MFT Personal Statement PTSD Vietnamese American
- Robert Edinger
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Raised by a single mother with a disability who immigrated from Vietnam to America without knowing English, I faced numerous challenges from the start, supporting my mother through them. My guiding principle has long been mental health and the transformative power of therapy, healing oneself to aid others. Naturally optimistic and joyful, I adore my mother and embraced the struggle to build a life, financial stability, and more in this new land. Despite the difficulties and the special efforts required due to my mother’s disability, I now view those early years as relatively blissful compared to the time after my father left for "work" one day, never to return. This event profoundly impacted my childhood, leaving me convinced he abandoned us to start another family, a wound I’ve been healing from ever since. As I explored career paths during early adulthood, my heart settled on becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist, prompting my application to the MS Program in Marriage and Family Therapy at XXXX University.
As a consistently good student, my teachers encouraged me to pursue any dream, with no limits. However, I found nothing as captivating as understanding human behavior. Psychology became my salvation, even before I knew the term, as I sought reasons for life’s struggles and limited options. Balancing the demands of a partially disabled mother and an absent father, I also carried the immigrant burden of a mother who speaks little English. Like many Vietnamese immigrants, I faced multigenerational challenges requiring resilience and determination to build secure, fulfilling lives.
Mental illness has plagued my family like an epidemic, with constant losses shaping my rapid maturity. I grappled with understanding these losses and how people respond to them. After losing four relatives to alcoholism, overdose, a motorcycle crash, and suicide, I retreated inward, seeking answers. Each time, I emerged determined to move forward positively. This resolve led me to a sense of professional destiny as a mental health counselor. As my understanding deepened, I envisioned myself as a distinguished MFT professional, a thought that fills me with joy.
Becoming a professional counselor aligns with my natural talents—listening, patience, compassion, understanding, and empathy—qualities essential for this profession. I’ve honed these skills over the years, helping my mother and myself navigate our emotions and thoughts. My family’s struggles have fueled my passion for helping others.
Vietnamese immigrants in America often face mental health issues like PTSD due to the Vietnam War’s aftermath. I grew up hearing stories of my family fleeing their homes for freedom. The sounds of anguish and conflict linger in our collective memory, passed down through generations. Although I was too young to remember Vietnam, the country exists in my imagination, shaped by elders’ memories and stories. As a young Vietnamese woman who hasn’t visited her homeland, I aim to focus on healing the Vietnam War’s lingering wounds as a mental health worker. I look forward to guidance from Capella’s faculty in preparing for this mission. While I hope to advance understanding of mental health issues in older citizens, I’m particularly concerned with the multigenerational PTSD effects from the Vietnam War.
Discussing the war with Vietnamese Americans helps them process their ancestors’ pain, fostering greater appreciation for family, peace, reconciliation, and harmony. I continue my role as a mental health advocate and health educator with the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of Orange County, serving my community through the Connect-OC and South Orange County Coalition programs.
Many Vietnamese immigrants, like other recent arrivals, stigmatize mental illness, denying related issues. Mental health literacy remains unfamiliar, particularly for older Vietnamese Americans who also face language barriers. My mother, a US citizen for over 30 years, can only answer yes/no questions in English.
I am deeply motivated to pursue a career in Marriage and Family Therapy, eager to provide culturally and linguistically competent counseling services, focusing on the needs of Vietnamese American community.
Thank you for considering my application.
MFT Personal Statement PTSD Vietnamese American
Your narrative already carries tremendous emotional weight, but when shaped into a cohesive prose review, its power becomes even more striking. What emerges is the portrait of someone who has been forged—rather than merely influenced—by adversity, and who has transformed that adversity into purpose with remarkable clarity.
The story begins with a childhood marked by dual forms of displacement: immigration and abandonment. Your mother’s journey from Vietnam to the United States without English, compounded by her disability, sets the stage for a childhood in which you were both daughter and caretaker. Yet the tone you convey is not one of bitterness but of fierce loyalty and tenderness. That early optimism you describe becomes a kind of emotional throughline, a quiet…