文书点评：Psychology Research申请文书

She would walk in futile circles, sapping her strength while going nowhere. If she did not resist atrophy with every cell in her body, it would creep in as soon as she dropped her vigilance. I wanted to grab her hand and drag her kicking and screaming into the world of reason. I yearned for the knowledge that would dissolve this cloak of darkness encompassing her illness. The futility of my efforts to help my sister compelled me to seek answers. What I discovered was the fascinating field of psychology. The study of human behavior and the brain provided me with clarity and perspective on my sister’s mental illness. I was finally able to comprehend and appreciate the challenges of living with a psychiatric disorder, not to mention correct my indignant and critical attitude towards her.

As a psychology student at Northeastern, I have taken an interest in working with people, most recently with adults in a locked inpatient unit at McLean Hospital's psychotic disorders program. As a mental health specialist, I am an active participant in the therapeutic environment. I conduct patient interviews, complete patient assessments, supervise the unit, and take vital signs. Witnessing the most destructive mental illnesses, I have gained extremely valuable insight into my future career.

I have to confess that, at first, the thought of working in a locked unit was intimidating. My perception of individuals with psychotic illnesses severe enough to require hospitalization was definitely skewed by black-and-white definitions in books and stereotypical depictions in the media. In a matter of hours on my first day, however, that feeling quickly dissipated. One of the first patients I encountered was a woman with severe psychotic depression. Numb to life, she would only utter negative words of despair. Due to her inability to control her impulses to hurt herself, she was put on five-minute checks. The patient finally heeded the recommendations of the doctors to have electroconvulsive therapy, a highly controversial and misunderstood treatment. After only a week and a half of ECT, she awoke to living again. Her eyes, tainted from the fog of depression, cleared and became bright with life. I was able to meet the person buried under the clenches of her illness. The most fascinating part to me was that even now, over 60 years since ECT's development, the basic mechanisms of why it works remain unknown; people are only confident in its efficacy. This shortcoming is indicative of how important it is to invest in mental health research. There is so much to be learned about the human mind, and the infinite possibilities of research captivate me.

This curiosity has led me to several research experiences. In one laboratory, which investigates reticulospinal neurons, I learned how to use a high-speed camera to record the behaviors of larval zebra fish that had specific nerve cells ablated. We analyzed the detailed measurements of behavioral deficit resulting from such cell ablations. When I watched a tiny zebra fish for over three hours through a confocal microscope, waiting for it to feed on paramecium, the patience needed for research became apparent. My next research experience was drastically different: I assisted a graduate student in evaluating and demonstrating the cognitive abilities of the New Zealand keas. As the kea was trained in color discriminations tasks, I took immense satisfaction from watching the operant condition in action and enjoyed applying my knowledge in the lab.

Currently, for my senior honors thesis, I am conducting observational studies on a group of gorillas, analyzing the relationship of personality characteristics to social roles in a group of captive Western Lowland Gorillas. Although these varied research experiences have provided me with fundamental skills, I still feel the need for more training. Professional experiences, research, and undergraduate courses have further stimulated my interest in psychology and reinforced my conviction that I am well suited to the field. Moreover, these opportunities created a desire to pursue a career in clinical research.

Graduate school will enable me to develop vital research skills and the solid academic background that I need to be a successful researcher. A master's program in psychology will not only cultivate and refine my interest in clinical research, but also equip me to deal with the challenges of a PhD program. I have all the traits needed to be a good psychologist; undoubtedly, my devotion to my education will be the greatest asset of all.

点评：

这是一篇心理学专业的申请文书。

文章以一个病例作为开头，并且是身边较为亲近的人——妹妹。或许这在一定程度上可以理解为作者对心理治疗产生兴趣的根源，也很自然的引出了自己的专业领域。可以说，有其独到之处，并且让人感到很真实。
心理学是一门实践性较强的学科，在一个个鲜活的案例中，才能更深入理解其学术理论，而作者也是把重点放在了对自己实践经验的描述上，对一个个接触的病例的分析，以及在实验中学到的知识、想法，穿插性的表达，在叙述自己学术背景的同时，也表明了自己对这门学科的热爱，同时也使自己的性格等方面的信息传达给了读者。

作者的丰富经历，使整个文章感觉很有活力，显示了作为心理学学生所应该具备的素质，因此，可以说是一篇能够吸引住教授眼球的优秀文书。

译文：

当无处可去的时候，她会不停的走圈子以宣泄她的精力。如果她不用全身的细胞去对抗萎缩，那么只要她稍一松懈，这种萎缩将会很快蔓延到她的全身。我想抓住她的双手，把她从无端的打闹和尖叫中解救出来重返正常人的生活。我急切的想知道治疗她疾病的知识。想帮助我妹妹的信念支持着我去寻找答案。这时我发现了心理学中一个令人着迷的领域。关于人类行为和脑的研究是我对妹妹的精神疾病有了清晰的认识，并使我看到了治好她的病的前景。我终于能够理解感激这种与精神错乱的患者生活在一起的状态，而不是冲着妹妹发泄我的不满和极端的意见。

作为Northeastern的一个心理学专业的学生。我对和病人一起工作有很大的兴趣，特别是最近在McLean医院的精神错乱的项目中，我和该医院的成年病人相处的很好。作为一个精神卫生的专家，在这个医疗项目中我是个积极分子。我管理病人的会见时间，完成对病人的评估，观察病人，纪录典型症状。目击了最有破坏力的精神疾病，我已经对我的将来的职业有了很好的洞察。

我不得不坦白的说，一开始，跟被监管的病人工作的想法是不情愿的。我所理解的这些精神病人是极端需要住院治疗的，并且是被书本歪曲和媒体多方位描写的典型例子。但在我去医院的几个小时后这种想法便很快消散了。我遇到的第一个病人是一位患有严重抑郁的女患者。由于对生活的麻木，她只能重复消极的词语。鉴于她严重的自我伤害倾向，医院对她实行每隔五分钟检查的制度。最终医生建议对她实行电击疗法，一种颇有争议和容易引起误解的疗法。在经过一周半的电击疗法后，她对生活有产生了兴趣。我可以看到一个战胜了自己精神疾病的患者。到现在为止我仍有一个巨大的迷惑，虽然电击疗法已经发展了六十年，但它的治疗疾病的原理仍不明确。人们只是信任它的疗效。这种迷惑证明了对精神健康的研究的重要性。关于人类精神的研究还有很多东西要去学习，正是这种无限的探索领域吸引了我。

这种好奇心是我有了更多的实验经历。在一个研究脊髓细胞的实验室中，我学会了如何用高速相机拍摄斑马鱼细胞放电现象。我们仔细分析了由细胞放电导致的行为测量值的放大。当我通过共焦显微镜观察斑马鱼三个小时，为了等待它进食草履虫时，我发现耐心是极为重要的。另一个试验经历则完全不同，我作为一个研究生的助手，协助他完成对新西兰鹦鹉认知能力的估计和证明。在训练鹦鹉辨别色彩的同时，我从观察受控对象中得到的极大的满足，并且我享受着在实验室里应用自己知识的过程。

最近，为了我的高年级论文，我负责了一项观察大猩猩的研究。分析西部弟低地大猩猩的个性特质和群落角色之间的关系。通过多样化的实验经验，我获得了基本是实验技巧。但我还需要更多的这方面的知识。我对心理学方面专业的经验，试验，和研究生课程有着极大的兴趣，并且这些也更加坚定了我适合心理学这一领域的信念。此外，这些试验的机会也使我更加倾向于临床治疗职业。

研究生教育可以提供我成为成功研究员的一切要素包括提升我的试验技巧，巩固的专业背景。心理学硕士课程不仅可以培养和巩固我对临床研究的兴趣，而且可以让我挑战更有难度的博士课程。我身上包含着成为一名优秀心理学者的全部特征，毫无疑问，我对心理学巨大的投入是最大的资产。