MA Counseling Personal Purpose Statement Alcohol Suicide

MA Counseling Personal Purpose Statement Alcohol Suicide

I am applying to the esteemed Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program at the University of XXXX because I am committed to dedicating the rest of my life to helping individuals recover from trauma and abuse, particularly in childhood. At 45 years old, my own counseling journey over the past four years has inspired me to transition from being a CPA and founding member of a successful accounting firm to becoming a mental health professional. I sold my interests in the firm several years ago to prepare for this new path.

My father struggles with alcoholism, and like many alcoholics, he was often cruel when drinking, especially in his younger years. When I was eighteen, my father revealed that my mother had not simply died when I was eight, but had committed suicide. At that time, my father was all I had, and I had already lost half of my identity a decade earlier. When he told me about my mother’s suicide, I couldn't comprehend that my father might have played a role in her death. I saw only tragedy and avoided thinking about it for the next 20 years until I was more mature, stronger, in therapy, and ready to process what had happened. We were all victims of my father’s alcoholism, including him.

It would have been a blessing if we had received help as a young family. This is why I am so eager to dedicate my life to providing mental health support to families in need. My father and extended family remained silent when my mother died, leaving me to grieve alone, and an eight-year-old doesn’t know how to grieve.

By age 37, I was happily married to my high school sweetheart with two sons who resemble their father. I had earned an MBA and built a thriving accounting firm with twenty employees. My father, despite his alcoholism, was very proud of me. However, I began to feel an emptiness inside, a void that needed to be filled, and mysteries that needed to be unraveled. I embarked on a journey to confront my past, to reconnect with and cherish my mother and myself, despite her absence for decades.

I felt an intense desire to understand who I was and where I came from, to come to terms with past tragedies, and to live the second half of my life in the light, healing, and becoming a better father and husband. I wanted to contribute meaningfully to my community. Someone else could handle their taxes from then on.

About six years ago, as my passion for accounting waned, I found myself near a building housing the counseling practice of UXX graduate Melodie XXXX. It took weeks to muster the courage to call her. Until then, I believed losing my mother and being raised by a tough father had made me strong and helped me achieve much. I feared exploring my childhood. But after several sessions with Melodie, memories surfaced with many tears, leading to a wonderful release. I grew emotionally and intellectually, rapidly piecing together parts of myself that had been broken for a long time.

Now 45, healthy, happy, and a better person, husband, and father, selling my interests in the accounting firm left me comfortable, not wealthy, but it allowed me to be a stay-at-home dad and take courses in human behavior and mental health, preparing for my role as a family mental health counselor.

Both Melodie and my current professor of Psychotherapy: Theory and Practice, Dr. XXXX of HCC, highly recommend UXX’s Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program. I have learned a lot from my classes at UXX in education, and I am confident in my ability to excel in your program, thanks to the insights gained from my private therapy and courses like Sociology, Developmental Psychology/Life Span, and currently Psychotherapy. I plan to focus on your Practicum and Post-degree Internship Programs in family mental health and counseling.

During my work with Melodie, I attended a workshop at the Omega Institute called the “Beautiful Wound.” Most participants had recently lost loved ones, but I fit in as I was finally fully grieving my loss. The experience helped me develop greater compassion for myself and others. I learned that grieving is an ongoing process that heals and refines, resulting in the beautiful healing of a wound that remains. Of the many writers I’ve explored, Stephen Jenkinson’s “Die Wise” has profoundly impacted my intellectual journey.

Through my therapy, I gained a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by parents or guardians of a child who has lost a parent. I began to envision the difference I could make by helping surviving parents and guardians guide their children and themselves through a healthier grieving process.

Thank you for considering my application to your program at UXX.

MA Counseling Personal Purpose Statement Alcohol Suicide