How personal should I make my personal statement?

[psychgirl44]

Hello,

I am working on applying to Ph.D Counseling Psychology programs, and I'm struggling with my personal statement. I don't know how "personal" I should make it. A huge life event that greatly shaped my overall character and made me the wise, loving person I am today was a heroin drug addiction I went through as a teenager. My addiction is also what made me realize that my true purpose and passion in this life is so be a mental health counselor. I actually wrote my undergrad application essay on this experience, and I believe it was a significant contributing factor in my acceptance. I know in my statement I have to expand upon my professional and academic experiences, such as research or volunteer experience, but is this all I should focus on? Is it appropriate to write about how my negative experience using drugs was transformed into a positive learning experience full of growth that enabled me to discover my passion?

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[PsychPhDone]

Hello,

I am working on applying to Ph.D Counseling Psychology programs, and I'm struggling with my personal statement. I don't know how "personal" I should make it. A huge life event that greatly shaped my overall character and made me the wise, loving person I am today was a heroin drug addiction I went through as a teenager. My addiction is also what made me realize that my true purpose and passion in this life is so be a mental health counselor. I actually wrote my undergrad application essay on this experience, and I believe it was a significant contributing factor in my acceptance. I know in my statement I have to expand upon my professional and academic experiences, such as research or volunteer experience, but is this all I should focus on? Is it appropriate to write about how my negative experience using drugs was transformed into a positive learning experience full of growth that enabled me to discover my passion?

I come from the clinical PhD world, but I would caution against making your personal statement that personal.

 

[MCParent]

I’d generally veer away from that sort of thing. Thematically it is not necessarily a problem, but pulling it off in 500 or 1000 words is hard and I see it done ineffectively way more than effectively,

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

That may fly in an addiction counseling program, but there are many ways that goes poorly in clinical psych. I'm not saying it is fair, but I think that is the reality at most programs.

Just my 2 cents, hopefully others will chime in.

 

[psychRA]

I generally advise applicants to steer clear of including anything related to personal mental health history in the personal statement. Applying to psychology grad programs is a very different process from applying to undergrad - you really want to be careful about anything that's actually deeply personal in this situation.

 

[clinpsych55]

I was actually going to make a similar post when I came across this one. What are people's thoughts about mentioning my research interests initially stemming from my parents' struggles with substance abuse? I'm only devoting a short portion of my statement to it (the rest discussing my specific research experience and interests) and will frame it from a resilience perspective (i.e., becoming interested in risk and resilience due to recognizing the factors that allowed me to succeed despite my early environment). My mentors seem to think this is appropriate, but I just wanted to get some additional insight. Thanks!

 

[foreverbull]

OP: selection committees aren't just looking for good candidates; they're also trying to protect their programs from unstable students and don't want to lose students who decide to withdraw or kick out students down the road for dangerous/unethical behaviors related to mental illness or drug use and then get sued by those very students. Selection committees are trying to weed folks like this out as best they can, so dismissing essays with personal struggles is one way they might try to "screen" people out, even if it's unfair to do so (i.e. even if your personal struggle created growth, led you into this field, and is no longer an issue). As much as I hate to say it, you'd likely be safer not sharing that aspect of your personal history.

Clinpsych55: As for a brief mention of parents' substance use, that seems a bit safer to me since you are removed by a generation and not disclosing your own challenges, but I'm interested to hear what others think.

 

[psych.meout]

I was actually going to make a similar post when I came across this one. What are people's thoughts about mentioning my research interests initially stemming from my parents' struggles with substance abuse? I'm only devoting a short portion of my statement to it (the rest discussing my specific research experience and interests) and will frame it from a resilience perspective (i.e., becoming interested in risk and resilience due to recognizing the factors that allowed me to succeed despite my early environment). My mentors seem to think this is appropriate, but I just wanted to get some additional insight. Thanks!

It's doable, but it's a fine line to walk. It's going to be about how you do it, not that you shouldn't do it at all. It shouldn't be that you're trying to work through your own issues related to your parents' problems or that you're doing it to help them. You want to create some distance from it and appear mature and stable. Don't be too idealistic and act like you're going to save the world. That's a general rule for all personal statements and interview discussions, but doubly so if you are going to discuss personal issues.

I mentioned a family member in my personal statement, but it wasn't anything that could or would affect me, especially in grad school. I discussed it more as something that peaked my curiosity and somewhat, but not totally, directed some of my research interests. It worked for me in that I got several offers, but it definitely was a nuanced tale.

 

[clinpsych55]

It's doable, but it's a fine line to walk. It's going to be about how you do it, not that you shouldn't do it at all. It shouldn't be that you're trying to work through your own issues related to your parents' problems or that you're doing it to help them. You want to create some distance from it and appear mature and stable. Don't be too idealistic and act like you're going to save the world. That's a general rule for all personal statements and interview discussions, but doubly so if you are going to discuss personal issues.

I mentioned a family member in my personal statement, but it wasn't anything that could or would affect me, especially in grad school. I discussed it more as something that peaked my curiosity and somewhat, but not totally, directed some of my research interests. It worked for me in that I got several offers, but it definitely was a nuanced tale.

Thanks for the input - I'm definitely steering away from appearing like I'm pursuing a graduate education to work through my own issues or help them (I was raised by relatives, so it's not something that has directly affected me for a very long time). I think it will help that I have a number of relevant and valuable research experiences to speak to, which will demonstrate that my interests are truly academic in nature.

 

[PhDToBe]

I was actually going to make a similar post when I came across this one. What are people's thoughts about mentioning my research interests initially stemming from my parents' struggles with substance abuse? I'm only devoting a short portion of my statement to it (the rest discussing my specific research experience and interests) and will frame it from a resilience perspective (i.e., becoming interested in risk and resilience due to recognizing the factors that allowed me to succeed despite my early environment). My mentors seem to think this is appropriate, but I just wanted to get some additional insight. Thanks!

I would not specify that it is your parents...maybe just say relatives or something that suggests a degree of distance.

 

[psych.meout]

I would not specify that it is your parents...maybe just say relatives or something that suggests a degree of distance.

Yeah, I would leave it vague for something like this, both in terms of the topic being SUDs and being the biological parents.

Thanks for the input - I'm definitely steering away from appearing like I'm pursuing a graduate education to work through my own issues or help them (I was raised by relatives, so it's not something that has directly affected me for a very long time). I think it will help that I have a number of relevant and valuable research experiences to speak to, which will demonstrate that my interests are truly academic in nature.

I would still make it vague based on the topic and your degree of relation, even if you weren't raised by them. You never know who is reading your personal statements and how they are interpreting things you think are innocuous or even assets. Someone might infer that you're working through parental issues even if that's not true.

 

[clinpsych55]

Yeah, I would leave it vague for something like this, both in terms of the topic being SUDs and being the biological parents.

I would still make it vague based on the topic and your degree of relation, even if you weren't raised by them. You never know who is reading your personal statements and how they are interpreting things you think are innocuous or even assets. Someone might infer that you're working through parental issues even if that's not true.

I would not specify that it is your parents...maybe just say relatives or something that suggests a degree of distance.

I definitely see where you're both coming from. I was initially going to leave out the part about SUDs completely, because my focus is primarily on risk and resilience among children in foster care/the child welfare system. Because of that, it seemed necessary to explain that I was raised in kinship care - and my advisor seemed to think that leaving out the reason might prompt faculty to ask during interviews. Given that it may be inappropriate to discuss parental difficulties in any capacity, should I leave out my own child welfare history completely? It sort of seems like a missed opportunity to place myself in a unique light, but I do want to err on the side of caution.

 

[psych.meout]

I definitely see where you're both coming from. I was initially going to leave out the part about SUDs completely, because my focus is primarily on risk and resilience among children in foster care/the child welfare system. Because of that, it seemed necessary to explain that I was raised in kinship care - but my advisor seemed to think that leaving out the reason might prompt faculty to ask during interviews. Given that it may be inappropriate to discuss parental difficulties in any capacity, should I leave out my own child welfare history completely? It sort of seems like a missed opportunity to place myself in a unique light, but I do want to err on the side of caution.

That seems even dicier in context. Why is it "necessary" to discuss your own history?

Many grad students and psychologists have had their own mental health issues and those in their family, but I wouldn't say it's ever "necessary" to disclose them to justify your research interests or application to grad school.

If you do have research experiences in this or other areas, I would let those speak to your interests and not dredge up your own history. Again, even if it's not the case for you, there's so much room for your story to be misconstrued no matter how you word it.

And this doesn't even get into the issues of whether having personal history or involvement in a particular area gives you something unique or more to contribute.

 

[clinpsych55]

That seems even dicier in context. Why is it "necessary" to discuss your own history?

Many grad students and psychologists have had their own mental health issues and those in their family, but I wouldn't say it's ever "necessary" to disclose them to justify your research interests or application to grad school.

If you do have research experiences in this or other areas, I would let those speak to your interests and not dredge up your own history. Again, even if it's not the case for you, there's so much room for your story to be misconstrued no matter how you word it.

And this doesn't even get into the issues of whether having personal history or involvement in a particular area gives you something unique or more to contribute.

Necessary wasn't the best word. I guess "logical" was the word I was looking for, but even then, it's not necessarily logical for me to reveal that, like you said. I think I'll take out the part about my personal history, as I agree that my research experiences will likely speak for themselves. Now the hard part will be figuring out how to write a 2-page "diversity statement" without mentioning any of my background...

 

[MCParent]

Now the hard part will be figuring out how to write a 2-page "diversity statement" without mentioning any of my background...

That can be a reasonable place for it.
I wouldn't suggest putting material like that in a personal statement because your question should not be "should I mention this" but "should I mention this and try to cover it in 500 words?" The answer is probably always no. You'd be giving up very limited space to write something that could not possibly do the narrative justice, and would likely leave a reviewer wondering about lots of things.
2 pages gives you more room to flesh out the story and also not make it all about that. I don't think that kind of thing itself is necessarily bad; what's bad is either (a) saying that the experience makes you specially suited to counseling (it doesn't, and people say this in letters OFTEN so you need to not only not say it but probably make it clear you DON'T think that), or (b) leaving the reader with a bunch of potential red flags hanging. So you need to anticipate all the concerns people might have, fair or not, and address them (e.g., "can this applicant handle the stress of grad school without relapsing?"--better add a little but about a success you had using better coping in a stressful situation to anticipate that).
All those considerations are why it gets clunky with not much space.

 

[clinpsych55]

That can be a reasonable place for it.
I wouldn't suggest putting material like that in a personal statement because your question should not be "should I mention this" but "should I mention this and try to cover it in 500 words?" The answer is probably always no. You'd be giving up very limited space to write something that could not possibly do the narrative justice, and would likely leave a reviewer wondering about lots of things.
2 pages gives you more room to flesh out the story and also not make it all about that. I don't think that kind of thing itself is necessarily bad; what's bad is either (a) saying that the experience makes you specially suited to counseling (it doesn't, and people say this in letters OFTEN so you need to not only not say it but probably make it clear you DON'T think that), or (b) leaving the reader with a bunch of potential red flags hanging. So you need to anticipate all the concerns people might have, fair or not, and address them (e.g., "can this applicant handle the stress of grad school without relapsing?"--better add a little but about a success you had using better coping in a stressful situation to anticipate that).
All those considerations are why it gets clunky with not much space.

Thanks so much for the insight. I'd like to see if others agree that it would be appropriate to mention personal history with the child welfare system in my diversity statement. I should note that I never had issues with drug addiction (I apologize for hijacking your post, OP!) and do not believe I am more qualified than others based on my experiences, but in my diversity statement I would discuss my exposure to diverse family settings from having been raised by multiple relatives (as opposed to the expected nuclear family).

 

[psych.meout]

Thanks so much for the insight. I'd like to see if others agree that it would be appropriate to mention personal history with the child welfare system in my diversity statement. I should note that I never had issues with drug addiction (I apologize for hijacking your post, OP!) and do not believe I am more qualified than others based on my experiences, but in my diversity statement I would discuss my exposure to diverse family settings from having been raised by multiple relatives (as opposed to the expected nuclear family).

MCParent did a better job at elucidating the issues involved than I did, but I do think what you're talking about is good for a diversity statement. It's just going to be a fine balance to take. Be passionate, but have distance. Express empathy, but note how you're past any potential issues. tell your story, but without asserting that it conferred any special skills, potential, etc.

You should go through many revisions and get many different people to read it before you submit anything. Get good, honest feedback to see if you've covered all your bases in the limited space you have for the diversity statement.

 

[clinpsych55]

MCParent did a better job at elucidating the issues involved than I did, but I do think what you're talking about is good for a diversity statement. It's just going to be a fine balance to take. Be passionate, but have distance. Express empathy, but note how you're past any potential issues. tell your story, but without asserting that it conferred any special skills, potential, etc.

You should go through many revisions and get many different people to read it before you submit anything. Get good, honest feedback to see if you've covered all your bases in the limited space you have for the diversity statement.

Duly noted. It will definitely be a careful balance to strike, so I've got lots of writing and rewriting ahead of me.

Thanks again!

 

[bcliff]

think it of it as a statement of purpose rather than a personal statement

 

[boba_psych]

I also don't want to derail the thread, but I am considering writing something similar in one of my statement of purpose essays. One of the labs I want to get into studies virtual reality to understand the demands of driving after neurological compromise. I wanted to disclose my experiences of trying to get back to driving after I was in a car accident and how the unique perspective I have can better inform the research. It would be probably just a few sentences in the grand scheme of the essay. Do you think this is oversharing?

 

[psych.meout]

I also don't want to derail the thread, but I am considering writing something similar in one of my statement of purpose essays. One of the labs I want to get into studies virtual reality to understand the demands of driving after neurological compromise. I wanted to disclose my experiences of trying to get back to driving after I was in a car accident and how the unique perspective I have can better inform the research. It would be probably just a few sentences in the grand scheme of the essay. Do you think this is oversharing?

This is less of an issue of oversharing than it is of presumptuousness and poor logic.

Think of the message you are conveying here. You're saying that having an experience with this issue gives you a unique and better perspective than if you never had this experience. How so and why? What are you basing this on? Is there some empirical research substantiating this?

Apply this same logic to psychological disorders. Do you need to have OCD to have a "unique perspective" on OCD and "better inform" the research you will do? What about depression or schizophrenia? Does having those make you a better researcher in these respective areas?

It also implies that you have a better perspective and will be better at research than people who research this area, but haven't had this experience. Imagine you're a faculty member and this application is on your desk. This applicant, who quite clearly has less experience in this area, is telling you that they have better, more unique perspective on this issue than you do. You've spent literally decades becoming an authority in this area and then someone says they have a better perspective than you simply because they had a personal experience in this area. What would your reaction be?

 

[boba_psych]

I appreciate your input. I guess my idea was worded vaguely, and I haven't fully thought it through. By no means, would I want to give the impression that I know more than the researcher. I think what I wanted to say was that as a graduate student I could use the experience (after the accident I observed in my own behavior that I would constantly be "checking" other cars positions/behaviors around me to the extent that my attention was divided and my driving skills were deficient) to develop a hypothesis. But you definitely bring up a good point about looking into the literature for supporting evidence and backing the idea up in my statement of purpose. I've been pretty busy studying for the GRE right now, so I haven't spent much time reading in depth in the literature of all of my POI's, but I am definitely going to do that after I'm done retaking the test.

 

[psych.meout]

I appreciate your input. I guess my idea was worded vaguely, and I haven't fully thought it through. By no means, would I want to give the impression that I know more than the researcher. I think what I wanted to say was that as a graduate student I could use the experience (after the accident I observed in my own behavior that I would constantly be "checking" other cars positions/behaviors around me to the extent that my attention was divided and my driving skills were deficient) to develop a hypothesis. But you definitely bring up a good point about looking into the literature for supporting evidence and backing the idea up in my statement of purpose. I've been pretty busy studying for the GRE right now, so I haven't spent much time reading in depth in the literature of all of my POI's, but I am definitely going to do that after I'm done retaking the test.

You misunderstand what I'm saying. I was being snarky and cautioning you against this self-disclosure and argument, regardless of the literature.

 

[boba_psych]

You misunderstand what I'm saying. I was being snarky and cautioning you against this self-disclosure and argument, regardless of the literature.

Ok, I guess I was trying to find some way that my statement of purpose could be different from all of the other ones that the POI would read. Most of my draft of the SOP is just describing my passions and interests for research in a way that elaborates on the things they'll read in my CV. So I'm just wondering, in what way can you make your SOP really stand out?

 

[psych.meout]

Your CV is just a list of things you've done or accomplished. It doesn't really tell anyone what you learned from these experiences, how you've integrated these things into a holistic narrative, how they led to your decision to apply to grad school, how grad school will help you pursue these interests, what your aspirations are and how gad school will get you there, etc. It also doesn't tell anyone why that particular program and one or more mentors there fit with your experiences, interests, and aspirations.

All of this is what your personal statement is for. Your personal statement stands out by being mature, including not self-disclosing when inappropriate, not being naive about your experiences, and not disclosing when it doesn't add to the narrative. It should demonstrate critical thinking and knowledge of the relevant research area, especially where there are gaps or insufficiencies in the research literature which you would like to fill in with your own research during grad school. Your statement should outline how that particular program and mentor would facilitate these experiences, but without sucking up to anyone or simply paraphrasing the program's and POI's websites. You want to have good overlap with these things, but in a unique way that sets you apart from other people who aren't thinking as critically. This can be a fine line and dependent on the POI. Some POIs are very directive and want you to do almost exactly the same stuff that they're doing for their own research, while others want overlap while you pursue your own interests, while some others still want you to pursue what you like even if it's just tangentially related to what they do (bearing in mind that they still have the expertise to supervise you). You really won't know this stuff until at least interview day, so it's always going to be a gamble. You want to show why that particular program's orientation and offerings (e.g. practicum sites) mesh with your interests and career aspirations.

All of this is going to involve you doing a lot of research. One of the worst things you can do is to demonstrate that you don't know the program or POI in your personal statement by writing something that is glaringly wrong. You need to know the program and POI as much as possible from the available information from their websites, publications, etc. This is how you can demonstrate a close, but realistic and mature match with them, but without making any mistakes or errors.

 

[PsychPhDone]

Ok, I guess I was trying to find some way that my statement of purpose could be different from all of the other ones that the POI would read. Most of my draft of the SOP is just describing my passions and interests for research in a way that elaborates on the things they'll read in my CV. So I'm just wondering, in what way can you make your SOP really stand out?

Describing your research experience and ideas really well.

 

[psych.meout]

Describing your research experience and ideas really well.

You succinct bastard!

 

[MCParent]

I also don't want to derail the thread, but I am considering writing something similar in one of my statement of purpose essays. One of the labs I want to get into studies virtual reality to understand the demands of driving after neurological compromise. I wanted to disclose my experiences of trying to get back to driving after I was in a car accident and how the unique perspective I have can better inform the research. It would be probably just a few sentences in the grand scheme of the essay. Do you think this is oversharing?

This is exactly, precisely, what you should not do.

 

[MCParent]

So I'm just wondering, in what way can you make your SOP really stand out?

It's probably not going to, no matter what.
Applicants try to make some big impactful PS sometimes. It doesn't really work much. Everyone is trying to stand out, so none of them do. Starting with a quote? I have 10 more that do that; hopefully you attributed it right. Start with "When I was a child.."? I'll add to the stack of "childhood memories PSs."
What I like to see in personal statements. This is just me. YMMV.
1. Clear, concise writing (so many people think that "good writing" is this mash of excessively long sentences or even do the painfully obvious thing where they thesaurus-search words to make them bigger; yuck)
2. Clear articulation of why you want to work with ME in MY program.
3. Things applicants bring that inform their experiences of mentorship, education, etc. But the thing is to not just say "and this made me want to study Psych," but to say WHY and give clear examples. Lots of people have car accidents. It cannot be the reason why you are interested in that program, or everyone who was in a car accident would be applying to it. There is another variable; what is it?

 

[WisNeuro]

This is exactly, precisely, what you should not do.

The dreaded "mesearch" personal statement.

 

[MCParent]

The dreaded "mesearch" personal statement.

Worse than mesesrch— “I had this experience, so I know better than all yer book learnin.”

 

[WisNeuro]

Worse than mesesrch— “I had this experience, so I know better than all yer book learnin.”

Agree. I have seen some people with unique mesearch experiences approach the research with an open mind, but on the clinical side of things, it tends to give people blinders that their experience is the only one, and that all people with such a life event/diagnosis share that. Can make for some interesting supervision sessions at times.

 

[boba_psych]

Thank you all for your replies. This has been incredibly helpful!

 

[Sharewithme]

Admissions committee Ph.D. counseling psychology faculty are most likely going to have different views on whether or not it's beneficial to include that you were, in fact, personally affected by this. Did any of the faculty write in a published paper that they had a personal experience with SUD? If ever asked why they are interested in SUD, maybe your can find online an interview they had with someone, how did they respond? Did they keep it vague, or did they get specific?

Career wise, substance abuse counselors often advertise themselves as having personal experience, but that is in the job context not the applying for graduate school context. You can probably feel no qualms about being real on the job, given that it's kept professional and helps of course.

I'd personally be wary of including it in a personal statement. I'd err on the side of caution. Is there nothing else relating to your professional experience that you could tie in as to why it's an important area of study for you?

I think on the whole being, appropriately, honest and relatable is a character strength. That you want to do this speaks to your interpersonal skills. You can always reveal yourself to your professors once you're in a program.

Hope this helps,
~ Sharewithme

 

[justcallmepsych4life]

Unfortunately, some of the things that make us great clinicians we cannot speak of. For instance, I clearly couldn't write that I have BPD in mine. No doubt would I have not been accepted. However, all the faculty are loving my research on BPD and my "unique perspective." Maybe I'll tell them after I'm licensed.

 

[psych.meout]

Unfortunately, some of the things that make us great clinicians we cannot speak of. For instance, I clearly couldn't write that I have BPD in mine. No doubt would I have not been accepted. However, all the faculty are loving my research on BPD and my "unique perspective." Maybe I'll tell them after I'm licensed.

How does having BPD make you a great clinician? Does this imply that people who don't have BPD or some other form of psychopathology are not as good of clinicians as people with these disorders? Do people without BPD not have "unique perspectives" on it?

No one should deny you opportunities based on your mental health problems and I'm not saying you are not a great clinician, but do you really not see the presumptuousness of your statement and why someone would justifiably be wary of your application based on it?