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Why I Care

  • gmtorzewski
  • 1 day ago
  • 3 min read

One more "get to know me post"...

When I tell people what my goals and ambitions are regarding my professional development (in sum, I want to help provide mental health care for those with disabilities), I often get asked "why?". Truly, there are many answers to this question.

#1 I have always found the field of psychology (more specifically, mental health, in regards to human behavior) extremely interesting. These topics come easily to me, and I truly enjoy learning and discussing the various theories and philosophies for why we are the way we are. This led me to major in psychology, as well as human development, during my undergrad at UW-Madison. Being a part of these majors and the communities that came with it provided me with numerous unique opportunities to explore this field, get involved in research, and learn about the distinct developmental factors that shape us into the individuals we are. However, I found myself stuck when thinking about how I want to utilize my knowledge on these topics. I felt that I had two main options - getting involved in typical mental health care (psychiatric care, CBT etc.) or be involved in research (pursue my PhD), and I didn't fall in love with either of these options as I wanted to take a more unique path tailored to not only this interest but also another - Helping those with disabilities...

#2 I am extremely passionate about providing the proper care and resources for developing humans who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. I have grown up with cousins and close friends who have been diagnosed with Autism (and some, at the time, Asperger's). I have seen firsthand the challenges that they have gone through because of this, but also the immense growth and development that came from the therapeutic work they received (shout out to my aunt and uncle, who relentlessly advocated for their children's rights to receive proper care). My cousins, specifically, were both told that they would be lucky to graduate from high school and live independently- now both are college graduates, living independently, with well-respected careers. This was such an inspiration to me, and as I got older, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the group of people who are helping these individuals thrive into happy, successful people. During undergrad, I worked for a little over a year as an Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapist (ABA therapist) which was an amazing experience, however, led me to discover some of what I think are crucial missing pieces when providing developmental resources and care to those with disabilities- helping the person themselves understand what they are feeling, why they are feeling that way, and how to help fix those "bad feelings" on their own. I want to write a blog post about ABA therapy in depth, because I have seen how much it can help an individual grow when learning how to live with autism, but its simply not enough.

#3 I want to pursue a career that I can feel proud of and get fulfillment from. As i've gotten older and taken real time to think about my career path and future I always struggled with deciding whether or not I want to do whatever career that will make me the most money (that I probably will not enjoy) or peruse a career that will probably not make me as much money but that I can feel proud of. I recently (like in the past 2 years) chose the second option. It is honestly kind of scary as I want to feel financially stable with my career, but its worth it as I know each and everyday I will be waking up to help someone become a better and happier person (btw this is not to say that high paying careers do not help people or are something to not be proud of, or that this career path is not well paying). When I decided to take this career path, I decided that I was going to do it right, meaning I refuse to fall into the trap of just doing whatever is easiest in regard to my future work. I have figured out what specifically I want to do, and I am currently in the process of taking the steps to do so. I want to make a difference in peoples lives who are often overlooked or disregarded- so thats what I am going to do!

 
 
 

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