Psychology Summer Camp for High School Students

The goal of our Psychology SUMMER CAMP is to provide an insight into the human mind as well as to prep students for coursework they may see in undergraduate Psychology courses.

The goal of our Psychology Class is to learn more about who we are as people and how we think, as well as to prep students for coursework they may see in undergraduate Psychology courses.

This program will be a selective overview of the field of psychology, including theories of learning, theories of personality, exploration into current research and how culture affects our way of thinking. We will focus on classic studies that have changed our understanding of human nature.

Coursework in our psychology summer course will also include the broader subjects of Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology and group dynamics, Abnormal Psychology, Personality Development, Forensic Psychology and Neuroscience. Coursework will be active and engaging, as students learn more about themselves than they would from any other course.

One of the most anticipated sections will start with the question: “What does it mean to be abnormal?” We will discuss various mental conditions, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive-disorder (OCD), schizophrenia, and other disorders. We will discuss various treatments for mental health, including traditional therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy, and new treatments like mindfulness meditation. In our social psychology section, we discuss group dynamics like the psychology of racism, the presence of privilege in therapy, and how cultures interact when they clash with one another.

Learning takes place off campus as much as in the classroom, so last summer students took trips to Burlington, VT for a naturalistic observation study, a horse ranch to study animal therapy and therapeutic riding, and a Zen Garden to try their hand at art therapy and different hikes to examine the meditative benefits. Psychology at VSA is both a great way to spend the summer and an educational way to learn more about yourself!

DEGREE PROGRAMS OFFERED @ GMC: Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology/Anthropology and minors in Biopsychology, Religious Studies or Women’s and Gender Studies.