Interview

What are two or three accomplishments in your life that have given you the most satisfaction?

-Honours Thesis-Although I had worked on research before, this was my first opportunity to really author my own research and add to a bigger project Taking care of my grandmother -Taking care of my grandmother -Undergoing therapy to deal with grief and depression - Seeing a client progress at MMHA or Bangsa Ria

10. Describe a time in your life that you regret something you did and wish you could take it back

-spending my time with my grandmother

7. How do you embrace diversity?

1 be curious 2 educate yourself 3 become friends 4 be respectful

Therapy 4. What are the challenges you expect to face as a therapist?

1. Dealing with anxiety -Recognise it not deny, discuss with supervisors and peers -Examine whether it is anxiety of not seeing immediate results? Dealing with clients who lack commitment 2 Too much information -We live in an age rich with information, theories, and modalities. -The enormous amount of information creates opportunities for growth and refinement and it also can be overwhelming. -We can freeze and do nothing with so many choices of what we can learn. 3 Inadequacy -Sometimes the more we know the more realize what we don't know. -As we keep learning and growing we can feel like there is a long way to go before we get to mastery. -However, the emotional weight of feeling inadequate can sometimes be paralyzing and cause us to withdraw from the process of growing. 4 Countertransference -refers to the range of reactions and responses that the counselor has toward clients (including the clients' transference reactions) based on the counselor's own background and personal issues. -Although countertransference occurs in all therapy and can be a useful tool, unhealthy countertransference occurs when the counselor projects onto clients her own unresolved feelings or issues that may be stirred up in the course of working with the client. -If the counselor's own boundaries are not firm, she is more likely to have difficulty remaining objective and may respond to a client's transference reaction with countertransference. -Counselors must pay close attention to their own feelings to protect their clients and to learn more about them. -At the same time, the counselor should keep in mind that the feelings clients evoke in a counselor are likely to be feelings that clients are evoking in their daily interactions with others. 5 Secondary Traumatization (trauma) -Many counselors find the level of violence and cruelty they are exposed to in working with adult survivors of abuse upsetting and incomprehensible. -The counselor who is repeatedly confronted by disclosures of victimization and exploitation, especially between parent and child, may experience symptoms of trauma, such as disturbing dreams, free-floating anxiety, or increased difficulties in personal relationships. -The stress and "burnout" that may result from working with such clients can even produce symptoms similar to those of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (e.g. anhedonia, restricted range of affect, diminished interest, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and insomnia). -Counselors experiencing these symptoms may lose perspective and become either over- or underinvested in a client -Counselors who are underinvested may become numb to feelings that would otherwise cause anxiety, anger, or depression. -A counselor may unintentionally, even unconsciously, dismiss, negate, or minimize a client's history of abuse. This reaction represents an attempt to avoid and distance oneself from the uncomfortable issues raised by the abuse. He may respond to the client coldly and clinically. -Those counselors who overinvest, on the other hand, become extremely involved with their clients, going beyond the appropriate boundaries of the relationship. They may respond by becoming parental and doing problematic things such as lending their clients money, trying to solve their problems for them, or seeing them too frequently. They may also fail to confront clients when they behave inappropriately or destructively. When working with a client who was abused as a child, an overinvested counselor may have rescue fantasies or feel inappropriate anger directed at former therapists, child protective services (CPS) workers, and parents or caretakers. In extreme cases, the relationship can cease to be beneficial as it becomes overly personal, with the attendant loss of objectivity that is necessary in a professional relationship (Briere, 1989).

15. Why should we accept you over other equally qualified candidates?

1. Well-informed decision: Given my academic and clinical experiences, my decision to pursue clinical psychology is very well-informed decision. I have taken subjects on ethical issues and assessment during honours year. I have also volunteered and interned with a population from diverse background and mental illness These all helped to understand that the clinical psychology job is a physically and emotionally demanding job and i clearly understand what i am getting into. 2. Diverse research background 3. Great fit (academice and clinical) Empathy- - Psychologists must be able to offer a caring, understanding, and empowering environment for their patients. They must be able to put themselves in the shoes of their clients. Draw firm boundaries - assertive and not-egocentric

13. What are your aspirations or goals for your future in this field?

At this point, I am open about how my career progresses but I know that I want it be within therapy, helping people resolve their emotional, behavioral and mental health problems and the reason that I applied to you is that your training will enable me to progress in the future. Moreover, I aspire to do research and in the field of clinical psychology and subsequently obtaining a PhD degree.

2. Describe the biggest challenge you faced in the past year and how you handled it. OR Describe a challenging experience and how you overcame it.

Covid-19 Was enrolled into unimelb and due to covid-19 my offer was withdrawn. Question my worldview, come to terms with it and choose to invest my time in what is important

14. What do you have to contribute to us? What can you bring to our program?

Coming from a different cultural background I could bring different perspectives and ideas to the group that will formed during intake Jan2021 (for new intake). During my honours year, I wanted to publish my dissertation paper in an academic journal. I'm committed to publish research that would support the work you are doing in your department. I have studied the programming language R. Hopefully my stats skills could contribute to research work there.

3. Why do you think you are a "fit" for our program? How does your related background fit in with your program? 1. Why are you interested in our program? Why are you applying to this particular program?

Coursework + research component → i've done that duing my honours year Internal practicum and external → i had a volunteering and intern

17. What are three qualities of a good psychologist? 8. What do you think is necessary for a good therapist?

Empathy: Psychologists must be able to offer a caring, understanding, and empowering environment for their patients. They must be able to put themselves in the shoes of their clients. Ability to identify patterns: psychologists must be able to see patterns, both internal and external, that people engage in. These patterns are often the key to identifying when people are stuck in an unhealthy state of mind or relationship. You can help your client immensely if you are skilled at recognizing such patterns and bringing their attention to it. Self-awareness: Psychologists must take into account their own natural biases, based on their education, background, social status and religious beliefs. They must know how to step back from their own lives to ensure that they can make objective observations. Example: "I believe that the most important traits for therapists are compassion, excellent listening skills and the ability to verbally communicate. Therapists need to have compassion so that they can connect with their clients, excellent listening skills so that their clients feel valued and the ability to verbally communicate with their clients to give them advice and help them articulate their feelings."

8. What was a transformative experience in your life?

How do students get internship placements? Do they apply for the centers or school help arrange this? Have graduate of this program were able to get admitted into PhD program? Aside from CBT What theoretical models that would be primarily taught in this program?--- How would theory and practice be integrated and taught in this program?

1. Tell us about your undergrad experience.

I am a psychology graduate who studied Bachelor in Art and Social Sciences majoring in psychology and honours year in Psychological Science helped me develop understanding of theoretical and methodological aspects of research, to develop my analytic, research and communication skills, and to provide me with advanced knowledge in specific areas of the science and practice of psychology. In this program I completeed coursework components that expanded my knowledge of statistics, the ethics of psychological research and practice, assessment and intervention and broadened my understanding of the discipline. You've also undertaken a supervised research project. The research project was formed on the basis of a literature review and research paper was presented at the end of the course and sumbitted as dissertation.

16. Why did you choose this career path?

I chose psychology for personal reasons as being a caretaker of my late grandmother. I enjoyed caring for her by helping her to check her blood pressure, sugar and medicine taking. Moreover reading Dostoevsky and other Russian authors, I was fascinated with their ability to deeply see into the human heart and mind and their ability to draw his characters with such sympathy and accuracy drove me to become curious about why humans behave the way they do. I chose to study psychology for my undergraduate degree. I developed a keen interest in clinical psychology after taking an abnormal psychology unit and joining volunteering and internship programs further fueled my interest in studying clinical psychology. Studying honours year and coursework subjects like assessment and ethics oso make me very interested. I have battled with grief over my grandmother passing away and depression. Undergoing my own therapy, made me witness the power of therapy and inspire me to be a therapist and work with client who struggle with grief. And it was my own therapy that strengthened a wish in me to be a therapist. MY BABYYY why say awakened ur wish lah hallo, just say that ure the witness of the power of therapy? And want to be able to work with clients who struggle w grief

1. Tell me about an instance when someone asked you to do something that you considered ethically or morally wrong? How did you respond?

I didnt have but i can foresee its happening during studying this program

2. What areas other than psychology did you explore as an undergrad?

I have studied gender studies as my minor which is about how gender intersects with other forms of difference, including race, disability, ethnicity, class, age, and sexual orientation. I enjoyed studying this subject as it allowed me to reflect on my exasperation I have felt throughout my life at the invisibility of women and their experiences. I believed that gender studies is important as it examineS and challengeS social norms around what it means to be a woman or man in society, and to pursue justice and equality for all

19. What areas do you think you will excel in (in grad school) and what areas will need improvement?

I think I will do well on coursework subjects and research project as I had this during my honours year at Monash University Malaysia. I had few coursework subjects such as statistics, ethics and assessment and intervention. I am also familiar with writing a proposal for the research project based on the literature review, communicating with supervisors and writing up the whole project. The areas that would require me to put an effort and learn is practical training: learning therapy skills and knowledge on how to conduct therapy with individuals since I have not had this kind of experience

20. What theory resonates the most with you?

I would say Cognitive behavioral therapy that states that the way we think and interpret life's events affects how we behave and, ultimately, how we feel. Although, there are several challenges that people may run into during the course of cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT makes us more aware of how our thought patterns create our reality and determine how we behave. CBT can have a positive impact on how people feel and act and equip them with coping strategies that help them deal with challenges. It is empirically supported and has been shown to effectively help patients overcome a wide variety of maladaptive behaviors CBT can be an effective short-term treatment option.

4. What variables/issues are of concern to you in working with specific populations?

Language barrier

1. What are your research interests? How did you get interested in this topic?

My very broad interests are about how we age and how we grow? It is about the time when our brain goes through rapid changes either deterioation or development. Thus, I am interested in mental health conditions that commonly develop in older people and adolesencent and kids. For my honours project I research about memory. My area of research is memory and involuntary memories and involuntary future thoughts. I got interested in research in this when I observed my grandmother's memory decline. Specifically, I was interested in confabulations which is a symptom of various memory disorders in which made-up stories fill in any gaps in memory (the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world.) Intrusions are defined as unintentional productions of inappropriate responses in a memory task . However, due to the time constraints there were challenges associated with obtaining participants. Therefore, i opted for a more doable and somewhat similar topic which is about involuntary memories and involuntary future thought which are thoughts and memories that pop up in our minds involuntary or without our effort.

16. How will you handle the stress of changing your professional identity to become a psychologist?

Self-awareness, to the point of self-absorption, preoccupied the way you talk, practice with your girl-friend, read psycho-education material, practice until it becomes natural Listening skills: setting small goals in session, today you try to emerse yourself in the story, see what client see Take on more responsibility than you should, save the client, identify what's within your control and what's not, manage ct's expectations Self-care - I'm aware that we need to collect direct hours with client and arrange clients while studying, I need to learn how to pace myself to avoid burnout

2. What do you do in your spare time? To relax?

Sports are my greatest passion. When I have some free time, I like to go to gym, do yoga or go for a walk or hike. I try to have a healthy lifestyle. I spend a lot of time sitting so I try to move as much I can while I am not working. It's my way of staying healthy, and so far it's been working great. I love to read books or listen to audiobooks, primarily non-fiction books. First of all I enjoy reading them, but I also believe that they help me to broaden my horizons. If nothing else, they help me improve on my vocabulary and communication skills, and also they help my mind relax a bit. In my free time I enjoy socializing. Going out for a cup of coffee or for some healthy snack, meeting friends or helping them on whatever they need.

11. What are your (personal) strengths and weaknesses? What have you done to deal with your Shortcomings?

Weakness: During my honours year, I worked hard to the point of overworking myself. I experienced difficulty relaxing, feelings that I can't keep up with the constant flow of work and other physical symptoms. I realised that maintaining a healthy work-life balance is important for my mental, physical and emotional health and, most importantly and that when there's a balance, it's a lot easier to control what you're focused on. To deal with this shortcomings I made exercise a part of my daily routine, I learned to take things slow by understanding that things take time, I learned to schedule my personal time Unless something requires desperate attention, I would set my work hours & stick to them Strengths: Curiosity or Passion for Learning . I like to learn new things and ideas Detail-oriented: I tend to pay close attention to details and to be thorough in what I choose to engage. I believe this quality also helps me to be observant and able to notice people's body language as well as what they say. Self-disciplined or persistence: When I choose a particular thing to do, I am able to give up a lot of other things and persist through in order to achieve it put off doing what they enjoy in order to persist through and give up a lot other things. I used to attempt to deal with my emotions and problems on my own without reaching out and asking for support and help. For example, when my grandmother passed away and i was trying to deal with grief on my own and I did not want to burden other people with my grief and negative emotions. This coping method backfired me as i was not able to effectively deal with my emotions and life at the same time. I felt lost, hopeless and depressed. However, changing my coping and talking to other people about my grief and eventually undergoing therapy helped me feel better. During my honours year, I worked hard to the point of overworking myself. I experienced difficulty relaxing, feelings that I can't keep up with the constant flow of work and other physical symptoms. I realised that maintaining a healthy work-life balance is important for my mental, physical and emotional health and, most importantly and that when there's a balance, it's a lot easier to control what you're focused on. To deal with this shortcomings I made exercise a part of my daily routine, I learned to take things slow by understanding that things take time, I learned to schedule my personal time Unless something requires desperate attention, I would set my work hours & stick to them

6. What are you looking for in a mentor?

intellectual stimulation and serve as role models

1. What do you think would be your greatest strength as a therapist?

passion for helping others → prior experiences in helping activities altruism, making a difference in people's lives and in society, helping others who have struggled with similar painful issues, being around people who are growing and changing, and participating in a culture that values growth and well-being. open minded, nonjudgmental, and accepting: My strengths that I would bring to the helping situation include my nonjudgmental perspective ... I have worked with individuals from diverse backgrounds and I learned to look at people as individuals with their own life stories and circumstances that has created an internal perspective of not judging others based on my impressions Curios about myself and people: a need to understand myself and others; I think and analyze a lot of things, but I mostly think and analyze people. I have a real, deep-seated interest in human beings. I always strive to understand them - the way they think, the way they act, and why they think and act in such ways.