Career Assessment Professional Development Plan

I am a psychology student, pursuing the degree I have always wished to since my childhood days. In addition to this degree’s scholastic advantages, I can identify a number of personal developmental elements attached to it. In specific, the advantages may be availed of through an explicit mission, professional target and aims, and a PDP (personal development plan). Through this essay, I attempt at providing a thorough view of my professional, educational and personal life and aims.
Personal and Educational Background
Before letting you in on details of my academic and professional life, let me begin by introducing myself and offering a brief overview of my personal life. I am Jonathan Scott, born and brought up in a far-flung village in North America, in a staunch Protestant Christian household. My dad held employment in a neighboring town. My siblings and I visited church each Sunday without fail, more to make our mother and father happy than out of actual devotion and interest. My parents, on the other hand, actually enjoyed church service and the accompanying prayers, hymns and singing. The major part of our leisure time went in play, household chores, or working in our coffee fields. Our village used to teem with dandelions, had fields full of milkweed pods and pricked bushes, and woods of pine and sumac trees.
My childhood home was a small one where the whole family had to share beds, clothes and a majority of other necessary resources. This sort of lifestyle continued throughout my elementary schooling days, with my parents constantly and dedicatedly struggling with sustaining the family and bringing us up to become productive members of society.
After completing secondary education, I decided upon enrolling in a Kansas University psychology program for supporting my family as well as the overall society. I believe God grants the more superior things in this world to those who aspire and work towards doing good to fellow human beings. I feel that whenever we do something good for others, we are shining the light farther and dissipating more of the dark. Even after one departs, this light will prevail and keep the shadows at bay.
Objectives for My Bachelor’s Degree Program
My chief goal for my psychology program is: honing my skills and developing further in other areas of life as well. I wish to produce excellent academic results and acquire mastery over skills which would increase my versatility and employability in the employment market. I desire to familiarize myself with instruments, methods, tactics and systems for becoming a better individual in my professional and social life (Smith & Haslam, 2017).
A shorter-run goal I have identified is: improving productivity and performance in my academic life and overcoming the shortfalls inherent in me. This I can achieve by putting my strengths to use. In the medium term, I aim at improving everyday social interactions and learning capacity for excelling in my career and providing superior quality patient care. My long-run aim is devising self-learning and self-assessment instruments for perfecting my education and progressing further in my career.
I aim to apply the capabilities acquired in my educational life to devise improved future professional plans, thereby better caring for patients and bringing improvements to their lives, overall.
I aim at relying on professionalism for assessing and fine-tuning my skills. To achieve this, I will need to attend several training sessions and lectures. I have discovered that friends, family and other acquaintances are usually fascinated by a psychologist’s work and patients and try to pry details regarding how we aid our clients. One must take care not to spill the beans and safeguard patient identity and privacy (Bolier, et al 2013).
Even if we make a case public to serve as a lesson to others, concealing client identities is imperative. Even in the event it is ethical and legal to do so, psychologists usually flatly refuse to do so and develop complex sketches resembling the average human being. I have learnt how to evade curiosity when it comes to my patients. I believe in protecting clients always and, under no circumstances, letting any sensitive information slip out.
My one flaw is my over-concern and excessive attachment to clients’ situation, which sometimes makes me paranoid. A description of my everyday internship routine would help readers in acquiring a better insight into my work. My typical day comprises of 4 sessions with clients characterized by different diagnoses. A first appointment requires the posing of a few standard questions. At the end of the session, I may or may not offer a survey form for clients or their family members to complete prior to the subsequent visit. Personally, however, I prefer not concentrating much on this as patients tend to display annoyance with it (Hock, 2015).
I need to apprise clients on why answering questions is necessary; the reason being, to select a treatment plan which fits clients displaying similar survey score. Furthermore, a diagnosis which potentially needs medicine cannot be overlooked. In case of clients suffering from bipolar disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression and psychotic individuals, the chief initial focus is not always conversations. As a psychologist, I may need to consult with a physician and prescribe sleep medication. In certain cases, energy collection is the foremost step. This deals with refusing individuals who exhaust energy, holding perfectionist attitudes regarding everything, or just sticking to a schedule characterized by ‘alone-time’, nutritious food and exercise. In case of those prone to over-anxiety, the aim may be testing their worries. In my internship, I have had to deal with sufferers of panic attacks; this is a rather challenging group of patients to cater to, however, I can gladly say I am gradually adjusting myself to it (Jung, 2015).
Among the unique abilities and tips I have acquired during my educational and professional life is the use of eye movement for reducing fear. I commonly have to deal with personality disorder-diagnosed patients or trauma patients. Thus, I tend to stick to a model in which I concentrate, principally, on energy collection prior to tackling definite traumas which give patients flashbacks and bad dreams. These interfere with a normal life and cause the patient to forever be on their “guard”. I bank on Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing for this purpose. This is essentially the use of eye movement when reliving trauma. I request patients to recall a scary memory and consider its worst part. This image is retained within their mind’s eye and they are simultaneously made to follow particular movements of my fingers. Their discomfort levels are gauged on a 1-10 scale (0= totally calm; 10= worst discomfort). The finger movements are continued till the client calms down.
I am rather excited about the things I have learnt in the degree program, including invention, resourcefulness and other novel capabilities. I feel I am now better prepared to take care of psychologically ailing clients. I am aware of my profession’s ethical and legal requirements. I am indebted to my professors as well as every other individual who has aided me in my personal, academic and professional life thus far. I attempt to share my knowledge and experience with fellow learners and authors, and contribute to the medical journal. I hope to graduate before the year ends and this will prove to be a key career milestone for me.


References
Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G. J., Riper, H., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. (2013). Positive psychology interventions: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. BMC public health, 13(1), 119.
Hock, R. R. (2015). Forty studies that changed psychology. Pearson Higher Ed.
Jung, C. G. (2015). Psychology and education. Princeton University Press.
Smith, J. R., & Haslam, S. A. (Eds.). (2017). Social psychology: Revisiting the classic studies. Sage