About
I am a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at Eastern Michigan University. As a freshman in my undergraduate, knowing that I wanted to become a scientist, I readily joined the first research lab that had openings. I quickly learned about one old research finding, and it regularly occupied my thoughts: One of the most predictive (of improvement) parts of therapy is the relationship/agreement between a client and therapist.
I was later introduced to self-determination theory, which argues that 3 things are core psychological needs: Feeling competent, feeling autonomous, and feeling connected.
I was later offered another position in a research lab focused on romantic relationships and prevention of unhealthy relationships. Around the same time, during a study, I found a very common response that people gave to "What did you find most helpful about therapy?" - being listened to.
At this point, I decided to focus my research on relationships. Why were people not feeling listened to outside of therapy? What made a therapeutic relationship so... well... therapeutic? How could we generalize therapeutic principles to extra-therapeutic relationships? Now, the primary goal of my research is to increase the prevalence of relationships that support health. Because the true goal of psychotherapy (psyche-therapia) is to heal the soul - not necessarily in a therapist's office.
I focus my efforts on the family, because it is a naturally-occurring and impactful setting for having, and learning to develop, healthy relationships. I currently study topics related to humility, which touches on two aspects of healthy relationships: Being persuaded to live healthfully, and feeling loved.
Take a look at my website here.
Joined
February 2025
