Discussing the overcoming of mental health in grad school essay

[psych4life1]

Hello,

I hope everyone is staying safe during these times. As I prepare my application for an MA in Counseling program, I have a question...

I understand that discussing your own mental health problems are usually not recommended and they can be the "kiss of death" in an application, but is this more so the case if the writer focuses too much on the negatives? One of the prompts asks me to describe a challenge I've been through and I honestly can't think of one more personal than my struggle with bipolar disorder, but also how I've learned to manage it and how much I've grown as a person. My recovery and sobriety are empowering and I'd love to talk about them...if it's okay.

My question is: even if I have a positive story to my own mental health problems, is this still a no-go? Any inputs are appreciated. Thank you!

[amazingbutternutsquash]

I don’t think it’s a good idea to discuss personal mental health problems, regardless of whether you can spin it positively. It’s too personal, and these people don’t know you. Think of it the same way you might think of telling someone personal info while getting to know them. If you rush into telling someone very personal info shortly after meeting them the best case scenario is that you’re going to come across as not having good boundaries, worst case as weird or creepy. When you add to this that the people reading your application are also, potentially, your bosses and colleagues... it just isn’t a good look. 
 

For context, my field is developmental psychology. Applicants to my programs sometimes have a tendency to talk about how their own childhood experiences influenced them. E.g., “I moved around a lot as a kid so I want to study friendships.” Not to be too harsh, but I’ve outright heard faculty get annoyed at applicants including those sorts of personal anecdotes - it just isn’t what they care about. They’re personal, not professional. It’s better to emphasize a passion for what the program would be training you to do. There are a few exceptions, like if you grew up in a war-torn country and want to study violence, but those are few and far between. 

[generaliroh]

I had a similar situation when I applied to schools last year and my advisors said that you shouldn't talk about your own mental health, but it is acceptable to talk about a friend or family member's. They suggested to talk about my mental health experiences as if a friend experienced it, rather than describing it first-hand. 

That being said, I applied to clinical psychology doctorate programs, so counseling MA programs may be different. 

[PsyDuck90]

I agree with amazingbutternutsquash. When people write about their own MH in personal statements, it's usually in the context you are discussing (overcoming obstacles and the like), so the kiss of death statement directly applies to this context (although obviously if someone is talking about active struggles with MH, that would be a big no-no as well, but I feel like that is probably less likely). While it sounds like you have undoubtedly overcome a huge obstacle in managing your bi-polar disorder, I would try to find another example of you overcoming a difficulty. I think the biggest reason that discussing personal MH is such an issue is that it presents a possible liability for the school. While a good portion of grad students in counseling/psychology probably have their own MH histories, if you outright say "I have bi-polar," you are no longer a safe choice. They start thinking "well what if this person starts behaving erratically at a clinical placement? What if something happens and we have to file a liability claim and payout from the malpractice insurance?" As a trainee, you are operating under someone else's license. You would think that people in the mental health field would be more open, but at the end of the day, they have self-preservation reasons to pick someone who hasn't self-disclosed a mental health diagnosis, since that's the safer bet. 

[psych4life1]

Thank you all for the advice, everyone! It confirmed my suspicions that it's just too risky. Fortunately, I have another family-related challenge in mind that I can discuss. Thank you!

[amazingbutternutsquash]

Wait, does it say that this should be a personal or family related challenge? 

[psych4life1]

@amazingbutternutsquash It didn't state any specifics; it just left it very vague/broad!

[nęm0]

If you are going to do it, beside turning it into a positive, you have to simplify the situation. Dont be like " this happened, then this, which caused this, and all of that lead to mental breakdown". Take one event that you feel lead to the mental problem and talk about it, what you learned from it, how it guided you to the school/the program. But dont spend too much time on this either. I would only do this for "common" mental health problems, since they might be familiar with it, anything not common is not worth mentioning since, you would have to spend too much words describing the condition.

[psychster]

In the same vein of thought, would it be appropriate to mention my family member's memory loss/dementia in my statement for neuropsych programs? Her diagnosis is what pushed me to go down this research path (I was previously in a different clinical subfield of research).

Edited July 24, 2020 by psychster

[higaisha]

14 minutes ago, psychster said:

In the same vein of thought, would it be appropriate to mention my family member's memory loss/dementia in my statement for neuropsych programs? Her diagnosis is what pushed me to go down this research path (I was previously in a different clinical subfield of research).

from what I've heard, this is more kosher

[Clinapp2017]

On 7/24/2020 at 11:57 AM, psychster said:

In the same vein of thought, would it be appropriate to mention my family member's memory loss/dementia in my statement for neuropsych programs? Her diagnosis is what pushed me to go down this research path (I was previously in a different clinical subfield of research).

I did this and got in on the first round I applied. Just don't spend *too* much of the SOP focusing on this. If you want my example SOP, I am happy to share via DM. 

[psychster]

On 7/30/2020 at 2:27 PM, Clinapp2017 said:

I did this and got in on the first round I applied. Just don't spend *too* much of the SOP focusing on this. If you want my example SOP, I am happy to share via DM. 

I would love your example if you do not mind sharing! Thank you!

[PsyZei]

I think it might depend on how you do it and what is most authentic for you.

I alluded to my struggles from poverty/abuse/neglect/minority and the disadvantages and mental health struggles that can cause= but I wasn't overly explicit about any of it (there was not, I've been diagnosed with this or talking about specific abuse or whatever). I also wove the narrative throughout my sop, to make it the overall "this is why it is so important to me to do this research and work with these clients" reasoning. Again, I didn't go into anything very explicit and this is probably a very thin line to walk. For me, a big part of my academic career, research and clinical practice has hinged on not hiding where I come from and not even attempting to fit into the norm, but in embracing that I am not traditional or mainstream and that I can work with clients and research as being from the population of focus. So, doing this in my sop fit that narrative much better than it likely would for many applicants.

Best of luck!