Goals & Learning

My current goals are to get at least a master's degree in psychology and become a clinical and/or counseling psychologist. I have these goals because all I want in life is to help people, and I already have personal experiences, knowledge of mental health issues, and a passion for psychology. I am confident this is the right path for me. This year, my classes and internship have further confirmed that psychology is the right choice for me. This internship has shown me many possible opportunities to help people in the field of psychology, especially in underserved communities. By working at Dr.Fodstad's internship site, I have learned about Down syndrome and Autism and how we can help folks with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our society. I have continued to make efforts to reach out to my professors, supervisor, and advisor about my college plan and what I should prioritize course-wise to achieve my ultimate career goals. I am on the right track and will need a Master's degree at least. I have also discovered resources I need to afford to go to grad school. The things I have learned about Down syndrome and Autism through this internship will help me in any career I take on in the field of psychology because I want to be able to help people from any point or walk of life they may come from. Any knowledge I can gain about people and the mind will only help me in being able to best serve any community.

Over the past year, my goals have changed to be more career and college-focused instead of internship-focused. I have made progress in learning about Down syndrome, Autism, and research practices because of the internship. Now, my goals are more focused on making it into grad school and solidifying where I should start in a career. This summer, I will put in volunteer hours and decide what I need to apply for next in order to get the most out of my time at IU Indianapolis and make my resume look qualified. I will also be looking for opportunities that will help fund my Master's degree.

At my internship this year, I have worked toward the following goals:

Learning Goal #1: Learn more about Autism and Down syndrome.

Relevance: This fits in my career journey because I may have therapy clients who have intellectual and or developmental disabilities. Learning more about these will help me sufficiently serve people in those communities in the future.

Action Plan:

1. Working on a book chapter about adjusting CBT for autistic youth.

2. Scope reviews about people with Down syndrome.

3. Help out with research information about autistic youth.

Progress: I have finished helping out with the book chapter on CBT for autistic youth. I have read the scope reviews about people with Down syndrome. I have completed creating/editing a training module about Autism for people who work in the criminal justice system. These actions have helped me achieve my goal to learn more about these intellectual and developmental disabilities and how they can be effectively and fairly treated in a world built for neurotypical people.

Learning Goal #2: Learn what goes into research projects

Relevance: This will help me if I want to conduct psychology research independently and to know what is considered ethical or reliable research.

Action Plan:

1. CITI training

2. Involvement with research tasks

3. Observing how many people work on each project and what they do.

Progress: The CITI training has taught me the most on the research front. As well as looking for reliable sources of information for the training module and book chapter. I am currently in the statistics class for psychology majors, and what I learned from my internship has helped me better understand the research practices discussed in the class. I do not desire to conduct any research studies of my own, however it is useful to know in order to distinguish reliable information from unreliable information. 

Learning Goal #3: Learning what it may take to succeed in Psychology as a profession.

Relevance: I want my educational endeavors to prepare me for my future career. This internship will be one of many experiences that can do that. This internship site will help me by teaching me one of many things I could use my degree for after graduation and look good on my resume.

Action Plan:

1. Learning and reading more about Down syndrome and autism due to the research content. 

2. Learning how to proofread and check sources for a book chapter ( I want to write a book of my own one day).

3. Meeting with Dr.Fodstad weekly and discussing the profession with her. Additional growth opportunities include learning how to operate different computer programs that may be used at the site that I have never used before. I will also be getting additional training in order to work on the scoping review about trauma and Down syndrome. The CITI training has also taught me quite a bit about research involving human subjects and the ethics and requirements around that. Working on projects will give me even more insight into how the whole process works.

Progress: Speaking with my mentors, such as my professors, academic advisor, therapist, LHSI ambassadors, and internship supervisor, has helped me get organized and learn more about what it takes to succeed in psychology. The other resources for students at IU Indy, such as the time management workshops, resume help, interview prep, and care team, have also been helpful. I will continue to meet with my academic advisor to work on getting more applicable classes into my schedule as well.