BOX15-3 Graduate Student Perspective: David Wagner, M.A.David V. Wagner is a sixth-year doctoral candidate in clin-
ical psychology at the University of Missouri. He received
his B.A. in child psychology from the University of
Minnesota and M.A. fromthe University ofMissouri. David
studies the effect of multisystemic therapy (MST) on non-
referredfamilymembers(e.g.,siblings,parents).Davidhas
also been involved with adapting MST for use with ado-
lescents with autism spectrum disorder and is currently
conductingarandomizedclinicaltrialtoassesstheefficacy
of this adapted treatment. After graduation, he hopes to
find a university-affiliated position where he can continue
to modify and evaluate this new adapted treatment for
autism spectrum disorder as well as continue his research
on the effects of treatment on multiple family members.
We asked David to share his thoughts about
graduate school, as well as his interests and expertise.What has graduate school in clinical psychology
been for you?
For me, graduate school has been the ideal blend of
research, teaching, and clinical practice. My program
provided me with coursework to supplement my
knowledge base in psychology. It also supplied me with
clinical training and practice experiences that have
helped me to better understand what we know about
whether and how treatment works as well as, and
perhaps more importantly, what we still don’t know
about treatment outcomes and processes. I’ve also had
the experience of instructing undergraduate courses,
from 30 juniors and seniors in an upper-level course to
500 students in an introductory course. Graduate
school has offered me the opportunity to collaborate
with experts in other fields and settings and to conduct
my own basic and applied research. In sum, graduate
school has, for me, been the foundation upon which
my career in this field will be built, whether that be in
research, supervision, dissemination, or teaching.What things have you least expected about
graduate school?
Most of what I encountered in graduate school fit my
preconceptions. As I had hoped, I found graduate school in
clinical psychology to be a setting populated with bright
and inquisitive individuals who share many of the same
interests. In addition, our graduate program has expect-
edly tested the limits of my abilities and challenged me to
be a more efficient and diligent worker. Despite this, I was
surprised by a number of characteristics of my program. I
hadn’t expected the faculty to be as approachable and
down-to-earth as they were. I also hadn’texpectedthelevel of specialization that I encountered. That is, a num-
ber of individuals will receive the same degree but have
very little overlap in their areas of research and clinical
experience. Finally, no matter how many times I was pre-
viously informed of my program’s research emphasis, I was
still surprised at the seemingly much larger value placed
on academic publications when compared to clinical work.Has graduate school changed you? If yes, how so?
Graduate school has been linked to changes for me in
numerous ways. Some of these changes have been
small, such as an expanded vocabulary, and some large,
such as an increased consideration of multiple alterna-
tive explanations for the behavior of others. Perhaps
the biggest change has been the increased emphasis
that I now place on empirical results, not only in my
study and understanding of psychology but when con-
sidering and making life decisions. For example,
whether I’m choosing a workout routine, shopping for a
used car, or watching a baseball game, I now find
myself more frequently questioning the claims of
others, considering alternative explanations, and
searching for research data that will better help me
understand the information presented to me. That is,
what empirical evidence supports this new workout? Is
there unbiased research on the claim that this car model
will last another 5 years? How meaningful is a player’s
home run total? Although I’ve always considered myself
to be a critical thinker, whether for good or bad, I now
find myself applying the lessons I’ve learned in my
studies not only to psychology but also to my daily life.Are your professional or research interests similar or
different now than they were when you started
graduate school?
My professional interests and research interests are sur-
prisingly similar to what they were before starting grad-
uate school. In high school, I worked as a provider for a
child with autism, and, as a college undergraduate, I
worked in a lab conducting research related to autism. In
addition, during and after my undergraduate education,
I worked as a group leader and case manager for children
with mental health disorders and their families. As such,
I came to graduate school hoping to find ways to
better help these populations. Indeed, I now find
myself researching whether family-based therapies
(e.g., multisystemic therapy, MST) have positive effects
on nonreferred family members and am in the process of
adapting and evaluating MST for autism spectrum disor-
ders. In sum, I’ve found that, over time, my program has448 CHAPTER 15