At Washburn University, the Psychology Department is seeing remarkable growth, not just in numbers, but in the impact it’s having on students, the community and the broader field of mental health.
The Psychology Department is located in Psychology Hall, the building right across from Henderson. The building was formerly known as the Zeta House but is now home to psychology offices, classrooms and the Psychological Services Clinic. This location makes it easy for students to find and access the department for classes, advising or clinic services.
“We’re one of the larger departments in the university with 160 majors and then we have a graduate program that we usually have about 35 students in at any given time,” said Cindy Turk, chair of the Psychology Department.
Turk, who has been part of the department for several years, said the field’s rising recognition in recent years has contributed to its success.
“Ever since COVID there’s been kind of a better appreciation of the importance of mental health, and more money from the government and so on has gone toward mental health resources,” Turk said. “Between people’s increased awareness and increased investment in mental health, we’ve been doing really well in recent years with enrollment in our graduate programs.”
The department’s master’s students are also finding success beyond graduation.
“About 75% of our master’s students go on to work in Kansas in the mental health field at places like community mental health centers or in corrections,” Turk said. “The other 25% go on to a doctoral program to get their doctoral degree.”
Students in the psychology program are encouraged to apply what they learn in the classroom through hands-on research and internships.
“We have a variety of capstone options for our majors,” Turk said. “One capstone option is a research option and the way that works is they would take a class called ‘Advance Research Method’ where they would be doing a small group project of where they’re developing their own research questions, collecting their data, analyzing it, writing it up.” Students present their research at events such as Day of Transformation, Apeiron, or conferences like the Midwestern Psychological Association. Some even receive funding through the Washburn Transformational Experience (WTE).
For those who prefer applied experience, there are also internship options. These internships help students get real world experience in the field of psychology.
“Some people prefer to do an internship over doing a research project,” Turk said. “We have a lot of different internships, Family Service and Guidance, working in the counselor’s office at local school districts, working at the Topeka Rescue Mission…”
Michael McGuire, psychology professor, said the research opportunities also help the field grow.
“Participating in research helps us try to figure out whether we have evidence to support our hypotheses when it comes to research questions,” McGuire said. “…Most of what we provide in terms of psychological information is based on research studies.”
Both faculty and students describe the department as a welcoming and collaborative community.
“I love it,” Turk said. “I have great colleagues. The other faculty are all very dedicated and passionate about teaching and the research that they do. We have a lot of very bright, motivated students.”
McGuire shared a similar sentiment when it came to working in the department.
“It’s been rewarding. I like teaching and I like interacting with students,” McGuire said. “The faculty members in the department are very collegial, so they’re easy to get along with.”
Grace Poirier, senior psychology major, has been a transformative experience.
“All the professors are very knowledgeable. They all work really well together,” Poirier said. “Bachelor’s degree experience is also really good because you get to take classes for a whole bunch of different areas of psychology, like I’ve taken health psychology and abnormal and multicultural as well…You get to do research as well and it opens a lot of paths to go in the future.”
Poirier also works as the office assistant in the department, helping faculty and visitors.
“It has been a very good experience because it allows me to get closer to the department and see what goes on behind the scenes and help out all of my professors in ways that I can,” Poirier said.
After graduation, Poirier plans to continue her education.
“I plan on staying here and going into the master’s program,” Poirier said. “Once I go into the master’s program, I plan to work in clinical psychology so things like therapy and being able to give that diagnostic component of mental health.”
The department’s reach goes beyond campus through the Psychological Services Clinic, which offers therapy and assessment services to both Washburn students and the broader Topeka community.
“Our master’s program does have a psychological services clinic,” Turk said. “Any student can go to Washburn Counseling Services for free, but some students choose to come to our clinic.”
Currently, the clinic is supported by a grant from the Brenamann program that allows services to be free or low-cost.
“Students usually have to pay $10 a session to get our services but right now, because of a grant, we’re able to waive those fees until the grant money runs out,” Turk said. “Right now our services for students are free or low cost treatment.”The clinic benefits everyone involved: students, the community and graduate trainees.
“The clinic is staffed by the graduate students in our master’s program and those master’s students are learning how to do therapy and assessments from the licensed clinical faculty,” Turk said. “So in that way, our clinic benefits Washburn students…the Topeka community and it also benefits the graduate students who are learning how to be therapists.”
The department is also preparing for future advancements, including pursuing accreditation for its master’s program through the American Psychological Association.
“They [APA] are starting to now accredit master’s level programs,” Turk said. “We’ve been working to do things to change our master’s program to get it into alignment for standards for APA accreditation.”
As for the future, both faculty and students agree psychology is more relevant than ever.
“Psychology teaches us how to get along with other people better in our relationships, how to be better parents, how to be more productive, how to make changes,” Turk said. “I think psychology isn’t just important to careers, it’s also important to people’s personal growth.”
Even in everyday conversations and interactions, psychology plays a role in how people think and behave.
“You can’t get away from psychology. It’s going on all the time,” McGuire said.
The Psychology Department at Washburn is growing, but its goal stays the same: helping people understand themselves and others. Whether through classes, research or the clinic, the department continues to make a difference on campus and in the community.
Edited by Stuti Khadka and Arohi Rai
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