Alumni in Love (& in Uniform)
Capt Lauren Yurish, PsyD ‘19 and CPT Bret Crittenden, PsyD ‘19 wear a lot of hats—clinical psychologists, active duty service members, Chatham graduates, spouses! 😅 Currently, Lauren is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the U.S. Air Force Academy while Bret is completing his post-doctoral residency for the U.S. Army in Tacoma, Washington. We caught up with Lauren and Bret to hear all about meeting in Chatham’s PsyD program, the ins and outs of military psychology, and how they make their long-distance marriage work.
How did the two of you meet?
Lauren: Bret and I met in the PsyD program at Chatham. I was in the 2014 cohort, he was in the 2015 cohort. There were a group of us that started to hang out after class and on the weekends. We ended up calling our little clique #PsyDkicks (pronounced “sidekicks”). That group of friends helped me get through some of the most stressful times of my doctoral training. Over the course of the program, Bret and I started to hang out one-on-one and I realized he was someone I always wanted to be around.
Bret: Our friendship worked so well that we decided to become roommates in order for both of us to be able to live in Shadyside. It wasn’t until Lauren moved to Texas that we started to realize this was more than just a friendship. On the day we found out where we would be completing our pre-doctoral internships, we finally shared our feelings and decided to give it a shot. Best decision of my life!
What does a day in the life of a military psychologist look like?
L: The average day varies—there are many rewards and many challenges. Typically, I am seeing patients in a clinic providing individual and group therapy using a variety of modalities. I’ve helped some patients work through significant combat trauma, some with sexual trauma, and most with depression and anxiety developed from the nature of their jobs. I am also an active duty service member and there are obligations to fulfill on the military side of things, like going to Commander’s Calls.
B: Each military branch uses its active duty psychologists differently. For the Army, psychologists are typically embedded within a line unit (e.g., infantry brigade) rather than being “owned” by a hospital or clinic. With this format, an Army psychologist typically splits their time between clinical psychology (e.g., therapy, assessment) and operational psychology (e.g., personnel selection, consultation, resiliency trainings). Army psychologists are just as likely to be found out in the “field” as in a clinic. After completing one or two assignments, it is common to move on to specialty trainings like neuropsychology, health psychology, forensic psychology, and/or leadership positions. It’s an exciting and rewarding career that is guaranteed to take you off the traditional psychology career path.
What’s it like to HAVE the same job as your spouse? How have you learned from each other’s strategies and experiences?
L: We are two of only three psychologists who graduated from Chatham that simultaneously serve in the military. It was so supportive and reassuring when we were both going through our pre-doctoral internship in the same year – we could validate each other’s challenges and also celebrate our victories. The internship can be very stressful, plus being in a long-distance marriage was also challenging. But Bret was the perfect partner for the job. We were on FaceTime every night talking about highlights from our days and learning the structures of the military together.
B: Having my wife in the same field has been tremendously rewarding. It is hard to fully relate to the experiences unless you’ve been there. Lauren and I are able to understand and support each other in a way that wouldn’t be possible if we weren’t both serving in the military. We’ve also been able to learn from each other about areas of strength within our services; the Air Force does a fantastic job of integrating psychologists into primary care settings, while the Army has a strong model for embedding psychologists into line units.
What’s the hardest part of your job?
L: There are many challenges. The majority of our colleagues only have one role—psychologist. Being a military psychologist, you also fill the role of an officer. As an officer, you need to demonstrate leadership to be eligible to be promoted to the next rank. You have to meet certain physical standards to continue serving in the military while also meeting the standards to be a psychologist. The other aspect of being active duty is that you can deploy at any time. I am proud to serve my country, but being deployed would take me away from family and potentially into a combat zone.
B: Right now the hardest part of my job is being geographically separated from my wife. For the next year and a half, I’ll be completing my post-doctoral residency in Washington while Lauren is assigned to the USAF Academy in Colorado. Long work hours and different time zones can make it hard to have that quality time with your partner. I’m fortunate to have such an awesome partner to complete this journey with.
What’s the highlight?
L: The highlights are what make the challenges worth it! I was very fortunate to get stationed at the U.S. Air Force Academy. There is a chance that I’ll be working with U. S. Air Force Academy athletes on mental skills training to help them excel in sport performance. Sports Psychology is an area of psychology I am very passionate about, so getting the chance to work with athletes while simultaneously working in a military environment is very exciting to me.
B: The highlight of my work with the Army is its diversity. Army psychologists get to work in a myriad of roles within the field. From all of the standard roles and responsibilities of a clinical psychologist to consultation and personnel selection within I/O psychology to performance improvement in sports psychology, and everything in between. Every day looks different from the last. Plus, I get to support the Army’s mission and its soldiers.
To learn more about Chatham’s Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Counseling Psychology program, visit our webpage. Or, if you’re interested in learning more about how Chatham accommodates our military & veteran students, check it out here.
