Psychology and French and Francophone studies major gains clinical experience through APEX fellowship

Anna Chapman ’25, a French and Francophone studies and psychology major at The College of Wooster, attended an internship fair at the College to learn about various summer opportunities that would give her a chance to put her psychology knowledge to use. There, she learned about the opportunity to take part in an APEX fellowship at The Counseling Center of Wayne and Holmes County. Throughout the summer, Chapman learned about careers in mental health, shadowed case managers, offered collaborative solutions to clients’ problems, helped transport clients, and learned about suicide prevention and mental health programs that could assist the community. This experiential learning opportunity gave Chapman an inside look at the field of mental healthcare, helping her realize that she wants to attend graduate school to pursue a career in clinical psychology and counseling. 

“My internship helped me experience new things and challenges that led me to explore new perspectives, ideas, and interests. This experience also gave me the opportunity to explore different careers related to psychology and helped me to realize different aspects of jobs or careers I might be interested in.”

—Anna Chapman ’25

Q: How did you learn about the opportunity for your APEX fellowship? 

Chapman: I learned about my internship through one of the College’s internship fairs during the spring semester. This internship was perfect for me because I am a psychology major, and I wanted to learn more about careers I could do with a psychology degree. 

Q: What interests you most about the work you did? 

Chapman: I loved getting to know the case managers I shadowed and worked with. They were my mentors and taught me a lot about different mental health disorders and how to help someone who struggles with depression or anxiety. I liked getting to see the progress that clients made despite some of the struggles they faced. Some of the things I did during my internship were to shadow case managers and collaborate on different solutions for problems clients faced. I also helped transport clients to and from appointments at the counseling center and attended a variety of meetings to talk about client care and different coalitions about suicide prevention and mental health. 

Q: Who was your fellowship mentor and how did they help you to succeed in this position? 

Chapman: My fellowship mentor was Grit Herzmann, associate professor of psychology and department chair of neuroscience. She always helped me navigate my thoughts and feelings about my internship through thoughtful and thought-provoking questions. These questions helped me reflect on my time at my internship and helped me to constantly ask myself questions to think about my strengths in the mental health field and what career I would like to pursue in the future. 

Q: How has the internship helped you to see what’s next for you?  

Chapman: My internship helped me experience new things and challenges that led me to explore new perspectives, ideas, and interests. Before this internship, I was still unsure of what kind of career in psychology I wanted. Looking ahead in the future, this internship made me come to the conclusion that I would like to pursue graduate school to gain more education in psychology to be a licensed professional clinical counselor or pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology. 

Posted in Experiential Learning, Showcase Stories 2024 on August 10, 2024.