I have a passionate commitment to my work as a psychologist, out of concern for the well-being of my clients and the community at large. As a result of my professional experience, I now have a great deal of confidence in my abilities to plan and organize professionally, to set priorities, to meet deadlines and to handle simultaneous demands and conflicting priorities.

 I have chosen to apply to XXX University because of their impressive array of course offerings that appear to me to be optimally geared towards the fullest development of my professional capabilities. I have become an exceptional student and I crave further professional study in my field, especially following the additional post-graduate coursework that earned me the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology from XXXX University, in addition to my BS. Another strong point of my application is my employment experience as a Job Capacity Assessor and more recently as a Vocational Consultant. These experiences have convinced me that building a career in Industrial/Organizational Psychology is the correct career path for me. I also have experience working with children diagnosed with developmental disabilities, especially Autism. And this experience may also prove to be directly relevant to my future studies and professional endeavors since I feel very strongly that our special citizens with developmental disabilities can also benefit greatly from employment that makes their lives richer and more productive.

 My employment record demonstrates my professionalism and team spirit, to achieve goals and to meet standards and client requirements. I am praised by my colleagues for how quick I am able to establish a rapport with clients and gain their trust, even in difficult circumstances. I am currently developing a much greater understanding of the barriers that clients experience when seeking employment and I very much enjoy assisting them to overcome these hurdles.

 I continue to exceed my company’s expectations in assisting clients to return to gainful employment and I have been nominated by my peers for the Best New Starter Award. This is also why I was selected to attend professional development seminars funded by my employer. My clients have sustained an injury at work and have made a Work Cover Claim. So they are unable to return to their pre-injury duties and have to look for a new job. I provide assistance to them to look for a new job by helping them to write a resume and cover letter, as well as practicing mock interviews, etc.  I find my work very fulfilling and it has motivated me to pursue a career as an I/O psychologist, especially because my clients generally present symptoms of psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, low self esteem, lack of confidence, in addition to or as part of basic ever day problems that prevent them from returning to work.

 Attaining the Masters Degree in I/O Psychology will allow me to make increasingly important contributions to our ability as a community to help those who are challenged in so many ways to return to the workforce as productive citizens. 

As a girl growing up in Korea, I had little choice but to embrace the ideals of my family and accept the destiny that they had set for me: to become a doctor. As I have had a chance to mature, however, especially here in America, as a woman, I have chosen to excel in psychology and counseling is the field that I have chosen to pursue, because I am now following my heart.

I feel strongly that my diverse undergraduate studies have provided me with an excellent foundation for graduate study in counseling psychology. I now live in XXXX, Canada, and I am fascinated by the way that my own identity has been transformed as a result of leaving the little town where I grew up in South Korea and immigrating here, becoming part of a vast, multicultural society. My own immigrant experience has caused me to identify with other people of color, and I wish to devote my professional life to studying the psychology of the immigrant experience. I want to become a recognized expert with respect to the mental health of those Canadians who were born somewhere else; and, thus, face critically important and often difficult adjustments to their new society.

 By the time that I had started college, I had begun to realize that the dream of being a doctor was not my own, but, rather a dream that was embedded in my family. Ever since I can remember I was always told that I needed to become a doctor in order to be successful in life, and after several years of being away from my family, the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint them. Nevertheless, by my 3^rd year at the University of XXXX, I had found my area of greatest interest and intrigue: psychology. Thus, I switched my major from Health Sciences to Psychology. I want to always advise others to follow their heart and chase their dream.

I am especially interested in doing research on a graduate level into the ways that culture and social context affect body image and eating disorders. In fact, I am certain that I want to make the complete range of and bodily dysmorphic disorders part of my area of specialization. I also yearn for an in depth exploration of the impact of culture on stress; most of all, I want to master the literature concerning the role of counseling psychology in helping immigrants to develop and implement successful coping strategies for the stress associated with cultural assimilation, especially with respect to one’s career, education, and health. The third and complimentary area which I want to study in depth is the literature concerning counseling and minority groups in general, learning how to maximize that delicate balance of mental wellness and physical wellness for people of color. Of course, as a Korean woman, I will also be especially pleased to incorporate Eastern philosophies into my research, perhaps striving for creative syntheses between Western and Eastern paradigms in theoretical analyses dealing with the challenges faced by the counseling profession in various cultural milieu.

My undergraduate courses in psychology, particularly doing research, changed my understanding of education, and, subsequently, the course of my life. My foremost professional role model is Dr. XXXX. I so thoroughly enjoyed her class in advanced psychology that ever since then I have searched for ways to become involved in research, as well as working as a research assistant for Dr. XXXX at the Culture and the Workplace Lab. By conducting both lab and field studies, I have gained extensive knowledge in research methods, design, data analysis and interpretation. These experiences helped immensely to prepare me for my writing my honours thesis, a project on which I am currently engaged.

In our community they are usually referred to as ¨neglected¨ or ¨invisible¨ African elders, aging African refugees and immigrants who have resettled in the USA, many of whom are the survivors of the trauma of war. While working at the Center for Victims of Torture, I was assigned to a project named, New Neighbors Hidden Scars (NNHS), the purpose of which is to assist torture and war trauma survivors by promoting their overall health, working to restore and strengthen their leadership capabilities, and to create networks of support that are responsive to their unique needs. Through this process, we have been able to study and disseminate successful models of community-based care. Working with this program has helped to provide me with the confidence and determination to pursue advanced study in Social Work.

When I conducted a needs assessment for the NNHS, I was struck by the numerous barriers faced by immigrant African seniors with respect to accessing services. My efforts led to the design of a model for under-resourced areas with especially high numbers of African immigrants. In these strategic areas, it has been an enormous struggle to meet the mental health needs of the rapid influxes of refugees. Over time, however, we were able to develop multidisciplinary networks of providers to improve the coordination of care for trauma survivors. What we found to be particularly effective was the development of immigrant-led support groups in housing complexes and churches, including treatment groups for refugee students, and the development of an XXXX Food Distribution Center (AFDC), providing health and social service information along with culturally appropriate food assistance. I currently have the privilege of volunteering my service as the Executive Director of the XXXX.

African seniors have immigrated to the US under vastly different circumstances; some have been brought here by their children, others were forced out of their countries due to political violence, some came as young adults. Most, however, experience acute adjustment stressors. As part of my doctoral studies, I hope to explore how migration trauma affects the wellbeing of African seniors, especially in the area of cultural bereavement and adjustment to a new society. A related direction for my research would involve the development of new analytical models for working with African senior communities in the context of existing aging programs. These new models would be designed in accordance with the culturally relevant perspectives of many African communities and apply a holistic approach to recovery strategies for post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD) as well as more general forms of trauma. It is hoped that this research would fill a gap in the literature since there are virtually no African-specific models in the literature on aging and there is an enormous need for additional theoretical studies concerning the implementation of aging programs in immigrant African communities. It is also hoped that this research would contribute to the development of culturally appropriate, empirically validated interventions that could serve to reduce the adverse consequences of war trauma, PTSD, and resettlement shock, thereby improving the well being of seniors who have immigrated from Africa.

 The needs assessment that I have conducted suggests that a large percentage of African seniors are struggling with mental health symptoms related to war and PTSD, often combined with other mental health issues related to aging, especially Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Furthermore, these mental health conditions are typically exacerbated by environmental factors such as isolation, language barriers, unemployment, poverty, dependence on children, the loss of status and lack of transportation. In broader terms, I am very much interested in researching the entire gambit of issues involving the mental health of immigrants, especially seniors, and Africans in particular. I hope to publish in the future concerning the development of empirically validated interventions that reduce the adverse consequences of resettlement stressors, especially as combined with mental health issues—particularly, torture, forced migration, and PTSD. I am concerned with the paucity of existing research not only concerning African refugees in particular, but immigrant senior populations in general. Thus, I also hope to make important contributions to the systematic study of migration trauma, generally speaking, and the hurdles that must often be overcome in the accessing of services upon resettlement.

 It is my intention to design studies in which African refugees and other immigrants are given the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to the design and implementation, as well as the evaluation, of the research project. This supports the University of Michigan’s mission of promoting social justice through the empowerment of the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society; and in this way I also hope to contribute to the amelioration of oppressive conditions to which they are subject. One especially salient variable in my research will be the way in which ethnographic differences between African immigrant communities are characterized by specific words or terms used to refer to specific illnesses or mental health challenges This is especially important given the vast need for culturally specific treatment models for dealing with culturally specific practices, metaphors, spiritualities, etc., thereby leading to more accurate understandings of the specific mental health and wellness challenges faced by immigrant seniors. I see this type of research is of critical importance for the development of new training models, therapeutic initiatives, and even pharmacological investigations that would be of benefit to the broader body of social work research concerned with immigrant seniors.

Growing up in Kenya, we followed a family tradition of children being sent to live with their grandparents between the ages of 7 and 11.  My parents lived in a city while my grandparents lived in the rural area. Thus, my siblings and I were sent to my grandparents to be educated in the ways of the community: culture, norms, values, customs, rituals, folklore, etc. Each story we were told had a moral lesson illustrating a societal norm. We greatly respected my grandparents, and by extension the elderly in the community for the wisdom they embodied. When the need for conflict resolution arose, we were told to take it to the “Jorieko” meaning, ¨the wise ones.¨ I date my interest in the elderly to this period, and I have been fascinated by seniors ever since. My grandmother did not like going to the city because it represented a loss of authority for her, feeling much more at home with the practice of rural customs and lifestyles. And I have often pondered my grandmother’s sentiments when reflecting upon how still very much more traumatic it would be to be forced out of one’s country and culture entirely, for political reasons.

 My central career objective is to spend the balance of my professional life developing culturally sensitive mental health delivery models for African immigrants and refugees, especially older residents, always linking research to practice. I hope to serve as a teacher, consultant, researcher, and clinician in my area of expertise. Your doctoral program will help me to become a well rounded intellectual and scholar concerning the mental health and public policy issues faced by or affecting our senior populations, especially first-generation immigrants. Since I am myself an immigrant from Africa to the US, and now embarking on middle age at 44, I feel uniquely qualified for the development of a research interest in this area since I have a well refined capacity to empathize with the stresses that immigrant families and individuals from Africa must bear, the difficulties of cultural adjustment, migration trauma, etc.  I look forward to shouldering increasing professional responsibility in my work with African immigrants and refugees, institutions of higher learning, and social work professionals: conducting research and designing culturally appropriate, integrative mental health service models. It is painfully clear to me that social service agencies lack the necessary expertise in the development and implementation of culturally specific and appropriate mental health services for immigrants and refugees from Africa, as well as other regions of the world, and I ask for the opportunity and profound privilege of devoting my life to this cause.

I am also interested in the opportunity afforded by your program to attain a dual degree in social work and psychology, since I am concerned with the mental health issues of immigrant populations and this would help to refine my capacity to perform creative, cutting-edge research in this area. As a social worker, I am interested in promoting greater levels of social inclusion for immigrants from Africa and the study of psychology would help me to understand the mental health aspects of that inclusion. I am particularly excited about the possibility of studying under Professor XXXX whose research interest is in the area of clinical gerontology and racial and ethnic variations of service delivery to the elderly. I thank you for considering my application to your program.

Growing up as a Chinese American in California, I am a natural for the study of family therapy in the light of multi-cultural issues. I have long been immersed in and working through—on a personal level—the way in which immigrant family culture often faces important hurdles in its adaptation to Western culture, or the broader, mainstream culture of the United States, California in particular. Inevitably, the immigrant or immigrant child from a Latino, Asian, or other culture, feels, at least at times, that they must choose sides.

Inevitably, over time, both first generation immigrants and their children must move towards a fusion of the multiple worlds, thereby forming unique sub-cultural identities, on both family and individual levels. As a result of my own passage through these periods of multi-cultural adaptation, I feel that I have a unique perspective for understanding immigrant family issues especially those of Asian immigrant families. 

I seek admission to your program because what I most want to do is develop a high degree of professional expertise helping people cultivate greater levels of self-esteem and to become successful at managing their relationship issues. My short term goal is to gain the necessary training and skill to become an excellent family therapist. My long term goal is to provide decades of high quality professional service, laboring every day to help people to live fuller, more satisfying lives by finding and maintaining greater levels of harmony in their social relationships. I wish to study in your program because I am convinced that promoting love and service to humanity brings unbounded joy to one´s life.  For me, counseling people serves to liberate them, lead them out of darkness and into the light of social harmony. I want to help people to uncover and realize the multitudinous ways that life is beautiful.  I hope to someday have my own practice in a multi-ethnic community to California and to struggle every day to be as inspirational as I can, helping my clients overcome their pain and find intense joy and satisfaction in their lives.

I see counseling as of fundamental importance to our highly complex day and age; because so many people suffer from the lack of an outlet: a professional to whom they can spill their anxieties and frustrations in confidence, speaking exactly what is on their mind, sharing their perceptions of the world. For me, counseling is an invaluable tool for healing, helping people to better cope with their frustrations and discontents is work to which I wish to devote my life. I feel strongly that the nature of my personal character is what has led me to the choice of counseling as my career: my compassion, genuine eagerness to help people, my high level of maturity for my age, and my ability to empathize with the emotional pain of others. I am attentive and a great listener.

The greatest contribution that I might be able to make to society would be to improve the quality of life of children who have suffered brain damage. To this end I want to devote my professional life to research in the area of pediatric neuropsychology.  I knew immediately that neurophysiology was the right career path for me when I saw how it could be combined with pediatrics. And I have been fortunate to work with one of the most distinguished professors and authorities in the field, Dr. XXXX, from whom I have learned a great deal. As a pediatric neuropsychologist, I hope to make scientific advances in the field that will help to increase the quality of life of brain damaged children and their families, helping them to better understand and cope with neuropsychological disorders.  

 I find research to be tremendously exciting. As I stood in the operating room that day not long ago, for example, observing a Wada test, I felt the overwhelming urge to pinch myself to make sure that this was really happening. I observed a variety of important neuropsychological tests at the University of XXXX and this has set me on a professional course for the rest of my life, solidifying my desire to pursue a lifelong career in pediatric neuropsychology. Dr. XXXX helped me to gain broad exposure to the practice of neuropsychology in the hospital setting. And I especially enjoyed working on a research project with graduate student XXXX on the test-retest reliability and validity of various neuropsychological tests.

 This past summer, I was 1 of 25 students chosen from around the country to attend the XXXX Summer Neuroscience Institute at the University of XXXX. This opportunity enabled me to attend dozens of lectures by experts in related areas and to learn my way around the  many labs associated with neuroscience, especially the brain lab. I have also been heavily involved with the National Symposium on Child Abuse where I was honored for a paper that I wrote and was able to participate in various roundtable discussions.

 I have worked under the supervision of Dr. XXXX, at psychology professor at XXXX University who studies the Impact of Childhood Factors on Various Aspects of Neurological development. She serves me as a role model as I also want very much to specialize in the area of affects of parenting styles, abuse, etc.  Last year, in 2009, I had the opportunity to learn a great deal from XXXX, a physiotherapist with whom I performed an observership of multiple sessions lasting between 60 and 90 minutes and was exposed to the practice of pediatrics in the community setting assessment and discussion regarding normal development, neuro-developmental handling techniques, treatment planning, and goal setting. The University of XXXX is my first choice for graduate school since I hope to study under Dr. XXXX because I am also very much interested in pediatrics, learning, and leukemia are closely related to my own. I believe that my GPA suggest that I am capable of excelling in your program, despite my low GRE scores, since I am on track to graduate with honors in May with a B.S. in Counseling Psychology. My profound love for children is my perennial and most critical source of inspiration.

I am on a fully paid scholarship program from my government, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to study Psychology abroad. I want to earn my masters degree in clinical psychology so that I can then return to  my country and being working in my field. First I will work for a hospital for at least a couple of years so as to gain invaluable experience working with a broad variety of mental health issues.

 My long term goal is to someday open my own psychiatrist clinic and to treat all of those suffering people who seek out my services, irrespective of their ability to pay. I thrive on my service to others and feel very strongly that mental health services should be made available to all those who need those services even if they are poor and cannot pay the fee. I believe that after attaining a world class education in my field from a highly distinguished program such as yours, that I will indeed be successfully in my endeavors because I am a very hard worker, very highly motivated, and I want very much to serve my people.

 For me, becoming successful is all about helping people, not generating profits. My central goal for my professional future is to help people to be become better human beings and more productive members of society, one individual at a time. In this way, I also seek to contribute to the well being and ongoing development of my society, helping the society to overcome its problems and issues and contributing to the way that this will result in better quality of life for everyone. I am looking forward to learning a great deal concerning the broad range of human behavior, ways of thinking and reacting to one another. Your program will provide me with the appropriate academic background, methodology, and enable my understanding of theoretical frameworks to prepare me for success in my field.

 My greatest dream would be to someday open or at least administer a state-of-the art  psychiatric hospital that would serve the specific psychological needs of women. As a woman, I am concerned with the ways that Saudi women suffer in silence, oppressed by the men of my country generally speaking, they often find it difficult to find someone to talk to about their psychological pain. I would like to dedicate my professional life to changing this and to recognize and respond to the way in which the male dominated character of Saudi society often results in hardship for many women and causes them to undergo profound psychological suffering.

 I dream of someday giving public lectures all over my country on the subject of women’s mental health, so that all of us together might have the opportunity to brainstorm concerning strategies as to how women can be better appreciated, especially professionally, and brought into greater levels of participation in society. Finally, I would like to capitalize on the way that my nation is often seen as a leader of the Muslim world by encouraging discussions beyond our borders, and throughout the Muslim world, discussions that would place greater importance on the psychological needs of women in the Muslim world and the challenges that exist for our societies in helping to find specific ways to identify and respond to the psychological problems of women that are unique to the social and religious structures of our societies.