SUMMARY+RESPONSE+PAPER

Psychology is a mental and physical science. Beyond the general terms and diagnoses’ lies a whole team of well experienced professionals who have stepped forward to help people. Patients of psychotherapy range from adolescents to adulthood and come from a wide variety of emotional problems or merely in search of self betterment. This is the most important principle of psychology. While initially the hype is treating all of the “crazy” patients, some people merely are there to become more secure. They aren’t going off the deep end, they just lack the sense of control and stability that they so desire. A prime example of this is Dr. Joan Pinhas. Before becoming a psychologist she too underwent psychotherapy of her own. Patients are not bad people; some come from harsh environments or were treated poorly resulting in their lack of self esteem. Psychologists are ordinary people who along the way have found a compassion for the downtrodden. The main focus for most therapists is to watch their patients grow and make changes for the better. In order to do this they must learn a great deal about what motivates the negative and antisocial behaviors of patients in addition to developing a great deal of patience. This comes largely from experience, which takes a considerable amount of time. Schooling is not completely necessary to provide therapy to patients, but a PsyD degree and licensing by the American Psychological Association is required in order to carry the title of psychologist. It is easy to work towards a doctorate degree while beginning a career because one is able to find a mentor or even get an internship/assistantship opportunity with established psychologists. This is also a great way to find a passion for a certain area of psychology, leading to specializations such as couples therapy, adolescent counseling, and the treatment of eating disorders and drug addiction. While being a psychologist leads to its practitioners feeling more emotionally stable, it is largely because of the interaction with patients that keeps the doctors in line. Along with this fascination in helping patients and relating back to oneself, the job of a psychologist can be demanding. Stress is often common in this position when patients are ambivalent about receiving treatment or one begins to doubt their ability to treat a patient after not seeing the anticipated results in a substantial amount of time. To some, this is the most rewarding part as these patients are a great challenge for them. Not that this science is a game, more like a puzzle, they must find the piece they are missing to see a full picture of their patient’s psyche. The reward ultimately is high, allowing many to work in an environment with similar coworkers, a daily human connection yielding a sense of servitude and what has been thus far, a “depression” free sustainability in their career choice. Psychology is an explanation for human behavior. When I was younger I was in psychotherapy. As much as I now understand how friendly and safe the environment is supposed to be in a therapist’s office, I was mortified. I was intimidated, left alone behind closed doors with a stranger who wanted to know what seemed like everything about me. I didn’t ever anticipate that psychology would make its way back into my life until one of my friends struggled with an eating disorder. As badly as I wanted to fix everything, I was rendered helpless due to the fact that I simply did not understand why. I believe that this is a huge inspiration to me in choosing a career. I find myself still trying to figure out why it is that people develop eating disorders. In taking AP Psychology I have barely skimmed the surface of the inner workings of the human mind as well as some of the potential malfunctions resulting in psychological disorders. I feel as though I can’t get enough and this paired with my innate desire to help people has pushed me forward into pursuing this career into college. I am really inspired by Dr. Robinson as she worked in the eating disorders unit of Children’s Hospital for eleven years. Joan Pinhas also has experience in eating disorders, but more generally women’s studies. Being female makes it easier to uncover some parts of these issues because of the classic methods of introspection. The fundamentals of psychology were all formed around introspection, getting people to analyze their thoughts and behaviors. Now there are methods as employed by Dr. Pinhas and Dr. Robinson such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Essentially the belief in this psychotherapeutic method is that a behavioral change is mediated by cognitive events, by the patient setting goals and expectations for themselves and doing what is needed to achieve results. Dr. Robinson works closely with coworkers such as a dietician and the patient’s medical doctor to ensure that her patients suffering from eating disorders have a support team for the behavioral changes that will ensue upon her cognitive therapy. Closely related to the treatment of eating disorders is the treatment of drug and alcohol addictions. Eating disorders really are in essence, an addiction to food (or lack there of) and in both cases, the patient is self-destructing. I can only imagine how stressful it is to deal with “**acutely suicidal and self destructive patients ****” **as Dr. Robinson pointed out (Robinson). Still, I find the concept of addiction fascinating. In the brain are reward centers that produce endorphins when triggered causing one to feel good. For the average person, the releasing of endorphins can be triggered by something as simple as a hot shower on a cold morning to something more complex such as sexual pleasure. Drugs stimulate the areas of the brain that feed off of endorphins producing the feel good effect. This is dangerous because the level of brain activity is so high, that it is hard for the body to reproduce on its own, causing the user to become very much dependent on the drug to get a feel good sensation again. Hallie Rand developed her passion for helping adolescents with drug addictions from her own personal experiences. Now her focus is all about the prevention of these developing addictions in young adults so that they do not grow into more serious problems as adults that can result in jail time or even death. I find this almost comparable to cancer. One of the most important strategies in curing cancer is finding it early. Because there is presently no cure for cancer or drug addictions, people like Hallie Rand are increasingly more important because if they can find similarities between patients with identical problems, we may be able to pinpoint what causes addictions. There may be no genetic markers, but rather similar experiences or childhood developments. Something that Ms. Rand believes in is the “**humanistic experience, that we all go through the same stages in life (becoming self-aware, searching for identity, developing relationships, etc.) and that our schemas formed within these contexts are crucial to our later personalities” (Rand). ** I agree with this idea because I have seen myself and my peers reach many secular milestones, which I believe can be paralleled with psychological milestones as well. I want to get to the bottom of things. I have a strong desire to help people and figure things out. The underlying motivations and meanings in people’s behaviors will never cease to fascinate me much as they do Dr. Pinhas, Dr. Robinson and Hallie Rand. I feel as though I am prepared to go to college and do a lot of learning in order to begin helping people deal with themselves and those around them. Psychology is an ever-changing science, much like the patients involved it is hard to define, because it encompasses so many aspects of human life and behavior. Because of the help and answers I received from these women, I am positive this is where I want to go with my life. I see myself building a strong and rewarding career in this field and hope to look back on this someday as the catalyst for the rest of my life. __ Works Cited __ Pinhas, Joan. Personal Interview. 19 January 2009. Rand, Hallie. “Career Interview Project Questions”. E-mail Interview. 24 January 2009. Robinson, Kathleen. “Psychology as a Career”. E-mail Interview. 21 January 2009.