Please join The Writers’ Exchange in congratulating Erin W. Berzins in the successful completion of their dissertation:
The Role of Emotional Overcontrol in the Acceptance of Counselor Training Feedback
This research examined the relationship between the trait of emotional overcontrol and the phenomenon of accepting feedback within master’s level counseling programs. I wanted to understand how overcontrol might influence students’ willingness to take in feedback from instructors and supervisors and expand the research about the struggles of effectively using feedback.
What advice would you give to others writing a dissertation?
Do something for your dissertation every day, whether it is reading an article, formatting your references, or actually sitting down and writing a few paragraphs. Whatever you are working on, just get into the habit of making some type of progress every day. I also benefited a lot from having someone outside of the field read a draft. I realized that if I am not effectively explaining the research to someone who does not know psychology jargon, I am not explaining it clearly enough for a dissertation.
What are your next steps in your academic/professional career?
I definitely plan to do more research. There are a lot of topics which interest me and I am excited to answer more questions. I am also now teaching full time and hope to utilize my work to be a better advocate for my students.