At 26, I am a mature woman who is extremely dedicated to my studies. Always a diligent student, my first love for many years has been my study of Psychology. I cannot, in fact, conceive of living for even a single day, much less a week, without indulging my addiction for psychological literature, self-reflection, the quest for human growth, openness, and the transformation of negative into positive energy, irrespective of the circumstance in which I find myself.
I was born in ____ and raised in ____, Florida where I attended private schools. My dedication to my interior life has always been accompanied by a tremendous motivation for social excellence; leading me to ponder how introversion and extroversion can be seen as two sides of the same coin. Throughout elementary and then junior high school, I was always busy:creating new clubs and activities for my friends to join. Since childhood, I have had a passion for helping others—animals as well as humans—with my second love after psychology being nature, wildlife, all things outdoors. It was in high school, when my friends really started to turn to me for help with their everyday struggles, thereby sparking what would gradually come to be a recognition of my calling. I have always thrived talking with friends who find it easy and natural to confide in me and seek my feedback.
I graduated from the University of ____ in 2006 with my B.S. in Psychology and a certificate in Behavioral Forensics. In 2007, I enrolled in the master's program at ____ in ____, Florida and graduated with my MA in Counseling in May 2010. Even before attending college, I had been engaged in questions of identity, image, and the multiple complex relationships that exist between self-perception, on the one hand, and mental health issues on the other. I am concerned with the way that our culture, the media, forms our tastes and dreams; the way that we have become a society that is nourished more by movies than literature, and how this turns on us in vicious ways, all too often resulting more in our enslavement than our liberation. I am especially troubled by obesity, the damage done by excess food, particularly for children, and the anxiety and stress that accompany the quest for economic achievement. And as a woman, I am especially concerned with the way that stereotypes of beauty tend to harness female creativity, mitigating against the healthy individuation of girls and women, often serving to stifle the greatest potential within us for social contribution, as wives and mothers as well as citizens.
For these reasons, I especially look forward to doing research in the areas of adolescent development and eating disorders—most particularly, the intersection between the two. I also have a profound interest in and a keen desire to work with a variety of people that face mental health challenges. My interest in forensics has fueled this curiosity. My extensive background working with adolescents has furthered my desire to conduct research within this age range. I would like to author a doctoral dissertation on the long-term effects of eating disorders among adolescent girls. I hope to teach psychology, always maintaining a side interest in forensics. I may choose to work in competency assessment for individuals awaiting trial. It is also easy to imagine myself working for a corporation, testing employees.
I completed a practicum with the Center for Drug Free Living, working with at-risk youths, conducting psycho-educational groups as well as providing individual therapy. During my internship, I worked at an adolescent residential facility with teen girls, researching oppositional defiance disorder, and receiving extensive training in dialectical behavioral therapy. I have volunteered for a suicide prevention event hosted on the campus of____ College, providing support to families that had lost a loved one to suicide. I have also volunteered with Upward Bound, a program that gives high school students a chance to study on college campuses. I now have over 8 years relevant professional and volunteer experience in the field of psychology, and I feel strongly that this will help me to excel in your program.
I love to take on new challenges and work as hard as I can to overcome obstacles. I am committed to lifelong education, multicultural exploration, and the achievement of an open mind. I have explored Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, Wales, and Scotland, the East and West coasts of Canada and made several trips to the Bahamian Islands. I appreciate how fortunate I am to be an American. I am proud of my country and the educational opportunities that it provides to its citizens. Traveling has made me a more tolerant, accepting individual and increased my sense of empathy. These days, I am especially excited about the prospect of embarking on the rigors of doctoral study.
PsyD Psychology Personal Statement Obesity Eating Disorders
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