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Hey, all! My name is Sophie and I am a postbac. at Bryn Mawr, hoping to attend medical school in the near future. I’m closer to thirty than I an twenty, but do not claim to possess the wisdom that theoretically comes with age! I’ve had the opportunity to live and work abroad, both in Europe and the developing world and am interested in the delivery of health care as it applies to underserved populations.

I am also very interested in mental illness. My brother is a newly trained Psychiatrist and he enjoys practicing his trade on me; I indulge him because I’ve learned a lot from being analyzed, namely that it’s best not to practice such things on one’s siblings. However, I am interested in Psychiatry and the ways in which mental illness as “disease” has evolved in recent history. In a similar vein, I am interested in the use of psychiatric medications to treat mental illness and the scientific/medical culture that promotes the use of such medications for various clusters of symptoms. Additionally, I am interested in perception and the blurred boundaries between subjective experience and “reality.” Finally, I would like to explore recidivism, particularly in the context of people who exhibit criminal behavior, and what role brain “hard-wiring” plays as opposed to socio-cultural and economic factors in shaping patterns of behavior.

I’m really looking forward to being a part of this course!