Statement Of Purpose: Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Because I was created to serve others, becoming a licensed professional counselor will allow me to have the certifications required to provide counseling services and to make a meaningful impact on the lives of families, individuals, and marriages. My pursuit of a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling derives from a commitment of servitude by facilitating families through the provision of community and school counseling. Through this provision, I desire to promote the socioemotional well-being of individuals and foster interpersonal relationships needed for individuals to thrive in family, school and society. Observing the students and families I work with as an educator yielded a need for marriage and family counselors in my own community. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Argosy University with Magna Cum Laude honors and became the first in my family to graduate from college in 2014. Courses that first piqued my interest in counseling were Learning and Behavior, Abnormal Psychology and Cognitive Psychology. I knew before I graduated that I was interested in the Psychology and Counseling programs offered at UT Tyler and interviewed Dr. Rosemary Barke in January 2014 to determine which program would be best suited for me.

My experience as a teacher has well prepared me for the field of counseling because I work with over 100 families on an annual basis to advocate for positive learning environments at home and at school. I collaborate with counselors, parents, behavior specialists, diagnosticians and other educators daily to help students achieve academic and behavioral