The Psyched to Practice Story
After all the effort completing college, grad school, internships, and supervision, many of you find yourselves asking, “Now what?” Suddenly, you are let loose navigating the next phase of your career helping others. For some, you will work with practices, agencies, medical facilities, schools, and higher education institutions, and for others, you will move on to opening your own private practice. While all of these settings have different aspects to them, a common factor is the experience of uncertainty, confusion, and even some doubt. There are many questions running through your mind – the direction of your career, professional development, business decisions, and how to advance in the ever-changing landscape that is mental health. In this pursuit of professional independence, you may find yourself searching for answers without the immediate support of mentors, professors, or supervisors, as their roles are less prominent. If you have or are currently experiencing this, you are not alone.
These same experiences are what motivated us to create Psyched to Practice. We started this as an outlet to challenge the barriers that mental health professionals experience that can take the excitement and awe out of what we do. We want to spark the intrigue that pulled many of us into this area of work and help get those in our profession “Psyched to Practice.” We aspire for this platform to be an extension of the consultations and discussions we’ve had with each other, as well as with many experts in our field. From talks about philosophical and clinical aspects of practicing in a mental health field to discussions of business decisions and ways to advance our careers, we found that the more we engaged in these with each other and our colleagues, the more “psyched” we became to try new things, enhance our work, and take more chances. Simply put, “knowledge became infectious.” And, that is the foundation of Psyched to Practice – we want to find ways to impart information, resources, and collaboration to energize your practice and your life.
So, how do we do this? Psyched to Practice has many options to share and provide information to you.
1. If you’re not a listener yet, then please join us on The Psyched to Practice Podcast, which is our way of connecting our mission to our broad audience. By offering insights and thoughts from us and other experts related to the practice of psychology, counseling, and other mental health fields we have something for everyone. Check out further information below about the Psyched to Practice Podcast or listen on all major streaming sources.
2. If you’re interested in a more personal approach, join one of our consultation programs, referred to as our Practice Squads. Practice Squads are offered at different career levels, as well as for clinical discussions, and they are offered throughout the year. For those of you are looking for a specific focus, you can also choose to work with us individually for general consultation or practice and career development. For further information on our consultation options, go to the Start Consulting tab.
3. If you’re searching for resources to help guide you in your work, check out some of our complimentary resources that are available by signing up throughout website. Also, go to our Resources tab, where we have several “practice bundles” that are available for purchase. These include various clinical and administrative forms that you can use in the development of your practice to help build efficient systems and to guide treatment delivery. We are always working on new resources to share.
About The Psyched to Practice Podcast
As mental health practitioners who are different stages of our career, we developed the Psyched to Practice Podcast to blend information, resources, and collaboration to energize your practice and life. Our information conversations with each other about the field of psychology and mental health, resulted in excitement and motivation that lead to the development of the podcast. Our goal is to capture crucial information through a conversational tone allowing you to connect not only with the ideas we are discussing but the passion that is behind it. The Psyched to Practice Podcast offers a trio of episode formats designed to engage listeners with the multifaceted world of psychology and mental health. The first format, Masters in Practice, features in-depth conversations with seasoned experts on various focal topics. The second, Practice in Action, takes a deep dive into psychological subjects, exploring their practical applications within mental health care. Lastly, Living Psyched episodes aim to integrate psychological principles and wellness strategies into everyday life, offering listeners insights on how to enhance their daily living through the lens of psychology.
Who Are we?
Dr. Ray W. Christner
Hey all, I’m Dr. Ray Christner, one of the hosts of The Psyched to Practice Podcast and consultant for our Practice Squad consulting groups. I have to admit, I never thought I would be hosting a podcast. However, in my almost 30 years of working in human services and psychology, I’ve had such amazing opportunities to engage in many conversations with friends, colleagues, and experts that were thought provoking and energizing. Most of these occurred informally over dinner or even sitting in the hotel lobby when attending conferences. Although being psychologist was not my initial career plan, I found myself in Psychology 100 (General Psychology) and falling in love with the content. This led me to obtain Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California University of Pennsylvania, where I then obtained a Master’s degree and certification in School Psychology. After practicing as a school psychologist, I found myself looking to expand my skills and I went on to obtain a Master’s degree and Doctorate of Psychology degree in Clinical Psychology from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (now The PCOM School of Professional and Applied Psychology). I’ve had the chance to work in many settings, including schools, outpatient centers, residential programs, community mental health, colleges, medical facilities, and private practices. In addition to being a clinician, my career as afforded me roles as an author, presenter, professor, consultant, and business owner. I’m the owner of Cognitive Health Solutions, a multidisciplinary group mental health practice in south central Pennsylvania. A bit of luck has put me in the right places to have an outstanding education, the friendship, and mentorship from many of the great minds in the field of psychology who willingly shared their stories, experiences, and guidance with me. My desire is use Psyched to Practice as a medium offer the same experiences to all of you and to keep you psyched about this wonderful field that we are all in. Be well and stay psyched!
Paul Wagner
Hello, I’m Paul Wagner, one of your hosts on the Psyched to Practice podcast and the producer for the show. My vision for this platform is for it to be a place where wisdom is imparted and stories are shared. At a young age, I had a knack for listening and enough patience to hear the full story. I didn’t know what a gift that was then, but now each day I appreciate hearing stories unfold all around me. From this, my journey into mental health began. The first steps being earning my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University, and then going on to earn my Master of Science in Mental Health and Community Counseling from McDaniel College. These incredible programs laid the foundation for the clinician I am today and prepared me for my role as a Licensed Professional Counselor in an outpatient setting. For the first few years, this took place in a community mental health agency, before transitioning to my current employer, Cognitive Health Solutions, a small group practice in Hanover, PA. I have been so fortunate in my career to have educators, clinical supervisors, and mentors take the time to impart not only their wisdom but their stories as well. My hope is through this platform we can offer this gift to you.