me see that is about 125 days which equals to about 4 months give or take. i am sure it will be worth it though because you gain a lot of experience and gets you ready for the job market. it the next posting I want to find out about schools that offer a masters in MFT to see if any of them sound interesting enough for me to try to apply for.

Why did I choose Psychology as my major?

I first decided I wanted  to get a B.A. in Psychology about three years ago when I started working as a Group Leader at Washington Elementary. My job is very similar to the job of a teacher simply I only do it for three hours and a half for an after school program called Bright Futures. From Mon-Fri between the hours of 2:30-6:00 pm, I have a class of 20 first graders. I help them with homework, take them out to recess, and do extracurricular activities that enhance their learning. These children inspired me to want to become involved deeper with them. I felt like I wanted to provide more for them especially the children who had problems at home that affected their functioning at school. Most people who work with school-age children know that what happens to a child at home has a profound and lasting impact on how she or he will function at school. Two key studies published in the early 1990s demonstrate the relationship between maltreatment and academic performance: Kurtz  in Georgia, USA; and Eckenrode, whose study in New York State of 840 children (half of whom had been maltreated) found that the maltreated children performed significantly worse on standardized tests and grades. Therefore, I decided I wanted to become a Marriage Family Therapist (MFT), with my main focus being child counseling. My plan was to get a B.A. in Psychology and get my Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, but now I am not too sure if that's the best choice for me. I don't feel like my passion is in it anymore. Maybe because I am tired of school and the thought of more school just grosses me out right now or it can be that I need to explore that path a bit more. I want to become more knowledgeable of my options as an MFT. I will go deeper into what exactly does it mean to be an MFT on my next blog... so keep posted!

10 Career ?'s For Psy Majors

I was doing some research for my next blog when I came across an article posted in the Psychology Today website called, Ten Career Questions for the Psychology majors. The article says that most psychology majors will not go on to become licensed psychologists. Psychology majors are found in virtually every career field so choosing a psychology major isn't as much of a career decision as it is a decision of what knowledge and skills you'd like to acquire, or what questions you'd like to answer. As a psychology student you will learn a lot about research, statistics, human and animal behavior, physiology, psychological conditions, how people learn and develop, and so on. All of this knowledge applies to a variety of settings. So, to get ready for the job market and to help me start thinking more broadly about my major, I took a few minutes and reviewed the following 10 questions about my psych major:

1. Why did you initially select psychology? What courses or knowledge first intrigued you?
2. Once you got into the major, how did your opinion of psychology evolve? Did you find your interests shifting?
3. What key aspects of psychology most interest you? Is there a field of research that interests or intrigues you? Is there a population you find interesting? What research studies have caught your eye? Why? Do you enjoy reading and research and conducting experiments? Do you like learning about personality traits or why people behave in a particular way? Do you enjoy learning about the interventions or therapeutic techniques that improve people's lives? Do you enjoy the biological or medical aspects of psychology?
4. What are the top five skills you have acquired through your psychology major? What traits/characteristics did it take to be a good psychology major?
5. What interesting courses have you taken outside of psychology? Can you connect the dots between what you learned in those courses and what you know about psychology? For instance, how do psychology and business courses intersect? What career fields could use the talents of a psych major with a minor in art?
6. Where have you excelled in your major? What has come naturally for you? Did you shine in the animal lab? Are you a master statistician? Did you connect with your subjects in human subjects research?
7. How far do you want to go academically? Are you interested in obtaining a master's or doctoral degree in psychology? Now or in the future? Are you interested in a related advanced degree like counseling or social work or organizational behavior?
8. What parts of your major have you not enjoyed? Have certain courses or areas of study bored you? What was lacking?
9. If you could design and teach your own psychology class, what would you teach? Would you combine your knowledge of psychology with another field? Or would you hone in on a specific area like positive psychology or the criminal mindset?
10. How do you plan to convey the value of your psychology major to future employers (particularly if you're not pursuing a career directly related to psychology)?

I went through the questions and they were a bit helpful in directing me more towards what I might be thinking of doing with my B.A. in Psych... but I still need to do more research

More Possible jobs??

I stumbled up an article by Shelly K. Schwartz called "Working Your Degree." It caught my attention because it was a  report on the top 10 occupations that employ students with only a bachelor's degree in psychology.  As a psych major, I’m constantly wondering what I’m going to with this degree, or if I should keep going and get a master degree. Sometimes I even wonder if I should be a psych major at all! Schwarz’ list discouraged me. She lists jobs like marketing, sales, accounting, human resources. I didn’t major in psychology to be an accountant! I became a psych major because… well it is all explained in my "Why did i choose this major" post. I guess all these jobs have *something* to do with human relationships, but accounting??! Shelly K. Schwartz, in an article called "Working Your Degree," reported that the top 10 occupations that employ students with only a bachelor's degree in psychology are:

• Top- or mid-level managers, executives and administrators
• Sales
• Social Work
• Management-related occupations
• Personnel, training and human resources or labor-relations
• Administrative jobs
• Insurance, real estate and business services
• Marketing
• Registered nurse, pharmacist, therapist and physician's assistant
• Accountant, auditor and other financial specialists

 As you review the list, you'll notice that most of these jobs involve dealing with people. Since psychology is the study of human behavior and organizational behavior, a 4-year degree in the field offers a good understanding of people, their motivations and why they act as they do. In addition, psychology teaches to think critically as well as creatively, so graduates generally have excellent communications skills :-)