In the third grade, my teacher had us share a monthly current event article. I can't recall what topics I shared back then, but I've always remembered an article a classmate brought in. It predicted that, given the rate of advancements in technology, by 2015 we would all be using self-driving cars. I remember distinctly wondering how life would be
different with these cars. Maybe I wouldn't be as bored on road trips if my parents could hang out in the back seat with me to play board games. I probably wouldn't be late to karate practice as often since self-driving cars would be able to regulate speeds, not get into as many accidents and would even be able to fly to avoid traffic congestion. The possibilities seemed limitless. My adventurous spirit and creative mind were hard at work imagining all the possibilities.
As we begin 2016, I find myself drawn back to the spirit of myself as a third grader. The takeaway for me wasn't self-driving cars or wild advances in technology — it was the power of dreaming big, thinking creatively and speaking the future into existence. I wonder what the "self-driving car of psychology" would be if we looked 20 or 30 years into the future? I wonder how the world would be affected if we all began to speak and live our dreams into existence. Particularly those dreams we have for the field.
In the future I dream of, a career as a psychologist is understood as more than Freud and the couch. The public would understand the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. People would talk about their struggles and reach out for help just as they do when fighting a headache. Psychology would be more respected as a science and psychologists would be asked to share their expertise on every facet of modern life — including self-driving cars.
In the future I dream of, our generation of psychologists will be among the first responders to traumatic events. We will be respected members of integrated health-care teams and at the forefront of preventive health care. Scientists and practitioners will be united to lead the nation in a direction of promoting mental health and well-being. We will be a force to be reckoned with when advocating in our communities and on Capitol Hill for the betterment of society. Our science and our services will be accessible and translated in a way the public can understand and make use of daily.
The profession of my dreams will have rebuilt from the struggles we have faced in the last year. We will be stronger through our regrowth, and our robust voice will remain an integral piece of who we are. Our ethics will continue to be solid, clear and drive all that we do for our field and the public. We will be flexible, adapting to changing demands, needs and social landscape. We will be honest about our past and the vision for our continued strong future.
There is a quote that often comes to my mind when I start a new year: "Be the change you want to see in the world." I fully believe we students, the next generation of psychologists, can be that change and change the world for the better with psychology. The psychology of my dreams puts us in the driver's seat of the car we have designed, be it self-driving or flying. We can't design the car of the future without a collective voice or presence.
So let's start designing, and be bold. What are your dreams for this field? With whom have you shared them today? How can you start living these dreams into existence? I invite you to share your dreams for the field with me and through our gradPSYCH blog.