Hi everyone, my name is Lequita. Psychology became a passion of mine after I personally experienced a traumatic experience a few years ago and sought therapy to learn ways to manage the effects of my trauma. It became very clear the need and importance of having therapists who look like me, African American. Since then, I’ve set out to help fill that void so that I can one day help others who may be silently suffering as I was. I am in my last semester at ODU as a psychology major (yaayy!!) and I’m working towards becoming a clinical psychologist specializing in emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression as well as trauma related disorders like PTSD. That’s why it’s important for me to take this course. Studying cross-cultural psychology will allow me to grasp a better understanding of the influence that culture plays on human behavior and psyche. As a clinical psychologist, I aim to serve individuals from various backgrounds and cultures, within my own and outside. Being able to understand other cultures and being able to effectively interact with them to build a strong working relationship is very important. Something I realized while I was in therapy and while working at a psych facility.  I currently work at an inpatient psych unit as a mental health tech which has really allowed me the opportunity to see the things I’ve learned in past courses in the real world with real people. Understanding the relationship between culture and human development, attitudes, thoughts, behaviors, and disorders is crucial.

It is also my dream to someday introduce a new treatment option to treat the growing population of individuals suffering from psychological trauma, anxiety, and depression while also treating the individuals who are unable to cope with these disorders throughout their day. I believe that there is a better treatment option out there that will be garnish better success rates than medication and psychotherapy combined and with none of the side effects that come from taking medications. We just have to be open-minded and think outside of the box.