Student Ambassador: Jake Nehiley

Hello to all,

My name is Jake. I’m a fourth-year student of the BS in Psychology and Human Services program here at William James College. I am a member of the William James chapter of Psi-Chi, and I have been involved as a student tutor in past semesters. I chose William James College because I wanted to enroll in a bachelor’s program that was designed for working people. WJC’s undergraduate program specifically caters to those who have responsibilities outside of school, making it a perfect fit for my needs.

My future goals are to earn a master’s degree, obtain licensure as a mental health counselor, and work as a psychotherapist. I am particularly interested in the depth psychology of Freud, Adler, and Jung and updating these models considering modern developments in neuroscience, biology, etc. to better inform clinical practice. In this spirit, I am personally involved in modern developments within depth psychology, particularly Neuropsychoanalysis developed by Mark Solms and Psycho-Systems Analysis developed by Steve and Pauline Richards. The former is an updating of Freud’s model based on 21st century cognitive and affective neuroscience; the latter is a Jungian-based biopsychosocial model that draws on evolutionary and molecular biology, neuroscience, psychophysiology, capnography, and Ericksonian hypnosis to inform its theoretical modeling and therapeutic approach. I also have a deep interest in the history of psychology and psychotherapy. Much knowledge has been gained since the time of Franz Mesmer and Willhelm Wundt, but much has also been lost and forgotten along the way. I firmly believe that for psychology and psychotherapy to move forward, we must return to the past and retrieve that which has been lost and bring it into alignment with modern science.

William James College has genuinely been a great experience. What impresses me most about the program is that all the faculty have real-world clinical experience. Almost everything that is taught in this program is delivered in a way that is clinically relevant. There are no academic abstractions in this program – everything that we learn is applicable to the real world.

For those coming into the program, the single most important piece of advice I can offer is to reach out to your professors and utilize the Academic Resource Center (ARC). The faculty here are dedicated to your academic and professional success. Professors will gladly work with you if you are struggling and the faculty at ARC will do anything short of writing your assignments for you.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. I am happy to help in any way I can.