From Boardrooms to the Therapy Room: Why I’m Pursuing a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by people, how we think, how we cope, and how our environments shape who we become.
My decision to pursue a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology did not come from a single moment. It came from a series of experiences across corporate leadership, physical fitness, and my own lived reality. Together, they revealed a truth I can no longer ignore: mental health is essential, deeply interconnected with our daily lives, and still widely underserved.
This is how I got here.
Where It Started: The Workplace and the Missing Individual
My professional journey began in corporate environments. I sat in leadership meetings with C-suite executives and worked in human resources, often as the person responsible for navigating the gap between organizational goals and individual employee experience.
Again and again, I saw organizations try to solve problems by addressing employees as a collective, policies, procedures, productivity goals, while overlooking the individual human experience underneath all of it.
Employees were triggered at work. Prospective employees were triggered during interviews. Stress, anxiety, and unresolved trauma quietly shaped performance, relationships, and retention in ways that organizational solutions alone could never address. Mental health was rarely spoken about directly, and almost never addressed in a meaningful or individualized way.
I began to understand something that has only deepened over time: workplace wellness cannot exist without psychological wellbeing. The two are inseparable, and pretending otherwise does not make the need go away. It just makes it invisible until it becomes a crisis.
The Body as the Gateway to the Mind
That realization deepened through my work as a pole dance fitness instructor and co-owner of Pure Gravity Fitness Studio.
Each week I teach a diverse group of adults ranging from 18 to 65 years old. On the surface the class is about physical movement. What unfolds in that space is something much more layered.
The exercises challenge not only physical strength but mental resilience, self-trust, and emotional regulation. I have watched students rediscover confidence they did not know they still had. I have watched people show up to class carrying invisible weight and leave with something shifted. I have also learned that progress is never linear, and when it stalls, the solution is never one-size-fits-all. I adapt, modify, and meet each person where they are, not where I expect them to be.
In those moments I saw the bridge between physical movement and mental health more clearly than any textbook had ever shown me. The body often speaks before the mind is ready to listen. That observation did not stay in the fitness studio. It traveled with me and became part of how I understand the work of clinical psychology.
Why Clinical Psychology
Pursuing a PsyD in Clinical Psychology allows me to formally expand my understanding of human behavior, particularly how anxiety and trauma show up in the workplace, in relationships, and in the body.
My goal is to help individuals identify, understand, and manage anxiety disorders and trauma using evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, structured problem-solving, and both group and individual therapy modalities.
I envision myself as part of a generation of psychologists who educate their communities, provide effective and accessible services in both in-person and tele-mental health formats, partner with local businesses and organizations to normalize mental health support, and actively promote diversity within the field of psychology itself.
Psychological wellbeing does not exist in isolation. It strengthens families, workplaces, and entire communities. That understanding is at the center of everything I want to build as a clinician.
Why Adler University
Choosing Adler University was not a default decision. It was an intentional one.
Adler stands out because of its deep commitment to social justice, diversity, and community engagement. Its location in Chicago offers direct exposure to richly diverse populations, and that matters to me. I completed my master's degree in Chicago and experienced firsthand how meaningful community-based psychology can be when it is practiced with genuine investment in the people it serves.
Adler's emphasis on preparing psychologists to work in diverse settings, particularly through the Military Clinical Psychology track, aligns closely with my personal and professional life. I have strong connections with veterans, active-duty service members, and their families. I have trained alongside current and former servicemen and women. These experiences have shaped my understanding of trauma, resilience, and what it means to serve others in the fullest sense of that word.
I am also drawn to Adler's faculty, whose interests mirror my own: women's issues, military trauma, critical thinking in assessment and treatment, and intergenerational trauma within African American communities. Learning in an environment guided by those perspectives allows me to grow both clinically and personally in ways that a more traditional program would not have provided.
Social Justice, Psychology, and Community Healing
To me, social justice means equitable access to economic, civil, and social resources, mental health care included.
Psychologists play a vital role in this work. We educate, advocate, and create change through both direct services and community partnerships. Living out that mission requires commitment: continuing education, outreach, mentorship, and actively building pathways for the next generation of psychologists.
Mental health care should not be a privilege. It should be a standard. And the gap between where we are and where we need to be is one I intend to spend my career working to close.
Looking Ahead: My Vision as a Psychologist
My long-term goals include becoming licensed in my home state and through PsyPACT, building a part-time private practice focused on trauma and anxiety among African American adult and older adult women, and working full-time with either the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or in a hospital setting as a general psychologist.
Beyond direct clinical work, I hope to supervise future psychology students, expand access through tele-mental health, and offer educational workshops that empower communities to understand and advocate for their own mental health. Eventually I envision turning those workshops into a book, creating resources for individuals who may never step into a therapy office but who still deserve access to quality psychological education.
At the heart of all of it is a belief I have carried across every chapter of my career: healing happens when people are informed, supported, and seen as whole individuals, mind, body, and community.
This is why I am pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology. Not just to treat symptoms. To help build healthier systems, stronger communities, and more empowered lives. If this resonates with you and you want to pursue your vision schedule a session here: https://www.jasmynsteele.com/shop/p/career-academic-clarity-call
Jasmyn Steele, M.A. is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology (Military Track) at Adler University, Chicago, IL, co-owner of Pure Gravity Fitness Studio, and a pole dance fitness instructor and conditioning trainer. She is an active member of the Association of Black Psychologists and the Adler University Student Veterans Association. Follow her work at jasmynsteele.com.
