1. Undergraduate Studies ePortfolio Brittany Spahalski Bachelor of Psychology, 2011

2. Personal Statement PERSONAL STATEMENT My ultimate goal is to get my Master’s degree in Social Work with a focus on Children and Families. I hope that in my career I am able to help and touch the lives of children and teenagers to make a strong impact and have a positive influence on their future. I strongly believe that issues we develop in our childhood impact us as adult if we are not able to resolve them when we are younger. The psychological impact and trauma that abused children endure creates lasting effects on them as adults. Not only do I want to be the person they can confide in and trust but I attain to be the person that can change this traumatic life cycle and allow them to proceed on a positive enlightened path instead of a destructive one. My good listening skills, ability to relate, empathize and understand are the skills I will incorporate in the work I will do. I don’t want to look at being a clinical social worker as a job but rather a goal I have in making a difference in the lives of others, with the motivation to reconstruct laws and make social change. Currently I am working as a mentor and it has been an extremely positive, enriching experience for me. I feel happy and overjoyed working with my mentees because I am able to offer them advice and guidance that will assist them in making positive life-long choices. When I am not mentoring or going to school and helping others I am working. Free time is not a concept in my life because I am a busy bee and working to preserve a business that I created when I was 18. A huge part of my life is my business and my free time is spent working and taking care of business tasks that need to be done. When I became a vegetarian five years ago I changed my business to fit into my personal beliefs of selling cruelty-free products. Not only am I passionate about making a difference in the lives of children, I also believe that animals should have rights and need a voice. I am the type of person that will stand up for what I believe in because I know I can make a difference and change the world for the better.

3. Resume Resume

4. Reflection SSAL Reflection of Learning Throughout my college career I have implemented and used the tools and skills outlined above to successfully work my way through college in addition to applying this applications in my everyday life. In the majority of my college classes I had to critically analyze and apply my knowledge and research to psychological perspectives and theories. My knowledge ranges from the basic concepts of what psychology is to the more complex theories to describe behaviors and how the brain works. In several of my college classes I had assignments that needed to be research through the online library for scholarly and peer reviewed articles in which I had to identify the results of the studies. In addition I had to explore both the positives of the studies conducted and list potentially biases that could have affected the results. Power point assignments were used in certain classes and in some cases I had to work with other classmates on them. I have experience in creating and designing power point presentations, however I don’t have a lot of experience in delivering them orally because I have attended online school. I did however have to create notes in the bottom as if I were presenting the information to the class. Psychological concepts were explored throughout my college experience and I not only have the ability to understand the concepts but to use reason and experience to apply this information and take a specific stance on the concepts while backing it up with the appropriate examples and research. I had to do extensive research regarding ethical guidelines for both ACA and APA and apply it to real life situations. Some of the situations did not have clear answers and I had to use my best judgment and apply my morals and ethics to certain situations where the guidelines were unclear. Furthermore I had to acknowledge how to respond if a situation occurred and negative results that could happen if in an ethical dilemma was not dealt with properly. Additionally, I examine situations and apply ethical guidelines to ensure safety and ethical issues do not occur. I recognize there are issues with discrimination and bias and can recognize them within minority and majority groups. I have the ability to understand these occurrences and work to change or diffuse them. I am aware of and understand the major psychological theories and concepts and regularly apply them to situations in my life. I critically analyze people and situations and apply these theories and ideals to my everyday life as a way of understanding people and why they act in certain manners. For example you can look at an adult that doesn’t follow the law and you can apply theories to understand why they may act like this. It could be because of something that happened in their childhood like abuse or neglect or possibly because they weren’t taught the appropriate way to act. These theories are also relevant to making a difference and solving problems. Child abuse in particular is what I am working toward preventing. Applying psychology and theories to these perspectives allows me to understand why this type of abuse occurs and treatment for it. Furthermore I understand the results and detrimental problems that occur from abuse which relates to psychological applications and the ability for prevention and treatment. In several classes I had to communicate well with other classmates when working on a group project in order to work together to get a good grade on our assignment. Furthermore I do volunteer online mentoring in which I implement effective communication and listening skills. I also try to employ nonverbal communications in everyday life and try to see people’s responses like facial expression and whether or not that matches with what they are saying.

5. Table of Contents Cognitive Abilities: Critical Thinking Research Skills Communication Skills Ethics and Diversity Awareness Foundations of Psychology Applied Psychology Interpersonal Effectiveness

6. Cognitive Abilities: Critical Thinking Sample Work

7. Critical Thinking Research Skills Sample Work Conclusion of Research Paper The impact of both physical and emotional abuse on a child can dramatically affect the individual’s development from childhood through adulthood with the effect lasting their entire life. The abuse ends with the individual consequently feeling emotionally scarred and significant damages to their mental state and well-being. The arguments presented in the articles that were researched conclude the various effects and issues relative to the impact of emotional and physical abuse on a child. It is evident that child abuse takes a toll on adults in both a mental and physical capacity. Some of the physical ramifications related to child abuse research conclude that obesity and BMI are negatively affected in adulthood by victims of child abuse (Bentley and Widom, 2009). Furthermore, two separate research studies were conducted to explore the impact that child abuse had on drinking alcohol and illicit drug use. The results showed women who were abused as children were more likely to drink daily and consume a large number of drinks in a single day (Widom, et. al., 2007). Several other studies conducted show the correlation of child abuse and the abused victim suffering from PTSD symptoms, depression and psychological disorders. Further research illustrates the psychological and emotional impact of child abuse victims including PTSD, internalizing and externalizing behavioral issues, antisocial behaviors, social maladjustment, disassociation, feeling defenseless and revictimization. Although the results of the research correspond with one another about the traumatic impacts and psychological effects of physical and emotional child abuse, the research does not indicate why some victims are prone to certain disorders and effects while others are not. Several research questions could account for further developing the study and long term effects of child abuse which should include measuring the severity and length of time the child abuse occurred, the age and gender of the victim, whether or not the victim received therapy or treatment and who the abuser was. These questions could help gain further insight into how child abuse victims may internalize these events and the external behaviors that results from the abuse. It can help clarify if there are certain types of abuse that are more prone to specific behavioral and psychological issues and whether or not there are other factors like the age or gender of the victims that increases their chance of developing specific issues.

8. Communication Skills

9. Ethics and Diversity Awareness

10. Foundations of Psychology

11. Applied Psychology

12. Interpersonal Effectiveness

13. My Future in Learning Learning- life long process I acknowledge that learning is a life long process and will remain open to new information and experiences to extend my learning throughout my future. When attending Graduate school I will implement the tools that I learned from my degree and personal experience to grow and enhance my learning in future endeavors. Learning will help me in the future to grow and achieve my personal goals and dreams. It will allow me to be understanding and open to new experiences and cultures.

14. Contact Me Thank you for viewing my ePortfolio. For further information, please contact me at the e-mail address below. gigglychika425@yahoo.com