Community Mental Health Center: Personal Statement

I would like to pursue counseling as my career and become a successful leader in the field. I have always had a passion to assist people in emotional distress. As a qualified professional in the counseling field, I would be able to identify their problems as well as offer them the most appropriate solutions that may help them deal with their situations. However, working as a professional counselor requires that I possess the relevant skills and knowledge that would enable me to offer quality services in which I think that I can obtain the skills at Capella University. As a

I have wanted to be a counselor since my freshmen year of high school and in the counseling field there are many specialties that I can focus on. I am fairly certain that I want to specialize in helping people with substance abuse and their families. I have always focused my studies, interests, and work on things that will help me in this field and I have a lot of qualities that help to enhance me in my eventual career. There are difficulties when I get to practice also like what people perceive as correct counseling style, challenges with my gender and race, and finally creating my own counseling style and plans.

I have chosen to enter the field of Mental Health Counseling at this particular time in my life because I would like to learn the skills needed to help people with their life and mental health issues. While attending the University of Saint Joseph during my undergraduate years I took various courses that have led me to making my decision. The courses I took focused on business, biology, social work, and psychology. After graduation I decided to take a year off and gain work experience in customer service and health care. I wanted to experience working with the people in my community. I was hired as a pharmacy technician at a Walgreens in Vernon. Working as a pharmacy technician has been a very rewarding experience for me and I learned a lot about people and their unique needs. I also learned about patient care and how to be pacient and understanding under stressful situations.

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.

A doctoral degree combining both supervisory professional mental health counseling skills and counselor education has always been at the forefront of both my personal and professional goals. Being afforded the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision will allow me the ability to enhance my professional competencies and achieve my set goals. My primary desire is to obtain a position as a college professor that will allow me to nurture the professional growth and maturity of future mental health professionals. Pursuing the doctoral degree will simultaneously assist in developing skillsets that will further prepare me for advanced opportunities in not only teaching but supervision and research. Additionally, I desire to devote time and research to small rural communities to establish prevention based programs that will bridge communities as it relates to mental health challenges. A PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Capella University will afford me the opportunities to positively impact change in future professionals and the communities for which I serve.

My goal is to pursue a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. My dream is to provide counsel and guidance to individuals, families, couples or groups of people; who are dealing with issues that affect them physically, emotionally and mentally. I would like help clients determine why they are experiencing their life challenges, develop goals and actions to resolve their issues. I would like to provide life changing advice to support & help clients overcome outstanding life situations, collaborate assessment and maintain treatment. Family and friends has consulted with me about their problems. I enjoy giving them advice that allows them to think about the decisions resolving the circumstance. With this I’m inspired to work in the

I believe that I have many skills and experiences that will allow for me to be a great counselor. I have seen first hand, experienced first hand, and learned to deal with things first hand. I experience anxiety, but have learned how to cope and deal with it. It is not always easy when there are so many things that can be thrown at you through life. I have a lot of motivation, qualities, experiences, and goals that I can bring to counseling.

Currently, I am a counselor in training at East Carolina University within the Department of Addictions and Rehabilitation Studies. Upon graduation, I will be pursuing licensure as a Clinical Addiction Specialist and a Professional Counselor. I am working at the Navigate Counseling Clinic, under the supervision of Qunesha Hinton, who also serves as my ECU doctoral student supervisor. My faculty supervisor is Shari Sias, Associate Professor, Substance Abuse and Clinical Counseling Program Director at East Carolina University (office number: 252-744-6304; email: siass@ecu.edu) and facility supervisor is Dr. Leigh Atherton at Navigate Counseling Clinic (office number: 252-744-6300; email: athertonw@ecu.edu) .

The mental health professional I interviewed was Carol McClelland of Freedom House Recovery Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Carol has worked with Freedom House for a year as the directory of outpatient services and is licensed as a LPC, LPCS, LCAS, CCS, and MA. Carol’s job requires her to be responsible for the direct oversight of all clinical operations and clinical integrity for outpatient services at Freedom House. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm, along with a crisis and detox center that is available for contact 24/7. Carol has plenty of experience in the mental health field, such as working as a dual diagnosis/substance abuse outpatient therapist, working with the severely mentally ill, working as a criminal justice outpatient therapist, and also working in a methadone clinic. She chose this career after her experiences in working with mental health, and her extensive education in psychology and counseling. Carol stated that outpatient services was the most interesting out of her job experiences, so when she was offered the job at Freedom House, she accepted.

Resources for Human Development (RHD) is a national human services nonprofit founded in 1970. The company currently oversees and supports more than 160 programs in 14 states. The programs fall under the following categories: Intellectual Disabilities, Behavioral Health, Addiction Recovery, Homelessness, Women & Children, Family Health & Counseling, Youth Development, Returning Citizens, Economic Development, Employment & Training, Veterans, Nonprofit Incubator, and Outsider Art. Within the Behavioral Health program, there are two Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams. The ACT Program provides community-based services to individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. The mental illness may also be accompanied by a substance abuse disorder and/or a developmental disability. The program is an outpatient agency and each ACT team has about 100 clients.

As having a bachelor’s in social work and being in the social work profession for the last five years, I have yet to have found my personal identification as a mental health counselor. As an aspiring clinical mental health counselor, I have already begun noticing the similarities and differences between the two. Mental health counselor provides services primarily at the micro and mezzo level, providing services to individuals and small groups, such as couples and families. The majority of counselor’s practices talk therapy, without identifying with a specific specialty. As a counselor you have a very broad subfields and opportunities to identify with, such as career and lifestyle issues, marriage and family concerns, addiction, stress management, crisis intervention, disaster relief, mental health disorders, developmental concerns and grief and loss.

Psychiatry, replete with both its allure and pragmatism, intrigues me. However, my appreciation of this specialty did not occur spontaneously. Becoming a physician has always been a life beautiful dream that led me into medicine. Early on in medical school, I knew that I wanted several things from my career as a physician, including intellectual challenge, ongoing close relationships with my patients, and the opportunity to give quality care to patients with fewer resources. At the beginning of my third-year clinical rotations, I had not decided a specialty I would pursue in my future like many other medical students and it was a time when I began acknowledging my interest during different ward rotations and lectures.

Eskenazi Health offers various nationally-recognized programs and services. Overall, Eskenazi Health has a mission to advocate, care, teach, and serve community members. The specific agency I have chosen to research is Eskenazi Midtown Community Mental Health. There is an emphasis on vulnerable populations, and financial measures do not disqualify care. Located locally in Indianapolis, Eskenazi Health Midtown Community Mental Health Center provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services for all types of emotional and behavioral problems, including severe mental illness and substance abuse. The services are designed to provide the utmost, high-quality care and confidentiality to patients who choose to take part in the services. Outpatient detoxification and counseling is offered to participants. Welcoming people of all ages, the mission of Eskenazi Health Midtown Community Mental Health Center is to directly serve the patient suffering with serious mental illness and chronic addiction, as well as their families.

Back in 2013, I joined an online Minecraft server named McBrawl. I ended up spending the next two years of my life deeply immersed in this tight-knit community. Here, I learned about video games, administrative roles, and most importantly, the mental disorders that plagued people. Due to the anonymity the internet provided, players felt more comfortable talking about their issues, as their names and faces were unknown. Thus, I listened to many of the players’ thoughts on suicide, bulimia, depression, and more.

In medical school I was fortunate to discover that, in addition to my passion for helping people by utilizing medical knowledge, technology and practical application, I also have a strong passion for administration. I graduated with a medical degree and also pursued graduate studies in Health Care Organization and Hospital Management. I was privileged to volunteer in the National Campaign of Poliomyelitis Eradication in Egypt during my undergraduate studies in medical school. The role of team lead was offered to me and I readily accepted. As the lead I successfully managed available resources and provided administrative and practical support for each team member.