对法医心理学的热爱

Morgan Branco graduated from RWU in 2018 with a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology in the Forensic Licensure track (currently the M.A. 法医心理健康咨询计划). 现在, she is in her third year of the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at Nova Southeastern University. She is studying to be a forensic psychologist, and hopes to work in assessment and evaluation upon her graduation. 

“The Master’s program at Roger Williams really prepared me for the program I’m in now,”她说。. “It’s very similar in terms of workload and things like that. 它真的帮了我很多.”

Branco always liked psychology and law, but knew that she didn’t want to be a lawyer. She researched other career paths that combine psychology and law and discovered forensic psychology. 现在，她对这个领域充满了热情. 

“Being able to assess and help underserved populations is always something I’ve been interested in,”她说。. 

通过她在RWU的学习, Branco interned at Bridgewater State Hospital, a medium security facility that houses people in need of competency and criminal responsibility evaluations, 一年半了. Branco worked in the high-functioning maximum security unit and had her own caseload, providing supportive intervention for patients. 

“That was a really great opportunity to be in that kind of a setting because Bridgewater State Hospital is unique. 它是独一无二的. It shaped me in a lot of different ways into who I am today as a student, 临床医生, 还有一个心理实习生. It has helped me a lot in my practicum having that experience,”她说。. 

Branco learned the foundation of being 临床医生 in a professional setting, 如何设定职业界限, and how to work with individuals with serious mental illnesses at all levels of functioning. She learned how to maneuver in settings that could be dangerous, and learned from the professionals she worked with. The most important lesson she took from the experience, though, was in empathy and compassion. 

“The biggest thing I learned from interning at Bridgewater State Hospital, and I am extremely passionate about this statement, is not letting somebody’s crime or illness define them. So many of the patients I worked with were just so amazing, regardless of what they’d been charged with or what diagnosis they had,”她说。. 

In her doctoral program, Branco is applying what she learned to her practicum. She is learning more about what populations she wants to work with, and developing her skills in evaluation and assessment. 

“这是我的激情所在，”她说.