The Evolution of Absolutelee

Life has been traveling at the speed of light, with no signs of slowing down. I'm glad to be home this weekend, with no plans to travel for a little while. I have pretty much been gone almost every weekend since June and I am perfectly content chillin' out with no real plans until tomorrow evening, when I'm planning to go to a party with my partner and some friends. I'm not one that is big on holidays, but I am glad for the extra day off for Labor Day on Monday, so it's all good.

My summer has been enjoyable, though I have been back home more times this summer than I would have liked, but each time I went was for important occasions. The most important of those being my 'lil sisters wedding. It was great and she was absolutely beautiful and I was pleased to walk my mother down the isle to light the ceremonial candle and a few other things I was involved in that allowed me to be part of the special moment. Initially I was planning to post pictures on here of the wedding, but because of some of my recent media exposure, I've seen how easy it is for people to find out personal info on me, so that has caused me to be a little more cautious. Hence my decision not to post any pictures of her or my family on here.

Just this week I have come to a couple of conclusions about my professional direction. First, I am planning to sit for my social work licensure exam by early November. I am just entering my 2nd year post master's, which is what is needed before you can take the clinical exam, which is the one I would like to take. The problem is that I don't work in the field full-time, and in order for me to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), I need to have 3600 hours of practice, which has to be completed in a 6 year time frame. I don't know that I'll be able to make it as I currently only work approximately 10 hours a week doing therapy. I talked with my supervisor where I do my mental health work and she told me that not all of that time has to be direct clinical, and that some of the work I do at my full time job may apply toward those hours. I need to clarify all this with the licensing board to know which exam I need to take. The clinical exam is the most difficult. Really the main benefit that I can see getting the clinical licensure versus the Masters level licensure is that the clinical allows me to bill Medicaid and other insurance sources should I want to go into private practice. Even if I got the Master's level licensure, it would be a step up from what I have now and I could always take the LCSW exam later. If anyone comes across this post and is going through this process or knowledgeable of it, let me know.

The other decision I've made is that I am planning to apply for a doctoral program. This will be a major commitment should I get accepted, because it'll be like 6 years of school. This decision came out of the blue this week, which is the same way my decision to go to grad school came when I applied back in 2001. I mean, I had some fleeting thoughts of returning to school, but never really entertained the thought until this week. There are three degrees I am thinking of, which are to get my doctorate in Public Health, Social Work or Psychology. I am heavily leaning toward Public Health though. The program I'm most interested in is at Drexel and the other is at Temple. I have been researching both programs and at this point I think I prefer Drexel’s program.

As I have been researching the requirements for admission and the expectations for the doctoral programs, I have to say that I feel a bit intimidated and wondering if I have the intelligence and skills to complete the program. I know there are a lot of people who start a doctoral program, even master's programs that don't end up completing for various reasons. I'm also not thrilled AT ALL about taking the GRE's, which are required of all the doctoral programs I've looked at so far. Hasn't academia realized that these standardized tests aren't good measures of intelligence or academic ability? It would be wonderful if they figured this out before the fall of 2007.....LOL. But I've made up my mind, that I will do what I need to do to get into a doctoral program. Paying for it is a whole other issue, but I'll cross that bridge if I get to it. One thing I'm looking into is seeing if my job can help me out. They are partnering with Drexel to provide financial benefits, such as tuition breaks for employees who want to get their Master's degree in Public Health, so I'm hoping this benefit, if it actually materializes will also extend to employees who want to pursue a doctoral degree.

These are lofty goals, but so far, I have been able to accomplish all of my academic goals, so I hope these will be no different. If I were to obtain my doctoral degree, I believe I will be the first to do so on both sides of my family, which would be a great accomplishment.

Anyone else out there in a doctoral program or thinking of applying? I can use any insight or support that's out there.

Have a good Labor Day weekend and try to stay dry!