Psychology Career Application Paper

Madison M. Doubek
Department of Psychology: Loras College
PSY 490: Senior Seminar
Dr. Lisa Grinde
Nov. 30, 2020
 The psychology field is full of diverse theories, frequently changing practices, and new

compelling research that can be applied to almost any other field of study. Not everyone is

aware of that though, and wonder what a psychology degree can actually do for me in my future.

This is especially because I will be attending law school after I graduate from Loras. Being a

psychology major though has molded me into the scholar I am today, and I plan on taking many

concepts that psychology has taught me with me to law school and into my career.

There are many different areas of law but I specifically want to focus on criminal law and

become a prosecutor. As an attorney I can use a forensic psychologist as an expert witness. If I

were to do that I need to be able to fully understand their testimony, and the results of their

examination or research. Since I have a psychology degree, and am accustomed to reading

psychological research, it will be easy for me to understand the information being provided. I can

then effectively use that information to build my case. However, those are not the only type of

people my psychology degree will help me understand. The criminal justice system has now

become intertwined with the psychology community due to the amount of incarcerated people

being diagnosed with mental illness. People assume that I want to become a prosecutor in order

to put away criminals but instead I want to use my position to help those entangled in the system.

With my knowledge of different mental disorders, I can understand the people I work with. A

main problem with the criminal justice system is that someone with a mental illness is

overlooked, which then results in them not getting treated correctly. Since I have a psychology

background I am more sympathetic to issues such as this one, and can take a different

perspective than someone who has not had this type of education.

Not only will I be able to understand the people I encounter, I will be able to suggest

treatment options for them instead of a long prison sentence, which is my ultimate goal as a
prosecutor. The correctional facilities in America house the highest population of people with

mental illnesses, even more than mental health facilities. Many of these people have just been

thrown into the correctional facilities because nobody knows what to do with them. As a

prosecutor, one of my tasks is suggesting the consequences for a person’s actions if they are

found guilty. With this I have the ability to then allow someone to go to a treatment center, or

halfway house instead of a jail or prison sentence. At a treatment center or halfway house they

will still be under supervision as in prison, but they will have the resources to pursue the proper

treatment. My hope is that this will then reduce recidivism rates among this specific type of

repeat offender.

As a prosecutor, I would hold a lot of power over a person’s future in my everyday tasks

which makes the practice of ethical principles extremely important. One of the APA ethical

standards that stands out the most for my profession is Principle D: Justice. That word alone

could be the job description of a criminal lawyer. Just as psychologists have to recognize the

fairness and justice that each person is promised, a prosecutor has to as well. The criminal justice

system has the responsibility of treating everyone the same especially since each person should

be considered innocent until proven otherwise. This principle also states that psychologists need

to be aware of any biases they might have, and ensure that they do not cloud their judgment. This

is the most important ethical principle that a prosecutor can exercise. If there is one thing I make

sure I do in my future career it is to make sure that I am fair and impartial on every decision no

matter the person.

My time as a psychology major at Loras College has prepared me to execute that ethical

principle of justice, and has taught me how to be aware of my biases. By learning those skills I

have the strength of being able to impartially work with a diverse population which is important
in all fields but especially in today’s society, in the criminal justice system. It has been proven

time and time again that the African American population is treated unfairly when compared to

the actions taken against any other race in the criminal justice system. This does not just include

police brutality, or unjust killings, but this maltreatment overflows into the court system, and

then into the correctional facilities. One of my largest fears in my career is becoming an enabler

of that behavior and fall victim to the bystander effect. This does not scare me because I believe

in what is being done, but because in a professional setting it can be a sensitive situation if one

was to address it.

After spending my three and a half years at Loras and being a member of the psychology

program, that fear has diminished considerably. Throughout my education my professors have

made sure to ask the hard questions, and to put us in situations that make us think critically about

how to handle it. Being exposed to discussions about diversity and culture has made me more

confident in handling situations that I will ultimately be put in during my career as a prosecutor.

Without being constantly challenged by peers and professors to recognize bias in myself and

how to combat it, I would not feel this same confidence. It has made me even more excited than I

thought possible to attempt to reform the criminal justice system. Granted, I am only one person

but I am hopeful that I will surround myself with others who have had similar diversity training

in their education, and together we can combat the injustice in America’s justice system.

This then leads into the ethical principle of respect for people’s rights and dignity. An

important part of both being psychologist and a lawyer is being aware of different cultures and

respecting them. Also just as psychologists need to protect the rights, and privacy of their

patients, a lawyer needs to do the same for their clients. Since both of these careers involve

working with vulnerable populations, it is critical that they recognize their bias, and combat it. A
great psychologist and a great lawyer both need to be impartial no matter the person they are

working for. Everyone deserves fair treatment when it comes to psychologists, just as everyone

deserves fair representation when it comes to lawyers. It is basic human decency to provide

effective services to each person, but in today’s society that does not always happen. When there

is great power to be had in a career, a person needs to be hyper aware of their biases, and how

they are treating others.

My career aspirations do not just stop at being a prosecutor, but instead extend into

working to reform mental health legislation. Offenders in the system are not receiving proper

treatment whether that be medication or different forms of therapy. By working in mental health

legislation I hope to craft and assist in passing laws that require certain treatment to be

administered in jails and prisons. With my combined degrees of criminal justice and psychology

along with my juris doctor, I will have the most optimal background in order to complete this.

The only thing better would be if I had a business background to assist in the allocation of funds

for this project.

Not many people believe that having a psychology degree while going into law is

beneficial, but I cannot think of a better degree to have in order to be an effective lawyer in

today’s society. From being able to work with expert testimony and research, to having extensive

diversity training, I feel prepared to leave Loras and enter my career. I look forward to

incorporating what I have learned in my psychology courses from the last three and a half years,

into my every day work as a prosecutor. Hopefully one day the criminal justice system will be

able to work very closely with the psychology field and be able to provide proper health care to

incarcerated offenders. Not only that, but hopefully there will not be many incarcerated offenders
that need psychological help, because they will be in proper facilities or receiving proper care

that prevents them from entering the criminal justice system.