As a college student interested in mental health my aim is like the countless others, to support people in their journey of getting giving life one more try. When taking psychology classes and researching different populations that may seek support, I found a particular interest in working with veterans to help them overcome mental health crises they often face when returning home from their service. I am committed to helping improve the lives and well-being of the men and women who have served our country. I aim to work with diverse populations in different modalities will greatly expand my skill set and allow for me to work with a variety of individuals that have unique experiences. I also believe in taking a holistic approach to mental health training, working with not only presenting problems but to expand outside the bounds of treating a disorder to treating a style of life that will produce lasting effects. In my career, I hope to help address these problems and work towards a better solution. I am particularly interested in working to create an outreach program that expands beyond the Veterans Affairs that helps tailor the approach to the person and creates a greater sense of community. Also, while researching, I found that care for veterans after they discharge from service is severally lacking. When returning home, veterans are expected to reintegrate into society with little help. With the lack of recourse for treatment of mental health conditions that may have developed due to their service, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and substance use can be left untreated. In addition, in talking with many veterans about their experiences returning home and attempting to receive support through Veteran Affairs, many have expressed feelings of dismissal and doubt of the issues they are looking to receive support for. These are all important issues that I believe are often overlooked when veterans are receiving care. I think that working with veterans and making these issues a priority would change the way we care for veterans. In my career, I hope to help address these problems and work towards a better solution. I am particularly interested in working to create an outreach program that expands beyond the Veterans Affairs that helps tailor the approach to the person and creates a greater sense of community. What this would entail is using a variety of treatment approaches such as art therapy, equine assisted therapy, and group therapy, all which have research that supports the effectives of treating veterans. Additionally, bringing outdoor therapy and substance use counseling could be beneficial. Creating a sense of community among not only for veterans but also their families to provide social support. Treatment would focus not only on this diagnosis of mental disorders but also treat issues such as moral injury, traumatic-brain injury, physical, emotional, and cognitive disability. This is a big goal that would take many years, people, and time to accomplish. However, I believe that it would be an opportunity to support many veterans' lives.

Mental health is a widespread problem in the United States, I am no except to this. I have struggled with my mental health, receiving the diagnosis of depression in 2016 and Bipolar II Disorder in 2022. During these times, what I like to call "the trenches", I was placed on many medications and did not want to reach out to mental health professionals due to the feelings of shame. These becoming contributing factor to my struggle with mental health. However, I decided to give myself one last chance, to give life one more try. I reached out to a Mental Health Counselor back in 2022 and received the support I needed. This becoming one of the most important tools in my bag. For when I didn't know what to do, or needed someone to talk to, or when I needed someone to remind me that life IS worth living. While I struggle, I also watched the people around me struggle with their own Mental Health. These were people close to me but also around me in college, in my job, and around the community. During this time, I was in the process of obtaining my bachelor's degree in fine art and design. After taking Psychology 101, his became a turning point for me. I took an interest in psychology and declared a minor in this area. Over the four years I received my BFA I also began picking up many psychology and counseling classes. Psychology became my passion which brings me today. I am currently enrolled in Alfred University Mental Health Counseling program. I am choosing his field in hopes to help other make the choice that I made. To make the choice to give themselves one more chance. To give life one more try.