Surprise! I’m getting a doctorate! I think I’ve known all my life that I wanted to be a doctor but I never found my “Cinderella” to my slipper until now. I have completed the grueling task of application, submissions, interviews and have been accepted into the Doctorate of Behavioral Health program at Cummings Graduate Institute. Now I am in my second week of classes and not only does the shoe fit it is feeling very comfortable.
I know I’m not alone when I say I didn’t know what a Doctor of Behavioral Health is or does or that it existed. I feel as though the universe led me to it one rainy fall morning as I was once again thinking about getting a doctorate and manifesting the “right” one. The truth is DBH is a fairly new degree program, but it is gaining traction as the demands of behavioral health professions are ever increasing and I’m absolutely proud to be working towards joining the ranks.
The best part about this program is that it will not only make me a better therapist for my clients it will also open doors for me that another program may not have. A doctorate in behavioral health will let people know that I am more than just an marriage and family therapist. It will tell people that I have done the work to be part of an integrative team of professionals who are capable and willing to work together for the best outcome for our patients. You see, I will be gaining new skills that will build not only confidence but also the resolve to go against the grain of traditional therapy protocol and procedures. I will become innovative and fearless in my private practice and even have the opportunity to join, create, co-create, or evolve other behavioral health programs.
This program is going to challenge me to go beyond what I have learned throughout my other programs and even beyond what I have experienced as a clinician. I’m going to learn how the mind and body work together and sometimes against each other. I will learn how to diagnose better and how to go beyond treatment to helping my patients creating healing in their lives. I get to take a class called psychopharmacology so that I will have an even deeper understanding of the medications my clients are taking and be able to better look for side effects and proof the treatment is or may not be working. Plus, psychopharmacology is super fun to say!
You know me, as ever, the disruptor, the person who poses tough questions to the big fish without reservation. I’m not going to shy away from asking some of these bigger fish of the world the questions we smaller fish would like the answers to or address the changes that we would like to see. Let’s just be honest here, with ‘Dr.” in front of my name, they might actually listen. I learned from one of my professors this week that only about 2% of the WORLD’S population has a doctorate degree, how very profound when you put it that way.
If you’d like to learn more about integrated behavioral health, you can use this link: https://cgi.edu/ibh/
Welcome to my journey.
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