A gap year on the way to clinical mental health counseling
by Madi Jachim ‘UA 25 and Jim Stellar
MJ is currently in JS’ senior undergraduate seminar. We began to talk there and it extended to this writing. One reason for our talk is that she is planning on taking a gap year before going to graduate school, perhaps at Syracuse University in her hometown. Now, a gap year in her case is made a bit more interesting because MJ is ahead of the typical age of graduation this spring due to her getting a good deal of advanced placement credit for courses she took in high school. Back in the day, JS did not do a gap year and went straight to graduate school. While it worked out for him, he always regretted not taking that gap year and now he recommends it to all of his students. The maturing effect of work on the choice of a profession can really happen in a gap year. First we will discuss the anticipation of that gap year and then in a later blog, its implementation. Maybe particularly to students who seem to be shortening up their college years with advanced placement courses and the like.
I (MJ) am interested in a gap year because I want to not only discover life outside of schooling, but I want to build both life skills and professional skills. I believe that there are a multitude of strengths that can be gained by simply going out into the world and exploring. Over the years, school has become a huge part of my identity, as I’m sure many students can relate. Given that, I am excited to explore my identity outside of the scope of academia. It brings me excitement to know that I will have control over my life in a different way than I am used to (and comfortable with). There is something valuable in getting into the workforce, or the “real world”, prior to pursuing higher education—not just for experience, but for getting a taste of your likes and dislikes—what works for you and what does not. In other words, it can help you understand what you want to do for the rest of your life. I think that’s pretty important.
I am also excited to possibly explore my career options and opportunities, given that I am young and constantly growing. This is interesting given that I have a clear understanding of my career goals, but nevertheless, I am open to the possibility of my plans evolving. Control can only get us so far, and sometimes, we simply don’t know what is going to happen. I am okay with that—in fact, I embrace it in the best way I know how. I am very open to learning new things and adapting to change, which is why I am not only looking forward to the gap year, but why I think it was a great personal choice.
Outside of an academic scope entirely, I believe gap years can be fun, fulfilling, and prime times for adventure. As a young person, I’m told that “these are the days” to travel, to try new things, and to simply live. I believe these things are what really make life worth living, and I want to make sure I include as much balance into my life as possible. Career is important, of course, but so is joy.
I’ve chosen mental health counseling as a career for several reasons. Since I was a young girl, I’ve always wanted to help people and give back to the world. I’ve found myself to have a knack for illuminating and helping others. I began my own journey with therapy nearly 5 years ago (I have since graduated from CBT), which opened my eyes to the profession itself. I started to realize just how much my life was being positively impacted through counseling, and how I could someday do the same. Once I entered high school, I discovered psychology and immediately fell in love with it. At this point, around the age of 17, it was like the lightbulb in my brain lit so bright, it could’ve blown a fuse. As I also have other interests in the field, such as psychedelic therapies, psychoanalysis, and creating more accessible ADHD/autism assessments, I have a current end goal of becoming a clinical psychologist (PhD). I figure clinical mental health counseling (MS) is a great pit stop—and if I really love it, it could be my final destination. Not to mention, I am a fan of more positive/humanistic psychology principles as opposed to the disease model, as I think psychology should make more room for resilience and well-being.
So in light of what MJ said, why do we think a gap year is valuable? What can it add to a 20-year-old’s already substantial experience with classes, thinking about a career, and maybe even an internship? The answer is an old story going back to when JS worked at Northeastern University, a cooperative education school, where students became full-time paid employees at a workplace a few times in their undergraduate years. The answer is seen in what a modest-sized technical head company told JS back when he was Dean of Arts and Sciences. That statement was that the student, although an employee, was not permanent and the manager did not want to give that person full access to the new product on which the company was working. That point illustrates that both the student and the employer knew the end-date of the relationship. When one takes a gap year (or even two) that end-date is farther out, the workplace experience is more authentic, and it is more genuine and therefore more powerful on the person (now not a student). Most students worry that their learning will decrease in the gap year, but according to this thinking, it will increase, especially in the experiential mode.
