Advice to Incoming Students from the Chair of the Department of Couple and Family Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University

On September 5, 2017, Dr. Ken Covelman, CFR Therapist and Chair of the Department of Couple and Family Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University (with programs offered in partnership with CFR) addressed the more-than-700 newly-enrolled students for TJU’s College of Health Professions and had this advice:

“Dean Zelnick gave us the task of giving you some words of wisdom to help you navigate the next few years. After researching it, thinking about it and surveying my dinner guests on Saturday night. This is what I came up with.

Be CHEAP and by cheap I mean:

Be Curious:

Question what you learn; don’t confuse memorization with thinking; facts and wisdom are not the same things.

Be Humble:

Be open to new learnings, don’t assume your way is the right way or the only way.

Be Empathic:

To yourself, your peers, your professors and your patients.  Learning to be a professional is hard and you will make mistakes, don’t beat yourself up, learn from them. Be supportive of your colleagues, not competitive.  Be empathic to your patients. Understand that a crucial aspect of healing people is making them feel understood.

Be Articulate:

Work on expressing yourself clearly and simply. Science and healing require the ability to communicate as succinctly and directly as possible

Be Prepared:

Do your work, stay current. Creativity and discovery are the results of hard work and preparation.

So remember to be CHEAP.

I wish you all the best of luck and look forward to having you become colleagues.”

Click here to learn more about our Master’s in Family Therapy Program

Dr. Kenneth Covelman is the Chair of the Department of Couple and Family Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University and a Staff Therapist at our University City Office. Request an appointment today.