Clinical Psychology

who is having adjustment problems and may also
suffer from mental retardation? No one condones
diagnoses that are nothing more than mindless
labeling. But the prohibition against all assessment
seems to assure that therapists will remain more
ignorant than they need be.

Technique-Centered. Perhaps many humanistic-

existential clinicians disregard assessment in part

because they treat every patient alike. Many of these

clinicians seem to have an abiding faith that every

troubled soul can be rescued by acceptance, positive

regard, and the assertion of responsibility for self. If

BOX13-4 Graduate Student Perspective: Catalina Woldarsky Meneses, M. A.

Catalina Woldarsky Meneses is completing the final

year of her doctorate degree in clinical psychology at

York University in Toronto, Canada. As a scientist-

practitioner, Catalina is most engaged conducting clin-

ically relevant research that serves to shed light on the

process of change in psychotherapy. The primary focus

of her academic research has been on exploring the

process of forgiveness within emotion-focused couples

therapy and understanding the adaptive role of shame

in this context. Catalina is also a certified yoga instruc-

tor, who hopes to eventually find a way of integrating

yogic philosophy and practice with psychotherapy.

Catalina shared the following insights regarding her

graduate school experience.

What has graduate school in clinical psychology

been like for you?

Graduate school has been a lengthy, transformative

experience. The nature of the work we do as clinicians-

in-training is an invitation to personal development

and growth. Unlike other professional trainings, the

work that is required of a clinical psychology student is

very confronting since it’s not simply learning about

theories of personality and understanding when func-

tioning is“abnormal,”it’s also hopefully about inte-

grating this knowledge and learning about oneself in

relation to others. I feel fortunate to have trained at a

setting with a humanistic tradition alongside faculty

members who encouraged me to reflect on my own

experiences as a therapist, and in doing this, I reflected

upon my own growth. I also developed deep friend-

ships, with wonderful people in my program and

department, including my supervisor.

What things have you least expected about

graduate school?

I did not realize that this training would impact me so

profoundly on an individual level. I cannot“unlearn”

how to see the world through the eyes of a therapist

or a psychotherapy researcher. For example, I feel like I

developed another set of ears for emotional processes

and I find myself acutely aware of people’s gestures

and vocal qualities.

Has graduate school changed you? If yes, how so?

There was a major shift in the anxiety I felt about fit-

ting in within the competitive world of academia. I

recall starting graduate school with a sense of pride

about going forward and expanding my knowledge

and experience. I think that at the time I felt that the

worst answer to a question was“I don’t know.”And so

I went through my early years feeling like I had to read

everything and ultimately know everything if I was to

understand something as complex as human behavior.

Needless to say, I was drowning in my own stress and I

struggled with feeling like an imposter (especially as a

researcher). Then something beautiful happened: It

took many years and lots of therapy but I eventually

realized that I will never know everything and that’s

okay! It’s paradoxical that in graduate school I learned

how to let go of my perfectionist tendencies and

accept myself for having my idiosyncratic way of being

a student. I now take great pride in answering a ques-

tion by saying,“I don’t know.”

Are your professional or research interests similar or

different now than they were when you started

graduate school?

I came to graduate school asking the question“How

does change happen in therapy?”After seven years of

exploring this question I still cannot answer it fully.

Instead, I can break it down into more precise ques-

tions in order to test hypotheses. While I feel a sense of

accomplishment in dissecting therapeutic interactions

and articulating the subtleties of the process, I accept

that I will never fully know how healing happens and

what allows change to unfold. I enjoy conducting psy-

chotherapy research because it keeps me stimulated

and humbled.

I have also developed new research interests

through my experiences in graduate school. I had one

clinical supervisor whose first language was not English

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