From a young age I’ve been interested in the deeper questions of life and
have therefore been drawn to religion, spiritualism, and eventually drawn
to psychology. I genuinely enjoy time with people, feel energized by
emotional exchanges, and am interested in people’s backgrounds.
Psychology synthesizes both my religious side and my inquisitive nature.
“Psychology uses scientific methods to understand and explain how
thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the
presence of other human beings where it be actual, imagined, or implied
presence” (Feeney, 2020).
Competent psychologists must also be competent leaders in their own
right. A thought leader is one who gains expertise in their perspective
field, capable of formulating new ideas, as well as someone who is able to
influence others regarding these new ideas. A true leader is a visionary
who can see how things can be improved, and also someone with the
ability to rally people around the better vision. Furthermore, a true leader
is someone who lives the life of God and inspires others to follow suit. I
must be a thought leader as I enter the psychology area of substance
abuse and addiction amongst adolescents. I must be up to date on the
current advances in the field to gain and maintain expertise in the field.
“Advances in positive psychology have grown exponentially over the past
decade. The addictions field has experienced its own growth in a positive
direction, embodied by the recovery movement” (Krentzman, 2013).
Leadership begins with God, first and foremost. The Bible its scriptures are
the foundation for true leadership. The following are quotes from the Bible
that act as a foundation for my leadership:
Seek God’s will before your personal desires or ambition. Matthew 6:33 7 7
Be Humble. 1 Peter 5:6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Serve others. Matthew 23:11 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Walk by faith. Hebrews 11:67 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Practice Patience. Romans 8:257 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 Consider the interest of others
even above your own . Philippians 2:47 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Submit to authority. Ephesians 5:217 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 Be
Teachable — seek wisdom from others. Proverbs 4:77 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Believe the impossible can happen. Luke 18:277 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Empower others to do what they can do. Ephesians 4:12
God prepares those He calls. I feel that this degree program is part of my
calling, so I must follow. As a perspective thought leader, I must
remember that God and psychology are not separate. “Psychology, then,
in the Christian framework, is not an independent activity that operates
apart from God; it is dependent upon God’s mercy to illuminate human
understanding and reveal things about human nature through human
reflection, research, and creative insight.” (Johnson, 2007).
7
Feeney, M. G. (2020). Gordon Allport. The Wiley Encyclopedia of
Personality and Individual Differences: Models and Theories, 1-9.
Johnson, E. L. (2007).7Christ, the Lord of psychology. In Psychology and
Christianity Integration: Seminal Works that Shaped the Movement.
(Batavia, IL: Christian Association for Psychological Studies, 2007) 45
Krentzman A. R. (2013). Review of the application of positive psychology
to substance use, addiction, and recovery research.7Psychology of
addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive
Behaviors,727(1), 151–165. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029897
