Personal Statement for Rutgers University M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling

Personal Statement

As my knowledge of psychology deepens, my passion for this discipline becomes even more intense and I have a keen interest in learning about relationships, meaning, purpose, health, and wellness. I am fascinated by psychology that employs counseling. A rehabilitation/mental health counselor's role is particularly important for human lifespan development in health care.

Throughout my undergraduate studies as well as my persistence and determination in this field, I was impressed by the importance of counseling services to support the disabled population by improving their healthcare outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic in the spring semester of 2020 was the turning point of my career development. I joined a research program with Prof. Edward C. Chang from the University of Michigan. Together, we researched the behaviorist approach of perfectionism as a predictor of life satisfaction, depression symptoms, and physical symptoms in adults. After attending Prof. Chang's lecture on "Using Psychological Science to Study Human Behavior," I conducted a research paper entitled "Perfectionism as a Predictor of Physical Symptoms" and achieved an honorary degree in this program. In the research process, I felt intrigued with this topic that largely intersects with mental health in personality traits through literature review and data analysis with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Moreover, the research method, as well as the literature in achieving the study on psychology, is well accumulated. At the same time, I participated in the school's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) workshops and groups to focus on topics of mental health. Based on all the exposition to it, my efforts dedicate my determination to pursue a career goal of becoming a rehabilitation counselor to work in community mental health.

Changing the school environment from the education system in China under communism to an ethnically diverse university in the United States has developed my ability to work with clients from different cultural backgrounds. As an international student who has studied in public schools in China from 7 years old to 17 years old, I grew up with the cultural beliefs of Confucianism throughout my identity development. That instilled in me a strong sense of cultural gender expectation to have great empathy in a proactive role as a counselor to assist persons with disabilities. On a personal note, it is a real pleasure for me to work with the disabled, and I have been a member of the Shanghai Association of Volunteers since I was 16. My volunteer contributions in Shanghai have improved the cognitive and hands-on skills of children and adolescents suffering from autism, and I have been honored by municipal and district authorities for volunteering. Despite my gradual entry into the United States at 17 years old, I encountered difficulties adjusting to campus culture and atmosphere when I first arrived in Tucson, Arizona, in 2017. After putting tremendous energy into community life in Tucson through various channels such as volunteer activities and student organizations for about two years, I gained significant improvement in many aspects of life and study.

My four years at the University of Arizona when much time was allocated to pursue academic achievement with a growth mindset and exploring career options led me to have a solid sense of self-efficacy in becoming a rehabilitation counselor. It is important to develop a growth mindset that can be combined with my own experience as an international student who is currently planning to become a rehabilitation counselor to provide behavioral health services. Rehabilitation counselors who adopt a growth mindset are expected to believe that clients' abilities are malleable and can be developed through persistence and interprofessional care. My short-term goal for my graduate studies is to become familiar with master's-level core coursework and get enrolled in PSRT: 6012 to contribute to the internship activities to achieve effective rehabilitation counseling services. Meanwhile, I expect to use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition (DSM-5) to evaluate and measure the mental health of patients and diagnose their mental illness in practice. By expanding my knowledge and expertise in treating patients and obtaining professional certifications, my future career plans are to become more knowledgeable about clarifying to the patient and helping them maintain a healthy mindset through main therapeutic techniques including cognitive-behavioral therapy, person-centered therapy, and narrative therapy.

The M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling Clinical Mental Health Counseling Track at Rutgers University highly appeals to me. Based on my experience, I want to concentrate on cutting-edge theories and methodology in counseling and improve my practical ability in rehabilitation counseling. Through the pandemic, I recognized that individuals' experiences with changes in their lives such as jobs, homes, or family bonds can encompass mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual responses to loss. Grieving children especially those who have a tendency to think in a magical way as in a fairytale, are incapable of coping with difficult situations, and rely heavily on the return of the deceased. I am interested in working with Prof. Peter M. Basto to study the role of rehabilitation counselors in supporting children to adjust to the loss. Further, the excellent location in Piscataway will provide me with a new environment to encounter a different culture than Tucson and a different study group for my internship activities to improve my learning outcomes to become a health care professional and build up a professional network in New Jersey State with more career opportunities. With my experience in research, courses, and extracurricular activities, I believe I will complete this program with distinction.

Based on the opening statement, you have provided the reasons why your interest in Rehab Counseling has grown into a permanent career path for yourself. However, you have not represented where this path is leading you to at the moment. Try to define your current career path towards the end of this paragraph to complete it. Where do you see this path leading you and why? Base it on your previous statements in the paragraph.


Do not refer to the professor by name and university unless he will be providing you with a reference letter. Make general statements if he is not a referee. This will avoid any questions the reviewer might have regarding your claims that may lead him to do further validation investigations into your background. It is not necessary to mention names at this point.

*Limited review provided due to essay length.