Statement Of Purpose: In-Home Therapy

PERSONAL STATEMENT The number one reason that’s repeatedly given as to why one wants to be a social worker is that, they want to help people. They want to make a difference in the world, and I’m no different from everyone else in that aspect. Nevertheless, my main goal for pursuing a Master’s in Social Work is centered on the idea of helping mentally ill patients. I realize that mental health encompasses a continuum of severe disorders, to the most common mental issues, and that they vary in intensity and duration.

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.

While working in W.I.C., I became aware of the need for substance abuse and mental health counseling in western North Carolina. Therefore, in April 2013, through grants offered to veterans, I returned to college to begin my education in social work with a concentration in substance abuse and mental health counseling. I had previously obtained an A.S. in Christian Education and found that the knowledge gained through those classes was foundational and relevant to the social work field.

With a master 's level education in social work, I see myself envisioning clients’ health and well-being. As a student, I will study and practice techniques, beyond a generalist perspective, that will allow me to give clients hope and the ability to see something greater than what they are facing. Upon completion of a Master of Social Work direct practice degree and certificates in gerontology and mental health programs, I intend to become a licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I will competently incorporate specialized skills in different professional settings while developing my knowledge of a wide range of social issues and professional standards. With commitment, I wish to develop skills that will enable me to create or find hidden resources and services for my future clients, create platforms through counselling for victims of trauma.

Working for MHCD for the last 3 months has taught me so much about health-care funding for underserved populations (or lack thereof). However even if it has made me ever-more melancholy about some people's access to mental health care, it has only invigorated my passion for mental health and the benefits it brings to people's lives. It is hard to overstate the impact that having access to proper psychiatric medicine has on an individual

The specific area of interest within human services is mental health facilitation. I was raised in a household where all adults were involved in health care in one form or another. My maternal grandmother was an LPN and my mother is a Mental Health Counselor. Of course, my mother’s interest soon became my own, which inspired me to volunteer at mental health organizations even at the age of ten, where I spent my afternoons with helping with children suffering from mental retardation. An additional factor for my career decisions was, at the age of 21, I was diagnosed with Bi Polar disorder with suicidal ideations. It took several years for me to learn to manage my disorders and become a participating member

The social work field has been a consistent portion of my life for the past six years. I was employed by the Mental Health Resource Center (MHRC) from 2011-2016. From 2011-2014, I worked as a case manager. In this capacity, I worked with families who had children removed because of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. My goal was to recommend services which would alleviate the reasons for removal. However, if the parents did not show any behavior change and were not successful in completing their court ordered tasks, we would have to change our goals to what was in the best interest of the child. In addition to recommending services, I ensured that children received therapeutic intervention, had visitations with their family at least three times a week, transported my clients to appointments, enrolled children in school, prepared court documents, requested records, and documented my efforts to reunify. From 2014-2016, I was promoted to supervisor. My unit consisted of five case managers and a case coordinator. My role was to guide, teach, and

McIntyre informed me that having a Bachelor Degree in Social Work was rewarding; Nevertheless, she wanted to become an inspiring therapist. Therefore, she applied for the master program at Arkansas State University. She was accepted and in the summer of 2014, she started grad school. She did her additional training for the grad school at Day Spring Behavior Health. She was trained in diversity, social work value and ethical, and economic injustice with clients. Afterward completion of 60 credit hours and 400 field hours, she graduated with her Master Degree in Social Work, May 2016.

These teams include professionals from different realms of the health field and the use of their combined knowledge to best assist patients and/or clients in need. This type of teamwork and form of practice has a profound impact on my career goals because I am interested in working within the hospital setting. As a practitioner, I will use the skills acquired from my studies/experience and apply them to the health field/aspect of social work practice. As a Graduate Research Assistant, I have had the opportunity to work within the hospital/healthcare setting and the experience I gained from this opportunity has solidified my goal to work not only in this profession, but with children and families in need. To continue practicing social work within the health field, I am currently interning at the McGuire VA Medical Center in the Mental Health Primary Care unit, working with Veterans and their families through crisis and allocating services to better serve the patients and their families. With this placement, I plan to make myself available for any learning opportunities that will be vital to my role within the health field and continue to explore the vast possibilities offered by this complex, yet rewarding profession known as Social

I chose mental health counseling as a profession due to personal experiences in my life. As a survivor of domestic violence, I felt a strong desire and need to make a difference with people, especially women and children of lower social economic classes, enabled due to lack of education, poverty disabled by of domestic violence.

Mental and emotional health can have interpersonal, and social impacts; I want to provide evidenced-based mental, emotional and behavioral health interventions within the context of families, communities and larger systems, to children and adolescents. My goal as a licensed counselor will be to develop a collaborative relationship where each client feels empowered to act as an expert in developing effective coping skills, manage anxiety, depression, navigate difficult life transitions, and enhance communication skills and relationships. Reflective practice and self-evaluation will be an integral part of my practice. This also means being able to set my experiences, values, privilege, beliefs and biases aside during counseling sessions and allowing the clients goals and needs to take precedence. In order to be well-rounded in my profession, my day-to-day functions will include, assessments, psychological testing, counseling, personality testing, teaching, treatment plans, referrals, coordinate services, case-management, client-family- community education, documentation,

I envision myself assisting children and teens of troubled and abusive past, showing them that they do have a choice, that there are myriad options available to them. Their cycle of abuse will end, no more will they be told they are less than someone, less than a dream they dream. There is no better way to break that cycle, then with someone who has been in that precise spot. I aim to maintain a constant and consistent path to Social work. I want to continue gaining the valuable insights into the work of clinicians, to see what I can do to make a chance, to help contribute to the difference they

After I graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara I was unsure what my next step would be. Of course I was anxious since I did not have experience working nor did I excel in my undergrad studies however, I knew I needed to use my newly earned degree in a positive way. Fast forward, after working for two years, I have gained the skills, knowledge and values from my work experiences that have confirmed my desire to advance my education in the social work field. I currently have my own case load of clients as a case manager at a level 12 group home but it’s time to take the next step forward. I want to ultimately advance social justice and provide services to assist individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.

My experience at the Florida State Mental Hospital as a psychology major has most definitely been an unforgettable one. The mere eight visits I was able to make has rewarded me with so much knowledge about what it takes to work alongside the mentally ill, mental health workers, and hospital staff altogether. Even though I have been constantly preparing my brain for my future career as a clinical psychologist by reading and researching in my classes as well as during my free time, I don’t believe any of these readings could have directly shown me the reality of it all.

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.