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PHD Social Work, Self-harm, Adolescent Females

Since September 2014, I have been working as a therapist for my internship with 5 adolescent female clients at the XXXX Community Treatment Center at XXXX University Hospital in XXXX, New York. I use CBT and motivational interviewing techniques among other strategies and try to stay up to date on the latest research in the area of self-harm among adolescent females, especially with respect to and interventions.  I go to most of XXXX University’s continuing education workshops to further my knowledge on specific topics that are in some way related to my research interests, especially self-injury but also addictions, for example. I have big dreams and big hopes not only for my future but also for the future of the individuals and families that I can help and the research that I hope to publish in the future.  My present internship dovetails nicely with my research interests for the future.

I transferred to the Masters Program in Social Work at XXXX after completing one year at another university because I met several people from your program at the NASW conference in Albany and I fell very much in love with the focus at XXXX on critical thinking. I also came to appreciate very much how both your Master’s and Doctoral Programs are designed to prepare leaders in Social Work. I too wanted very much to learn to think independently and creatively about the issues of our day in Social Work and I am extremely pleased that I made the decision to transfer to XXXX.

I am now finishing up my Master’s Degree in Social Work at XXXX and I have done extensive research on the issue of self harming behaviors in female adolescents from interdisciplinary perspectives and this has resulted in my having a most profound passion for research in this area. My devotion to this issue has been very much reinforced by my experience as an intern who works every day with adolescent girls that self injure very privately as a physical escape to emotional conflict. I hope to be accepted into the PhD Program at XXXX because I love our university and I could not imagine having any higher respect for and confidence in my professors to guide me in the right direction. I see no other program to be as qualified to prepare me to make the greatest contribution possible to the study of addiction and self-harm among adolescent girls and how to best cope with, treat, and heal the wounds that they inflict upon themselves.

I look forward to developing a better understanding and continuing to learn to think creatively about many issues in social work. I have done a lot of research, for example, on gambling addictions among seniors. I place a high priority in my studies on intervention; and so I tend to be attracted to topics or issues where intervention is a central factor.  Substance abuse is another critical area where I hope to stay engaged with the research for the rest of my life I hope to publish at some point in the future research that is related to my practice with adolescents: substance abuse, sexual violence, other adverse childhood experiences, etc. 

Extremely dedicated to lifelong learning, I am a non-traditional student who has made a career change from Education to Social Work. I believe that my background in education will contribute to my becoming the best social worker possible. I would love to teach at some point in my career at the university level as well as having my own private practice.  I also want very much to be published and have peer-reviewed journal articles on my resume all of which deal with new and innovative approaches to the problems and issues with which I shall wrestle in the future.

I earned my Masters in Education in 2007 and then spent 8 years working as a Head Teacher in Great Neck, New York with children from 3 to 6 years old. I was heavily involved in IEP’s, and I learned a lot through my meetings with a variety of professionals in other areas in order to get the children the services that they needed (OT, PT, Speech, etc.).  I graduated with a 3.9 GPA and will be graduating in May 2015 from XXXX’s MSW Program with a GPA of 3.95.  It has been my dream since I was a child to earn a PhD in one of the helping professions. I want to not only help people to heal from their wounds, both physical and psychological, but to empower them to realize their fullest potential at the same time. I firmly believe that each individual has unique potential. I used to tell my kindergarten students that I have a super power of discovering each of their superpowers.  It usually was something like being nice to people, caring about others, sharing your feelings or being a good friend, but to them it was a super power and that made them feel strong inside and inevitably wanted to continue the behavior.

A member of NASW since 2012, I also currently serve as the President of the Social Action Group, Chairperson of the Student Advisory Committee, and a Committee Member of the LGBTQ Group. I have been a Graduate Assistant since 2013 tutoring both BSW and MSW students (APA citations, content, overall tutoring for research in Policy and Human Behavior) as well as a member of the Adult Learners Group. I have implemented the Honors society for the School of Social Work at XXXX helping to inspire student to graduate with honors and form part of a group of academic scholars and I will be considered a CASAC-T by this coming February 2015.

I have an extraordinary passion for research concerning children and families. Much of this was inspired and driven early on by my work as a teacher of small children. Now it is coming to its fruition as a social worker. Nothing that I can imagine for my future pleases me as much as the idea of focusing my professional life on the study of self-injury among adolescent girls as I feel strongly that is issue is of paramount importance and that much work remains to be done in the field.

I thank you for considering my application to your distinguished Social Work PHD Program at XXXX. 

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For almost two decades now, I have supported myself and my family by helping applicants to graduate school draft eloquent and highly effective admission statements for degree programs BSW, MSW, DSW; and PHD. I am convinced that I have talent in this area as a bleeding heart, myself, a militant for healing and a lifelong learner; it is the stories of social workers that most intrigue me. Working on behalf of social workers keeps my heart engaged as well as my brain. 

With My Son Davy!

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