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SPRING 2026 • VOLUME 16
CURRENT STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: STEPHAN OLIVEIRA
2 YEAR PSYD STUDENT (HE/HIM) ND
How did you get interested in psychology?
Initially, I became interested in clinical psychology in high school after being close with another peer with schizophrenia. When we had first met, she had not received any treatment nor diagnosis and her symptoms were emerging. Through our connection, I heard firsthand how her experiences with clinical care were burdened by systemic failures, leading me to investigate further regarding the structures of clinical practice. I learned about my own family’s history with clinical psychology in Brazil and the Tupiniquim women in our recent and further lineage had been involuntarily institutionalized for psychosis due to the pathologization of Indigenous cultural, religious, and medicinal practices. As someone who had been intertwined with the ways in which clinical psychology could produce harm, I wanted to learn why this was the case and what I could do to change it.
More about Stephan:
Stephan is currently a doctoral level diagnostic extern at LifeSpan Counseling & Psychological Services. He has been involved at NLU as a teaching assistant for ISPP, graduate
Do you have any advice for prospective students?
Learn the nuances between licensures and what is expected from each kind of credential! It can be incredibly difficult to find out what the differences are between an MSW, a PsyD, LMFT, etc, etc, etc. and even what your state requires of you. When looking at a school, as important as internship match and EPPP pass rates are, look into the histories of each respective institution as well. There have been a lot of shake ups in clinical psychology doctoral programs that have contributed to why some of the statistics you find might be a little confusing! Learning how to holistically interpret statistical data with the qualitative context is a great skill to develop now, because you’ll be doing it a ton during the program.
student assistant, and AmeriCorps Campus Contact VISTA to support Black and Latine students.
(312) 261-3036
www.nl.edu
Chicago, IL
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