Jill Griffith - Contributing Writer | Kacey LaMorticella presents during the Psychology Career panel about options students have in pursuing a career in psychology, discussing her own experience in the field.

Jill Griffith- Contributing Writer

The Psychology Club’s annual career panel was held Wednesday night in LC28 and featured three Drew Alumni, including a current faculty member at the university. The panel showcased the diverse opportunities available in the field and each individual spoke briefly about their experience.

Jillian Lusk (C’11), who graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Drew, is currently a behavioral counselor in Summit, N.J. with a master’s from Kean University, where she is also pursuing her professional degree. On being a behavioral counselor, she remarked, “Everyone always thinks guidance counseling,” clarifying that she is “part of a child study team which is a team made up of a school psychologist, social worker, and a child psychologist.”  Coming from a family background of educators, Jillian knew that she liked the field of education, but decided to become a behavioral counselor in a school rather than a teacher.

To pursue this opportunity, she spoke about getting her master’s in three years at Kean, which gave her the hands on experience needed outside of the classroom to prepare her for future positions. In her first year, she shadowed a school psychologist and by the second year she says, “I was more proactive and administered tests.” Her third year has so far been spent doing a full time externship for grades K-12 in Summit. On that experience, she boasted, “What I really like is that you’re really making a difference in helping a student who is struggling and can’t understand why they’re struggling.”

Speaking about what she wishes she knew while studying in undergrad, “I wish someone had told me that you don’t have to get a doctorate fresh out of school […] if you really want to do something and you love learning you can always go back. You just have to have the motivation to do so.”

Kacey LaMorticella (C’14) is currently a behavioral case manager in Morris Plains, N.J. for Community Hope Inc. Originally, she said, her plan was to pursue an advanced degree after college: “I was one of those people who wanted to go right for a Ph.D. program,” and after setbacks she applied for her current position with Community Hope Inc.

On her experience in undergrad she said, “I always knew I wanted to be in a clinical setting. My dream job is [to work] in a brain injury unit.”

Lusk and LaMorticella were joined on the panel by Dr. Dan Water, an adjunct professor at Drew who holds an impressive resume. Born and raised in New Jersey, Water attended undergrad at the University of Alabama, and then New York University for his doctoral degree in sex therapy.

He taught at William Paterson University for 10 years and opened his own private practice on the side, which he then left to pursue his teaching position full time. Now his practice has expanded and encompasses several other practitioners in Parsippany, N.J. Together, these practitioners founded the Morris Psychological Group. Water is more than happy with how his career has turned out, saying, “If I had to do my career over I would do it exactly the same. I love doing it at the doctoral level.”

What should you keep in mind while pursuing your psychology degree? With so many options out there, Water said, “If you’re interested in specialty training you need to do postdoctoral training before you get you specialty certificate.” There is no rush to pursue a Ph.D. straight out of undergrad, as both Lusk and LaMorticella have been successful in acquiring positions without an advanced degree.