Clinical Mental Health Counseling Personal Statement

Throughout my life, I have always had an interest in mental health and helping others who are struggling with a mental illness. As a sophomore in high school, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend a course provided by the organization teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) which culminated with my certification in teen mental health aid. After this training, I have been able to support and

Section 1: Professional Development Plan For most of my life I have been motivated to help people so when I made the decision to continue my education at Walden University, I knew that I was ready for the journey. I am currently seeking a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and I am expected to graduate in the winter of 2025. This paper was written on June 30th, 2023, with the intent of further understanding my motivations for seeking this degree as well as visualizing the type of counselor I want to be in the future. Throughout this paper, I also discuss what is expected of me throughout my degree program, counseling career, and overall professional development.

Upon completing this program I plan to work with individuals seeking support, guidance, and personal growth. To fortify this work, I intend to attain clinical licensure. Although social work practices can ameliorate client troubles, I would also like the ability to find possible solutions within diagnoses, further evaluation, and treatment. Utilizing the Advanced Clinical Practice concentration offered in this program will allow me to become familiar with working in clinical settings and apply my coursework knowledge to real work situations. A crucial piece I look for when entering an academic program or workplace is the ability to create real, tangible change.

A little over two years ago, I started working as a Community Support Individual for Pathways Transition Programs LLC. My primary responsibility is to teach children various coping skills to manage their behavior, I have determined that I want to be able to address the emotions behind the behaviors. My desire is to be able to help the children I work with come to terms with their past histories so they can move on in their lives towards adoption and other positive outcomes. Sometimes, the children are still going through issues such as, on-going traumas, the lost of a parent due to death or incarceration, etc and I would like to develop the skill set to be able to address these issues. I see pursuing my degree through Argosy University as being the next step to take in order to develop a competency in counseling.

As a child I spent a lot of time in hospitals, that is where my interest in medicine first started. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 10. I loved the time the nurses were able to spend with me. I loved that every day was a new challenge, no two days were ever the same. I loved learning how the body worked and changed over time.

I was fortunate enough to receive professional help and support from a counselor who helped me cope with my emotions, develop coping skills, and regain my confidence and self-esteem. Through this process, I realized the importance and value of mental health counseling and how it can make a positive difference in people’s lives. I decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology from XYZ University, where I learned about the theoretical and empirical foundations of human behavior, cognition, emotion, and personality. I also gained practical skills in conducting research, analyzing data, and writing reports. I participated in several extracurricular activities that enhanced my interpersonal and communication skills, such as volunteering at a local mental health center, joining the peer counseling club, and attending workshops and seminars on various topics related to mental

Journal #1: My Thoughts on Becoming a Mental Health Counselor The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the views of becoming a mental health counselor. Although there are many professions to choose from, I decided a mental health counselor with a specialized area in women’s health and domestic violence is my true calling. Tiffany Rush-Wilson Ph. D. stated, “That if we are in this field is because we have a true passion and the seed to do this type of work” (Laureate, 2012).

In my current postpartum doula profession, I am passionate about offering co-counseling to support my clients in feeling deeply seen, heard, and honored. Co-counseling is the reason I discovered my aspirations to become a psychotherapist. My vision is to utilize the Masters in Clinical Mental Health (MCMH) degree from Adams State University to support mothers, families, and children who are facing unhealed trauma and mental health issues. My goal is to help others heal from the shackles of trauma and to lead a thriving life. Presently I am enrolled in the Somatic Experiencing (SE) program, and intend to pursue certification in Perinatal Mental Health, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and EMDR post-completion of the MCMH education.

Please share a specific example of how you participate in and promote inclusive and equitable environments. In addition to discussing what you do, discuss the factors that motivate your actions. As a white woman who benefits from white supremacy culture, I embrace that learning to be anti-racist is a never-ending journey. Intentionally using framework of understanding interpersonal, institutional, and cultural aspects helps me present to others thoughtfully, addressing harmful biases in the child welfare system and become culturally competent.

I will be attending graduate school in order to further develop my interest in clinical psychology that has been fostered during my undergraduate years. I anticipate to receive my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology during the summer of 2017 from Hunter College. I am especially interested in researching about the vulnerability factors that influence individuals’ susceptibilities to psychosomatic disorders, anxiety disorders, as well as psychopathologies. Ultimately, I seek to be in a research position along with being trained as a clinical therapist. Further along the line, I intend on becoming a professor, and to inspire new generations of students to become motivated and interested in psychology just as my professors inspired me.

This self-awareness should include continuously examining their own development and unexamined personal trauma, as well as, personal biases, ideas, values, and beliefs related to culture, crisis, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and suicide. Counselors should also practice self-awareness related to their own knowledge and level of competence in providing crisis services. Lastly, self-awareness should include monitoring their personal reactions to the trauma and crisis they are working with, changes to their own personal schema, and failures to address personal issues (Sartor, 2016). By engaging in self-awareness, the counselor can provide appropriate services to assist the client, rather than cause harm. Furthermore, practicing self-awareness and engaging in self-care activities can serve to protect crisis counselors from burnout, vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue (Sartor, 2016; Jackson-Cherry & Erford,

I am confident that the skills that I will gain from completing a social work master’s degree will help me collaborate with people in need and aid sustainable growth in their lives. My first introduction to social work as a profession came while living on a small

My passion for helping and supporting those whose economic and financial standings have hindered their growth in our society, has driven me towards social work. I feel I have exhausted every possible avenue in my current degree field. Pursuing a master’s in Social Work, will give me the diversity that I need, while aiding me in bringing my dreams of working more in depth with clients, by helping assist them with their individual needs and issues to reality. The Social work field also offers versatility which allows me to work in many dimensions, such as clinical, case management, and many other composites which enables me to help every population. Becoming a social worker gives me other benchmarks in which I can use to evaluate programs,

Currently, I work for South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department (SCVRD). I am an Assessment and Career Exploration Specialist and also a Job Preparedness Instructor. While I enjoy my current role, I feel the need to carry out a more significant function in the rehabilitation process. I am seeking a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling because it is a requirement for the next step in my career. Well into the future, I envision myself in a leadership role within my current agency where I am able to advise on agency practices and service provision.

Not being able to cope with certain situations in my life, turned to many problems and made it hard to live, happily. After receiving therapy with a certified psychologist for almost nine years, my outlook on life has completely transformed. I have learned how to confront my emotions in a healthy way and how to have a positive attitude towards my day, regardless of the trials that life throws at me. I have been able to develop a character that others have called selfless, caring, and determined to help others. The influence of a psychologist 's help has exponentially heightened my interest in aiding people in dealing with difficult situations and inspired me to pursue a degree in