This is me when I was little. Back when I was little there wasn’t much to worry about especially when it came to school. In this case I will be focusing on my literacy. My literacy journey began by learning the alphabet then following along in books like “The Rainbow Fish” while my parents or grandparents read it to me.

As my skills developed I became more aware of where I was in terms of my ability to read. I was behind my sister and cousin in how fast I could read and understand what was on those pages. Later this would have a big impact on my literacy.

Middle School

Fast forward to middle school and I found out that books were not cool especially if you couldn’t read them really fast. This made me push my books that I had enjoyed away. In addition to this I realized in English class that I was also not up to par with my writing abilities which led me to believe English class and literacy were not for me and I would be at a stand still for the rest of my life. This thought stayed with me through high school.

Present

High school didn’t help me enhance my English skills. Now in college and I feel that I am at the same writing level as I was when I was in seventh grade. The curriculum throughout kindergarten through senior year went over grammar and literature which wasn’t that effective since I still have a lot of questions about grammar.

The lack of helpful curriculum throughout the years has impacted my literacy by not providing challenging assignments to progress my abilities in effective communication.

I am pursuing a degree in psychology at Boise State University. I am hoping to learn useful skills that will be useful in this field, particularly in learning the literacy of the field. I will try and progress my career by going to graduate school after getting my bachelor’s degree. I am looking to go into clinical psychology to be able to help people. The text used in this field the most often will be the first step in understanding what literacy is needed. 

Beginning of the Future

The website I found first provided journals and news for the psychology field, it is the American Psychological Association:   https://www.apa.org/pubs/newsletters/ This is where I began my search for general text that could give me a hint in writing styles with what I am pursuing.

A downside to this was that I couldn’t figure out how to log on without being on BSU’s WiFi so acquiring the information from this was inconsistent for me. 

This website gives a very in depth way to find accurate information related to the psychology scene. This site is mainly for those who are pursuing a career in psychology or those who are already in the field. The website has a lot of information which can be overwhelming.

In articles used to bring attention to a wide population such as the one from  Carolyn Wolf, the author uses formal language but doesn’t use too many scientific terms so that if the general public reads it they don’t get confused with what is happening. If the information is important and able to be measured then there will be statistics from the situation. This gives the audience the information they need to believe what the author is saying.

That being said this article is very important. Many don’t think of their therapist or psychologist needing help as well since they are the people that go to when they need help. The psychologists need to take care of their health as well just as much if not more than their patients. Individual’s mental health should be a top priority for everyone.

Sponsors of Literacy

In order to reach my end goal of becoming a clinical psychologist and helping people I need good sponsors to help me. In my undergraduate my sponsors would be my psychology professors and I would need to enter graduate school to be a competitive candidate in this field. The graduate school would also be a big sponsor of my psychology literacy. 

In order to get into graduate school I will need to excel in my current courses and make myself stand out in my current classes. This is because I would need letters of recommendation from previous professors. I would also need to participate in an internship or guided research, maybe both, in order to show that I can make it in graduate school.

Threshold Concepts

Some potential threshold concepts I may have on pursuing becoming a psychologist are knowing the terms, being able to read and process scientific information and statistics from studies, I would also have to know how to properly read and do paperwork needed for this profession. 

Adding on to the original list I would also need to learn how to conduct large scale research that means something and how to properly communicate those findings to others that are also in the field.

The first picture demonstrates, possibly, the most important skill that I would have to develop on my way to becoming a clinical psychologist. I would have to be “all ears” so that I would be able to help the patient and be the person that they might need.

The second illustration is a very important part about being a clinical psychologist. That is to not share any information about any patients to anyone. This confidentiality is the foundation of counseling and therapy. First of all because it’s immoral and secondly, because it’s against the law. In some cases though confidentiality can be broken. Such as if the patients health and well being are in danger, if a child is engaging in risky behavior the parents are able to be told, if the patient is unable to make a reasonable judgement themselves, or if the therapist needs to discuss medication which in that case they would discuss with the doctor or psychiatrist. 

The main role of a clinical psychologist is to help people with situation that they are in and with any mental disorders that they have.

I would have to learn many terms and ways of speaking in order to make the patient willing to listen and trust the help I could offer. I would also have to know signs and symptoms of mental disorders so that I could correctly diagnose someone with what they could have and properly talk to their psychiatrist or doctor.

There are so many possibilities of situations that psychologists can be in. Such as those that are needed in court cases, help with military members, and potentially as a school counselor.

Trade Magazine Article

In a recent article named “Serving the Armed Forces” from Zara Greenbaum I was able to learn more about being a psychologist for the military and in the military. Getting my foot in the door will be a very difficult situation. This is because there are a lot of people going into the field of psychology. I would have to figure out a way to stand out. A very good idea to get my foot in the door would be to be in the military. This article discusses that ,“The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) employs more than 8,000 psychologists, making it the nation’s largest employer for the profession. Of this group, more than 600 clinical and counseling psychologists and nearly 1,000 civilian employees and contractors are tasked with providing clinical care to military service members and their families” (Greenbaum, Zara). This would open many opportunities from getting the training and experience in the military. Joining the military is not a requirement to become a psychologist for military members but it would get my foot in the door and put me in a position to succeed in this career.

This article is meant to give information to possible alternative career paths for psychologists especially those that are interested in counseling and clinical psychology. Though they don’t use any terms or places that they don’t explain a little so that anyone who wants to know more about psychology with the military can also read without being confused. The author also uses statistics and interviews that they have made to make it more informative. They keep it simple but informative which makes it really easy to follow and understand.

The space used in this article makes it easy to see what information they are going to see. Which allows people who are looking for specific information to find it with relative ease (without using Ctrl + F). They include mini headers for each section to separate the branches and information.

Interview

I interviewed a school counselor named Ms. Ayala. In order for me to learn some important topics in becoming a psychologist or in this case a good counselor. On an average day she has a meeting, checks in with students, manages schedules and grades, and any paperwork or admin stuff needed. The literacy I would need to develop is how to properly discuss with my coworkers and how to how to address each patient (in this case they are students).

Some advice that she gave me in order to become a better psychologist is to attend at least one Alcoholic Anonymous Meeting and a Narcotics Anonymous Meeting. This would allow me to understand a little bit more about people in those situations.

Some important skills that would be important for me to learn would be to have empathy, be patient, and to be flexible. Being patient not just for the patients but also to myself on my road in this field. Another important skill to develop is the ability to disconnect myself from my feelings. It can be really difficult to hear about certain patient’s situations so I would have to be able to disconnect my own feelings because the job I would be doing is not for myself, it is to try and help them.

In terms of talking to the patients, she told me to be understanding to them and focus on them. Not to discuss my personal opinions too much and trust the knowledge of psychology and what they need help with. Staying neutral and being there to help them is the number one priority so I have to keep myself out of it in a way.

MLA Works Cited

American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/pubs/newsletters/.

Greenbaum, Zara. “Serving the Armed Focus.” Monitor on Psychology,          American Psychological Association, 1 Nov. 2019, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/11/serving-armed-

What Is the Role of a Clinical Psychologist?, A Wise Way, 24 June 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQeuBfEy7XM&feature=youtu.be.

Wolf, Carolyn R. “Counselors, Please Consider Your Own Mental Health Needs.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 24 Sept. 2019, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-desk-the-mental-health-lawyer/201909/counselors-please-consider-your-own-mental-health.