An Expressive Writing Intervention for Professional Development in Psychology

Abstract

For many young people the development of a professional identity is a future-oriented topic that is left unexamined and under-developed during their collegiate education (Lengelle & Meijers, 2014). Students often enter college feeling uncertain about their course of study or area of specialization (Komarraju, Swanson, & Nadler, 2014), and many college seniors lack the skills required to secure a job or to continue to graduate school (Roscoe & Strapp, 2009). Students may take the path of least resistance or succumb to peer and family pressure to follow an unwanted path. Others may follow family pressure and enter a career that is unsatisfying or earn a degree outside their area of interest. Finally, an individual may not know what he or she wants to do for a career but may prefer to work an unsatisfying job that keeps he or she close to friends and family.