Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Comps II

YEAH!! I found some really great comps advice that I think is going to help.

Today went a little better with the constant studying.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Comps

Waking up each morning and reading is fun!? I have been studying for comps for 2 1/2 weeks now and it is not fun. I enjoy reviewing all the material but it is endless. I feel incredible amounts of guilt everytime I read a book for pleasure or go workout. It is difficult to just sit and read for hours and hours without feeling like there is no end in sight.

All that said I have finally put together my outline. I am trying to cover 1 or 2 topics each week. At least I am giving myself little goals to meet each week.

Does anyone have suggestions for making this experience more enjoyable?

Monday, January 5, 2009

Helping Others

Through the holidays I have had the opportunity to help others. Specifically young, homeless and pregnant women. It is remarkable that these women push through difficult struggles to give life to others. This experience started to make me think about how luck we are as psychologists to learn new information and educate others. All too often psychologists are driven by money (specifically in my field of IO psychology). Consultants often create a pop version of a theory. When we are driven by theory and exploration instead of money we often fail to make the theories applicable.

After I started thinking more and more about giving back I was given a book called the Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. This book will change your life no matter what field you are in. The first half of the book is a little extreme but by the end of the book you will be able to see how YOU can give back and make a real difference in the world.

As psychologists we need to make theories more and more applicable to communities and more specifically communities that need our help. Application of theories should be made popular and available for those communities and individuals that can't afford consultants. We need to start to use the knowledge we acquire as students and dive into the communities that need us. We need to out our PhD labels aside and learn from the communities and individuals we are trying to help. More likely than not we will become the students.

If you are aware of any psychologists or organizations that are helping others with their psychology skills please let me know.

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy New Years!