Some experiences take our breath away. Words often fall short of expressing our highest joys and our deepest heartaches. Wonder rushes through our bodies as we view grand expanses of valleys, canyons, ranges, and skies from uttermost mountain peaks. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we find ourselves without words to speak about dark agonies and inner turmoil we face. From awe to overwhelm and every emotion in between, we flourish when we express ourselves and our experiences to God and with others. To fully experience the wonder and awe of the mountain peaks, we need ways to also vocalize our pain and receive healing from wounds inflicted on us through deep suffering. Speechless, I sat frozen and stiff on the couch across from my counselor. Childhood trauma had stolen my voice and shattered my heart. I had no words for what I had lived through. This counselor became the first person to reach me in these wordless places. He recognized the value of creative expression to heal deeply embedded wounds and encouraged me to express myself using art. He entered into my story as a compassionate witness as I showed these works during our sessions. I revealed to him the dark places of my story that I had buried. Places of terror, abuse, and abandonment where knives, threats, bruises, and anger wielded by terrible men in my home caused me to hide within myself to survive as a young child. I had forgotten how to cry, how to fully smile, and how to talk as I numbed myself to the pain I held. Uncovering these festering wounds helped me find a vocabulary for impossibly difficult things, heal, and regain the voice that had been muted by trauma. Profound healing began as he showed me ways to speak the unspeakable. I now flourish and grow as a result of facing the darkness that I lived through. I dream of helping others regain their voice by using the comfort that I have received to provide a place of healing for others. In addition to my life experiences, I will use creativity, educational training, and counseling skills to provide a safe space for those who suffer from trauma. Through a studio-based counseling practice I will use expressive arts therapy to strugglers express their heartbreaks. Through individual and group therapy, my studio will provide a place of new hope and bring strength to women, their families, and communities. This scholarship will help fund my education in Liberty University’s Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program as I become equipped as a licensed professional counselor. This education will add to my minor in studio art, certificates in EMDR and Trauma-informed Expressive Arts therapy, to prepare me as a therapist specializing in complex trauma. Once I gain experience, I dream of equipping other therapists and counselors by teaching and creating resources to help them incorporate artistic expression into their practice. I have been given a voice where trauma once kept me silent. I dream that my voice, life, and work will empower others as their shattered hearts heal from wounds that have left them speechless. As they regain their voice they will become whole and live more fully to enjoy the moments of awe and wonder that life brings their way.

The ears of a small child should never have to hear the shrilling screams of her mom for rescue from evil men. Her eyes should never witness knives, punches, bruises, cuts, and blood from their enraged hands. Her mouth should never utter routine pleading, “Please God, do not let my mom die!” as she cries alone through the chaos. Her little body was never meant to live in such fear and terror. This was my childhood experience and, sadly, many others live through the horrors of childhood abuse. My first helpful counseling experience came at age 28. I sat frozen and stiff on a couch across from a gentle and patient man who fished for words to know me. Despite his efforts, I sat silent. Childhood abuse had stolen my voice and shattered my heart. But I trusted him more than I had trusted others. Our sessions took a turn when he recognized the value of creative expression and encouraged me to speak through art. He entered my story as a compassionate witness as I shared these works with him. Regaining my voice, I found a vocabulary for pain and expressed my heartache. Profound healing took place as we began to speak the unspeakable. Through counseling, God continues to bring light into the darkness of chronic depression and complex trauma resulting from the reign of alcoholic abusive men during my childhood. I believe that Christ entered my bleakest places, rescued me, and brought me into His light. He has done this through counseling. I want to follow Christ into places of despair and provide safe spaces filled with hope and freedom in His healing presence to others. ​​At forty-seven, I recently completed my first semester of graduate school pursuing a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health at Liberty University with a 4.0. Starting a new career at this stage of life brings unique challenges, but in God's perfect timing, He has taken the first twenty years of my adult life to heal and prepare me to bring healing to others. I will follow a holistic approach to healing. The mind, body, soul, and spirit work together intricately forming a person and impacting their experience of life. They are intertwined and intimately relate to and impact one another. The pain and trauma held in the body need healing for a person to flourish. As a Christian, I will rely on the work of God’s Spirit in me and in those I serve as I walk with them. I am cautious against the reductionistic spirituality of offering trite spiritual sayings and I am guarded against offering hope that merely reduces symptoms without offering deep healing. I believe that the best healing comes when proven methods and scientific discoveries about the mind and body merge with faith and trust in God’s tender care. I intend to practice as a Christian counselor, and will also respect and honor each person’s unique stance towards faith. I will use a holistic approach specializing in expressive arts, EMDR, somatic, and Cognitive Behavior therapies. Pursuing further education while raising two teenagers proves financially stressful. This scholarship would bless me and my family and lessen our financial strain. With funds covering a significant amount of tuition, it would free me to continue my studies and also be present with my children. Throughout life, my ears and eyes have witnessed great evil and my body has carried deep pain. God redeems my story as He leads me to follow Him and extend hope as I hear and see others who suffer and long for hope and healing.

“How does one survive living on the brink of death, Who will rescue me from his murderous threats.” Alcohol abuse dominated my childhood through several alcohol-dependent men in my home at various stages of my development. No doubt, their struggle began through various genetic dispositions and traumas in their own life long before they came into mine. Growing up as a small child with an absent alcoholic father profoundly impacted my identity and ability to love and trust others. In addition, other alcoholic men who lived in my home left an indelible mark on me as they bruised and battered my mother and threatened our lives. These experiences manifested themselves in me as complex trauma and chronic depression. I entered early adulthood wounded and empty as a result of the addictions of others. “There is an invisible child lost in the tumultuous fight, Violent waves drown out her cries She’s ever searching for one who sees her through The darkest terrors of the night.” In God’s mercy and grace, He plucked me out of abuse and alcoholism and preserved me from following similar paths. Though I dabbled with alcohol in my teens and It would have been natural for me to numb emptiness and pain through a spiral of addiction, I’m grateful that God helped me to follow a different road. On this path, support from others helps me to process the pain from my past. Through counselors, mentors, and trusted friends, I continue a lifelong journey of healing from the wounds of traumatic childhood experiences and the death of my dad to alcohol abuse at an early age. The best helpers for me walk alongside me, remain curious about my story, weep with me through pain, and rejoice with me in victory as I learn to trust others, turn to God for help, and break the generational cycle of addiction passed down from both sides of my family. In addition, I have learned that art and poetry give me a voice of expression and lead me to wholeness. When words fail to capture my life experiences creating art helps me to speak the unspeakable. Working in expressive therapy groups has connected me to others and provided a way to heal and process in the presence of a community that also knows suffering. “Hope reborn, fire in my chest; I come alive as I pour out my request.” I hope that the comfort and healing I have received will be used to help others who suffer from addiction, depression, anxiety, and trauma. If awarded this scholarship, it will help fund my master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Care at Liberty University. In addition to pursuing licensure as a professional counselor, I will specialize in trauma treatment and expressive arts therapy. Upon graduation, I will work with individuals and groups to help them overcome trauma, depression, anxiety, and addiction and its effects on their lives.

If I could have every person in the entire world read just one book, I would choose a book that speaks to all people regardless of race, culture, life experience, or age. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, written and illustrated by Charlie Macksey captivates even the youngest reader with whimsical illustrations, easy-to-read sentences and words, and relatable characters. Yet, this story about finding friendship, experiencing deep longing for a place to call home, feeling pain from failure and betrayal, endurancing through lonelines and difficulty, and finding love that walks with us through hardship, speaks profound truths benefiting even the most mature, grown-up reader. Readers of every age and from every culture will find comfort, peace, and joy as they follow the journey of Charlie, a lost boy, who meets a few odd and unique friends on his quest to find home. Through this story, readers will smile as Charlie encounters a loyal mole. They will also warm to love a jaded fox and marvel in mystery over a magical horse. Though this story is simple, the one who reads it and takes in its message of hope will receive encouragement and strength for the most difficult parts of life and they will laugh with light-hearted joy and child-like wonder about a mole who loves cake. Every person should enjoy the magic of this book and refer to it often to nurture the child within them that often aches from the stress of living in this world.

My future self thrives as an overcomer of complex trauma, flourishing in life and operating an art studio-based counseling practice to provide a place of healing for others to work through trauma.

Why are you passionate about pursuing a career in therapy? By Lisa Tarplee Raised in an alcoholic, abusive, and broken home, I often felt like an invisible child who had to fend for herself in this world. Unable to speak about wounds resulting from violence and death threats in my home, I buried my pain and lived with vigor and zeal as a high-achiever in sports, church, community service, and art. This lifestyle worked well outwardly, but no level of success could ease my inner turmoil. Untreated emotional aches festered and developed dangerous infections that stole my joy and handicapped my love for my family. Though I appeared happy and at ease, I struggled with chronic depression and held deep bitterness and resentment toward others. I longed for something more than living in survival mode and sought help from a counselor. Various counselors have walked with me on my healing journey. My most helpful therapist recognized my propensity towards creativity and directed me toward art to enter painful parts of my story. Understanding the value of creative expression to give voice and bring healing to trauma, he assigned art as homework. Showing him my paintings during our sessions created a secure space for me to be known and heard as he compassionately witnessed my story. Therapy generated profound healing in me as we explored words and crafted language that matched the feelings evoked by my paintings. In this way, I learned to speak about the unspeakable and began truly processing my childhood. Receiving such comfort, I want to look outside of myself and provide this kind of empathetic, healing care for others. According to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, 70% of adults in the United States have experienced at least one traumatic event in their life. Furthermore, children who live through traumatic events experience adverse effects as adults and pass on trauma to their children. Many who suffer from trauma do not seek treatment, and many counselors do not provide trauma-informed treatment. There is an overwhelming need for good counselors trained in trauma healing. My experience as a survivor of childhood trauma, my creative giftings, and my counseling skill set have led me to pursue a master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Liberty University. This will equip me to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. I will further specialize in expressive art therapy and complex trauma treatment. I am passionate about using art and counseling to provide a safe place for trauma survivors and their families to heal. I once deemed freedom from the despair of childhood abuse impossible. As a result of therapy, I now live filled with hope and encouragement as I continue to grow and move forward. Rather than living each day to survive, I thrive in joy and fullness of life even as I continue to process personal pain. I believe that all who have survived traumatic events and struggle with the effects of ongoing trauma deserve compassionate counselors who offer places to heal and lead them to flourish. My passion is to use my gifts and my life to provide them with such a place.