My Journey to Forensic Psychology 

Forensic psychology is defined as research and practice that is relating to the behaviors of criminals and cause of crime, as well as the application of the law and justice systems. My interest in this field of psychology began with my desire to help others, even those who may be viewed as undeserving of help. I want to keep the world safe and prevent more offenses from happening. I want to find patterns in crimes and understand the behaviors of criminals. This will ensure the achievement of my long-term goal of becoming a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Profiler. In order to accomplish this, I must achieve my first goal of obtaining my master’s degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in forensic psychology which will be helped by the practitioner-scholar model.

Practitioner-Scholar

McClintock (2004) discusses the term scholar-practitioner, which focuses on the significance of theory and research. These can be obtained through knowledge, values, political views, and ethics. McClintock and Capella University share the idea that knowledge is an important aspect in theory and research. Through education, one’s skills will increase in a variety of ways. Capella University uses the term ‘practitioner-scholar’ for those of the master’s program. Those apart of that program will focus on application and use their research to develop strategies. As one becomes a practitioner-scholar, they will learn the values of theories and research and apply it to their assignments.

Becoming a practitioner-scholar is vital in aiding me to complete my goals. My career goal is to become a FBI Profiler. My entire career revolves around theories and research. I will spend each day analyzing criminals and their behaviors. From there, I will be theorizing a possible commonality for types of criminals in hopes that the patterns fit and help prevent future crimes. Strategies to approach a solution will come from my theories and create an opportunity to better the general public as well as allow criminals to get the clinical and behavioral attention they need. Becoming an FBI Profiler will mark the success of my career journey.

Vision

My career goal was inspired by my experiences and research. Growing up, my father was a police sergeant, and I admired his ability to keep people safe, even if that meant putting himself at risk. I knew from as early as five-years-old that I wanted to help fight crime. However, I had no interest in following in my father’s footsteps. I was not a fan of the risks an officer takes and could never see myself be able to commit to that. So, I decided to look for other ways in which I could help keep the world a safer place. During my freshman year general psychology class, I realized just how much the mind and behaviors interested me and decided to make psychology a part of my life. I took a variety of classes to see what area of psychology would mark my career path. I took Forensic Psychology and that is when everything seemed to make sense in my vision. It was the best of both worlds: I could combine my interest in criminals and their minds and behaviors.

I concluded that I would love to study the behavioral patterns of criminals and study their minds. I want to see exactly what makes them feel it was valid for them to do what they did. It would be interesting to know their childhood to see where it all began and know their experiences to know what they have been through. If I can discover their traumas and find reasoning for their behaviors, maybe I can prevent this from occurring again in other individuals. While doing some research, I stumbled upon the FBI Profiler. A profiler uses observed personality traits from crime scenes in order to find the offender. A profiler will evaluate the scene and, based on how the events occurred, determine characteristics of who the perpetrator was so that it becomes easier to locate them. One of the most challenging aspects is interpreting a relationship between a person’s behavior and the situations in which they occur. Currently, getting my masters with a specialization in forensic psychology will help me understand the behaviors, and possible ways to change, as well as understand criminals for the better.

Goals

My first goal is to obtain a master’s degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in forensic psychology. Currently, I am on my first quarter at Capella University, which marks my first steps into completing that mission. Within two years, I should be graduating with my masters. In order to achieve this, I will be taking one or two classes a quarter. The resources that Capella University offers, such as the writing center, will help me find my strengths and improve my weaknesses so that I will continue to succeed. In order to secure a job in my field, applying for internships will allow me the proper experiences to secure my career. Obtaining my master’s degree will help me further my understanding of forensic psychology as well as accomplish my long-term goal.

My long-term goal, as previously stated, is to become an FBI Profiler. Upon completing my first goal, I will apply for the FBI Academy. Once accepted, I will become a part of their program where they train everyone to become a part of the team. In order to thrive in forensic psychology, specialty training is required. From there, I will become an FBI Agent. With a minimum of two years’ experience, I will apply for the position of FBI Profiler, thus, accomplishing my goal.