Several experiences have stimulated my commitment to psychology. The first is the fact that my mother is diagnosed schizophrenic. As a child I did not understand why her behavior was so different from other adults. Her behavior prompted my curiosity involving the development, duration, and treatment of schizophrenia. At an early age I gained insight about how society is not always accepting of those persons who are "unusual" or "abnormal". She is a high functioning person who is in an institution. I felt there had to be alternative ways to deal with her behaviors than to put her away from a close supportive family.
A second experience involves my academic background. The knowledge I have gained from class material and applied experience has inspired a desire to come to a more in depth understanding of psychological phenomena. This phenomena including the manifestation of mental illness and the adaptation difficulties associated with mental abnormalities. I have financed approximately ninety percent of my education in my quest for said psychological knowledge.
In the upcoming semester I will be gaining more experience in the research and teaching aspects of psychology. My research experience will be supervised under Dr. Osman. I will be involved in the conceptualization, data collection, data analysis, and report writing within the research areas of pain, anxiety, and suicide. Also I will be a teaching assistant for Dr. Whitsett in a research methods course. I will be responsible for implementing understanding of the material and the processes involved in five students form a class of twenty. I will be guiding their writing of a bibliography and a proposal. I expect to gain more experience for myself in understanding the research process for later use in graduate school and beyond.
My practicum at the Battered Women's Shelter enlightened my understanding of interpersonal interaction and how different individuals deal with crisis situations in their own unique ways. I observed a minimal part of male-female relations within the realm of violence. This including how the development of the male versus the female gendered personalities can affect overt as well as covert behavior in adult interpersonal interaction.
The third experience was a difficult one. It involved a friend who was a substance abuser. While using these psychoactive substances he displayed cognitive and behavioral problems. The time duration of his abuse and termination of use of these drugs was an educational period for me. I observed in him the behavior, affect, and cognitive aspects I had learned in my academic courses. I have an interest in how drug abuse is psychologically and sociologically oriented and how preventative measures can be implemented.
At this time my special interests include schizophrenia, substance abuse, and social psychological factors in interpersonal interaction, especially that of male-female relations involving the attitudes held by both men and women and society's perpetuation of status quo relationship structures. I am determined to explore these research areas and hope to expand upon the knowledge base of the precipitating factors and the treatment strategies after diagnosis.
Long-range objectives in pursuing advanced study of psychology include the various areas of research application. These include teaching as a professor in a university setting, research, consultation, and private practice. I intend to use my knowledge and expertise obtained at the University of Iowa to further the research areas of schizophrenia, substance abuse, and interpersonal interactions involving social psychological aspects with research and practice. The University o Iowa has a strong emphasis in research and this would be beneficial to my research interests in that I would be given ample opportunity to explore and expand upon my areas of study within the clinical program.
I aspire to be one of the multitude of researchers who participate in the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, schizophrenia, and adaptation difficulties involving daily relations between individuals.
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