"Exciting" and "challenging." Those are the words Tanya Flanagin, 39, used to describe her first year in Bastyr University's health psychology bachelor's degree completion program. A transplant from California, Tanya said she'd been told great things about Bastyr and had high expectations when she started in fall 2008. She wasn't anticipating, however, just how much she'd learn — both about psychology and herself — in such a short time.
"I am already looking at the world in a different way," said Flanagin, who is planning a career as a counselor or psychotherapist. "I've learned a lot about myself and the importance of self-care. And I've learned that to attune with others, meet them where they are and facilitate the healing process, it's vital that you be self-aware."
In particular, she said her classes dealing with spirituality and health psychology — and their focus on personal "inner work" therapies — "completely changed" her life. They opened her eyes to the deep connections between spirituality, physical health and mental health, and helped her discern the direction she'd like to take her career.
"Unique" and "supportive." Those are the words Flanagin used to describe just how Bastyr facilitated this quick learning curve. "The University itself is such a support for your mental and physical health," she said. "It's the little things like the whole-food cafeteria, classes on meditation, a campus situated in the woods and surrounded by hiking trails and a medicinal herb garden. When you attend university, you know you're putting yourself in a stressful situation. It's just so unique to have a place that's this supportive. Where else can you can go and actually get acupuncture treatments during finals week?"
Flanagin said the program's emphasis on research set it apart. At the start of her second and final year she began work on a senior thesis examining the effectiveness of alternative therapies, such as meditation, in helping war veterans cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"It was such a fantasy of mine to come to Bastyr," Flanagin said. "And now that I'm here, I'm having such an incredible time. It has opened my mind, and it has helped me discover more about why I'm interested in psychology and where I want to go in my future endeavors."
