Emils is currently finishing the first year of her postdoctorate at Mass General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School's Lurie Center for Autism.
1. A brief explanation of your experience in Brigham Young University's Psychology Graduate Student Program:
Emily: "I graduated from the BYU Clinical Psychology PhD program in 2019 (my undergrad was on the East Coast). I loved attending BYU and really enjoyed all the excellent clinical experiences I was able to engage in throughout the program, as well as learning from the excellent professors."
2. What are your post-graduation plans are/were/what are you currently doing:
Emily: "Prior to graduation, I went off to Portland, Oregon to do my clinical internship year in a children's hospital, and then following graduation moved to the Boston, MA area for a postdoctoral fellowship. I am currently finishing the first year of my postdoc here at Mass General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School's Lurie Center for Autism. I have enjoyed my experience so much that I decided to stay on for a second-year postdoc! At the Lurie Center, I work with both children and adults on the autism spectrum, and the folks I work with are incredibly varied in terms of language level (verbal and non-verbal). cognitive skills, and of course personality. I spend much of my time doing neuropsychological assessments to help understand the individual's cognitive skills and provide recommendations for school placements, services, and treatments. I work with the medical doctors to coordinate their care and provide ongoing consultation as needed. I also really enjoy seeing adult therapy patients and doing some parent training for younger kids. I also get to do school consultations, where I work with schools to help them make their programs better for kids on the spectrum, as well as to consult about how they can help specific kids. Finally, I get to work with higher-cognitive kids and adults in social skills groups and summer camp (which is running virtually right now)!"
3. What would be your advice for potential students:
Emily: "My advice for people considering a career in psychology is to find what field you enjoy and seek out the experts around you--this includes learning from scientists and clinicians who have studied or worked with the populations or topics you are interested in, but also means talking to people that are actually experiencing what you are studying. I have learned so much from folks on the spectrum and their parents about what they want, need, feel, and experience."