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Blog posts : "Autobiographical Forensic I/O Internship Masters Clinical Masters Counseling Masters Social MS Applied PHD Clinical PHD Social Postbaccalaureate PsyD Clinical Social Work"

MA I/O, Worker Satisfaction, Cuban, Miami

Now 24 years old, half Cuban and half Spanish, Miami has always been my home. I invested much of my time growing up dancing ballet from the age of 2 until I was 15. I also played piano and tennis – both very well, still do; but, it was ballet that was my central dream. My performances were always lauded and I was told that I had great potential to be the very best. In truth, however, there were always a handful of other girls who were one little step ahead of me; and in ballet only the very best of the best continue. My consolation has been psychology, which I had already embraced as my career choice by the time that I was finished high school. 

With one semester left before graduating with my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from XXXX University, my dream career is now unfolding before my eyes and I am convinced that I will find the deepest possible professional fulfillment in the near future by earning the MA Degree in I/0 Psychology and serving as business consultant, helping organizations to make their workplaces more efficient by placing a priority on the welfare of the workers and their families, particularly in terms of worker satisfaction.

Probably the greatest strength of my application is the fact that my city, Miami, is arguably the most bi-cultural, bilingual Spanish/English city in the world, and I am a fully bicultural and bilingual woman who feels strongly that she has a lot to give to her community and is very determined to do so. I want very much to continue on and also earn the Master’s Degree in I/O Psychology at XXXX, simply because I am so comfortable studying here, happy and engaged with the academic community. I feel like it is our university, XXXX, that is inspiring me to strive for perfection, and that the superlative nature of your graduate as well as undergraduate programs will provide me with a crucial edge in a very competitive professional environment. I am highly dependable with a great work ethic and a broad variety of experience. My attention to detail is impeccable as are my organizational and problem solving skills.

Since I will soon be entering my final semester at XXXX, I have developed advanced analytical skills and enhanced problem-solving abilities. I have always been a very determined and studious individual; most of all, I am a really hard worker who has distinguished herself in several challenging work environments. I now hope very much to be accepted to your Master’s Program as the next step along the way to becoming an Industrial and Organizational Psychologist.  I consider myself to be particularly well suited to a career in I/O Psychology since I pay a great deal of attention to detail and take intense pleasure in the analysis of social issues and controversy on the one hand, and conflict resolution on the others – always taking note of how people’s opinions and memories are influenced by external factors. My reading of Maslow and Herzberg have left me enormously excited about the prospects of harnessing the power of their theories for the enhancement of the quality of the workplace; and, hence, the professional relevance of I/O Psychology. One of my career highlights so far has been working on a research project entitled “Can money buy happiness” facilitating my exploration of practical applications for Business Psychology to be found in the works of Rotter as well as Skinner, with respect to the role played by cognitive processes in finding happiness in particular.

Working at a law firm for the past 4 years has helped to build my confidence and enhanced my communication skills since I am in constant contact with clients and colleagues. It has also helped me to refine my time management skills balancing work with school. I have learned a lot about how to run a law firm since the owner has entrusted me with a great deal of responsibility, greeting and interviewing clients and prospective clients, pleading preparation, scheduling hearings and mediations, drafting motions, gathering all information necessary in a timely fashion. I also do the billing for the firm, prep invoices, and prepare checks for closings as well as being in charge of commissions and bonuses paid to associate attorneys and the management of real estate owned by my employer.

Nevertheless, the above is just a job. I am not at all attracted to the idea of law school because I do not want to be an attorney. My heart lies more in investigation, public debate, administration, and education. I have volunteered at an Elementary School as an Assistant Teacher and I have a passion for research, statistics, and finding practical applications. I am civil notary public and also have an insurance license

10 years from now I see myself as a professional I/O Psychologist fully engaged in cutting edge research designed to ultimately address important social and ethical questions that emerge in the workplace of tomorrow. The principal foundation for my career advancement will be earning the Master’s Degree in I/O Psychology at XXXX. I feel strongly that the training and experiences offered by XXXX University is the perfect match for my career goals.

Education is and has always been the basis of the individual that I am striving to become. My specialty is making strategy happen: prioritizing goals, defining outcomes, aligning stakeholders, and executing against strategic initiatives.

I see your Master’s Program in I/O Psychology at XXXX as the optimal intellectual springboard to propel me forwards towards the greatest possible fulfillment as a mover and a shaker in the Miami workplace.

I thank you for considering my application.

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Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling

“Everyone should be in therapy”. Do you agree or disagree which this statement? Please state your reasoning

I think that long term happiness and well-being most often occurs as a result of planning, making a serious effort to address one’s issues, and this is especially true when one has the added burden of dealing with a mental health challenge. In fact, I tend to see therapy as an integral part of human development in the modern age and quite useful for achieving the fullest of lives and the highest levels of development personally as well as professionally.

I am especially excited about the prospect of using therapy for preventive purposes, like a health screening that occurs routinely, geared to the prevention of issues, just as we routinely look for indicators for cancer in asymptomatic people. Another analogy that I enjoy is that of therapy as a sort of flu shot geared towards the prevention of flair ups of mental health symptoms, to prevent potential illness. Just like Rome is not built in one day. Mental illness is not developed in one day. It will be much better to detect those distorted thinking patterns at an early stage when they are more easily and successfully dealt with.

I have always categorically rejected negative labels or stereotypical thinking about people who see a therapist. I do not see those who go to therapy as either lazy or weak, rather, it takes strength, drive, determination and most of all courage to put in the investment required for a successful therapy experience. Life is full of challenge, failures, and sometimes suffering, and therapy helps on to cope with life in all of these areas. It is important to acknowledge and account for the significance and value of falling down, being challenged, and even – perhaps particularly - facing up to failure. Untreated problems only get worse over time. Therapists help us to recognize our blind spots and overcome our negative feelings such as anger and jealousy digging deeper in a journey towards self-discovery that leads towards acceptance and greater tranquility.

It is important to note that some of our finest, most biographically significant moments, often occur when we are quite uncomfortable, not feeling happy at all. Our therapist encourages us to confront our uncomfortable feelings, take them on and work through them, thus snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by finding and implementing workable solutions.

Mental illness usually takes many years to develop in the absence of adequate coping skills and the presence of maladaptive beliefs. If we don't pay attention to what is happening to us early on, what makes us feel drained, harmful thoughts can become so deeply embedded in our minds making them resilient to change as a result of many years of reinforcement of negative behavior.

A friend of mine who is a licensed counselor once invited me to attend an art therapy session with her. All participants sat in a circle. After a brief icebreaker and introductions, we were each asked to create a fairy story and were given 30 minutes to decorate a mask for the main character we created. We then were separated into three groups, introducing our stories to group members and selecting one story to perform a role play in the form of mime: acting without using words. The author of the selected story would serve as a director, choosing actors and designing all the actions. In one of the role plays, a girl played a puppet and was controlled by another girl who played manipulator standing behind her. The puppet was forced to move her legs and hands under the manipulator’s instructions. Then, another girl playing a pair of scissors came up and tried to squeeze between the puppet and the manipulator, using her two arms. However, she failed. The manipulator pushed over the “scissors”. The puppet stood on her knees and bent her head down stiffly. At that moment, a forth girl who played a grown-up puppet wearing a colorful mask made by the author came up to the stage to fight with the manipulator and eventually beat her.  After helping the author direct the mime, the counselor asked the author whether she wanted to role-play the grown-up puppet with the mask. The girl nodded her head and went up to the stage. She fought with the manipulator, pushed the manipulator onto the floor and pretended to keep hitting her until the manipulator gave up resisting and was “dead”. When we discuss about how each role makes us feel, it is eye opening to adopt various perspectives to better understand the complex situation. How does it feel to be a manipulator, seeing the original puppet surrender to the manipulator and the grown-up puppet fight so hard against the manipulator? One of the touching moments is seeing the manipulator smiling and happy even though she was beaten down. She said it felt good to see the puppet growing even though it means she failed for whatever her purpose is. The ability of letting go is very inspiring. So is the importance of forgiveness, both of which can be taught most effectively through drama, providing a chance to explore something painful or difficult in one’s heart from a safe distance. The workshop I attended was predominantly composed of Chinese international students and young professionals. The therapy helped us to explore ourselves through acting out our thoughts and our sharing reflections.

I see my own generation as quite distinct from those that have gone before, especially with respect to Chinese culture. We are given more freedom to choose what we want in our lives. We are more willing to accept job positions that pay less but are truly what we want and feel passionate about. We care more about how we feel and we place a higher priority on being happy.

I feel strongly that psychotherapy can be highly effective in easing symptoms associated with mental health issues and generally results, as numerous studies have shown, in heightened self reporting of feelings or levels of happiness. I spend a lot of time reading in the area of positive psychology and thus I appreciate the way that psychotherapy is best not seen as a place where only troubles are discussed but also  strengths discovered, positive emotions cultivated, and gratitude and optimism are fostered. For me, psychotherapy is much more than symptom reduction, it also helps us to nurture courage, kindness, modesty, perseverance, and emotional and social intelligence.

I do not, however, necessarily feel that my generation is necessarily happier than generations that have gone before us. Perhaps we have yet to learn to fully translate our greater levels of freedom and self realization into more contentment and inner peace. I like to focus on the way that human beings are incredibly resilient creatures capable of adapting rapidly to environmental and demographic changes, at least with a little help from some kind of social support system and sometimes a positive intervention. I do not see happiness as equivalent to the absence of unhappiness and I am an advocate of positive interventions that are able to extend the benefits of psychological science even to those who are not suffering from a clinical condition. I am particularly fond, for example, of one positive intervention designed and put to use by Seligman who asked clients to write three good things that went well that day and also reflect upon why they went well, which helped clients to end their day remembering the day’s positive rather than negative events.

Many people think therapy is not necessary, since they can turn to the abundant self-help literature, including many national best sellers. However, one problem about self-help books is that they are trying to give one solution fit for everyone. In reality, everyone has unique problems to some extent and situations also vary according to te individual. Therapists can better lead you to what you want through individually tailored approaches. While self-help literature may offer numerous tricks such as ‘‘do aromatherapy once a week,’’ and ‘‘every morning repeat six positive affirmations,’’ these strategies lack scientific rigor. Self-help strategies for all may also serve to reinforce the misperception that there are quick fixes or short cuts for everything, including mental illness and personal growth. Because personal growth and recovery from mental illness require one to look deep into oneself, it generally takes a long time to finish the journey to make sense of our past and how that leads us into a future of promise.

Some people may contend that they get enough emotional support from friends and family members and thus do not need therapy. It is true that friends might provide you sound advice and invaluable emotional comfort. However, therapists are trained professionals who help one to look deep inside to find one’s own solutions. Lessons learned through therapy help many people to live more rewarding lives, including how to value and appreciate one’s friends in healthy and positive ways.

Therapists also provide a client with the all important factor of confidentiality and the benefits of a professional vs. personal interaction. Unlike some friends, who often have vested interests, the therapist is not judgmental and is open to and can help a client to come up with novel and creative ideas concerning behavioral modification. One can feel comfortable with a professional in a way that they cannot with someone with whom they have a personal relationship. While everyone is not yet ready for therapy, by working together as a professional group to help to lower the stigma attached to seeking professional help, we can contribute to making mental health services more widely available and utilized as well.

By earning my Master’s Degree in your comprehensive program at XXXX, I look forward to a long lifetime as a professional therapist working to promote well-being and personal growth, especially by fostering and facilitating help seeking behaviors among clinical populations and culture groups where mental health services tend not to be highly valued. 

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PsyD Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis

My mother is Japanese and my father is Jewish. Both me and my father were born and raised in Chicago and the city is very much part of our social identities. I have spent most of the last few years in Washington DC., New York City, and Boston, however, and I am now in the process of moving back home to Chicago. I have been working very hard this summer to prepare myself for graduate school in Psychology by studying at the University of XXXX in XXXX, completing an Introduction to Psychology intensive course and currently enrolled in “Research Methods in Psychology.”

I hope to earn the PsyD Degree in Clinical Psychology and develop a central focus on psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. XXXX is my first choice because I see your program as the most innovative and thoroughgoing among programs in Chicago and the best fit for my intellectual and professional interests. In particular, I appreciate your emphasis on the “practitioner-scholar” model of training.

I seek a total immersion as a doctoral student in the study of primary social forces and subject positioning. What does it mean to say that we have inner lives? Is this fantasy, metaphor, or allegory? Drawing critically on the traditions of post-structuralism and post-modernism, I want to engage with these questions. I am intrigued by the pervasiveness of complexity, ambiguity and uncertainty surrounding meaning making endeavors, especially for people struggling through difficult situations – particularly in light of the psychological, social and cultural applications of psychoanalytic theory.

I am especially interested in issues of gender and identity and their relationship to the development of one’s social life, and to questions of otherness, marginalization, and oppression. Looking forward to an in-depth study of how identities, beliefs, intimacies and hatreds are transmitted across generations as well as between contemporaries, I am especially interested in secrets that are passed down from one generation to the next, the pull of the past. Processes of change occurring at personal, microsocial and macrosocial levels will be my central focus as I examine the psychological investments made in both change and resistance to change. Looking in broad strokes at strategies of empowerment and liberation, I want to think with increasing creativity about what opposes the march towards freedom and realization.

I plan to devote my professional life to the study of why so many people tend to remain in love with their chains. This entails raising many conventional and fundamental questions with respect to both psychotherapy and social action. The psychosocial project is complicated by the fact that psychotherapeutic practices are by no means uniformly progressive in their politics or in their effects. Indeed, much commentary on psychotherapy - from feminism to critical theory - has been directed at the conformism embedded in its assumptions and practices: adaptational, elitist, ideological, controlling, patriarchal, bourgeois, etc. Clearly, psychotherapy is embedded within some form of modernist epistemology which assumes the possibility of expertise, integration and individual self-development, and which often brackets out the “social” aspect of the psychosocial subject. I have no commitment to any particular way of doing psychotherapy--or even to psychotherapy as a basic good, which it might or might not be; rather, I am interested in questions of social and personal change, independently of the extent to which that change has occurred as a result of therapy. As a practitioner-scholar, I am fascinated by historical and area studies that shed light on the social psychological aspects of social change, the examination of shifts in action and experience over time and place so as to learn as much as possible about the mechanisms that inhibit or facilitate progressive adaptation to one’s social environment.

My intention in undertaking research at the doctoral level is to further my personal understanding of the dissonance between my own inter-subjective experience of reality and the objective one in which I struggle daily. I do this with the hope that in doing so I may discover something which will help to further the self-understanding of others as well. I want to contribute to the actualization of one potential over another and in this way promote a social order characterized by greater levels of freedom and more equitable relationships among people. I do not believe that we should try and create such relationships by force, or, its correlate, control, but through empowerment and participation grounded in principles of justice and human dignity. I hope to become a “good-enough” (to use Winnicott’s term) psychotherapist to be able to provide someone with the opportunity to seize hold of lost or hidden meanings and re-own them, recover them; empowered to tell their own stories and reflect back in a way that enables these life-stories to be owned, understood, and put to the service of one’s liberation.

I am committed to psychoanalysis on both professional and personal levels, seeing my own analyst for the past 4 years, completing courses in psychoanalysis and reading a lot of the major texts, Freud and Jung, object relational theorists such as Winnicott, Klein, Segal, Fairbain, Bion, Kohut, etc. To be committed to psychoanalysis, for me, implies putting the insights and forms of attention learned in the clinic (or elsewhere) to the test in everyday life.

I measure success in life by its level of passionate fullness; by one’s ability to bear tension, frustration, and anxiety; by felicitous reflection on and the ability to work towards the attainment of various and varied desires; by the well-cultivated capacity to receive and respond to our desires and meanings as well as those of others. I also see this as the ultimate measure and meaning of one’s commitment to psychoanalysis.

I would like to eventually have my own private practice providing psychoanalytic psychotherapy to clients from diverse backgrounds and helping as many people as I can. I also hope to secure a position teaching, continuing my research and writing/publishing in my areas of interest. I have worked hard to enhance my capacities to tolerate, reflect, and work within the space of ambiguity and tension through self-observation and integration of overwhelming affects, fears, desires, anxieties, and sensations. My research interests and the work that I want to pursue provide me a sense of personal vitality and authenticity and for this reason I will work as hard as I can to fulfill my passion. I feel especially attracted to the research undertaken by Dr. XXXX at XXXX and I believe my research interests are such that he would be a good fit for me as a mentor to guide me with respect to directions in my research.

I earned college credit from Columbia University and New York University in the summers of 2003 and 2004. I graduated cum laude from the XXXX University in 2006 and was on the Dean's List at GWU for two semesters (fall 2004, fall 2005). I was also awarded a place in the National Society of Collegiate Scholars at GWU (fall 2003). I also completed a Graduate-Student-at-Large program at the University of XXXX and took courses from the Committee on Social Thought and Philosophy (2007-2008). I have traveled much of the world, spending a full year traveling through India and Asia (Tibet, Burma, Bhutan) after I graduated from college. I have been to China several times (Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Taishan), Tokyo, Taipei, Bali, Indonesia, Western Europe (I lived in Paris for 6 months). My parents moved to Milan, Italy for one year when I was 12 for their work as fashion designers. Thus, I was able to see much of Italy. I have also been to Cape Town, South Africa as well as Kenya and Tanzania. In Latin America I have visited Argentina, Chile, Peru, Cuba, and in the Middle East Dubai.  I read and speak French at an intermediate level and I Spanish as a beginner.

Very much influenced by humanism, critical theory, Gramsci, Foucault, and a variety of feminist perspectives, I have drawn from these individuals and theories because they struck a cord that resonated through the whole of my personal and intellectual search for self-understanding and direction. They gave voice to and expanded the personal knowledge that I brought to my efforts to reflect on and make sense out of my own experience.

Schultz's concept of phenomenology, for example, speaks to my belief that all knowledge is relative and normative; that empirical facts and data are meaningful only when they are placed in a normative and value-laden context; and, that "into every act of knowing there enters a passionate construction of the person knowing what is being known and…this coefficient is no mere imperfection but a vital component of [her] knowledge" (Polanyi, 1958). The Freirean philosophy of consciousness and empowerment, as well as humanism, speaks to my need to believe that collectively and individually we can freely choose the values and assumptions from which we name reality.

Gramsci and Foucault, in different ways, give voice to my understanding of the intensity of the struggle in which we must engage, both collectively and individually, in order to be able to make the choices that lead to our fullest self-realization. Finally feminism addresses most directly my own experience of oppression as a woman.

I thank you for considering my application to XXXX.

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PsyD, Husband, Father, Cancer Survivor

The PsyD Program at XXXX University is my first choice for study at the doctoral level because of your location and the fact that I see my interests as the best fit for your program. A husband of 28 years and a father of a 23-year-old daughter, I am also a cancer survivor and a recovering alcoholic for more than a decade; thus, I feel that I have developed wisdom that will be useful for helping others. In particular, I look forward to continuing to help young men caught up in the juvenile justice system to avoid some of the pitfalls that snare so many young substance abusers, especially teenage alcoholics. I also look forward to helping others to face up to the battle against cancer.

A graduate student in a Clinical Mental Health Program specializing in Reality Therapy, I am a responsible self-starter who communicates well and is dedicated to caring for the mental health of my clients.  Team-oriented with a strong record of establishing solid relationships with clients, co-workers and administration, I pay great attention to detail and documentation and I am well read in the area of professional ethics and public policy.

The internship of more than 700 hours that I completed at XXXX Department of Corrections (DOC) has been formative in my career direction and I have simply become addicted to the challenge presented to our society by teenage substance abusers. I am especially enthused after this experience with the power of group counseling to change the way that young people think, helping them to achieve greater levels of control over their behavior.

I spent most of my adult life in the restaurant business in which I was highly successful; now financially independent at 53 years old, I have turned my full attention to what I love most: the study of psychology, healing, therapy, and most of all counseling. My special passion for counseling which drives my application to the PsyD Degree Program at XXXX University is born in part from my own highly positive experiences over the last couple of decades with counseling for myself, an alcoholic in recovery currently celebrating very close to one full decade of sobriety. Thus, it is easy to see why I am so dedicated to helping others. I have been actively engaged with AA and NA for many years now and have went to our local hospital’s detox and dual diagnosis units to help out as a volunteer on frequent occasions. I am fully focused on salvation and redemption and enjoy nothing more than talking the talk and walking the walk of sobriety. I feel that I can make my strongest contribution to my community in the therapy and rehabilitation of young offenders in the juvenile justice system. I am experienced in this area and I have found that when I share with these young men about my own struggle years ago and the problems that alcohol caused in my life, they listen to me much more intently than they would do so otherwise. From my experience, counseling that comes from the heart and stays close to the bone is the most effective.

As a young business man, earning my BS in Business Marketing back in 1985 was a natural choice. My interest in psychology and mental health - my calling and vocation - was something that developed over time. This coming year, however, in 2017, I will earn my Masters Degree in Clinical Mental Health from XXXX University. Alcoholism and substance abuse are only part of the issues in the psychology of healing in which I look forward to continuing to immerse myself for the balance of my professional a lifetime.  The way I have dealt and continue to deal with my own addiction is to look at myself attentively in the mirror every morning and saying to myself everyday that I'm an alcoholic, mindful of my condition at every moment. I keep my Disease in front of me at all times. This clearly works; otherwise, I would not be maintaining my 4.0 GPA at UXX.

My long term goal is to make a positive change in human lives through the DOC, especially with young offenders. These teenage offenders come from a broad variety of backgrounds with all different types of obstacles in their path that they must overcome. I feel very strongly that juvenile offenders are in a separate moral category than their adult counterparts and that they deserve special consideration and investment. Everything that applies to the adult offender in terms of deserving another chance, a shot at rehabilitation and re-insertion into society: much more so does it apply to the offender who is a legal minor. They deserve a special chance; an education and the assistance that they need to overcome the obstacles that stand in their way to becoming a productive member of society. I firmly believe that some will be very successful if they follow a well put together program that has guidelines and parameters that effectively prepare them for re-entry into society. I firmly believe that many if not most juvenile offenders could become very successful members of the community if they were to follow a program that had well designed guidelines and parameters that effectively prepared them for re-entry.

Several of the clients that I have worked with stand out in my mind and I continue to reflect upon them and their situation. I had very intense conversations with AH, for example, who was in a sexual offender group at the age of 19.   According to him, his victim was 13 years old and he was 18 and he was set up because she never told him her real age and he never asked.  Throughout all of our long sessions he went into great detail on what actually transpired.  For the first few sessions, I could not put my finger on it.  But then, after reviewing my notes, by the third session I could see that things just didn’t add up and I realized that AH was a chronic liar.  Almost every single thing that he told me was contradicted by something else that he said in a group or in a subsequent session. I reflected on the possibility that AH has Extreme Narcissistic Personality Disorder.  I have heard that one cannot change a narcissist, that they must change themselves. In the fourth session with AH I began to expose his discrepancies.  I thought that he might either shut completely down and/or feel rage at being exposed; most likely continuing in his narcissistic way of thinking and interacting. AH was one of my first clients in the DOC and he was not my greatest success. Nevertheless, with AH I became aware of the fact that my age was an asset, and that I was shown at least a minimal amount of respect because of my real life experiences. He left me with the impression that I had resources that a younger counselor may not have, at least with AH. 

Another inmate I will never forget is MJ, a 17 year old inmate sentenced to life.  During my fifth week in the DOC I learned that MJ’s mother had passed away unexpectedly.  Since I had already met with him on several occasions in regard to behavior incidents, I was selected to tell him that his mother had passed away.  I was a nervous wreck because there is no easy way or text book example on how to handle a situation such as this.  When MJ walked into the meeting room in cuffs and shackles, he asked why he was meeting with me.  I said to him: “I have some bad news for you.” MJ screamed “what happened to my mom?”  I looked at him and said nothing, only staring into his eyes.  At that point, MJ fell on the floor and began sobbing.  I went over to him and sat down next to him to show support.  MJ never knew his father, his mother was a crack addict and he grew up on the streets of Philadelphia.  As I sat with him on the floor for nearly the entire session he finally asked me what had happened to his mother.  I told him that it was a tragic accident involving a tractor trailer and that she passed instantly.  MJ looked at me and said: “That’s a relief to know that she wasn’t shot and she didn’t suffer.  She died with some dignity.”  I was assigned to counsel MJ for an hour every week and I tried to see him about three times a week and it usually worked out.  After about a month of grief counseling, I saw MJ in the general population and he came up to me and said, “Mr C I just want to thank you for the way you told me of my mother’s passing.  I knew it was hard for you but I’m glad it was you.  Thank you.”  That was the most rewarding experience I’ve had in counseling so far and I want more. 

I believe that many of the problems our society faces today are a direct result of negative behavior that is learned from parents as well as society as a whole. The reason that I want to earn my Psyd is to learn by experience with a hands-on clinical approach. I firmly believe that the best way to learn is through experience, being there, putting what one preaches into practice.

I thank you for your consideration of my application to XXXX University.

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PsyD Clinical Psychology, Children of Color, Mom

A new mom, I could not be more enthused with new directions in my study of Psychology, especially my focus on becoming a Clinical Child Psychologist. As a young black woman born and raised until the age of 15 in our native Guyana, I relate especially well with children of color, particularly those that are at risk and from disadvantaged, marginalized, or recent immigrant backgrounds. While completing my MA in Developmental Psychology (2014), I had the chance to do my practicum in a child life setting where I would perform medical play with children arriving for pre-hospitalization. Most of these children were from lower-class families and had developmental delays. This experience inspired me with great passion and inner drive to work with children and their families in these circumstances.

I dream of becoming a Clinical Child Psychologist so that I can continue to help children and their families every day of my professional life and to have a very positive impact on their future. I look forward to decades to come reaching out a helping hand to underprivileged children and their families both here in the USA and in the Developing World, probably Guyana later on in my career when I get homesick and want to come full circle. My birth country has a very high suicide rate, especially among adolescent females, suggesting the need for well trained –and especially female – child psychologists. I want to advocate for children and teach by example, inspiring new generations of leaders in the care of our most vulnerable members of society.

XXXX University is my first choice among doctoral programs in Psychology for a variety of reasons. I appreciate your history as the longest running PsyD program in the USA and the way that you so artfully balance classroom instruction and practical applied experience. I am especially looking forward to the latter since I am practice oriented and anxious for more hands on experience. Perhaps most of all, I appreciate your especially thoroughgoing focus on child, adolescent, and family psychotherapy.

If selected, I will be the first member of my family to attend graduate school. It would make me very happy to give my life to working with the types of children that I now have experience, autistic and Downs Syndrome with developmental delays (speech etc.) What amazes me with some of these clients is how they use medical play to express their emotions. I see enormous value and potential in play therapy, based on my experience, where most of the children that I worked with who had a hard time expressing themselves were able to express themselves better through structured play activities. With great frequency, I reflect upon some of the children who came especially close to my heart; such as a 6 year-old Hispanic girl with autism and a lot of tooth decay. She would grunt all the time when trying to talk but also smile all the time. A Caribbean-American girl, 8 years old, with Down syndrome: I colored with her as she kept looking at me and making baby noises. Her mother was very laid back, texting on her phone and barely glancing over at her child. A 9 year old boy, also with Down syndrome, was very smart and excelled at medical play, signaling to his mother and grandmother from across the room. Very gentle and polite, this child was a sheer delight to care for and educate.

I have also worked at daycares and after schools programs with children who live in deprived areas and I am currently working at a psychiatric hospital for young children and adolescents with behavioral and mental issues. These experiences have given me the opportunity to learn how to better address the mental health needs of special populations and I look forward in particular to learning about the impact of economic factors on children's mental health.

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MA Mental Health Counseling, Nigerian


I am writing on behalf of my application to earn the Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling at XXXX because I see your program as the optimal institution in the world to help me learn to make my optimal contribution to the practice of Mental Health Counseling in my country, Nigeria. I feel comfortable at your historically black institution, and confident that your distinguished faculty, with a special interest in black issues, will guide me in the right directions so as to make sustainable intellectual progress through sharpened intra- and intercultural sensitivities. I hope to contribute to our discussions as someone who is also a medical doctor, underscoring the importance role of physiological factors in most mental health illnesses, especially in a developing country such as Nigeria with widespread, abject poverty, and high levels of civil unrest and violence.

Nigeria faces enormous economic, political, and social challenges that are complicated by both poverty and violence, threatening a downward spiral into social chaos, with human rights abuses rising dramatically primarily as a result of the Boko Harem insurgency and a brutal state response, especially in the countryside, most particularly broad swaths of the north. Since the insurgency’s principal weapons of choice is planting bombs in marketplaces, however, this most indiscriminate form of terrorist violence in now beginning to claim victims in almost every corner of the country, speaking to the way in which we need new mental health care initiatives at the national level, especially for victims of terrorist violence, most particularly, the children.

I like to think of myself as a feeling and compassionate young woman who happens to be a doctor as well. Still only 29, I have the maturity that comes with struggle and the hope that comes with compassion. Deeply touched and moved by the enormous suffering in my country that occurs as a result of little-to-no access to mental health counseling. I feel strongly that much of the psychological suffering of Nigerians could be at least mitigated to the extent to which adequate mental health counseling support services were to be made available. It is also my opinion that the presence of adequate mental health counseling services would radically raise the standards of living of most Nigerians, especially those who are members of underserved communities.

During my training in medical school, I was exposed to a lot of mental health related problems and I also did a mental health posting which further exposed me to many of the challenges confronted by mental health professional in Nigeria. After graduation and working as a physician, I also came into contact with a lot of patients who had mental health issues, many of them chronic. In fact, it is most of all my patients who have inspired and motivated me to pursue graduate study in the area of mental health counseling. Thus this has greatly influenced my interest to study masters in clinical mental health counseling as i really want to improve the health care services in both my country and worldwide most especially in the area of mental health. I hope to build a lifelong specialization in several areas in particular, bipolar disorders, mania, anxiety, and depression, especially among women and particularly those that have been victims of physical and/or sexual violence. I personally attended to many women and girls who had been raped, since the number of rape victims in Nigeria is already staggering and now rapidly growing as political violence spreads. There are more and more victims of indiscriminant bomb blast victims that result in amputations of one or more limbs. Schizophrenia was widespread even in the absence of the violence which it exacerbates, drug addiction, bulimia nervosa in young girls, psychosis, etc., among child as well as adult victims.

I look forward to a lifetime of organizing advocacy programs, interactive sessions and educative forums which will target the underserved for therapeutic as well as preventive measures. I intend to at least manage if not create one or more non-governmental organizations for this purpose.  I seek to raise awareness concerning risk factors involved for various mental health related issues such as substance abuse, and better educated young people about the adverse and hazardous effects of drug abuse, as well as providing sex education to boys as well as girls. The NGO that I have in mind would begin working with children as elementary students and progress through high school. I hope to engage the state as well as the federal government bureaucracy and make it work to the extent to which this is possible in Nigeria, in a never-ending search for creative ways to move our governments in progressive directions. I also look forward to working closely with UNICEF and the International Labor Organization ILO. I also want to work to increase asses to libraries, equipping them with mental health resources. Serving as a group leader of research projects throughout my medical training has helped me to cultivate my leadership skills which I will continue to do as a student in your program since we are in desperate need in Nigeria of leaders in this field.

The bomb blasts now going off in Nigeria with increasing frequency leave entire families in a state of confusion with lasting consequences for the community. I personally treated a girl who lost her entire family at once in a bomb blast at one of the markets in a northern state of Nigeria. She started having symptoms of bipolar disorder and I made a diagnosis of neurotic depression admitted her, and did what little I could. I look forward to studying trauma and the psychological problems that it generates, even for those who are not physically injured themselves but only exposed to or caught up in the violence.

These days, most unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of Nigerian families find themselves caught up in crises generated by the cross-fire between the Boko Harem terrorists on one side and the extrajudicial execution of detainees by the military on the other, with people left terrified by both sides. Fear of the unknown has also resulted in millions of internal refugees, especially from the northern states of Nigeria. Many homes are destroyed in the conflict, adding homelessness to the burden of terror.

I have always had a special fondness for and interest in children, the future of tomorrow. Most cases of violence end up affecting them directly or indirectly. Orphans, rape victims, ex-combatants, those infected with AIDS, the indigent, especially the girls, I seek to help them all in one way or another. They confront challenges that will always be with them, with us all, as a society and as humanity as we pull together to help those who have the greatest need. I thank you for considering my application.

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PHD Clinical Psychology, Korean, Anxiety Disorder


I decided to apply for the clinical PhD program at XXXX because of the thoroughgoing nature of your curriculum and your dedication to research, helping students to decide on the best avenue of research for their interests and intellectual strengths. I hope to become a professional researcher as well as counselor, and I look forward to being prepared at the XXXX because it appears to be the optimal platform for me to begin a career in psychology here on the West Coast, in California, a lovely place which I am increasingly thinking of as home. Your program is very strong in the area of research into anxiety disorder and I am especially looking forward to studying under Dr. XXXX who is distinguished in this area. Nevertheless, while I do hope to focus on anxiety and depression, I want to study these maladies from every angle, both historically and theoretically. I am confident that your Ph.D. Program will give me an opportunity to explore the bigger picture in a cutting-edge program that will help me to think creatively and prepare me to realize my maximum potential.

Graduate Study at the XXXX will provide me with vast opportunity to explore not only the professional exercise and practice of psychology in the United States, but I am also very much attracted to the diversity of your student body and I look forward to learning from my fellow students from all over the world, exploring the psychological dynamics of international, multicultural and multiethnic issues. In short, I see the XXXX as my best option for training to be of service to multiethnic Asian communities here in California.

I decided to come to America to prepare myself for a career in psychology because I feel that your emphasis on research and publication is much stronger here than it is at home in Korea. I also wanted to continue to advance professional within a multicultural society, like California, since multicultural issues are where I hope to make my mark in the future as a PHD graduate from your especially distinguished program.

Naturally, I think my greatest strength and my principal focus will be on the mental health issues of Koreans, both at home and those who have immigrated at some point to the USA, especially the ‘Korea Towns’ of California. In particular, I want to pay a lot of attention in the future to the way in which Korean people tend to simply ignore, or try to ignore, the reality of mental health issues and needs, because of a stigma that surrounds mental illness in Korean culture.

I also hope to distinguish myself in the exploration of the myriad psychological ramifications of the way in which Korea achieved such rapid economic growth, the psychological aspects of Korean industrialization, transforming South Korea from a highly cooperative to a highly competitive society, with special attention to the fact that we have the highest suicide rate among 30 OECD countries, with our number of suicide deaths doubling over the course of the last decade. This is why I hope to focus my studies towards the PHD at the XXXX in the area of causes and treatments of anxiety and stress related disorders.

 Most specifically, I look forward to researching the way in which anxiety and stress are related to other disorders, particularly depression, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and eating disorder in the context of multicultural communities. I am attracted to the study of these areas, in particular, because of the prevalence of these conditions among Asians. Stress disorders are especially common in Korea which is a very hectic and competitive society with respect to business as well as education. Also, although some progress has been made, many people still are reluctant to see a psychiatrist or psychologist because of the traditional stigma attached to mental illness in our very conservative society. Finally, I learned a great deal about diversity issues from my experience as a multicultural counselor. I want to continue to learn everything that I can about ways in which we might foster more effective communication among members of multicultural communities.

My most specific interests at the XXXX include the biofeedback studies and training programs offered by Dr. XXXX. I keenly look forward to an in-depth engagement with Dr. XXXX's work with a focus on its relevance for anxiety disorders.  Studying under Dr. XXXX, in particular, would be an excellent way for me to enhance my research abilities and learn to be an especially creative thinker in the area of anxiety disorders. My long term goal is make important contributions to the advancement of our study of clinical psychology in the context of international culture and community. The rapid growth of the Asian population in the USA, especially California, combined with the tendency among Asian peoples to neglect or ignore their mental health needs makes me confident that I will be able to make important contributions to our mental health services here in California. I look forward to using my language skills professionally here in America, working and helping people to heal in Korean and Japanese as well as English.

I thank you for considering my application to your distinguished program.

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PHD Autobiographical Sketch, Marriage Diversity


I am a young Korean woman educated in Japan who now lives in America and wants very much to excel in the area of psychology. I have fallen in love with California and hope to complete my graduate studies here. Since I majored in “Cultural Properties” or issues in Japan, I particularly enjoy studying the complex relationships, at once psychological and historical, that exist among various different Asian groups here in California. The greatest strength of my application to your program is that I am one of few Korean applicants who are fully fluent in Japanese as well as Korean, helping me to bridge one of the most prominent and historically bitter divides in Asia resulting from Japan’s historic occupation of your country.

I feel strongly that much of what I studied in Japan has immediate and profound relevance to the study of psychology, especially the psychology of cultural differences, barriers, and/or conflicts, particularly those that involve language. The XXXX is my first choice for graduate study because I feel that I am the best fit for your particular program. I deeply respect your commitment to seeing mental health and mental illness in socio-cultural contexts and your hearty endorsement of research and intervention that is relevant to the multiple cultures in which they are conducted. 

My application is further strengthened by my service as a Volunteer Peer Mentor at the XXXX, in XXXX , Japan (July 2008 - October 2009). I helped newly arrived international students to adjust to their new environment helping them to meet people and to learn to interact with people from many different countries all at the same time. In fact, I advised resident students on a broad range of issues, personal as well as academic, as well as helping to organize and implement international cultural exchange and recreation programs and events. I believe that this experience will help me to think creatively about the many multicultural issues facing Asian residents of California as well.

My passionate interest in psychology began during my high school days as a result of my own mental health challenges. Even though I had good grades in my classes, I began to suffer from chronic depression. It is very common in Korea for adolescents to suffer from mental illnesses due to the great amount of academic pressure that is piled upon them in a very competitive educational system. Students in Korea are often made to attend classes from 7am to 10pm, as I did, going to private schools at night. Surveys have shown that most Korean high school students sleep only 4 to 5 hours a night.

I went through a very difficult period in high school where I felt that I had lost my goals in  life and I suffered from low self-esteem. At times, I even felt that life was meaningless since we would all just die anyway. I even had thoughts about suicide. (As in Japan, our suicide rate for adolescents under pressure is alarmingly high.) Thankfully my mother convinced me to see a psychiatrist and soon I was undergoing treatment, counseling and art therapy, for my depressive disorder. At that time, I began to learn to look inside myself, observing my feelings and behavior with new, more critical eyes. Soon, I recovered from my depression as a result of intensive and highly successful treatment. My extremely positive experience in recovery set me on a road to pursuing a career in psychology.

I had a wonderful psychologist by the name of Dr. XXXX who changed my life completely for the better, helping me to see things in a much more positive light and to learn to monitor and control my feelings. I was able to see things much differently. Dr. XXXX helped me to control my feelings through reflection, critical thinking, and discipline. I began reading extensively in the area of psychology in my free time and by the time I was ready to begin college I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the area of mental health and dedicate my life to the cultivation of new ways to see the world in a more positive light through psychological discovery.

About the same time that my interest in psychology took off, my mother also began to study psychology, coinciding with her volunteer work as a counselor at a high school guiding juvenile delinquents. She told me many stories about her work that also served to deepen my interest in the power of counseling. I became immediately apparent to my mother and I both that many of these troubled juveniles were suffering from mental illnesses as a result of some type of trauma or abuse, often at the hands of their parents.

I chose to major in Cultural Properties in Japan because of my fascination with culture and the impact that it has on our psychology. I spent four years on this intriguingIsland taking courses mostly concerning ‘Cultural Heritage Conservation Science’ at XXXX University, located in Kyushu.  I learned a great deal about cultural restoration, in particular, and componential analyses of heritage. Studying culture was especially useful to me since I also served as a Counselor at the XXXX House as well, facing so many cultural issues in a fully international context.

.After my graduation, I returned to Korea and began working for a trading company. Soon, I faced another serious challenge to my mental health as I was shocked to experience a panic attack in a subway station which left me with the after effect of feeling scared when using overcrowded subways or buses, which are unavoidable in Korea. I plunged into a full immersion in the literature about panic disorders and this has helped me to become much stronger. Now, here in America, I feel I am at the optimal moment in my intellectual and emotional maturity to study in your distinguished program.

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PsyD Counseling Psychology, Mindfulness


I am applying to your competitive PsyD Program at the XXXX because I am convinced that my drive and determination will enable me to excel. I have a great passion for research in psychology, particularly in the areas of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Now 36, psychology is a career change for me, a new professional beginning. Married and divorced, I spent 10 years in the mortgage business with my family in the small California town of Visalia where I grew up. After my marriage failed, I completed my bachelor’s degree in 2 ½ years and then sold my home and moved to the city of XXXX.

I like to think of myself as a compassionate woman; and that my concern for the suffering of others is what has propelled me towards the study of psychology and the completion of both my Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in this field. I have found my calling in life helping those who suffer from mental health issues and challenges. Now, I keenly look forward to continuing on in my studies, completing the terminal degree in my field at the XXXX, and attaining a cutting-edge foundation upon which I will be able to make my maximum contribution to our discipline. I am especially passionate about therapeutic initiatives centered on the concept of mindfulness, most of all with respect to its potential for evoking positive changes in brain chemistry.

I am passionately engaged with the issue of how psychology professionals might best go about helping to erase the stigma that is all too often associated with mental health services, particularly among certain ethnic groups; most notably Latinos who figure quite prominently into mental health assessments and services here in California. I am working with my Rosetta Stone for Spanish and I hope to continue to make rapid improvement in my Spanish skills so that I might eventually be able to use this language to some extent in the professional arena as well.

I became a member of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology because I am a thinker who loves to ask questions and a firm believer in the importance of balance between mind, body and soul for optimal health, studying our own past in order to prepare ourselves for the future, at the same time that we learn to savor each moment of the present. I am most fascinated with the human mind, its capabilities and limitations, and the debate between dualism and monism. At the center of my focus is the mind's ability to heal the body and the role played by spirituality.

A sense of debt that I feel to my community and nation has also helped to propel my interest in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially but not exclusively among our soldiers returning from combat in places like Afghanistan. The fact that I personally have no military experience or any military family members only reinforces the sense that I have of wanting to give something back to those who have sacrificed so much. For years now, I have invested a great deal of time, energy, and heartfelt reflection in the area of PTSD and I want to build a lifetime focus in this area of psychology, to practice and publish about the great challenges that PTSD represents for our society and to do everything that I personally can to respond to this challenge.

I will be finishing my Master’s Degree in December of 2014 and hope to begin studying in your program right away, in January of 2015. The focus of my Master’s Program has been in the area of Marriage and Family Therapy and I also want to remain engaged with this area as a lifetime focus. I feel strongly that mental health issues are best dealt with when one is not alone, and I feel special empathy for those who have to wrestle with mental health issues in the context of a failing marriage often aggravated by the stigma associate with mental health issues. I want to devote my life to helping each individual that comes to me for support to feel less alone in their struggle. If I could help them to save their marriage, this would be ideal.

Several years back I was struck by an image of the “Marlboro Man,” a US soldier in sustained combat in Fallujah, Iraq. He had been firing his canon for about 24 hours when the photo was taken, mud, blood spattered all over his face, a Marlboro cigarette dangling from his lips. A young man from our state of Kentucky who volunteered to go to Iraq to defend our freedoms as our government saw fit; although he sustained no major physical injuries, he would never be the same. Most importantly, his case is not at all unique; there are tens of thousands of similar cases in America. He came into the spotlight and attracted press attention to his story only because of the award winning photo. The Marlboro Man returned to Kentucky to marry his high-school sweetheart. Within a couple of years she would leave him because of his nightmares where he would sometimes half strangle her in his sleep. Alone now, he keeps smoking and suffering on full disability. The costs of PTSD to our society are staggering.

After earning my PsyD and beginning my practice, I intend to put the Marlboro Man photo on the wall in my office. I also plan to pay very close attention to the issues surrounding PTSD and substance abuse/addictions. My central, long term goal is to create my own non-profit organization to help our veterans. I have several ideas and I am confident that they will mature as I make progress under your expert guidance towards completion of the PsyD Degree at the XXXX. I have been profoundly inspired by the example set by the organization Puppies Behind Bars in New York, which rescues dogs from shelters to be trained by inmates, and then given to veterans with PTSD. I find this model to be especially inspiring because of the broad scope of those who benefit, the inmates, the animals, and especially the veterans and their families. No organization such as Puppies Behind Bars yet exists in California. In fact, here in California there is a long waiting list of veterans who need trained dogs. In addition to providing company, these dogs are trained to do things that specifically respond to the needs of the veterans who suffer from acute PTSD, such as checking the perimeters.

I am particularly passionate about the use of animals in therapy because I believe they reach places that people sometimes are just unable to go, especially when the individual is otherwise all alone. This avenue of research and practice dovetails nicely with my volunteer work with the Society for the Prevention and Cruelty of Animals. Volunteer work is in fact central to my identity and mission. I also serve as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and participate in numerous events related to the care of children.

Finally, I hope to engage professionally at some point with virtual reality tanks as a compliment to therapy. I see exposure therapy as a most promising resource, allowing the PTSD sufferer to go back and confront their trauma in a safe environment. Sometimes we need to face the monster under our bed in order to make it go away.

I thank you for considering my application to your distinguished program at the XXXX.

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Master’s Counseling, 1st Generation Immigrant Latina

Now 27 years old, I am pleased that, while I was born in Chicago, my parents took me back to Mexico at the age of 2 and we stayed there until I turned 8, before moving back to Illinois. This not only facilitated my becoming completely bilingual but also completely bicultural, as Mexican as I am American, and this is central to my professional identity and aspirations.

Throughout my first two years of school in America, repeating the second grade and through the end of third grade, I had an ESL teacher who helped me to catch up with the rest of the class in English. This experience will always be with me and provides me with special empathy and understanding of the great challenges confronting immigrant children. Most recently, my little brother who is in the 5th grade has been the victim of bullying. The school counselor has been extremely helpful and I greatly admire her dedication and her passion for the well being of the children. She has inspired me as a role model.

A Latina, a first generation immigrant, Mexican-American woman, I am the only member of my family to graduate from college. Very passionate about social justice, I decided to major in Criminal Justice at the University of XXXX and graduated in 2010 and I had the special privilege of assisting Professor XXXX with the creation of a new class called “Latinos/as and the Law.” When I took the class during my last semester, we were split into groups and each group worked/volunteered with an organization that helped Latinos/as. My group worked with Voces de la Frontera (Voices from the Border) in XXXX Wisconsin. Twice a week we would go during class time to see what they need help with; we called people in the community to let them know about upcoming events and helped to distribute their newspaper around XXXX. We also helped Voces de la Frontera organize the local May 1st immigration marches.

I have spent the past few years working mostly in sales. This experience has enhanced my bilingual skills as I have worked at least as much if not more in Spanish than I in English, and I have also learned a great deal about the technology of the workplace, information systems, networking, etc. Now, however, I yearn to return to a career helping others, serving as their advocate, empowering them towards success. I look back fondly to my internship with the Probation Center of XXXX County and reflect on how much joy I found serving as an advocate for offenders, going to court with them and following up on their cases. This position served to open my eyes to the great need to protect youth not only from drugs and crime, but also from the justice system itself. I felt that my contribution was especially valuable in the case of those offenders who spoke very little English.

I spend my early years living in a small town in Mexico where I attended school through the second grade. My parents grew up very poor and were never able to finish school. Thus, they set out to make education possible for their children so that they could have a better life. Our journey back to America was not easy; it took them days to cross the border undocumented and they had to endure many challenges.  It is because of the great sacrifice and enormous effort made by my parents that I am so determined to succeed, and to attain not only the first college degree in the family but the first professional degree as well.

I am convinced that The XXXX School of Professional Psychology is the program for which I am the best fit and will be best able to excel. Your location is perfect, since your campus is in the heart of XXXX and XXXX stands at the center my heart.  I am ready to give my full time and attention to your Master’s Program in Counseling because I feel that this is the area in which I will be able to make the greatest contribution to my people, the immigrant Latino community.

I have been inspired to study counseling partly as a result of my volunteer work with immigrants, helping them to learn English and complete necessary paper work has convinced me that there is a great need for professional counselors to serve this group. I thank you for considering my application to your distinguished program.

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PsyD Clinical, ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome


XXXX University is my first choice to earn the PsyD for a variety of reasons in addition to my profound admiration of your advanced curriculum and the streamlined character of your program. My drive to earn the PsyD at XXXX is a direct result of my extensive experience with special needs children—beginning with my own 2 children. My daughter Ingrid will turn 15 in May; intellectually gifted, she has done outstandingly well given the fact that she was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in pre-school. My son Lars, who just turned 12, still struggles with learning disabilities and has many characteristics of ADHD.

As I continued to reflect on and learn from our experience, I became increasingly engaged with the subject of psychological assessment and the pivotal role that it plays in diagnosis and subsequently treatment. I think in terms of windows of opportunity, especially in the case of my daughter. I hope to publish in this area and give it my all for the balance of my professional life. Thus, it would be a great honor for me to have the privilege of studying under Dr. XXXX whose work on assessment I deeply admire, along with Dr. XXXX in the area of school-based consultation and Dr. XXXX in the areas of risk, resiliency, transition and diversity issues.

My goal of earning a Doctorate of Psychology at XXXX University is informed by my passion for helping others, a passion that grew out of my experiences with my own childhood medical trauma, teenage learning difficulties, raising children with special education needs and my struggle as a single parent as well—on top of two decades of professional experience as a school psychologist. I first became aware of the benefits of psychological intervention and counseling when I was a teenager. Following a childhood illness that required extended hospitalization, I struggled throughout my teens with my own learning challenges and behavioral concerns. These issues were greatly intensified by the economic problems my family faced and the fallout from moving no less than ten times by the time I turned seventeen. Recognizing the lack of structure in our life, and wanting me to acquire positive study habits and motivation, my mother enrolled me in Catholic School. As part of my high school journey, I was fortunate enough to receive psychological counseling.  The benefits of this experience helped me enormously to succeed socially and emotionally as well as academically. The feeling of hope and gratitude that I took with me from my counseling experience helped to empower me to establish a peer counseling organization at my high school, where none had existed before.

In my 20s and 30’s, the challenges of raising children, a divorce when they were still little, and the pressures of my continuing education and reintegration into the workforce led me to further psychological treatment as well as other modes of therapy, including trauma workshops which were something still quite novel at the time. I am convinced that the emotional growth and pragmatic skill set that I have nourished over the years will empower me to excel in your PsyD program and make creative contributions to your academic community. I profoundly enjoy gardening, long-distance running, and I am in the process of becoming a yoga instructor. These activities have further enhanced my sense of psychological wholeness along with my fervent determination to help others.

After earning my MA and beginning my practice as a school psychologist, I began working with students diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, since, as a result of my daughter Ingrid’s struggle, by this time I was recognized by my many of my peers as a specialist in the area of autism. My Master’s studies had only touched on Asperger’s Syndrome, however, as this diagnosis was still new at this time; thus, I found myself devoting countless hours to independent research, educating myself about the symptoms and behaviors related to ASD and the implications for school based interventions. In the years that followed, I continued my personal research in Autism along with ASD, ADHD, and a multitude of other learning disabilities, with the goal of helping individuals in a school setting.

I have been faced with the challenge of balancing my duty and loyalty to the school system on the one hand, and serving as an advocate for the student and their family on the other hand, which has probably been the most difficult aspect of my work so far. Dealing with this tension on a case-by-case basis for the last 20 years has left me fascinated by issues of professional ethics in child and school psychology, especially in the case of special needs children and this is one of the areas in which I would also like very much to publish in the future as I continue to cultivate my professional sensitivity and leadership abilities.

At this stage in my career, I have a well-developed understanding of the growing demands put on school systems due to governmental requirements and complex, ever-changing societal issues.  This has and will continue to increase the need for school psychologists with exceptional capacity to deal with numerous complex issues simultaneously. I have always had a strong sense of motivation and responsibility to stay current in my field and I believe that XXXX’s PsyD Program represents the ideal platform on which to continue to grow in every way, particularly as a professional psychologist. I feel strongly that, after earning the PsyD, I will be able to realize my fullest potential as a school psychologist based on my experience of almost 2 decades of discovery of my old children's need for involvement in special education, on top of my professional responsibilities and advocating for friends and family members on how to navigate their children's needs. I have developed great empathy for and an understanding of the day-to-day issues faced by special needs students and their families and I look forward to sharing some of my most memorable experiences in class discussions at XXXX.

My current job is an excellent fit for me while my children complete high school and I earn my PsyD. After we complete these hurdles, however, I hope to transition to a position of greater responsibility that will enable me to put my leadership skills to fuller use in the area of program development; and I hope to teach at some point in an institution of higher learning. In the same way that attending college is now a natural next step for many of the students with whom I work, becoming a professor of psychology on a college campus will be my natural next step forward, all of us snatching victory together from the jaws of defeat.

I thank you for considering my application to your distinguished program.

 

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Master’s I/O, Workplace Mental Health


I wish to switch from a clinical track of study in psychology to industrial/organizational. I have invested a great deal of reflection in this move, especially since my academic mentor, a clinical psychologist, stressed the importance of thinking the issue through clearly in light of all available options. I am currently a first-year graduate student at XXXX College studying towards a Master’s Degree in clinical psychology. For the reasons outlined below, I would like very much to transfer to your highly esteemed program to continue my studies towards the Master’s Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, which is where my passion lies.

The main reason that triggered my decision of changing the major is my 10-month experience at a consulting company. It is an educational consulting company and I worked there as an English teacher. It was my very first time working as a full-time employee and also as a member of a large group. Frankly, I had no such experience before I started working there, so I had no sense of what it is like to work as an employee and as a member of a large group. I admit that 10 months is not a sufficient time to experience all the major issues that could arise in an organization, but I have seen many problems and stresses from it, which often hindered employees from performing at their best. The major problem in the organization I noticed was conflicts between co-workers and between an employee and his or her employer either externally or internally.

As a psychology student myself, I am well aware of how conflicts and stresses affect a person’s mental health and eventually their physical health. Such distress would further hamper one from behaving effectively in variety of settings, including workplace. From then on, I began to wonder what could be done better for an organization to success, and realized that it all begins at the beginning of recruitment and placement to mediation to worker’s motivation that affects performance and job satisfaction.

My central interest is conflict resolution in organizational settings because it strongly affects one’s work performance and also one’s mental health. To discover more about organizational psychology, I started out by buying books about human resources and listening to live experiences by people who work in human resource fields and consultants. My ultimate goal is to develop my skills in resolving conflicts in the work place and organizations to become more lucrative in long term. Moreover, I want to be able to ripen my knowledge on assisting employees to perform more effectively through appropriate human resource management.

I believe that with my fundamental knowledge on psychology, it is now time for me to shift my concentration and learn organizational psychology systematically, and with excellent curriculum XXXX College encompasses, I would be able to learn organizational psychology more deeply and ultimately able to contribute my knowledge into the workplace to make more efficient and successful environment in this ever changing competitive and demanding world. Without these tens of thousands of workers, who could run our society? I am convinced that it is us the psychologists to help achieve the goal of prosperous and successful society. 

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MA Counseling Psychology, Mental Health Center


At 22, I feel that I am mature for my age. This has contributed to my dedication to the study of psychology. I feel that I am ready for graduate school and up to the rigorous challenge as a result of my intense motivation and dedication to my chosen field of study.

I hold the BA in Social Studies, with an overwhelming concentration in psychology, from XXXX State College. I want very much to continue my education and I am especially attracted to the curriculum and reputation of the XXXX University M.A. Program for Counseling Psychology. 10 years from now I would like to have a PhD and work either in private practice or for a state run facility as a mental health clinician working with all age groups.

 I took a year off of school after I graduated to gain some work experience. I currently work at XXXX Mental Health Center as a Therapeutic Mentor. I work closely with clinicians to develop appropriate treatment plans for me to implement during our secessions. I have been working there since August of 2011. Seeing first-hand the progress and frustrations that come in this field has only strengthened my desire to continue my education so that I will be able to increase what I have to offer to my profession and my community.

 My grades do not reflect the fact that I am a devoted student, as a result of not being able to decide until later in my college career what I really wanted to do with my life. Nevertheless, I am a hard worker and I do have work experience that is directly associated with my career goals. I have a good idea of what to expect in graduate school in psychology and I am certain that this will enable me help make society a better place by developing new ways to cope with depression and anxiety. I especially look forward to intensive research in these areas and I am especially keen about strategies for alternatives to lifelong medication.

 Most of all, it has been working at XXXX Mental Health Center that has opened my eyes to the challenges and opportunities for psychology professionals. Serving as a therapeutic Mentor has warmed my heart to the bounteous joys of giving, finding more in oneself as a result of giving more to others, particularly children. I especially enjoy working closely with other collaborators on each of my cases to assure that we provide the best treatment possible to the client. I take great pride in developing a treatment plans and goals for each client based on their needs and strengths.

Working with clients in the home, at school, or out in the community, I always make it a point to stick with the treatment plan to the extent to which it is possible to do so. Towards this end, I have long worked to perfect my communication skills, particularly with respect to conflict resolution, emotional expression, and/or behavior management. I work with parents to develop better ways for them to handle difficult situations with their child and set a positive example in the home and in the community.

I thank you for considering my application to your program.

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Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, European

I was born and raised in Cyprus. I was awarded my bachelor degree in Psychology by XXXX University in the UK and have recently completed a Master’s in ‘Psychological Approaches to Health’ at the University of XXXX, also in the UK. My goal now is to pursue a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and then to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in helping children who have suffered emotional or physical abuse as a Clinical Psychologist working in my home country. I regard this as more a vocation than a career choice, obviously I seek to ‘make a living’ but it is more important to me that I ‘make a difference’ during my working life. 

I was a sensitive child from a secure and loving home but became aware that some of my friends had not been as fortunate as I had been. I longed to be able to help them in some positive way to achieve the security, balance and happiness, with which I had been blessed, in their own lives. As I grew older, I recognized that Psychology offered a way to fulfill my life’s ambition to help unhappy children and young people. It was for this reason that I chose to study for a bachelor degree in Psychology and this provided me with an excellent theoretical foundation in the subject. I went on to obtain a Master’s degree in ‘Psychological Approaches to Health’ which included the study of the following modules: Understanding, Predicting and Changing Health Behaviors; Stress Coping and Health; Psychology and Patient Safety; Theory and Interventions in Health Psychology; and Food and Health. I believe that these studies have provided me with insights that will enhance my ability to benefit from the program for which I am applying.

Throughout my academic career, I have been privileged to have had the opportunity to undertake volunteer work relevant to my studies during the long vacations. This activity was undertaken in Cyprus and included assisting staff in the Child and Adolescent Department at the Mental Health Centre of a large general hospital and working in a Rehabilitation Centre. I gained experience of working with mentally ill patients, children, adolescents and liaising with the relatives of patients. All this activity was undertaken under the direct supervision of Clinical Psychologists several of whom recognized in me an ability to communicate well with young patients and suggested that I pursue a career that involved with children and adolescents.

I possess intuitive skills in ‘reading between the lines’ and especially in interpreting non-verbal signals provided by distressed children and I look forward to developing and applying this in my future work. All my voluntary work experiences were extremely rewarding in terms both of gaining practical experience and insights and in the enormous satisfaction when seeing patients make tangible progress in facing and overcoming the issues in their lives.

I am currently employed as a Mental Health Support Worker in Manchester in the north of England working in a low and medium secure mental health care facility. I work with a range of patient types and ages. This work is providing excellent practical foundation to complement my voluntary work and theoretical knowledge. I am involved in providing advocacy, practical help and support to patients and those who usually care for them.

I have carefully researched various programs in Clinical Psychology that are available and I am attracted to studying in the US because of the pioneering and innovative work being done there.  Your own program interests me in particular because of its emphasis on the review and analysis of the very latest advances and research findings in the field. Studying in the US would also expose me to an exceptionally varied population.

 I am aware of the research undertaken by several of your faculty members and have taken particular interest in the work of Dr. XXXX relating to depression and mood disorders and of Dr. XXXX in child psychology and developmental psychopathology. As I have already undertaken successful postgraduate studies, I do have some research experience and am aware of the skill set necessary to undertake successful research such as determination, an analytical approach, statistical interpretation and records maintenance which I have demonstrated during my earlier postgraduate work. I would hope to be involved in assisting with research into depression and mood disorders, schizophrenia and abuse as they affect children and adolescents.

I am aware that cultural sensitivity and awareness is extremely important in the provision of psychological services in order to properly understand the patient’s perspectives. I have happily studied, worked and socialized with people from a variety of cultural and social backgrounds and am exposed to a wide variety of patient types in my current work.

I know that the program will attract many well qualified applicants but I regard myself as being an excellent candidate. I have the firm theoretical and practical background in psychology that will enable me to profit from the program and to ‘add value’ to my class through the insights that I have gained. I have research experience and skills. However, my main recommendation is a passionate desire to help children and young people to face and overcome the issues and obstacles that may prevent them fulfilling their potential and in leading happy and productive lives. 

 

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MA Counseling, Children & Violence, Middle East

When we moved from San Francisco to Dubai last year with our children, it was a permanent career move for my husband; nevertheless, I was soon horrified, angry, and heartbroken to witness how widespread was the use of corporal punishment by parents to discipline children in this culture. A rigid and cold violence against children is not at all uncommon in Dubai and it is to this issue which I have gravitated as my primary life interest on a professional level. I want to help parents by educating them concerning the effects of violence on their children. This is why I have chosen a career in family therapy. I want to empower families to strengthen their relationships and to build solid futures together that provide stable and loving homes for their children.

My original motivation for pursuing a career in family therapy is very much connected to my own complex family history. My childhood was enormously difficult in Iran, especially since we lived through the Islamic Revolution. Shortly afterwards, my parents got divorced and the family was effectively dissolved. At 16, I immigrated alone to the United States. Now, a quarter of a century later, I am still on a quest to rebuild dreams that in a sense I was not able to have. I want to make a profession of that dream and care for other families that suffer and are at risk.

 Now at 41, I have fulfilled my dream of having a family of my own. I have a wonderful and vibrant community here in Dubai and I want very much to give something back to my society. Most importantly, Dubai has a shortage of family therapists, and I am extremely excited about the prospect of helping to respond to this need. There are virtually no social services to protect children and educate their parents about parental responsibilities; and this in a country that condones corporal punishment in both public and private spheres. As a family therapist in Dubai, I want to be part of a profound cultural transformation, something of an Arab Spring between men and women, for the benefit of children.

I am an Iranian woman, yet born at the heart of the youth revolution in America in 1970, in Berkeley California. Perhaps a little of this revolution stuck with me, and is coming to fruition at this time, now that I am reaching full professional maturity. I want to struggle for progressive social change and openness where I live now, in Dubai; and by extension having a share in broader layers of social change throughout the Middle East. By living and working here in the UAE, I might also be able to exert some influence over Iran as well, my country of origin. This is because Iranian society is both isolated and insulated from the outside world. And in this situation, the UAE serves as a conduit of everything for Iran, from goods to information. It is a go-between, between Iran and the rest of the world. And from this vantage point, I want to work for Iranian liberation, especially that of Iranian women, in solidarity with her sisters in the UAE. We are already working together to strengthen our networks online, groups of women’s voices that are growing more powerful in unison.

My long term goal is to use my degree to become an advocate for children and educate families about the cumulative, detrimental effects of corporal punishment. I want to inspire and help them to use more effective techniques to communicate with their children and nurture healthier family dynamics. As an undergraduate student of business, I was not at all clear about my ambitions and was not at all engaged with my studies. My very poor grades were the result of more of a lack of interest than of ability and I believe that my grades from 20 years ago say very little about my ability to excel in your program. I see a dire need for helping the children of this country and I am extremely highly motivated and confident.  I hope to convince you that by admitting me to your program you will be helping to ameliorate the effects of cruelly oppressive social structures that foster violence against children.

After completing my education, I worked for many years in advertising, and then in sales and marketing for a pharmaceutical company. By 2000, I was married with children and settled in San Francisco for a lengthy stint as a stay-at-home mother. Of course, babies grow up; and by 2007 I was feeling the urge to again mobilize myself professionally. My own children had sparked a vast curiosity and concern with child rearing and well being, and I wanted to study their development and psychology. So I enrolled in a Child and Adolescent Psychology class in a community college. By 2010, my husband’s career brought us to Dubai, in the UAE, which we have made more or less our permanent home. So, I am an oddity, an Iranian woman from San Francisco living at the heart of Arab elegance, and, in fact, social change. The UAE does, for the Arab world, show some tendency towards greater moderation and toleration of diversity.

Since our arrival in the UAE, I have been keenly sensitive to very different standards and expectations concerning child rearing, especially with respect to the issue of corporal punishment. I have been moved very much, both emotionally and intellectually, by recent research that suggests that the corporal punishment of children often has devastating and lasting consequences that include lower levels of intelligence as well as emotional disorders such as ADHD. I want very much to work strenuously with all progressive international, non-governmental organizations in the UAE and throughout the Middle East, building networks of activists concerned with child safety, well being, and laws designed to protect them from physical and psychological brutality.

Not long after moving to Dubai, early last year, I was disappointed to discover that there are no universities here that offer a professional degree in counseling psychology; the closest thing is a General Psychology Degree at XXXX University, a British university with a campus in Dubai. At first, I had decided against earning my Master’s online, since I was concerned that my degree might not command the respect of a degree from a brick and mortar university, and I made the decision to enroll in the general psychology degree program here at XXXX U, beginning last September, 2011. I now realize, however, that their curriculum has little to nothing to do with what I most looked forward to studying, theories and methods of therapy. I simply cannot get that excited about experiments with rats and I want to learn how to be an excellent therapist. Now, I am trying to correct my mistake and I ask please for a special exception to enroll in your program despite the late date of my application. 

I am pleased to report that I have also enrolled in a short program which I think will be compatible with beginning my program at UXX Online. I have registered to study towards a Certificate with the Institute of Transpersonal Development in Spain, which begins in May. I have a solid track record so far of solid engagement with my community and your program will lay the foundation for me to make creative contributions in the art of family therapy in my new home, Dubai. My long term goal after completing your program at UXXX will be to practice in Dubai as a Family Therapist. Since spanking and beatings are an acceptable and common form of discipline in this country, my primary goal will be to educate families about the long term detrimental effects of corporal punishment on behavior and mental development. My ideal job would be to have a practice where I could help children with their issues and educate parents in communication strategies. I envision my practice as a center of progressive social change. I love children and I wish to dedicate my professional life to helping to protect and preserve their well being.

I also love families, the dynamic of families. As an intellectual and a professional researcher, I want to focus my energies on the area of the complex ways in which childhood experiences tend to determine, to some extent, what kind of success we have in the world as adults, our struggles, challenges, etc. 

I thank you for considering my application at this late date.

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MS Applied Psychology, Bipolarity, Addictions

XXXX University is my first choice for graduate school in applied psychology for a variety of reasons, most of which have to do with the fact that I live nearby and I love my home, being near my family. I have an 8 year old son who lost his father not long ago. His grandfather will be watching him while I attend your program. Fortunately, I am economically independent and I do not need to work; thus, I am in a position to give my all to your program. Furthermore, I very much appreciate XXXX’s singular emphasis on the importance of international education, getting a feel for another culture and its history. I also see this as an integral part of a well rounded education and I am most enthused about the prospect of studying psychological issues among the ex-patriot community of Costa Rica, a delightful nation that I am adopting as a second home.

Most of all, however, my desire to attend XXXX University springs from my experience as a volunteer facilitator at the XXXX Center for Group Counseling, since October of 2012; I began shortly after finishing my undergraduate studies in psychology. This experience has opened my eyes to the great power of group counseling and the extremely positive impact that it can have on those who suffer as a result of mental health issues. Here at the XXXX Center, I have had the privilege to be surrounded by several XXXX students and I have heard nothing but the highest praise from graduates of your program in Applied Psychology. I appreciate the way in which your program has rigorous standards and I feel confident that I now have the time, space and energy to excel in graduate school, as a result of my unique life circumstances.

32 years old, a widow, a mother, I have only loved one man, who committed suicide several years ago. My husband was bipolar; most of the time we laughed, sang, and danced. Unbearably handsome, witty, very successful professionally, I was not aware when I married my man how desperately ill he was. Especially after our son was born 8 years ago, and very much in love, I did everything that I could to save him, as I gradually become aware of his predicament. I began studying psychology in college, spending my free time reading about mental health challenges, treatments, strategies, etc. I feel strongly that, based on my research as well as professional experience, many if not most bipolar individuals are especially brilliant and that their unique creative energy needs to find positive outlets to serve as alternatives to negative behavior, especially addictions. I want to devote my life to the study and practice of group therapy because I see it as having such great potential for saving lives and preserving and protecting families, providing day-to-day and week-to-week survival strategies, coping tools, and emotional support.

I myself have been healing now for some time, channeling tragedy into rebirth, sorrow into fascination, and grief into determination to succeed. I look forward to working in the future with bipolar clients who are unique, just as my husband was, many of them will also be brilliant and creative. In fact, what most fascinates and concerns me is precisely the way in which that brilliance entails great risk. I was an undergraduate student majoring in psychology at the time that my husband committed suicide, and I went on to finish my degree. Both before and after, however, my grades suffered; first the stress of trying to save his life, followed by the utter sadness of it all. Watching my little son grieve the loss of his dad was especially debilitating. This is why I ask for special consideration with respect to the evaluation of my GPA.

From each passing springs new life, each tragedy includes the seeds of its own redemption, compensation, triumph. In my case, for example, I had the privilege of getting to know amazing psychologists over the years that treated my husband, including Dr. XXXX who once worked with Ted Bundy on death row. The greatest lesson that I have learned throughout my personal storm is the importance of being ‘mindful’ in everything I do. I would be especially honored to do research as a student at XXXX University in the area of "mindfulness." I look forward to learning many things at Lynn but I particularly hope to have the privilege of becoming a student of Dr. XXXX, whose work in the area of drug abuse prevention I especially admire. I have a deep intellectual passion for this subject and this how I want to make my mark on the world; and make my own life worth living.

My professor for an undergraduate course, Mind and Brain, was an avid investigator and specialist on America’s penal systems and all of the attendant issues that it generates in psychology. This sparked my enduring interest in the complex issue of mental health services in our penal system. A doctor that resides at the XXXX Center where I volunteer worked in prisons for 7 years. His explanation of how and why prisoners in America’s jails receive little to no mental health services further aroused my passion for study in this area.

I also feel strongly that XXU will serve as the optimal springboard for me to build a distinguished career helping my clients to mange stress. I want to study in depth the relationship between bipolar disorder and stress management. I have seen how stress literally kills people, as it did my husband. The stress of running his company controlled his life; consistently, for years, I pleaded with him to let it all go and move away from everything and everyone. I truly believe that if he could have found some positive ways to de-stress he would have survived, leaned how to manage. We both had counselors, together and apart, but we never tried group counseling.  I beat myself up for quite a long time thinking of ways I maybe could have saved him. Through this process, I have developed a great passion for group therapy, managing stress, preventing and surviving suicide, protecting children, learning to let go and heal by sharing similar experiences and strategies with others who suffer as well. I thank you for considering my application to your very special program.

 

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PHD Social Psychology, Gender, Stereotypes, Brazil

I was born in Brazil but raised mostly in Boston from the age of 8 years old. I graduated from the University of XXXX with a Degree in Psychology and a minor in Chemistry in the Fall of 2006. This year, 2010, I completed my MS Degree in Psychology from XXXX State University.

I now want very much to study towards PHD Degree in Social Psychology at the University of XXXX since I am especially interested in doing research in the areas of persuasion, gender, and stereotypical threats and prejudice. In fact, I am keenly looking forward to a rigorous immersion in the study of the broad gambit of social influence theory and group behavior as well as research methodologies. I am especially looking forward to having Drs. XXXX and XXXX as faculty mentors. 10 years from now I would like to be a university professor myself who is especially adept at publication. In addition to English and Portuguese, I am also proficient in Italian and have basic skills in French. I hope to take advantage of my language skills at some point in my research endeavors.

 I am cutting back my professional work load to a minimum so that I will be able to focus full time on my studies. My volunteer work has shown me how gratifying it is to help others in the community and I strive to make a positive impact in society.  I am a hard worker who is eager for knowledge. I am endowed with a great ability to understand experimental designs and improve them; I am a sensitive man who is especially adept at the identification of possible confounding variables and design flaws in the studies. I have done extensive work in the design and management of experiment involving stereotypical threats with respect to gender as well as classical conditioning with various reinforcement schedules (FR, FI, VR, VI, etc) and extinction with proxy subjects (i.e. pigeons). I have also conducted conditioning experiments involving the pairing of an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus. I very much look forward to continuing to enhance my understanding of the the underlying mechanisms and intricacies of human behavior.

As a member of a family that has been blessed with economic resources, I am highly sensitive to the difficult realities of members of the working social classes for whom life is very much an economic struggle. I have friends from different economical backgrounds and neither side is alien to me. In Brazil, for example, I was long struck by the fact that, due to their low income, police officers are forced to live in the slums with the drug dealers and other criminals. They have to hide their identity in order to preserve their lives. They can't even leave their houses with their uniforms on. And this is just one of the social questions that I look forward to investigating as a social psychologist with a special interest in Brazil.

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PHD Social Psychology, Thailand, Children

I am a young woman from Bangkok, Thailand that profoundly adores studying the Communication Arts and very much wants to become a teacher. I want to make XXXX University my new home for several years and complete my MA Degree in Teaching and Learning. I am convinced that your program is the ideal program for learning how I can become the very finest teacher possible so that I can return to Thailand and make major contributions to education in my country.

 Perhaps my greatest love in life, my special passion, is small children. For this reason, I am especially interested in doing research in the areas of teaching children who range in age from kindergarten through the age of 10.  My short term goal, therefore, is to give my all to and excel in your program and my long term goal is to become a kindergarten teacher in an international school in Thailand.

 In 2007, I participated in the Bangkok University International College Fair and enjoyed a leading role in the preparation of the the fashion show to promote my university. In 2008, I served as a trainee for the Account Executive Department at Far East DDB, an Advertising Agency, for 3 months, assisting executive staff with research projects in advertising. And from July, 2009 through April, 2010, I worked at XXXX International Hospital in the Heart Center. Among all of my professional experiences so far, working for the hospital as a Clinic Officer was perhaps the most rewarding, because I felt that what I was doing something that was so very important not only for patients and their families but for the hospital as a whole. Furthermore, my position often thrust me in the middle of delicate circumstance because I worked with many people who suffered from heart disease and frequently did not survive. I also come from a big family and have worked hard to take good care of my grandparents and younger cousins. These experiences have helped to make me serious and highly responsible.

 Perhaps my greatest dream in life is to excel as a teacher with your help so that I will be selected by an NGO in Thailand that is dedicated to the promotion of popular education for children from families of scare economic resources, selected from among many of the humblest people of my society. Being able to make a profound difference in the lives of such children is the hope that I have for my future which brings me the greatest joy.

 I feel so very privileged to come from such a loving family and to have achieved an excellent education with the opportunity to travel and visit China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and United States and Canada, so far. My travels have also helped me to appreciate the importance of multiculturalism and diversity in education. In fact, I have already been to the United States many times because I have relatives here.

 I want to thank you for considering my application to your program and to thank you as well on behalf of the many children of humble origins that I wish to devote my life to helping by teaching them Language Arts, Drama, Literature, and especially learning how to excel and appreciate Reading. It is in this area more than any other that I wish to concentrate my efforts. Reading is a gift that lives forever.

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Postbaccalaureate Psychology Certificate Program

I was once present when a friend, who was a military veteran, suffered extreme stress symptoms in the face of an ‘everyday’ situation. Naturally, I sought to offer immediate comfort and help my friend in this situation but it was also a spur to seek ways to help in a more enduring way and to assist others who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder. A broad interest in psychology developed into a desire to study the effects of traumatic events on individuals and ways of relieving them.

My interest in studying the effects of psychological trauma is not limited to veterans. As a volunteer working with severely disadvantaged children and teenagers, I became aware of that some of them can also be considered to be damaged ‘veterans’ and ‘survivors’ of distressing experiences.  This work also prompted an interest in the ways in which early life events affect the propensity to criminality.  I hope to undertake research in one or more of these areas during my participation in the program.

 I cannot offer work experience in the area of psychology which is why I consider this specific program to be the ‘best fit’ for my situation. However I do hold a degree in a closely related discipline, Criminology, and during my studies I applied statistical techniques that will be relevant within this program.  I also consider that my volunteer work has provided me with a very useful basis on which to build, especially as I hope that helping children and young people will be the focus of my future studies and work. 

My work experience has been in the field of business but I have gained a working knowledge of various research techniques and applied them in financial, markets and sociological settings.  This knowledge and experience will also be relevant and applicable to work during the program. I have demonstrated qualities of diligence and discipline in my working life and learned how to cooperate successfully with others to achieve common ends within demanding timeframes.  The grades and honors obtained in my work towards my Bachelor’s degrees will, I hope, provide some assurance of my work ethic and my further academic potential.  

It is my intention, if accepted, to excel within the program, to obtain the certificate and to use this as a means of pursuing a Ph.D. or Psy.D.  in Clinical Psychology.  It would then be my goal to continue research whilst working in private practice and ultimately to undertake relevant work for a government agency.

I am aware that the program will attract many well qualified applicants. However I am confident that my academic, volunteer and working background, together with my personal qualities and passion for the subject, provide an unusually good ‘fit’ for the program.  I am sure that I shall be able profit significantly from participation and to ‘add value’ to the academic community if accepted. 

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Masters Forensic Psychology, Online


I want very much to enroll in and complete your graduate school program so that I will be able to advance professionally in my work in our criminal justice and corrections systems. With a Master’s Degree, for example, I would be able to qualify for a  case management position with my current employer, the XXXX Secure Center. I look forward to gaining a thorough going understanding of how juvenile delinquents think, especially with respect to the ways in which they justify both good and bad behaviors. My short term goal is to successfully complete the MS in Forensic Psychology and apply for the case management position. My long term goal is to continue to learn all that I can about the many challenges confronting our juvenile justice system in America so that I will be qualified to make the greatest contribution that I can to this area.

 I graduated from XXXX College with a BS on December 2010 with a major in Biology. Previously, I graduated in 1994 from the XXXX Business School with a Medical Assistant Certificate. I feel strongly that my undergraduate studies in Biology, building upon my studies as a medical assistant, have prepared me well to do graduate work in forensic psychology. I thoroughly enjoyed my classes in psychology and sociology and I believe that psychology is the right area for me to continue my studies. I have also matured a great deal as a result of meeting difficult challenges during my undergraduate years. In 2000, I had to discontinue my studies since I was a single mother and had to care for two terminally ill relatives/ In 2010, however, I returned to XXXXCollege and completed my degree. In my early years an undergraduate student, I worked on important research projects studying the effects of pesticides on fish. By the time that I returned in 2000, my interests had changed and I devoted myself to the study of juvenile delinquency. Since I had been working for a youth detention facility for 3 years already, I decided to write my principal research paper on “The Development of Violent Behaviors within Juvenile Delinquents.”  

 My work experience also helps to qualify me for graduate study. I work in a maximum secure juvenile detention facility which has exposed me to many of the critically important issues and questions faced by correctional facilities. I have worked primarily as a keyboard specialist in the business office where my job duties are to process purchase orders as well as medical & dental claims for residents. I have been employed at XXXX Secure Center since 2008 so I have had the opportunity to become quite familiar with secure facility policies and background information on youth detainees. My exposure to a secure environment has sparked a genuine interest to help juvenile delinquents become rehabilitated so that they will someday be ready to leave the system. During my undergraduate studies I took a class in Interpersonal Communication Skills which set me on the course of many years of hard work enhancing my communication skills. The greatest contribution that I might be able make to society would be to help juvenile offenders learn to embrace positive change in novel and creative ways. I hope to assist them to learn to think outside their box, persuading them to put aside negative attitudes and develop more positive ways of thinking. I also aspire to winning their trust by convincing them that they can turn their lives around.

 XXXX University is a perfect match for me because XXXX offers the MS in Forensic Psychology online. Since I work full time, I am attracted to the convenience of being able to do my classes at home on my own schedule. I especially like the fact that I won’t have to travel to night classes anymore which is very exhausting after working all day.

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