Trauma-focused psychotherapy for addiction treatment and recovery

My Vision as a Psychology Practitioner-Scholar
Abstract
This paper looks at my purpose statement as a psychology student in graduate school. It describes my vision for myself as a graduate student and explains why I want to specialize in trauma-focused psychotherapy to help people who struggle with addiction. It looks at how I could implement my lessons as a practitioner-scholar as I study and develop, and it describes the short-term and long-term goals that I have set for myself so that I can achieve this objective.

Keywords: vision statement, purpose statement, statement of goals, practitioner-scholar

Purpose Statement
My purpose is to contribute to the field of psychology by focusing on addiction and helping people to fight problems with substance abuse. There are all types of addiction—drug addiction, gambling addiction, sex addiction, Internet addiction, video game addiction—and research has shown that there is often some psychological trauma at the root of addiction (Oskenbay et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2017). My interest in psychology has always been based on a passion to help people understand themselves and their issues so that they can take the necessary steps to solve their problems and find greater peace in life. I personally have an interest in this because I have family and friends who have suffered from addiction and I would like to use my profession to help others in similar circumstances. I am, however, interested in all types of psychology, from social psychology to psychoanalysis and I would like to incorporate more than one specialized approach in my studies and professional life.
Role as Practitioner-Scholar
Both theory and research are important in the life of one’s practice. To practice psychology professionally without making reference to theory and academic research is to ignore the vast work that has been done by others so as to help advance the field. This is the essence of what McClintock (2004) states regarding the scholar-practitioner model. Doctoral students are more likely to use the scholar-practitioner model because they can base research on their own field work. The Master’s student is more likely to be a practitioner-scholar because he is at the stage of putting theory from research already published into practice.
My role as a practitioner-scholar is to apply the principles and theories from published literature in my practice. For example, Davies, Burlingame and Layne (2018) have shown that trauma-focused therapy can be an effective way for psychotherapists to deliver treatment in a group setting. This type of information could be useful in my practice as I work to help different people in different groups deal with their addiction issues if they stem from trauma. By reading all the different studies and staying abreast of the different research in the field, I can prepare myself as a practitioner-scholar and one day become a scholar-practitioner and add to the field of research through my own work in the field. The way to prepare myself as a practitioner-scholar is to go through the four stages of preparation, as pointed out by Capella University (2003): the first stage being the acquisition of information; the second stage being the processing of information; the third stage being the evaluation stage in which strategies are identified; and the fourth stage being the application stage in which the strategies are implemented and the effects or outcomes monitored. This four stage process of the practitioner-scholar model allows for the Master’s student to become better aware of which theories and approaches work best in practice. My aim is to use the theories and approaches I learn about to help people uncover their inner trauma and find ways to cope with their addictions.
My Vision
I come from a typical family and have never felt us to be anything but ordinary. When I found at that some members of my extended family were suffering from addiction, I realized how widespread the problem of addiction really was. I wanted to help but did not know how and felt very powerless. The great thing about this program is that it empowers one by giving them knowledge and the skills needed to make a difference in people’s lives. The more I read about the connection between trauma and the compulsion to self-medicate, the more convinced I become that at the heart of addiction is a desire to escape some aspect of one’s life that one finds so overwhelming that he or she cannot think of any other way to deal with it. I want to use my training and learning to apply theories and approaches that will help clients learn to deal with their realities without succumbing to addiction.
Goals and Milestones
My long-term goal is to become a trauma-focused psychotherapist specializing in implementing interventions and treatment for people struggling with addiction. To achieve this goal, I must accomplish a serious of short-term goals that are specific, measurable, accomplishable, relevant and time-bound. The first of these short-term goals is to obtain my Master’s over the next three years. Following that, my second short-term goal will be to reach my residency hours of work within 3 years by completing my supervision hours at the local mental health clinic. I will have to find a mentor who is willing to oversee my practice in the field. My third goal will be to obtain certification from the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) once these residency hours have been obtained. At that point I will be able to practice professionally and this will allow me to achieve my long-term goal.
The big milestone of my first goal is to achieve a 4.00 GPA in all my classes each semester over the next three years as I work towards the completion of my Master’s. This milestone will require me implementing a strict schedule for study, devoting 4 hours a day to reading on top of my attendance in all my classes. I must look at this as a full-time job and must hold myself accountable in terms of meeting my study time schedule and getting to class. I want to achieve the 4.00 GPA and graduate with honors.
The big milestone of my second goal is to network and develop a relationship with a mentor who will be able to assist me after graduation in getting my hours. During my second year of graduate school, I will work as an intern at the local mental health clinic with a specialist in addiction and will volunteer there for 8 months so that I can become thoroughly immersed in the real world of psychology and get to know all the local leaders in the field. Thus, once I graduate in three years I will be able to use my contacts gained during this 8 month period to begin my mentorship.
The big milestone of my third goal is to secure my hours needed for certification within 3 years by working in the mental health clinic and specializing in trauma-focused psychotherapy. By working closely with my mentor and cataloguing all my hours, I will be able to reach this goal in the designated amount of time. It will also give me the opportunity to act as a practitioner-scholar by putting my lessons into practice in the field.
Conclusion
As a Master’s degree student in the field of psychology, my vision for myself is to specialize in trauma-focused psychotherapy so as to help people struggling with addiction face their inner trauma and learn to cope with it in a healthy manner. My long term goal is to become a professional psychologist in this field. My first short term goal is to graduate with honors. My second short term goal is to network while studying and take an 8-month internship. My third goal is to be certified in three years.

References Capella University. (2003). Learning model quick reference and examples. Minneapolis, MN: Author. Davies, D. R., Burlingame, G. M., & Layne, C. M. (2018). Integrating small-group process principles into trauma-focused group psychotherapy: What should a group trauma therapist know?. In Psychological effects of catastrophic disasters (pp. 385-423). Routledge. McClintock, C. (2004). Scholar practitioner model. In A. DiStefano, K. E. Rudestam, & R. J. Silverman (Eds.), Encyclopedia of distributed learning (pp. 394–397). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Oskenbay, F., Tolegenova, A., Kalymbetova, E., Chung, M. C., Faizullina, A., & Jakupov, M. (2016). Psychological Trauma as a Reason for Computer Game Addiction among Adolescents. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(9), 2343-2353. Yang, L., Cao, H., Ma, X., Geng, Y., Xu, J., & Fu, Y. (2017). The Relationship between Childhood Trauma and Internet Addiction among College Students: The Mediating Effect of Coping Styles. Psychology: Techniques and Application, 5(1), 19-25.