My PhD is in General Psychology, with a specialization in Addiction Psychology. Advice? In terms of the dissertation (which indeed is the most important thing you will need help with), it will never go as smooth as you think. It is best to settle into the dance you have with your chair/mentor early on, understanding always that he or she is leading. You will learn the pace, and other important details of the relatioship by the time your proposal is accepted by your committee and you begin your data collection. At this point, you should have well accepted how your chair/mentor wants the project to go. Follow the lead, do what your told, fruitless to argue.....That's my advice for now....Dr. Ellis

I would be happy to help in anyway I can. Currently, getting the document prepared for publication and I have everything done except for getting the page numbers in the document correctly. No matter what I have tried I just cannot seem to get it right. eek

I just defended my dissertation yesterday. I would like to offer support to those who are currently working on a dissertation or those who are about to start. Dr. Ellis

I just defended my dissertation yesterday. It took me about 4 1/2 years. Indeed, I thought about quitting over and over again. motivation will come and go. relax when you dont feel like working on it. Look at this as a productivity pause. It is a natural and normal psychological state that usually comes after a burst of work. You will not be able to stop thinking about it, but use this time for exactly that, "thinking about it". Thinking about the next problem you have to work through, or the next page you have to write, etc. This is still considered working on your disseration. Of course it is always better to pick it up and do a little something every day (expect when you really need a break, and you will know when that is). What you are experiencing is completely normal...hang in...Dr. Ellis