I grew up in a home marked by domestic violence, filled with constant nights of screaming, anger, sadness, and fear. A child raised in such an environment lacks comfort, happiness, love, and confidence. While I may struggle to comprehend or differentiate many positive or neutral emotions, I understand pain, and I vow to help others in any way I can. For a while, I pursued a path to become a pediatric doctor, then a surgeon, because I wanted to alleviate suffering caused by physical ailments. However, after grappling with my own mental health, I developed a fascination with psychology and sought to understand every aspect of the mind to help others. Over the summer, I worked at a Christian summer camp, where I received mental crisis training in a seminar led by a licensed psychiatrist. After several open discussions, she approached me and expressed her admiration for my knowledge. We discussed my career aspirations, and she suggested I consider a path as a psychiatric nurse practitioner. I explored various careers, but none felt as fitting as this one. My sister, who volunteers at a hospital, helped me arrange a shadowing opportunity with a psychiatric nurse practitioner in the Sovah network. The experience was amazing; although I primarily ran errands and handled simple tasks, it ignited a desire for more. My passion stems from personal experiences that have taught me the importance of resilience, empathy, and holistic care. My ultimate goal is to create meaningful connections with patients, helping them navigate both the physical and emotional challenges they face. Currently, I work in a residential support home for individuals unable to live independently due to medical or mental disabilities. I genuinely enjoy my work and have wonderful interactions with my clients. They are kind, empathetic individuals who desire the same things as everyone else. I feel incredibly blessed to learn from each of them, as they teach me how to become a better person, little by little. In working with these individuals, I have come to understand their stories, which often mirror my own--filled with abuse, trauma, and pain. I strive to ensure they receive the love, care, respect, and support they deserve, just as I hope to provide for everyone else. Looking ahead, I aspire to work in underserved communities where healthcare resources are limited. I am particularly interested in addressing the gaps in mental health support within primary care settings, ensuring patients feel seen, heard, and valued. By becoming a nurse practitioner, I hope to empower individuals to take charge of their health while providing the stability and guidance many seek during uncertain times.

Hi! I’m Courtney Witcher, and I am studying psychology and health sciences to become a mental nurse practitioner. My fascination with the human mind and the impact of mental health on overall well-being drives my passion for helping others in various aspects of their lives. Growing up, I learned the importance of stability and reassurance, which fuels my ambition to be a supportive figure for those in need. By combining my psychological knowledge with practical skills, I aim to make a positive difference. Outside of my studies, I enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, where I find peace in nature. I like to fish, and camp on the weekends to disconnect before the week begins. I love reading, particularly young adult fiction that addresses mental health issues. I also love to cook and bake, I have a knack for nutrition and balance, which is why I cater to health care. Staying active is vital for me, as it helps clear my mind and boosts my overall well-being. I enjoy writing, as I do it quite often. I feel as though my reading and writing greatly influence each other, my styles fluctuate with the author I am currently reading. I was raised in a religious home, with incredibly religious grandparents who would take me to church every week. It was in the building I learned the true meaning of community and family. The church supported each person and gave them the prayer and strength needed to reach their goals. There was never any ill-intent, never judgment spoken, only unrelenting support and guidance. We did many outreach projects, built decks and ramps for those in need, ran food and clothing drives, as well as adopted multiple angels from the tree during Christmas time. Church taught me community and showed me ways to give back. I want to go into the nursing field to give back to the community. I want to help and care for others the way my church taught me. I will be kind to everyone and show patience with myself and those around me. College helps me achieve my goals of becoming a nurse as well as volunteering. I am applying to an honors program that incorporates community service into courses and coursework, this aligns perfectly with my needs. To work in the healthcare field you take an oath to do no harm and only help patients and or clients. I will not harm, only serve those in need.

Growing up I was not allowed to show any outside tracers of my emotions, negative or positive. I struggled severely with learning how to regulate, understand, identify, and even positively express my feelings. Anytime my voice raised I was punished, whether it was of anger, sadness, excitement; I was expected to remain in one tone. As I developed, I struggled severely with anxiety, depression, and self-harm. I felt as if I was walking through my life alone, unable to be anything but an existence. I was afraid to be myself in all aspects, afraid to show off physically, intellectually, emotionally, and romantically. In primary school, no one could dim my shine. I was the smartest in the room, the loudest, the funniest, I was everything. I found pride in my school work, putting in the furthest of efforts, and answering with confidence, school was my favorite place; was. As I progressed in age, I found myself constantly being quieted. My ability to talk became almost strictly reserved to closed quarters, not quite understanding how to ‘lower my tone’ or be ‘less aggressive’. I often frustrated those around me in those evenings after school, trying to offload my overstimulation by verbal expression after long days of repression. Regularly my presence seemed glass, I watched as I stood transparent in front of others. How do you become visible? I found myself in a crowd in which I only existed to please. I became everyone’s source of entertainment; at least I was being seen. The lesson was quickly conveyed that visibility and being a spectacle are two different scenarios, and I never tried to be seen again. I walked through the motions of each day as if they were nothing but repetitions of the day before. Instead of verbal articulation I internalized and compartmentalized daily, gradually I embodied frustration and eventually anger, sadness, guilt, and self-disgust. Suddenly my lack of visibility became appealing, fading into the background. I turned to self-isolation, after COVID it became hard to learn how to be socially present. I struggled with my mental health, choosing self-destructive coping mechanisms because they seemed to work better. I found myself losing the battle with no support system. My grades slowly fell, missing assignments lined my regimen, and I had secured two attempts under my belt. Use it or lose it, I was losing it. I never learned how to properly use my voice, never learned how to properly ask for help, or create interpersonal relationships. I was constantly being misled by authoritative figures, in return, I didn’t trust most. It wasn’t until one summer when I was sat down by an adult who noticed me. I wasn’t in the background to her, she was empathetic and listened to my struggles instead of invalidating them. I grew in radiance under her encouragement, I adhered strictly to her advice, and soon after I detached from her guidance. My outlook on life became more positive, I adopted healthy coping mechanisms and began lifting weights frequently, running, and writing. My grades increased as did my effort and participation in school as I joined multiple clubs and athletic teams. I worked hard to recuperate myself, learning whenever the opportunity was given while also working to further my own experience. I applaud and deeply thank her for the help she contributed but, I also take great pride in myself. It took courage to reach out for help and it took grace to admit my faults. I am resilient, intelligent, independent, hard-working, and most of all patient. I have learned to have patience with myself and others because everyone is learning how to use it and no one should lose it.

Growing up I was not allowed to show any outside tracers of my emotions, negative or positive. I struggled severely with learning how to regulate, understand, identify, and even positively express my feelings. Anytime my voice raised I was punished, whether it was of anger, sadness, excitement; I was expected to remain in one tone. As I developed, I struggled severely with anxiety, depression, and self-harm. I felt as if I was walking through my life alone, unable to be anything but an existence. I was afraid to be myself in all aspects, afraid to show off physically, intellectually, emotionally, and romantically. I spent most of my time burying myself in the tranquility of the words on paper; coursing through many books a day. Gratitude is held for this time in my processes, I excelled in English fell in love with writing, and grew my fascination with words. However, I am thankful; a sense of loathing slips into the mixture. I tuned out the world for hours at a time, my mind only focused on the next page; it was arguably an addiction. I became asocial, unable to form proper conversations without pre-planning them, the amount of anxiety social interactions gave me greatly increased, and slowly I became more isolated. My world revolved around the characters in fictional books, the ones who were free to be themselves, living vicariously through their freedoms and experiences. I watched as the world happened around me as I was in another one. I watched how self-destructive I was, procrastinating everything and generally withdrawn if it wasn't confined to pages. I needed to make a change, and I did. I began putting the same energy into writing, setting limits on my reading time, and enrolling in multiple writing-based classes and extracurriculars. I used writing as a positive channel for thoughts and emotions. The school I've attended my entire life has never been accepting of those who were viewed as different. There was a time when I branched out, and during that period I experienced being harassed and bullied repeatedly. I retreated once again, becoming homeschooled and isolating myself. I acquired a full-time nannying position while I was doing school. During my time I met another individual, and our friendship swiftly blossomed, we attended youth group together and thrifted weekly. In our first encounters, I was always very open in my orientation and she was always very supportive. As our friendship grew, she began altering her behavior, and how she spoke to me. I was constantly being pressured to change my orientation, she often referred to it as "odd to remember" about me. Slowly, I pushed her away from my life. I found it hard to begin friendships after that, always weary of my self-identity and frequently dimming it. Combatting mental health issues ties directly to physical health. I found myself unhappy with my appearance yet I did not have any motivation to change it as I withdrew from most social exchanges. It wasn't until I began working on my mental health that I became interested in improving the physical aspects of me. I aligned my healthy coping skills with my fitness goal and lost over 75 pounds in three months. I became happy with my physical appearance once again, finding pride in it. I watched as I intertwined the two concepts and became my best self. My entire life I have struggled with my mental and physical health, but I have learned to grow from it. I have become a strong, independent, prominent individual, and I plan for it to remain that way.