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Samples of My Work for the Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology

MFT Statement of Purpose Sample Introduction

The most meaningful personal life event was the divorce of my parents. My mother, a successful professional, became a tearful child who appeared unable, for many months, to accept what had happened. Instead of mother being my ‘rock’, I tried to become hers. This partial role reversal and the knowledge that adults were not immune to tears of frustration and sadness and feelings of helplessness, made a great impression upon me as I also struggled with my own emotions in a new and challenging situation. This experience fired a passionate interest in human emotions and how the challenges to which we are all, more or less, subject might be handled in creative and positive ways.  

Careers in Marriage and Family Therapy (Christine Derr, MFT). Christine Derr, LMFT, speaks about her career in marriage and family therapy and kinesiology.

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Sample Personal Statement of Purpose for the MA Degree in Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy, MFT, Asian Applicant

I am convinced that I have important contributions to make to Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling, especially with respect to Asians in America. Thus, I hope to be accepted to your particularly distinguished Master’s Degree Program in Psychology at XXXX University so that I can become an expert in comparative approaches for better understandings Asian and Asian-American issues - Chinese in particular - sharing stories and strategies from different streams of immigrant communities, people originally from Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, etc. I feel strongly that I am uniquely suited for this task as a very dedicated student of Psychology and someone originally from Hong Kong who immigrated to America at the age of 12.

I am thankful that, once transplanted into the American experience, I found myself surrounded by many Taiwanese people in Rowland Heights, California. I learned Mandarin to compliment my native Cantonese from my many classmates, friends, a long-time boyfriend, etc. This helped me to develop something of a pan-Chinese identity which I am confident will help me to excel as an MFT professional with a focus on Chinese immigrant issues.

I look forward to becoming an MFT whom Asian immigrants can reach out to, in any of my three languages; we will use the one in which they feel most comfortable. In my capacity as a Marriage and Family Therapist with an interest in Asian and Asian-American issues generally speaking and Chinese issues in particular, I look forward to a lifetime of struggle against the tendency among Asians to refrain from seeking mental health counseling as a result of the stigma that is associate with mental health therapy and counseling in Asian societies, even those that have been transplanted to America. Family problems are desperately real and families in crisis – stemming from divorce, death, illness, violence, etc. – need the support that I will provide, which will bring me the greatest joy possible and the highest sense of personal as well as professional fulfillment.

I want to become an expert on marriage in Asian and Asian-American society, exploring the many complexities of therapy and how it can help not only those who struggle to save their marriage, but even prepare them for marriage, as well as helping others through the difficulties of marriages that end in divorce – and the aftermath. I seek to excel at culturally sensitive Marriage and Family Therapy that is by and for Asians, especially Chinese clients, as I am convinced that the more culturally sensitive therapy is, the better it is, more directed, targeted, and subsequently successful.  I want to provide a space for reflection for those who need it and to serve as a guide and facilitator for self-discovery on individual levels at the same time that we work on challenges faced by relationships, most prominently marriage.

For several years now, I have deeply enjoyed my own process of self-reflection and growth, working through my own issues; and I now have a burning desire to help others.  Therefore, I seek a full immersion experience and a solid grounding in psychoanalysis and cognitive and behavioral psychology as well as talk therapy, particularly theatrical orientations of Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT). I look forward to using IBCT to treat addiction issues as well as other factors and stressors as I am especially excited about progress being made in this area. I also spend a lot of my free time reading about depression and ADHD.

I want to dedicate much of my professional life to the study of brain wave optimization as well as the use of natural remedies that can combat depression in particular but also other maladies. I want to help those who have been less fortunate in life, those who face special challenges, have fallen through the cracks, and are in greatest need of my support and guidance.

Finally, I want to thank you for considering my application to Psychology at XXXX University.