ERIN E. DOLAN

ABOUT ME

 

Student of life. Educator. Wellness professional. Through years of hard work, education, practice and lessons learned, I’ve had the opportunity to help hundreds of people on their paths to living their “best life”. Originally from Worcester, MA, I spent time living and working in San Diego and Philadelphia before finally planting my roots back in Central Massachusetts. I have a thirst for knowledge, which has led to my decision to pursue a doctoral degree in Media Psychology.

 

During my undergraduate studies in Communications, I always found myself fascinated by the "whys". Why do some folks gravitate towards some forms of media rather than others? Why does the media have a largely different impact on different types of people? It was this desire for understanding that led me to pursue a Masters Degree in Psychology. This degree has afforded me the opportunity to work closely with clients as they better understand themselves and their place in the world around them. I am currently putting this into practice as a mental health and wellness professional at Clark University in Worcester, MA, where I also teach adjunct courses in Communications.

 

As my Fielding personal statement suggests, my ultimate goal in pursuing a Ph.D. in Media Psychology is to expand on my background in communications and psychology, while gaining the knowledge, research and experience necessary to become an expert on the intersection between our self-perception and our relationship with the media.

 

Of particular interest to me is research into happiness, and how we shape our self-concept in relation to the constructs of social media. Most recently, this work was acknowledged when I was selected as a 2014 Fellow with the CMM Institute for Social Change. This fellowship was awarded after a panel of judges from Fielding University, Villanova University and The CMM Institute selected a proposal that I submitted for one of three fellowships for the year 2014. The proposal, titled “Behind the Filter: Using CMM As a Lens for Increasing Social Media Literacy Among College Students,” outlines a body-image group that I created to use media literacy as the primary vessel for increasing self-esteem, social cognizance, and media awareness among college aged-female students. This fellowship presents me with the opportunity to share my findings at the 2014 CMM Leadership Conference in Oracle, AZ.

 

As an individual and student of life, I currently wear many hats. I am a college educator, a therapist, a wellness coach, a researcher, a fellow, a writer and a consultant. I have a strong interest in wellness, happiness, and the science of strength-based psychology. I view media as a crucial component to how individuals interact with and shape opinions about the world around them, and I am intensely interested in understanding the human psyche within this framework. I am passionate about learning and research and I have a great desire to make a difference in the world. I hold a tremendous amount of gratitude for the opportunity to combine my two passions- media and psychology- and continue my academic and personal journey at Fielding.