Derrick Garth

Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, Iowa State University

SoP Prompt: Primarily, explain: 1. Your purpose for starting or continuing graduate study, 2. Why you want to study at Iowa State University, 3. Your professional plans, your career goals, and your research interests, and 4. Any experience that is particularly applicable to the program for which you’re applying.

Secondarily, elaborate on: 1. Any irregularities or special circumstances applicable to your application, 2. Your special abilities, awards, achievements, scholarly publications, and professional history as it relates to the program of interest, and 3. Any prior research information, or contact with specific Iowa State program faculty.

My realization that being Black meant being different occurred early in life. Growing up in Marshalltown, Iowa, I was one of only a handful of Black kids in my grade and had no Black teachers. I was surrounded by whiteness everywhere other than at home and at my church. This experience alone resulted in racial challenges every day. One way my family battled these challenges was by being heavily reliant on our religious beliefs and involved in a majority Black church. My experiences at my home church were some of my most enjoyable times growing up. This was a place where I could forget about my worries and challenges and congregate in a spiritual environment that brought me peace.

The challenges of racism and oppression that I will continue to face in my life are shared challenges that all Blacks face. Given the significance of religion and spirituality in the Black community, it crucial to examine this intersection. I am interested in how they can promote coping and psychological well-being in the lives of Black people more generally. The literature investigating the intersection of religion and spirituality and Black psychological well-being is limited, and I am committed to bridging this gap. Through my research, I hope to understand and reveal the protective factors for preventing and reducing psychological distress in Black communities, leading to prevention and intervention measures resulting in Black resilience. It is to achieve this goal that I am applying to Iowa State University’s Counseling Psychology Program.

I have solidified my research interests throughout my undergraduate career across various research experiences. At the beginning of my junior year and my first semester as a McNair Scholar, I collaborated with my faculty mentor, Dr. Nathaniel Wade, in the Network Community Counseling Lab at Iowa State University. With this being my first in-depth research experience, I was enticed to work with Dr. Wade due to his research on multiculturalism, religion, and spirituality in psychology. Together we examined the roles that parental communication, childhood sexual abuse, and other adverse childhood experiences play in later relationship quality among Black women. I discovered that parental communication about sex through ages 10-18 was associated with greater warmth in romantic relationships later in life. Throughout this project, I discovered my passion for researching the Black community through psychological research and looking into protective factors of healthy relationships in Black families. The ability to reveal protective factors in this research project could, in the future, contribute to prevention measures regarding healthy relationships in Black communities. This project highlighted the value of parental communication about sex and, more specifically, communication about sex in relation to religious values in mother-daughter relationships within the Black family. This is where my interest was sparked in looking deeper into the role religion and spirituality play in the psychological well-being of Black people. I was intrigued due to my prior knowledge of how spirituality and religion can bring a sense of security and meaning to the Black community. Being able to conduct and present this research project helped to define my purpose and provided my “why” for studying the field of psychology. I was inspired by how much this profession might help my community. The ability to contribute and research this area of psychology that is commonly forgotten or dismissed is all the justification I needed to pursue this field.

My participation with Dr. Wade’s lab inspired my current independent research project further exploring resilience factors in the Black community. Specifically, this project examines the intersectionality of religion and the Black experience revolving around discrimination and racial identity. As this project is ongoing, I am in the process of examining the role of religious commitment and racial identity as protective measures against the psychological distress that often results from the discrimination and racism that Black individuals endure. This project is important in my transition from undergrad to graduate school because it provides an opportunity for me to conduct my own research based on my specific research interests.

In addition to my strong commitment to progressing in research, I have also dedicated myself to campus involvement, where I am involved in serving culturally diverse students. I am employed as an ISU Resident Advisor, and I also serve as a diversity, equity, and inclusion programing (DEI) resident advisor. My DEI position grants me the opportunity to provide initiatives and programs in which I provide a safe environment for all residents from various social backgrounds. Additionally, I work closely with campus organizations and staff members to provide resources available to students to best support their experiences in college. This experience alone has provided me with various opportunities to impact my campus.

My undergraduate research experiences and a strong commitment to Black psychological well-being rooted in Black identity development, culture, and racial justice, have influenced my research interests and career goals. My interest in Iowa State University’s Counseling Psychology Program is rooted directly in its faculty and the program’s emphasis on training in research and becoming a practitioner. This setting would best prepare me for an academic career involving research, teaching, and work as a practitioner. I would like to work under the supervision of David Vogel because of his research examining stigma and attitudes regarding psychological health and therapy seeking. I plan to research protective factors of Black psychological well-being and the stigma associated with seeking psychological help in the Black community in relation to religious and spiritual beliefs. Studying this intersection would result in a better understanding of the effects and stigma associated with spirituality and religion, given the historical role it plays in the Black community. Examining potential protective factors would prepare me to create community planning and outreach that would lead to prevention measures among the Black community.

Upon completing a doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology, I intend to work as a professor exploring the intersectionality between the Black experience, religion, and spirituality while also applying my findings through clinical supervision. Iowa State University’s Counseling Psychology Program will best maximize my development in the field of psychology and prepare me to achieve my goals. Ultimately, I want to be in a program where my identity is valued, and Iowa State University seems to fit just that.