The life of a school psychologist: an interview with Evie Snyder

Ava: Where did you grow up?

Evelyn: Brookline, near Boston.

Ava: Did you know you wanted to be a psychologist then?

Evelyn: No. I mean, as a kid, that wasn’t my first choice. My first choice was to be an actress. I did want to be a psychologist when I entered college. But at that point, it seemed daunting. I mean, it seemed like you were destined for medical school. There were so many psychology majors, I couldn’t imagine being able to compete with all of them. So I studied environmental science and became a science teacher. And then went back and got advanced degrees in psychology.

Ava: I hear the word doctorate after saying I’m going to study psychology, and it sounds so stressful.

Evelyn: Most psychologists have doctorates. And that was what was daunting to me, too. But in my era, school psychology, you were able to practice with 2 masters. I was in a doctoral program at UMass, but I didn’t do the dissertation. I still sort of ended up being a professional psychologist. But, over the course of the years that was ridiculous not to have done it. 

Ava: Where did you go to high school?

Evelyn: Brookline High.

Ava: What college did you go to, and what did you study?

Evelyn: I studied forestry and wildlife biology as an undergraduate. And then I got a master’s in professional psychology, and then I got an advanced degree in school psychology. So I came to UMass, and never left.

Ava: Did anyone mentor you or influence you during this time?

Evelyn: Absolutely. You have so much clinical supervision. It’s not something you can learn on your own. It’s hard, it’s a lot. I mean, it’s not hard, don’t get me wrong. But you need a lot of mentoring. I still do. 

Ava: Describe your family.

Evelyn: I grew up in a family of 3 kids. I was the youngest of 2 older brothers. Now I’m married, and we have 2 kids. And our 2 kids have wives. One of my kids lives nearby, and the other lives in Utah. The one who lives nearby has 2 kids, one of them goes to Fort River Elementary. He’s in second grade, and the other one is just a baby.  

Ava: How were you introduced to psychology?

Evelyn: I had an interest in it in High School, you know, as a person who’s sort of thoughtful and reflective, wanting to figure out myself. My mother was dying when I was in high school, and so I was really vulnerable. And so I really had a deep sense of my inner world. It seemed like the obvious choice to want to be supportive of other people. My teachers were amazing- they were really good stand-in supports. But I went off to college, and like I said, I was overwhelmed by the fact that you’d have to get a PhD. Was I that caliber of a student, maybe even for medical school? So I switched gears and went to environmental studies. And then got out, taught science at a high school for three years, and realized I really wanted to be a psychologist. So after 5 years of working in a school, I went to graduate school for five years. 

Ava: What made you want to work with kids?

Evelyn: Well, I love being in schools. And I love kids. It really is as simple as that. We spend a lot of time in schools. It can be great places, it can be hard places. I love kids, I mean, I’m a kid. I’m a kid at 72. Each developmental stage is different. I spent most of my career with middle schoolers.

Ava: Was middle school tough on you?

Evelyn: I loved middle schoolers. I liked them better than elementary and high school. They’re [middle schoolers] more open. High schoolers tend to start to get defensive and get an attitude. They’re gaining autonomy and getting ready to move on into the world, so they’re not childlike.

Ava: What is the best thing about being a child psychologist?

Evelyn: The thing that I like most about it is that the job is social. It’s personal. You’re relating to other people all of the time. You’re with other people. You’re engaged in the community. 

Ava: What is the hardest thing?

Evelyn: The hardest thing is you’re exposed to a lot of challenges and a lot of trauma. Early on, it was shocking because I was relatively sheltered, even though my mother died when I was young. And also trying to be helpful with problems that seem so enormous. A lot of psychologists work with individuals who are trying to grow personally. Like, trying to expand themselves. Becoming better communicators, learn more about their strengths and challenges. But when you’re working with some children, you’re working with really hard situations. Children are in families, and it’s about the whole group- you’re not just working with the kid. You have to work with the whole group to really make an impact.

Ava: How do you help children feel safe and comfortable?

Evelyn: By being relatable, by treating them with respect- mutual respect. Enjoying them, finding pleasure in them as humans. Being playful, silly.

Ava: What do you aim to achieve in your work?

Evelyn: Well, right now, as a psychologist, my primary goal is assessment for IEPS. One of the things about being a school psychologist is that they think you can be everything to everybody. I taught AP psychology, I taught at the university(Amherst). You want them to learn more about themselves. You want them to realize that they have to meet their challenges. That they don’t have to be perfect. That curiosity is a beautiful thing.

Ava: How do you communicate complex emotions to kids?

Evelyn: You don’t really. I mean, you teach kids about emotions; you really try to explain a lot about feelings. You’re trying to explore what an emotion is. That’s a language that not everybody has, not even some adults. Trying to get conceptual is not necessarily the job. It’s not about us teaching. It’s about us listening, being role models. Something you do with a kindergartner, like play, is different from what you’re going to do with an adult or high school student. It isn’t my goals that set the template for what you do in treatment; it’s what your goals are.