Applicant qualifications
Although, I welcome applicants who are interested in psychotherapy research, LGBTQ research and in learning both quantitative and qualitative research, I do not expect that students will be interested in all three of my areas of research and most of my students have focused their research in one or two of these areas. Below are some qualities that I think are helpful for students in graduate school.
The following are qualifications that I value in applicants: Demonstrated interest in research. Because most of my work with students is focused on mentoring them in research projects, I seek to admit students who are excited about research. (If you are not curious and do not enjoy investigating ideas using research, then our program is probably not a good fit for you!) Before entering graduate school, it is good to be sure that research is an activity you like by seeking out research experiences prior to applying. This experience may be from having written an honors thesis, co-authored a poster or paper, or acted as a research assistant in a lab. Strong applicants are curious about their research interests, read and form questions, actively engage in seeking out information about the questions that they have, are eager to try out different methods, and seek to integrate multiple perspectives in their work. They are excited about formulating and sharing their research ideas -- these activities all will help them to contribute to our field.
Demonstrated interested in clinical work. Conducting psychotherapy research requires a depth of understanding on the treatment context and processes of change. Ideally, applicants will have had some clinically-related experiences that would further their sensitivity to these dynamics and affirm their interest in developing these skills. These might have included serving in a helping role in different contexts, working on a helpline, acting as a counselor or tutor, leadership for groups, or volunteering to assist others. They should be interested in thinking about the process of change in therapy and what both they and their clients do that leads to change. Also, they should be interested in learning multiple therapy approaches and theoretical orientations so that they understand the influence that theoretical orientation has upon one's practice and how values and process-evaluations should differ.
Commitment to developing a research-practictioner career. Our program is a research-practictioner program, which means that we believe that learning both strong research and practice skills benefits each skill set. Applicants who apply should be motivated to learn research skills, to publish their work, and to have research as a central aspect of their careers (potentially along side clinical work). They should be invested in both treating and conducting research with clients with diverse identities and cultural backgrounds and in learning competencies to do this. Applicants who wish to be clinicians should be invested in learning to publish research on their practice and communicate to the field treatments they develop to establish expertise in an area and help inform disciplinary practices. In other words, whether they are interested in being primarily researchers or clinicians, students should be interested in becoming involved in multiple projects in our lab, in maximizing their opportunities to learn about research and publishing, and in continuing this activity through their career.
Commitment to developing strong writing and conceptualization through practice, feedback, and discussion. I am very invested in my students and spend a good deal of time to provide detailed and constructive feedback to help them continue to develop as writers and thinkers. Students who work well with me are those who engage in practicing and sharing their writing, formulating ideas and questions to discuss, and then seeking out feedback--typically in each of our meetings. They are deeply invested in their own growth and glad to engage in activities that will foster it -- even when it may be a bit scary to share one's work. I work best with students who appreciate and welcome direct feedback on how to further their skills as writers and independent thinkers. Also, students should be self-directed, take responsibility for their project goals, and be invested in organizing their activities so that they can meet research deadlines -- independently solving problems or asking for support or help as needed. I love to talk with students about their ideas and hear what they are learning from their engagement with their research and find that this process can advance students' conceptualization skills, so attending our meetings with ideas or questions to discuss is always welcomed.