Many students, like 31-year-old Lisa Landolfi, come to the Wright immediately after completing master's degrees in psychology. "After finishing my Master's Degree in clinical psychology, I realized that I needed additional training in order to achieve my professional goals. The comprehensive program at the Wright Institute offered the classes and clinical instruction I was looking for, as well as a strong emphasis on multicultural issues. My first year offered many profound learning experiences and I know they are training the students to be leaders in the field of psychology."

Some students enter the Wright either immediately following, or within one to two years of completing their undergraduate work. Twenty-three-year-old Deborah Ronay was a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, who majored in psychology. "I started graduate school the fall after graduating from Berkeley because I was very eager to finally begin learning what I was passionate about clinical practice. It was not hard to think of the Wright Institute as my first choice. I was attracted to its mission statement about training students to become clinicians to society and to its stability as an institution of higher learning."

The Wright Institute is also home to many people who have changed careers at mid-life. Thirty-six-year-old Kevin Orzech worked as a research geologist before enrolling at the Wright. "In leaving a stable career, I wanted to be sure that I would obtain both the professional competence and the theoretical foundation to be a strong clinician. At the Wright Institute, I have received broad practical and didactic training early in my education. I am very satisfied by my first year clinical experiences that supplemented the coursework, as well as by the strong support and supervision from Case Conference. I have also been happily surprised by the great compassion, diversity and intelligence of my classmates, the high level of practical expertise of the professors, and the openness among faculty and students to current trends in the field."

Before starting her academic career at the Wright Institute, forty-five-year-old Naheed Sheikh had already worked as a counselor at a community organization which helps, supports and advocates for South Asian and Middle Eastern women who are victims of domestic violence. "I had a master's degree in psychology and was counseling for ten years in an informal non-Western model with the women. But I felt I wanted to take my clinical education further and learn to think from a dynamic perspective about my clients."

Michael Maguire hadn't even planned to go to college after high school, but convinced by a friend, he enrolled and completed a BA in psychology at UC Santa Cruz. "I then tried a master's program in conflict management (organizational psychology) but found that counseling psychology was really my major interest. I completed a master's in counseling psychology, but decided to pursue a doctorate because I wanted more theory and training, specifically regarding case formulation. I also wanted the opportunity to do assessments and to teach. I chose the Wright Institute because I felt the warmth within the walls. The Wright Institute has challenged me, pushed me, and has given me fair and honest feedback. I feel honored to be a Wright Institute student."