Clinical Psychology Reflection Paper

The course Psychology 361: Introduction to Clinical Psychology served as an introduction to the profession and personal life of clinical psychologists. We discussed the ethical and legal issues, the importance of the client-therapist relationship, the rights and responsibilities of the client and the therapist and the different types of therapy within this field of practice. However, after evaluating these concepts in depth, I have come to find some of the material surprising, interesting and difficult to understand. After recognizing my interests and conflicts within clinical psychology, I was able to evaluate myself and determine this profession would not suit me as an individual.

The concept that we discussed throughout the semester that was most surprising to me was that of meditation. Coming into this class, I had a biased view of meditation. As a senior in high school, one of my teachers used to make us meditate every Friday for an hour during her class. As seniors, stressed about college applications and lack of sleep, we all thought that this was the perfect opportunity to take a nap during the school day. From my experiences with meditation in that class, I really didn’t believe that meditation was helpful in any way or served a purpose. After taking this class, however, I now understand that meditation is more than just sitting in one position for long periods of time.

Meditation is not a time devoted to thinking or reflecting about oneself, but a time to redirect one’s thoughts and emotions away from the outside world and onto something simple, such as the wind or one’s own breathe. By learning how to meditate, an individual can learn how to react appropriately to “the circumstances one finds oneself in, i...

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...them. I would be unable to accept my limitations as a psychologist and would always fear making mistakes when it comes to a client’s therapy. On top of this, I believe my lack of patience would also make it extremely difficult to work with demanding clients. Clients that “violate boundaries, externalize blame, refuse to accept responsibility, are incompatible, push [the therapist’s] buttons, are impatient and argumentative” may frustrate me greatly to the point where it may negatively impact the effectiveness of the therapeutic process, such as counter transference or a lack of effort when planning an intervention and directly working with the client (Kottler, 2010, p.155). While I understand that entering this profession would not suit me, I greatly admire and respect those that have the patience, skill and ¬¬¬¬determination to become clinical psychologists.