SOP due Friday!! Final edits/thoughts are so appreciated!!!!

[pjones616]

I forgot there are only 28 days this month and this is due March 1st (Friday). I am looking for feedback on how well I specifically answered the questions asked and how to format this into a narrative without overusing transitions. Thank you for your time!

 

Provide a brief description of your background, training, and experience. Include work and experiences both within and outside of the health care field.

 

Early on in my academic career I had the opportunity of studying a semester abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico. I had a two-month internship working with families of children with a range of disorders. There I co-facilitated psycho-educational groups, sensory activities, and games. This experience taught me the importance of how cultural competency is key to cross-cultural communication and how I would have been an ineffective co-facilitator without that understanding.

 

I had a taste for this experience again so I went on a one-month service-learning trip to rural Tanzania, Africa. I taught reproductive health in two village schools and prepared dinner with some of the women every night in the convent.  This experience also taught me the importance of cultural competency as a means to cross-cultural communication, but I really recognized how much privilege I have.

 

I work as a mental health practitioner that does behavior analysis and skills training with families based on a treatment plan. Each client I have presents with a different skill set and each family provides a different level of commitment and support to their child, which has been eye opening because I get a first hand perspective on how the system affects the individual. On another hand, I work at a crisis shelter for children and adolescents. 

 

 

What are your long-term career goals? Be as specific as possible. It is understood that these goals may change, and that they may not be clearly formed at this point in time.

 

I want to one day open my own practice working with all demographics. I will also spend some of my time coordinating an after school program for at-risk and disadvantaged youth. Reason being, they often lack the support of family members and the community to be successful.

 

 

How does obtaining licensure as a Psychologist fit into your career goals? What is unique about a professional identity as a psychologist in terms of meeting your goals?

 

As the end of my Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program draws near, I realized I have only scratched the surface of my training. Obtaining licensure as a Psychologist would provide me with an abundance of opportunities as I search for employment, but more importantly I would have the ethical and multicultural competencies necessary in this field.

 

 

The doctoral program in counseling psychology is demanding of both time and energy, and sometimes students underestimate the commitment needed to complete the program in a timely manner. How do you plan to integrate your work as a student in the program with the other demands in your life? How do you anticipate making changes in your life so that you can successfully complete a doctoral program?

 

The PsyD in counseling psychology has a lot of demands, but within the past two years I have been very successful meeting the demands of my MFT program. I commute almost eight hours to and from school each week, work multiple jobs, and maintain an above average GPA. Commitment, time-management skills and dedication to my education have proven to be consistent throughout my graduate career. With the support of my family, I am always motivated to prevail and succeed in my goals. In addition, my MFT program has done a phenomenal job of stressing the importance of “personal time” to avoid exhaustion. 

 

 

How do you anticipate making changes in your life so that you can successfully complete a doctoral program?

 

I had some difficulty knowing when to take personal time last year, but I quickly learned that I am of little value if I am tired and of low energy. With that said, I have learned to balance work and leisure by prioritizing my obligations, I have added structure to my life by scheduling personal and family time.

 

Subsequently, as a McNair Scholar, I had three years of extensive training on how to succeed as a graduate student. In addition, because my MFT program is so demanding in its expectations, I have an even greater understanding of what type of dedication it takes to be a successful PsyD student. 

 

 

Describe the academic, interpersonal, and/or personal challenges that might hinder your success as a student in a doctoral program in counseling psychology. How do you plan to address these challenges?

 

I understand how important prioritization, time-management, sacrifice, and endurance, are to be a successful doctoral student. This is the biggest endeavor I have ever embarked on, and I would be crazy to think this would be easy. Yet, I do not expect this journey to be easy, I expect this program to be the most challenging time in my life.

 

Describe the academic, interpersonal, and personal strengths you would bring to your work as a student in a doctoral program in counseling psychology.

 

I understand my privilege of an education so I am a very proactive student as I have always sought to learn more about my studies outside of class. I also have no trouble utilizing resources if I am having difficulty academically related or personally related. In addition, I work very well with others and appreciate the opportunity to learn from others backgrounds and their experiences. With that said, I take feedback very well and am receptive to new ideas and ways of conceptualizing things which will be important tools to have as a doctor student. I am also very resilient to rapid change and can easily adjust as things change. Resiliency is important in a doctoral program in counseling psychology because there are a lot of expectations both academically and personally and without the ability to be flexible, I can imagine “burnout” to occur quickly.  

 

What concerns you the most about the prospect of embarking on graduate study in a doctoral program in counseling psychology?

 

I do have generic concerns questioning whether I am good enough to be a counseling psychologist and the looming idea of failing myself. Although these thoughts have crossed my mind, I remind myself that they have crossed my mind before and I reflect on how far I have gotten despite some of my doubts. In addition, I understand the counseling psychology program is not APA accredited which is of concern as it would keep me in a window of things I could do with my degree. But what is more concerning is the financial investment that I will be making to earn my degree. 

 

What excites you the most about the prospect of embarking on graduate study in a doctoral program in counseling psychology? How do you anticipate (and perhaps hope) that completing a doctoral program in counseling psychology will change you?

 

I am immensely excited about the practitioner-scholar model as I will receive training in both research and practice. I look forward to learning more about research, testing, and assessments. I also look forward to supervision, and building relationships with my peers. I anticipate completing a doctoral degree will encourage me to hone in on my diverse skillset and be more confident with my competencies to integrate evidence-based research and theories as I practice. 

[rae303]

I forgot there are only 28 days this month and this is due March 1st (Friday). I am looking for feedback on how well I specifically answered the questions asked and how to format this into a narrative without overusing transitions. Thank you for your time!

 

Provide a brief description of your background, training, and experience. Include work and experiences both within and outside of the health care field.

 

Early on in my academic career I had the opportunity of studying a semester abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico. I had a two-month internship working with families of children with a range of disorders. There I co-facilitated psycho-educational groups, sensory activities, and games. This experience taught me the importance of how cultural competency is key to cross-cultural communication and how I would have been an ineffective co-facilitator without that understanding. Can you give a concrete example of this?  An short ancedote would go a long way in 'showing' rather than 'telling'.

 

I had a taste ("taste" is awkward - maybe connect the two experiences be saying something like "My time in Cuernavaca had such a profound effect on me I signed up for a second trip abraod, this time to Tanzania...or something along those lines.) for this experience again so I went on a one-month service-learning trip to rural Tanzania, Africa. I taught reproductive health in two village schools and prepared dinner with some of the women every night in the convent.  This experience also taught me the importance of cultural competency as a means to cross-cultural communication, but I really recognized how much privilege I have. But HOW did it teach you the importance of cultural competency?  I realize you probably have a word limit you are working with, but statements like these don't mean much unless they are backed up by something.  It might even be better to combine the two trips into one paragraph, and then talk about what you learned from both. 

 

Could you put something in here to make it flow from your last statement.  Maybe: Currently, I work as a mental health practitioner that does (doing) behavior analysis and skills training with families based on a treatment plan. Each client I have presents with a different skill set and each family provides a different level of commitment and support to their child, which has been eye opening because I get a first hand perspective on how the system affects the individual. On another hand, ("On another hand" is not a logical transition here.  How about "Additionally" or "Also".) I work at a crisis shelter for children and adolescents. Include something here about this experience - what you've learned, what you've found challenging, how it's forced you to improve as a provider, etc. 

 

 

What are your long-term career goals? Be as specific as possible. It is understood that these goals may change, and that they may not be clearly formed at this point in time.

 

I want to one day open my own practice working with all demographics. I will also spend some of my time coordinating an after school program for at-risk and disadvantaged youth. Reason being, they often lack the support of family members and the community to be successful. Why do you want to do these things?  If you have the space here, you should defintiely talk about your motivations as it will make your goals much more compelling to the readers.  Make them want to help you get where you are going...

 

 

How does obtaining licensure as a Psychologist fit into your career goals? What is unique about a professional identity as a psychologist in terms of meeting your goals?

 

As the end of my Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program draws near, I realized I have only scratched the surface of my training. Obtaining licensure as a Psychologist would provide me with an abundance of opportunities as I search for employment, but more importantly I would have the ethical and multicultural competencies necessary in this field. If you have more room on this section I would address how their specific program would best fit your goals. 

 

 

The doctoral program in counseling psychology is demanding of both time and energy, and sometimes students underestimate the commitment needed to complete the program in a timely manner. How do you plan to integrate your work as a student in the program with the other demands in your life? How do you anticipate making changes in your life so that you can successfully complete a doctoral program?

 

The PsyD in counseling psychology has a lot of demands, but within the past two years I have been very successful meeting the demands of my MFT program. I commute almost eight hours to and from school each week, work multiple jobs, and maintain an above average GPA. Commitment, time-management skills and dedication to my education have proven to be consistent throughout my graduate career. <- This sentence is excellent!  You provided concrete examples that PROVE you are ready.  With the support of my family, I am always motivated to prevail and succeed in my goals. In addition, my MFT program has done a phenomenal job of stressing the importance of “personal time” to avoid exhaustion. 

 

 

How do you anticipate making changes in your life so that you can successfully complete a doctoral program?

 

I had some difficulty knowing when to take personal time last year, but I quickly learned that I am of little value if I am tired and of have low energy. With that said, I have learned to balance work and leisure by prioritizing my obligations and I have added structure to my life by scheduling personal and family time.

 

Subsequently, as a McNair Scholar, I had three years of extensive training on how to succeed as a graduate student. Could you talk a little more about what this training included?  Being a McNair Scholar is generally seen as very favorable; capitalize on that. In addition, because my MFT program is so demanding in its expectations, I have an even greater understanding of what type of dedication it takes to be a successful PsyD student. 

 

 

Describe the academic, interpersonal, and/or personal challenges that might hinder your success as a student in a doctoral program in counseling psychology. How do you plan to address these challenges?

 

I understand how important prioritization, time-management, sacrifice, and endurance, are to be a successful doctoral student. This is the biggest endeavor I have ever embarked on, and I would be crazy to think this would be easy. Yet, I do not expect this journey to be easy, I expect this program to be the most challenging time in my life. You have not answered the question here.  They are asking you to name challenges - for example family.  "I am extremely dedicated to my family and currently spend a conseridable amount of time with them.  Although, it will be a challenge to have to lessen the amount of time I spend with them and prioritize something else, my family understands what admission to this program would mean to me and fully supports my decision to purse the PsyD." 

 

Describe the academic, interpersonal, and personal strengths you would bring to your work as a student in a doctoral program in counseling psychology.

 

I understand my privilege of an education so I am a very proactive student as I have always sought to learn more about my studies outside of class. I also have no trouble utilizing resources if I am having difficulty academically related or personally related. In addition, I work very well with others and appreciate the opportunity to learn from others backgrounds and their experiences. With that said, (This is not a logical transition as it implies you are about to negate your previous statement) I take feedback very well and am receptive to new ideas and ways of conceptualizing things which will be important tools to have as a doctoral student. I am also very resilient to rapid change and can easily adjust as things change. Resiliency is important in a doctoral program in counseling psychology because there are a lot of expectations both academically and personally and without the ability to be flexible, I can imagine “burnout” to occur quickly.  This paragraph is pretty rough and needs to be reworked a bit.

 

What concerns you the most about the prospect of embarking on graduate study in a doctoral program in counseling psychology?

 

I do have generic concerns questioning about whether I am good enough to be a counseling psychologist and the looming idea of failing myself. Although these thoughts have crossed my mind, I remind myself that they have crossed my mind before and I reflect on how far I have gotten despite some of my doubts. <- This is EXCELLENT.  Stating a concern and then showing how it isn't actually a problem is the exact formula you want to be going for.  Really good.  In addition, I understand the counseling psychology program is not APA accredited which is of concern as it would keep me in a window of things I could do with my degree. You need to address why this is not actually a concern - just like you did before.  Even if it IS still a concern, lie.  Admissions committees don't want to accept someone who is on the fence about their program. But what is more concerning is the financial investment that I will be making to earn my degree. Again, why is this not actually a problem?  Even something as simple as "I have fully weighed the financial obligations I will be undertaking, and am prepared to make this committment." 

 

What excites you the most about the prospect of embarking on graduate study in a doctoral program in counseling psychology? How do you anticipate (and perhaps hope) that completing a doctoral program in counseling psychology will change you?

 

I am immensely excited about the practitioner-scholar model that XYZ University employs as I will receive training in both research and practice. I look forward to learning more about research, testing, and assessments. I also look forward to supervision, and building relationships with my peers. I anticipate completing a doctoral degree will encourage me to hone in on my diverse skillset and be more confident with my competencies to integrate evidence-based research and theories as I practice.  I would add more here about this school's particular program.  You need to make them understand not only why you would be a good fit for their program, but also why their program is a good fit for you. 

 

Hope this helps a bit.  As far as crafting it into a narrative, I would keep the opening paragraph and the closing paragraph the same as they are now, but perhaps reorder the internal paragraphs.  Find the most logical order, maybe combine a few, and then streamline it.  Best of luck. 

Edited February 28, 2013 by rae303