Adolescent Mental Illness Personal Statement

I particularly enjoy communicating program progression, behavior changes and therapeutic interventions with Senior Therapists and parents to discuses the next steps in the children’s treatment plan. While working to meet the needs of the children for whom I provide therapy, I realized that each of them had an interesting story and a need for personalized interaction, education and compassion. I am enthusiastic about working hard to help meet students’ psychological needs, and I feel the best way to do this is to pursue an education in School Psychology.

My passion and determination to undertake study within the mental health sector dwells from the insight I have been privileged to gain in my current role as a link care coordinator, working with people who suffer from a range of ailments within the mental health spectrum; from learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, OCD, Autism to name but a few.

Multiple years of research and field experience as well as my undergraduate coursework in Psychology, Counseling, and General Education has provided me with ample skills to be successful at the graduate level in the School Psychology program offered at Francis Marion University. Working within the school system with students with mental health needs and exceptionalities has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I am confident the School Psychology program at Francis Marion University will provide me with the skill set needed to make my dream a reality and become the best School Psychologist I can be.

“Nearly 5 million children in the U.S. have some type of mental illness” (Goldberg). It is agreeable that there are many young children that deal with mental illness every day. Schools should be concerned for every student’s well being. Moreover, mental health is a part of a person’s overall “well being.” Therefore, schools need to make the mental health of students a stronger focus and implement plans to keep students mentally well and educated. To help create a positive, mental health aware environment where students feel open to seek help, high school students should be educated on how to be mentally healthy, be given a safe place to seek help, and be encouraged to monitor and maintain their mental health. Mental illness and mental health care need to be a more eminent priority in our society, starting with high schools.

For my informational interview I interviewed Hasty Elementary School Counselor Candace Thurman. Mrs. Thurman earned her B.A. in Psychology from Salem College and a MA Ed.S in Mental Health Counseling from Gardner Webb University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed School Counselor. Her maternal grandfather suffered from mental illness and was homeless. Seeing the impact his condition had on him as well as her family compelled her to choose a career in mental health. Mrs. Thurman worked in the middle school setting for 11 years. This year is her first year in an elementary school.

From a young age, I have always wanted to understand other people’s thoughts and feelings. As I have grown older, I have grown even more curious about not only understanding people, but learning how to help them. With this guiding me, my future career goal is to become an Occupational Therapist. Occupational Therapists work with a wide variety of people to help them overcome obstacles in their lives in order to achieve a better quality of life. I specifically hope to work with young children, adolescents, and teens who suffer from emotional, mental, or cognitive impairments. This is due to growing up in a family who fostered challenged children, having siblings with their own challenges, and having many young friends who could have benefitted

Since a young age, I have always felt a special connection with children and how they are affected by physical disabilities and psychological disturbances. In this instance, all I can do is volunteer at different organizations to achieve my life purpose. Helping children feel better has always been what makes me feel glad. Currently, I am in the second semester of my psychology major, which I plan to extend to the fullest. Becoming one of the most distinguished women in child psychology in my residential area, being able to help children overcome traumas and frustrations, would stand for my goal completed. My belief is that every bit of who you become as an adult is because of how you felt as a child. I want to be there for those low-income families with children with behavioral disorders, who are not able to help pay for the consultations. When I have enough funds necessary my plan is to establish my kids' organization focused on helping children with a mental

My goal is to become a school counselor. But, before I go into school settings. I would like to do my internship at a mental health facility. My main focuses will be with 0-5 children. All the different theories of psychotherapy that I studied in this class will go in handy when I start my internship. I have a better understanding of each theory, so when I practice the theory I will be familiar to use it. From all the theories of psychotherapy that I studied in this class, I feel the strongest approach for the population I want to work with will be cognitive behavioral therapy. I believe working at a mental health facility and then transition to a school setting cognitive behavior therapy will be proper to use when working with 0-5 children and teenager students as well.

Over forty million Americans suffer from a mental health condition; and, unfortunately, fifty six percent do not receive any treatment at all. “Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion and behavior”(Psychiatry.org). People live with their conditions even though their quality of life and personal relationships may be negatively affected. When one lives in a state of denial about having a mental illness, they are cheating themselves out of living life to their fullest potential and will achieve true freedom only when they face the illness head on and seek recovery.

Those willing to help are very important to the work force of the United States. My interest in mental illness drives my choice in career, so I can hopefully help more of those suffering with these diseases. Along with highly appreciated professionals who help mentally ill patients every day, I hope to become an educated American that can recognize the silent sufferers of this nation, while educating others about the ones who cannot speak up and say it for

When I first started my college journey I initially majored in Biology. Not knowing what I wanted to do, I was influenced by my advisor to enter the biology field. After my third year, I decided not to pursue biology anymore, and that’s when I discovered my passion for the Psychology field. After receiving my undergrad in psychology, I knew that I wanted to get my masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, but I had no idea of how broad this area is. This week assignment granted me the opportunity to interview someone who has been in this profession for 25 plus years who has worked in all sectors when it comes to mental health counseling. It allowed me to learn the pros and cons of this field and it even gave me more insight and clarity on exactly what I wanted to do. I found this week assignment to be very informative and I believe it is necessary for anyone that’s interesting in entering in this field. I am grateful for the knowledge and advice that I received during this week assignment.

Today review evidence-based treatment fashion in Children and adolescents. We will also review new Suicide Prevention guidelines

At this point in my life I am eager to continue my education in the hopes of mastering my purpose of helping others. I realize that by way of consequence of difference, the intersectionality of many factors of an individual’s life can lead to negative experiences and this is an aspect of society I hope to change. Also, my dream of opening my own psychology office would not be possible without furthering my education. This degree will allow me to counsel at risk youth and make a difference in their lives. I know that continuing my education through this program will prepare me for the professional practice I will encounter daily and help to lay the foundation of my future as a helpful member of society.

The mental health of adolescents is fairly considered to be one of the major prerequisites of the country 's sustainable development in economics, culture, and social life. Subsequently, the easy and nondiscriminatory access to the psychological treatment appears to be a matter of top priority for the federal government. Nevertheless, the recent statistical data indicates the substantial problems in terms of providing the adolescents with the necessary medical support. In accordance with the US Department of Health & Human Services, in 2014, less than 50% of the country 's adolescent population were provided with a required treatment (US Department of Health & Human Services). Moreover, the data on the minorities ' access to the mental health treatment demonstrates that, for instance, African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to be prescribed a treatment from schizophrenia (American Psychological Association). Undoubtedly, such a trend may be primarily explained by the insufficient efforts of both federal and local health care institutions in terms of providing the minorities ' representatives with the necessary psychological treatment. Consequently, in order to understand comprehensively the problem of the adolescent mental health in the US, it is necessary to define the issue-related objective and subjective concerns as well as to analyze the peculiarities of a potential corrective to the

Depression a word we’re familiar with especially when it comes to adults, we know adults get depress and we understand the reasons, with the high demands in life it’s not uncommon to get lost in the shuffle. Depression in adult is something we have known for many years, but what has surprised many of us is that adolescents also get depressed. I myself still don’t fully understand the reasons why or how this happens. I see it very often adolescent coming in to the ER because they are depressed and want to hurt themselves, and each and every single time I’m shock. What could be so bad in their lives that would make them think they have no way out? This is the reason why I choice this topic, I want to learn more of how this disease affects so many children and teens and what we can do to stop it.