Personal Statement for as Long

Personal Statement

For as long as I can remember, I have been dedicated to the idea of helping people, and I have tried to do so in a variety of ways. However, I have come away from many of my helping experiences with a vague sense of dissatisfaction, unsure whether I have been able to provide any meaningful assistance to those people whom I have tried to help. Initially, I felt as if this dissatisfaction came from my being overly ambitious; in my youth, I was committed to helping in large scale ways and donated time and money to large-scale relief efforts. The problem was that those large problems never seemed to be abated, regardless of how much energy I put into helping solve them. Tired of not seeing results, I began trying to help people on an individual scale. I became the "go-to" person for people in distress, and tried to help them in any way that I could. The problem with those situations is that I often found myself solving people's problems, rather than helping them learn how to solve them, and the results were static: there was never any change in greater behavior and the people I helped would often find themselves in similar situations. One thing that I did come to understand is that it is impossible to heal a community if you cannot heal its members. Another thing I understood is that, despite my good intentions, what I was doing was simply not working. I realized that something had to change, which is why I decided to become a psychologist and concentrate on community counseling. I believe that the education I will receive in order to obtain my degree will give me the skills that I need to achieve my personal, professional, and educational goals.

My primary educational goal is to learn how to truly help the individual. My desire is to learn the skills necessary to teach someone to recognize bad choices and how to make better choices. I want to learn how to avoid substituting my judgment for the judgment of another, and, instead, help them learn to use their skills, knowledge, and resources, to make better decisions about their own lives. Of course, in order to do so, I will have to learn a greater understanding of human psychology. Because so much of community counseling involves substance abuse, I hope to learn about various types of addiction, different treatment options, and the difficulties that substance abusers face in the real world. In addition, I want to get a basic and broad understanding of the entire spectrum of mental disorders. Only once I am familiar with the wide variety and spectrum of mental disorders, do I feel that I would be competent to counsel people. This education would also give me the knowledge necessary to know when a potential client's problems are beyond my scope and ability. For example, I am already aware that certain mental illnesses respond best to medication, and that to treat a client with such an illness, I would need the assistant of a psychiatrist or other medical doctor.

My secondary educational goal is to learn how to have a career in a helping profession without burning out or extending too much of myself. Intellectually, I understand that I cannot solve another person's problem, merely help them find the solution. However, I still find it difficult to determine how much help is appropriate to give. I understand that, though not listed as a specific class, learning separation from clients is an essential element in a counseling program, and that internship and laboratory hours, and the mentoring relationships that develop in those settings, are essential for learning those skills. In fact, Springfield's emphasis on practical experience and internship is what has made it my first choice for a Master's program, because I believe practical skills are at least as important as formal education.

Once I have met my educational goals, my professional goal is to use those skills to obtain a position as a community educator and outreach counselor. Currently, I have an interest in three different areas of community counseling. My first interest is to work at a battering intervention and prevention program through a battered women's shelter. This position would allow me to educate the public, by discussing battering in various situations and helping reach target populations where battering is not discussed or is considered normative. However, I understand that working with batterers is not simply about education; the vast majority of them have been abused, themselves, and need assistance resolving issues from their own past in order to move on and create better futures. Furthermore, childhood abuse is positively correlated to later substance and mental health issues, and I would like the skills to recognize, assess, and treat those tangential issues. Another interest that I have is working with pregnant teenagers and young mothers in a family education system. I believe that it is unfortunate that our society fails to provide its members with adequate education concerning essential life-skills. I am interested in developing a program targeted at young, impoverished mothers, which would teach them basic skills, such as how to rent an apartment, how to turn on utilities, opening and maintaining a checking account, budgeting, how to access community resources for childcare and other assistance, and also basic childrearing skills.

While many abusive parents act out of malice or anger, I believe that many cases of abuse can be attributed to frustration and a lack of knowledge. By targeting young mothers, I would hope to end some of this abuse. My third area of interest is to work in a halfway-house or probation-office type setting, helping people turn over a new leaf. Talking to acquaintances who work in probationary settings, I understand that many criminals have a strong desire to become law-abiding citizens, but simply do not know how to do so. I would hope to educate them regarding some basic life-skills, and direct them towards job education programs. I would also like to ensure that they receive the appropriate treatment for any tangential issues, which may have caused or contributed to the initial criminal behavior.

Finally, my personal goal is to find a career that is rewarding and enriching, but that does not define or consume me. As someone who hopes to enter into the mental health arena, I am extremely aware that using a job to define oneself as a person is a hazard. On the other hand, I believe that one must have a tremendous level of commitment and passion for any career to be rewarding. I believe that Springfield College has the type of environment that will teach me to balance social life, work, and family in a satisfying and rewarding manner.