SOP question about my MSW career options

[lcswclarke]

I graduated with a BA in Psych from a Cal State. I want to pursue my MSW at Cal State Fullerton. Currently I teach mentally disabled people normal social and functional behaviors using a range of behaviorism techniques.

I tried to talk to an academic advisor, but the school I graduated from does not have an MSW program

 

One personal statement question asks:

Specify your career objectives as a professional social worker as you now conceive them. Indicate the fields of practice in which you are interested.

 

My desired position is to work in clinical as a psychotherapist. I want to see all types of patients, but I would like to specialize in working with individuals and families that deal with chronic pain and/or disability.

 

Basically I have no idea how to answer this. What are my options for a career? What fields of practice could I work in? What would a timeline for my career look like? How can I do both direct/group work and at the same time engage in community development or policy practice?

 

Thanks you all in advance for taking the time to read and respond to my questions. 

[hyronomus4]

You don't have to have it all figured out, just tell them what you're interested in.  Basically, from how you talk, you're interested in the clinical track and likely pursuing an LCSW to do individual and group work.  Through previous work you've found that you're interested in working with individuals with chronic pain or disability.  Then drop in some person-in-environment perspective and talk about how you also want to work with families and communities to understand and learn how to best support your clients.  You don't have to say the exact position you want, you're going to school to learn what would be the best fit for you. 

[lcswclarke]

Correct, I want to pursue my LCSW then do individual and group work. I think the correct timeline is something like grad school > first year > last two years/internship > hours and lcsw test. I would like to have that planned out a little more regardless of my SOP.

 

For my SOP, the reason I want to work with that group of people is because I have had a very difficult life and so I became interested in helping people through situations I've been through myself. I faced many situations including cancer, and now I just face chronic pain and depression. My work and my desire to help others were born out of difficult experiences. My job didn't really help me realize any of that. I took it because I needed a job and wanted to help people. Should I BS and say my job helped me realize what I wanted to do? I feel like I need to connect my job to what my goals are, but I feel like that connection is weak. At my job I teach normal behaviors to mostly autistic kids. On the other hand, my desire is to be a therapist that specializes in helping people deal with physical pain and disability.