History and Systems

The title of the class "History and Systems" strikes boredom into the hearts of students. I know because during registration last semester, I kept repeating: "It sounds boring, but it's going to be awesome. I promise." The "history" part is what trips people up, but I think the past of psychology needs to be balanced with a view toward the future.

One of my goals in teaching History and Systems is to help students figure out what they want to do with their psychology degree, and then, how to get there. As an advisor, one of the first questions I ask is "What do you want to be when you grow up?" 9 times out of 10, they have a vague idea but no concrete plan. Bringing in guest speakers from our community is one of the tools I am using this semester to help students get a better understanding of career paths. They can ask questions of people working in various capacities and hear how each individual arrived where they are today. This process has the added bonus of fending off some of the anxiety (I know from personal experience) that may be provoked by the question ... "So...What are you going to do with this degree?"

Today, we had the privilege of hearing the first of a series of guest speakers in History and Systems. Dr. Bryan Miller, from Lincoln, is closely associated with the college. He has a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy, runs a limited private practice, and teaches at the undergraduate and graduate level for Amridge University. For over an hour, he walked us through his pathway and various capacities as a psychologist, and entertained questions from our students. I am proud of the thought and interest demonstrated by the students that presented their questions.

So many students enter the psych major with the intent of being a therapist or counselor. Hopefully, the ones who are headed down this path got a glimpse into their futures. Sensitive to the concept that a career in counseling is not for everyone, I have a pretty fantastic lineup for the rest of the semester (if I do say so myself). Some other guests we will have from the York area are a dog trainer, an occupational therapist, a school psychologist, a minister, a court advocate, an Alzheimer's support group coordinator, and hopefully, a psychiatrist. On top of these, we will also take two field trips to the state schools to see about graduate schools for these professions.

I have put a lot of work into the planning of this course, and I am really excited to see how this plays out in sparking the interest of my advisees and students!