Mental Health Counseling Personal Statement

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.

Welcome, and thank you for choosing THRIVE to provide your counseling services. This document has been provided to you to tell you about my background and help you understand our professional relationship.

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

Obtaining a Ph.D. in counseling psychology will give me the outlet to do just that. At a young age I lost my mother to pneumonia, leaving my sisters and me distraught. Coming from an African American home, there was a stigma against psychologists. Instead of us receiving the psychological help that we needed in order to handle our loss, we were expected to cope with it on our own and that resulted in us suppressing most of our feelings. Members of my family did not see the value of going to talk to a stranger about the issues going on in our personal lives. Similar situations to mine happen often in the African American community. This experience is what strengthened my desire to become a counseling psychologist. There is a need for more African Americans in the counseling profession. African Americans should not have to question whether to seek psychological help. I want to be a familiar face so that I can contribute to African Americans feeling comfortable with turning to professional psychological

Robert F. Kennedy, brother of president John F. Kennedy, is quoted saying, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” Throughout my life certain events whether they be high or lows, triumphs or failures, have shaped my desire to earn a Masters of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in pursuit of becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Throughout my academic career, I was presented with myriad of opportunities that encouraged me to excel in academics and extra-curricular activities. The fact that I was one of the meritorious students throughout my academic years with a 3.91 GPA bears testimony to my sincerity and drive to excel. My tenure at my undergraduate college provided me with boundless opportunities to work in a

It is my pleasure to write on behalf of Hannah Turner, who is applying to the Ph.D. Program of Counseling Psychology at Ball State University. I have been an Honors Thesis advisor to Hannah as well an undergraduate professor. Hannah has proven to be an enthusiastic and devoted student as she earned an “A” in all of the courses she was enrolled with me, Applied Statistics and Intro to Research, Abnormal Psychology, and Capstone: Psychological Issues in Youth. She was attentive in class, prepared, submitted well-written and thoughtful assignments, and participated in meaningful ways. Hannah performed exceptionally well in her academics. She was able to join three academic honor societies (Psi Chi, Alpha Chi, and Psi Eta Sigma) and made the Dean’s every semester she attended she attended. Attaining a 3.96 overall GPA

My initial interest in the counseling field comes from my own experience as someone who sought out a counselor to help me when I was struggling in my early undergraduate career to find my sense of purpose. That experience drove me to explore an undergraduate degree in psychology, and further, a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. What stood out to me about Roosevelt University was a quote in the testimonials section on the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program’s homepage. In that quote, Dr. Dennis Frank said, “In order to be effective and competent counselors, students need to have an understanding of their own issues and triggers.” I felt immediately connected to this program because of that sentence.

First and foremost, I take full responsibility for my poor academic performance which has led to my dismissal; it is no ones fault but my own. Respectfully, I do feel that there were some contributing factors that resulted

I’m writing this letter to address the accumulative GPA of 2.4 Rabia earned during her undergraduate program. Senior year of high school Rabia was diagnosed with a mental health disorder which made a big impact on her life. Although having the issue diagnosed helped her better understand what she was going through, the adjustments to treatments and identifying trigger points took some time. Enrolling at Cleveland State University the fall of 2006 Rabia didn’t let the disorder stop her from pursuing her educational goals. On top of mental health issues

I have become interested in the study of psychology through realizing the importance of mental health and how little it is being paid attention to, especially for minorities and those in low SES communities. Mental Illness is something that has the ability to alter ones entire life, but still go unnoticed due to the lack of knowledge and attention towards it. Therefore, I decided to pursue a career in psychology in order to change this atmosphere and make mental health a concern for all. In order to reach this goal of wanting to change how mental health is viewed among minorities and low SES members, I will work on completing smaller goals that will put me into a position to do so. My smaller goals include, gaining a better understanding of how the health care system works; and learn more about mental health stigma and barriers to minorities receiving access to mental health services

Having worked as a nurse in various fields, I found the mental health field to be very interesting and I have appreciated my opportunity caring for the mentally ill patient. It is my greatest desire to acquire evidence base knowledge to care for this population in our society. With my desire to provide the best care for this group of people in our community I choice the Psych/Mental Health program to equip me with the skill to better serve this population.

I am applying for the practicum of mood and anxiety treatment program in insight behavioral health centers. As you will see from my attached resume, I am currently a second year graduate student working on my master’s degree in clinical psychology (counseling practice) at Roosevelt University.

A psychiatrist is defined as a medical practitioner specializing in the diagnoses and treatment of mental illness. The minute I learned what a psychiatrist was, I wanted to be one. After seeing Freaky Friday one afternoon with my family, I asked what exactly did the mom in the movie do. “Mom! Dad! That sounds so cool. I want to be that when I grow up,” I exclaimed once they informed me, “Alright, if you say so sweetie.” Obviously, when I was a little girl I didn’t exactly know what all the requirements for being any sort of doctor were, so my parents didn't kill my dreams on that occasion. However, during my middle school days, I discovered all the requirements and steps needed to become a doctor. After high school, on average, there were 8-11 additional years of