Meet our graduate students and alumni . . .
Kristin Goodheart
Clinical Psychology
|
After recovering from an eating disorder during my junior year of high school, I quickly realized that I wanted to devote my life to helping others overcome difficult life circumstances. At the end of high school, I decided to pursue a career in clinical psychology with aspirations to eventually earn an advanced degree. Almost a decade later, I am just a few manageable steps from realizing my dream. After earning bachelor's and master's degrees from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, I moved to Lubbock to begin working on my Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Currently, I am in my third year as a clinical psychology graduate student. I was drawn to the clinical psychology program at Texas Tech University initially because its flexibility appealed to me. The equal emphasis on research and clinical work meant that I could tailor the program to fit my career interests. In addition, the people in the department and in the community were warm, accommodating, and friendly when I visited Lubbock, so I thought I would be comfortable living here. Finally, my interest in conducting research on eating disorders and my career goals fit perfectly with Dr. Jim Clopton's, one of the faculty members in the program. | |
|
Both my master's program in Kansas and the Ph.D. program here at Texas Tech have given me the opportunity to do psychotherapy with adolescents and adults. These experiences have led me to be passionate about my goal of helping people in a therapeutic setting. I hope to eventually have a private practice in clinical psychology and to serve people with a variety of needs. At present, I am extremely impressed with the clinical psychologists I have met who practice in Lubbock, and I am strongly attracted to remaining here after I earn my Ph.D. Although I am aiming to have a private practice once I complete my Ph.D., I am actively involved in research in several ways. My master's thesis research was a study of the factors that influence body image for college women and men. |
 |
|
In April, I presented a poster summarizing one aspect of that research at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychology Association in Chicago, and I will present two posters at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference in New York this November. During the next year, I will work on four chapters for a book on eating disorders that is being edited by Dr. Clopton and Dr. Jacalyn McComb of the Department of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences. I have primary responsibility for the writing of three of those chapters. Recently, Dr. Clopton and I began collecting data for a study attempting to identify the components of perfectionism and shame that are most closely related to symptoms of eating disorders. In addition to looking at general relationships among these variables, we are also interested in examining how the experience of perfectionism and shame might fluctuate during the binge-purge cycle. Hopefully, increasing the understanding these relationships will aid clinicians in their work with individuals with eating disorders. In addition to researching eating disorders with Dr. Clopton, this year I have the opportunity to assist with depression and suicide research being conducted by Dr. Kelly Cukrowicz. I also had the opportunity to research a variety of areas in psychology and interview prominent researchers within the field while working with Dr. Frank Durso on the Texas Tech University Psychology PodCast Series. During my time at Texas Tech University, I have been honored for my teaching, research, and clinical work. I was awarded the Health and Human Services Fellowship, an award given to graduate students who are earning their degrees in health-related fields. I was also awarded the Maxey Scholarship, a scholarship awarded to a graduate student in clinical psychology who has a particular interest in working in a clinical setting and has shown outstanding clinical skills. I feel very fortunate to be a graduate student in the clinical program at Texas Tech University and have thoroughly enjoyed my experience in Lubbock. I attribute much of my success to the guidance and support that I have received from the faculty members in the psychology department at Texas Tech University. The psychology faculty members are outstanding instructors, researchers, clinicians, and people. My experience at Texas Tech University has been enriched by their wisdom, knowledge, and compassion for people. I would recommend this program without hesitation to others. |
|