ABSTRACT
As I sit down to write this introduction, I am amazed by how my life has come full circle within the past six years. In July 2012, while in my doctorate program for psychology, I went through a tough time personally: a sexual assault, a disappointing breakup with a guy I liked, working full time, and attending full-time classes as a doctoral student took their toll on me. Shortly after the sexual assault, I developed acute psychotic disorder. I began hearing voices, some friendly and supportive, and others which told me I was unsafe. I took off in my car, thinking I was being chased by Middle Eastern terrorists, threw my cell phone into an abandoned lot (so the supposed terrorists couldn’t follow me), and was convinced my parents were unsafe to be around. Thankfully, I did not have my headlights on that night, which somehow led to a cop pulling me over. I ended up telling him my fears about terrorists chasing me, and he took me to a local hospital. I spent the night in the hospital, my parents showing up the next morning, and voluntarily admitted myself to an inpatient psychiatric ward later that day. During my stay in the psychiatric hospital, I remember sitting on the floor by my bed, and my voices (or, during this particular instance, one voice, who I called “grandma”) saying, “This is a test. You are being tested. Richard Sears and Jennifer Ossege will help you. They will rescue you.”
