<p>I haven't found a situation like mine on this site or on the web, so I decided to post a new thread. Two years ago I was dismissed from my psychology graduate school program one semester before I was supposed to graduate. Although it states on my transcript that I was "academically dismissed," I was dismissed for what was considered to be "unethical behavior." </p>
<p>Long story short, I suffered a miscarriage and then subsequently had my boyfriend cheat and break up with me a month later. I reached out to some of my "friends" in school as I was distraught and they went to my advisor to talk about the situation. I passed my dissertation prospectus the Monday after the incident and spoke to my advisor the same day about what happened. I respectfully declined to discuss the issue with the director of clinical training and the clinical director as I did not have a personal relationship with either of them and the director of clinical training made it no secret that she did not care for me at all. Therefore, she made the decision to ask me to withdraw or face dismissal for not being responsive to a supervisor (as per APA guidelines that she twisted to her advantage.)</p>
<p>Since that time, I've revitalized my life. I did some substitute teaching, I worked for a community mental health center, received treatment for depression, and now work for a state health agency and do some adjunct teaching on the side. Additionally, being in my home state has done wonders for me as I have support here, which I did not have in graduate school. I'm not confident that I should waste my time applying to any psychology or counseling based programs, but I have found a public health program that I am interested in applying to.</p>
<p>My questions are: </p>
<p>(1) How should I best explain this situation without personalizing it? As my cohort has graduated and completed their internships, it still hurts that I was dismissed. I want be able to explain the situation, my rational for doing what I did (in terms of declining to answer and refusing to withdraw), and how I have improved without coming off as defensive or bad mouthing the previous program.</p>
<p>(2) Letters of recommendation--I'm at a loss on what to do regarding obtaining letters. My former advisor has acted as a reference for job applications, but I'm not sure if she would recommend me for another graduate program. Additionally, I wouldn't know who else to ask from the previous school and I'm not sure if I would even want a letter from them.</p>
<p>Thank you for any advice.</p>