Lehigh Doctoral Student Receives Two Graduate Student Awards

“At Lehigh, our counseling psychology courses are all so thoughtfully designed to help us develop our counseling psychologist identity,” she says. That identity is part scientist, part practitioner and part advocate.

“To me, that’s what differentiates a counseling psychologist from a clinical psychologist,” she explained. “There's a commitment to social justice and looking at things from systems-level issues—taking into account the way people are experiencing their identity and their social locations and how that informs the problems they encounter and how change occurs.”

In a few weeks, Tschauner will head back to Southern California ,where she will intern in a clinical and forensic psychological services clinic.

“I really enjoy forensic psychology,” she said.

Forensic psychologists practice where the legal system and psychology intersect; for instance, using scientific methods and knowledge to inform court decisions, such as evaluating the likelihood of recidivism or need for various interventions.

“My advisor, Dr. Nic Johnson, believes assessment is an act of social justice, and I really believe it is. Often a system is asking questions about a person, and we have the opportunity as psychologists to advocate for them and provide treatment recommendations so that the person can receive the resources they need, whether it's individual or group therapy, substance use treatment, housing resources, etc.,” she said.

Long term, Tschauner sees herself working in a rehabilitative setting, such as a prison or the Veterans Administration and continuing research on how plant medicines, such as psychedelics alongside therapy, can support survivors of sexual assault.

Story by Beth Blew