My extensive research concerning what graduate programs in Psychology are looking for in applicants has led me to the following conclusions that I would like to share with you:

Usually, at least one tenure-track faculty member reviews every application, and from there, they create a short list of about 25 percent of the applications, less for highly competitive programs. Then, several faculty members review candidates on the short list and provide feedback. Academic potential as measured by a combination of grade point average (GPA) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores along with the extent to which the applicant is seen as a good match to the program, its values and areas of research concentration. The GRE score is not as important as many applicants think if you have good grades. One tenured admission committee member in psychology says that: “The psych GRE score usually will not get you in; and it will not keep you out. The importance of the extent to which an applicant matches the general emphasis of the program's training, and has research interests that match an available mentor can hardly be overestimated.

Psychology graduate programs like to see some independent research experience, an ability to think like a scientist, someone who can generate hypotheses, who is familiar with research literature, who can understand the limits to prior research, someone who demonstrates ability for scientific thinking and writing. Some applicants indicate a lot of enthusiasm for an area of research, but not knowledge of how to conduct good research. For example, they might indicate that they're very excited about working with children or adolescents, and that they think it's important to study internalizing symptoms. This is fairly broad. That type of essay will not stand out as much as an applicant who expresses such enthusiasm, but also is knowledgeable about some of the current theories and methodological approaches that are used to study specific developmental psychopathology symptoms.

XXXX University is my first choice to earn my PsyD for a variety of reasons, primarily my profound admiration of your advanced curriculum and the streamlined nature of your program. My drive to earn the PsyD is a direct result of my extensive experience with special needs children—beginning with my own 2 children. My daughter XXXX will turn 15 in May; intellectually gifted, she has done outstandingly well given the fact that she was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in pre-school. My son XXXX, who just turned 12, still struggles with learning disabilities and has many characteristics of ADHD. As I continue to reflect on and learn from our experience, I become increasingly engaged with the subject of psychological assessment and the pivotal role that it plays in diagnosis and subsequent treatment. I think in terms of windows of opportunity, especially in the case of my daughter. I hope to publish in this area and give it my all for the balance of my professional life. Thus, it would be a great honor for me to have the privilege of studying under Dr. XXXX whose work on assessment I deeply admire, along with Dr. XXXX in the area of school-based consultation and Dr. XXXX  in the areas of risk, resiliency, transition and diversity issues.

In the same measure that we approach death, let us also approach divinity. Dr. Robert Edinger

I dedicate my service in psychology to my uncle, Dr. Edward F. Edinger, a leading Jungian analyst whose books on the interplay between symbols and psychology carried the concepts of Carl Jung to a new generation of American analysts. He died on July 17, 1998 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 75. Colleagues said he was the most influential Jungian analyst in the United States from the 1950's until his death.

1.) Fill Out Online Interview Form.

2.) Send resume/CV & rough draft to drrobertedinger@gmail.com

An old wise man and creative writer, for as many applicants as I can, I draft a model first paragraph for your Statement free of charge to promote my service. 

Add Me as a Contact! on Skype. ID: DrRobertEdinger so that we can chat. Please note that I am not usually able to talk and I need your information in text form. 

I appreciate that you trust me to do a good job on your statement. I trust you as well to recommend me to your friends and colleagues if you are very pleased with your statement. 

Let's be friends on Facebook!

Free Document Evaluation: Applicants who can think like scientists usually express ideas that begin to sound like a hypothesis, their ideas convey an appreciation of the way in which constructs might be associated with each other. Of course, the only chance that you have to convince them that you are capable of thinking and writing like a scientist is in your Personal Statement. I would be happy to draft the first paragraph free of charge so that I have to opportunity to demonstrate to you how I can help in this regard. You will only need to pay for my services if you are very impressed with the first paragraph and decide to commission me to draft the entire statement.

 You will need a highly eloquent Statement that portrays you as someone with enormous potential to contribute to the advance of Psychology over the long term. After you fill out my Online Interview Form, I will ask you some specific questions by email if I need any further information. Please also send your resume/CV and or rough draft if you have one.

My service is quite different from other statement writing services on the Internet for several reasons. I am the little guy on the web, not a big business like most of my competitors. You deal directly with me. I answer all of your questions completely free of charge and I am solely responsible for producing a statement that you are very pleased with.

Please note that I attend to my clients in the order in which I have received their payments. 

I really love the statement. It's perfect just the way it is.  I am very pleased.

Thank you so much!

K.M. (Application for Counseling program February 2012)

I would like to thank you so much for a wonderful Statement of Purpose. It is so well worded and covers all the key points that I wanted to present. I will definitely recommend your services to all my friends.

D.N. (Application for Master’s in Counseling
Psychology June 2011)

Deciding on a thesis topic for your MA in Psychology can be one of the most difficult decisions you make during your studies. You must be interested in the subject you choose. Analyze which subjects you enjoyed focusing on during your first degree. It is also very important to work closely with your academic superiors. Look for holes in your topic field.

Other advice you can use to make sure that your topic will “push the envelope” include making sure you won’t repeat something that has already been studied, choosing something that other researchers will find interesting, and choosing a subject that will actually teach researchers like you new information that will be useful for them when framing their own projects.

Always make sure your methods match the theory you employ and vice versa, and that the question can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”.

Since 2002, the USA has had the highest incarceration rate in the world. In 2010, the rate of prisoners per 100,000 residents was 500 according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In 2015, levels rose to 2.2 million. There is a stark difference between this figure and the 1.3 million of 1998, and the 400,000 of 1982. There has been a 500% population increase in the nation’s prisons and jails in the last forty years, due to changes in sentencing law and policy, resulting in prison overcrowding. One in three black men and one in sex Latino men will now go to prison during their lifetime

Many of these inmates are seen to have active suicidal or homicidal ideation, intent or plans and/or do not make use of the food, clothing, shelter or other activities offered to them because of a mental disorder. Mental health screening to identify disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and mental developmental delays are mandatory. Psychologist and psychiatrists are needed for emergency duty to deal with the increasing numbers of incidents of rape, mania, panic attacks, deaths and victimization.

The rising need for therapy, court-ordered assessments, and other tasks in this challenging environment must be tackled with a high level of professionalism, and this demanding job needs experienced individuals who are very highly trained, like PHDs and PsyDs, to treat the mental illness and disability of the inmates in these special circumstances, which are growing in complexity.

I was amazed that you created such a beautiful personal statement on my behalf so quickly. Thanks a
lot!

YL (Application for Master’s in Psychology of Counseling, March 2011)

Standard Priority Service US$299.00 (With resume/CV edit)

Standard Priority Service US$199.00 (Statement Only)

Free Consultations: drrobertedinger@gmail.com

When psychologists slide into the world of humanitarian work, it can be challenging. Shocking, tiring, and beautiful, all at the same time. This is one of the reasons why it´s inspiring and informative to check out the stories of those who´ve gone before you.

Alessandra Pigni´s Story

We have to remember that we are not striving for perfection in our humanitarian work, but for humanity, says Alessandra Pigni. Here´s her story about working extensively as a psychologist in humanitarian settings.

Pigni´s Search for Meaning

Pigni joined Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders because she was attracted by the possibility to heal and speak out against the inhuman conditions in which many still live today on this planet.

How privileged to be able to work as a psychologist and bear witness to the effects of war through many vivid personal stories. Pigni wanted to do something meaningful for herself and others, while exploring the world.

She also wanted to speak up and write about what this crazy world was bringing to her attention. Through humanitarian work she could do just that. It was an “inner-outer journey”.

Her first mission was in Nablus, Palestine in 2008. In 2009, she was in China following the earthquake in Sichuan. Pigni has been working as a psychologist with Palestinian families living in conflict, and with Chinese men and women struggling in the aftermath of the biggest earthquake that ever hit China most recently.

While she was attending to the needs of the local population, she could not help noticing that she had her own emotional needs, and so did her colleagues. They were a mess! Often their needs went unmet, leaving them psychologically wounded and isolated.

While their position seemed a lucky one in comparison to the one of those who had lost a friend, a parent or a child in a conflict or in an earthquake, she could not fail to notice that her own suffering did not disappear in the face of war or tsunamis, but rather was made more acute in such fragile contexts. 

Life in the field, with that constant living on the edge of conflicts, magnifies our traits and behaviors, both good and bad.

Over the years, through her work with humanitarians, through her doctoral research, and through her ongoing personal journey, Pigni has come to see how the passionate and maladjusted in us often lift the sail towards aid work. It goes back to searching for meaning and striving for some personal truth I guess. 

Aid can be part of your quest, an escape, a way to lead an interesting life. And sometimes we seek war out there to avoid the conflicts that battle within us. As a patch solution this may help to numb the pain. But in the long run disregarding our own pain can either turn us into emotional zombies or lead to depression, anxiety disorders or burnout.

Humanitarian burnout

Humanitarian work tests your resilience on a daily basis. Far from home, and without the appropriate social support it is not unusual to feel isolated, stressed, frustrated, and, on occasion, depressed.

Past sufferings are often triggered by the difficulties of the mission, leaving humanitarian professionals with no one to turn to except perhaps another willing colleague ready to listen. Or alcohol. Pigni has seen depression, substance abuse, helpers’ fatigue and eventually burnout turn ‘a humanitarian dream’, into a humanitarian nightmare which ended on a plane with a single flight back home and a mission cut short.

How Mindfulness Helped Pigni

A lot of surprising things happened to Pigni when she was on her first humanitarian missions: friends dying back home, a toxic work environment, and colleagues leaving without notice. War. While she agrees with Prof Mark Williams that “nothing cures everything”, mindfulness truly helped her at that time.

Simply taking the time to sit for a few minutes before hitting the field provided her with a breathing space, a way to tune into her day from a place of less chaos.

The Real Difficulties

Pigni soon learned that it is a myth that the difficulties of a mission are war, conflict and natural disasters. Aid workers are ready for those challenges. Many crave the adrenaline and the kick that they get from going through a military checkpoint or being in a war-zone. Pigni did.

For most humanitarians, the difficulties of a mission are the team dynamics, the tough work environment, the loneliness, the shattered illusions about humanitarian organizations, the lack of a place you can call ‘home’.

While aid workers need to practice self-care (and no, alcohol doesn’t count as self-care!), it is up to their organizations to foster a healthy work environment: the real key to burnout prevention.

Change the World?

Changing the world is a much sexier idea than changing ourselves and the organizations we work with. But Pigni thinks it’s true to say that “war and peace start in the heart of the individuals”, as Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön writes in Practicing Peace in Times of War (check out her books and audio recordings).

Based on the wisdom of others rather than her own experience, she things it is sensible to say that we cannot change the world out there, unless we start from ourselves and our organizations.

Humanity as a Pre-Requisite for Meaningful Work

We are not striving for perfection, but for humanity in humanitarian work, right? And humanity means that none of us is Superman or Wonderwoman. We need a break, a friend, love, a home, some warmth and care. We don’t want to be bureaucrats, nor be subject to patronizing rules. We strive for meaning otherwise we wouldn’t do what we are doing.

Personal and organizational mindfulness can help to develop emotional intelligence, awareness and a ‘healthy level of empathy’: the opposite of the cynicism and emotional numbness that are the doorway to burnout, and crippling realities in the humanitarian sector.

If we want to make the world a better place, say´s Pigni, looking within as well as after ourselves is the pre-requisite to effectively care for others. As her friend Jennifer Lentfer wrote: “Aid worker, know thyself“. Maybe that’s how changing the world starts from within, Pigni adds.

Is she right? How do you aim to manage the self-care in the humanitarian setting you hope to work in? If you´re a psychologist that´s looking for these kinds of opportunities or related further study and need the support of some compelling documents, please don´t hesitate to let us know! We´d love to support you.

In 2011, government data indicated that 1 in 5 adults suffer from a mental illness. The SAMHSA survey revealed that 11 million Americans had a serious disorder, and 62% failed to receive treatment for their illness.

This may reflect a healthcare distribution problem. Thomas, Ellis, Konrad, Holzer and Morrissey (2009) examined the availability of different types of mental health professionals in different States and how well distributed the services were. 96% of counties needed more psychiatrists. A poor distribution of “non-prescribing” mental health professionals was also found, with a shortage in one in five of the counties studied. Health industry employment has also increased and it is predicted that it will keep on expanding (Keckley & Coughlin, 2012).

A Centre for Workforce Studies survey in 2010 looked at 1,246 graduates of psychology doctoral programs one year after graduation. 63% were working full-time, 7.3% were part-time and only 5.7% were unemployed, either seeking employment or not.

The career options for individuals with an MA in Clinical Psychology include teaching, conducting research, drug and alcohol treatment and offering testimony in legal settings, aside from the most obvious – assessing and diagnosing psychological disorders and providing treatment. A CNN Money report in 2009 states that the median annual salary for experienced practitioners in this field was $81,100, and ranked this job as one of the “Best Jobs in America” for that year, with a projected 16% growth rate expected through 2016. It also ranked high for job security.

A Master’s in Experimental Psychology prepare students for a career in research, as research assistants, lab managers and market researchers. There are a number of areas of specialization that people with a Master’s degree can pursue. One of those is developmental psychology. The U.S. Department of Labor shows job growth as average over the next decade and the increased number of senior members of society and returning veterans will increases demand for psychologist trained in geropsychology and psychologists highly trained in working with the mental health disorders associated with combat, such as PDSD.