personal statement for psych

[Sunshine1991]

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Hi there,
My school does not have a psychiatry department where I can reach out for advice so I'm wondering if it would be worth it to invest in one of those professional services to read my PS. Has anyone done it for psych? I feel like psych is so much about the why compared to other fields so the PS is different too. How did you approach the PS without seeming cliche? How much time did you focus on why psych vs why you?
Any and all advice is appreciated!
Thanks
🙂)

 

[Psychresy]

Hi there,
My school does not have a psychiatry department where I can reach out for advice so I'm wondering if it would be worth it to invest in one of those professional services to read my PS. Has anyone done it for psych? I feel like psych is so much about the why compared to other fields so the PS is different too. How did you approach the PS without seeming cliche? How much time did you focus on why psych vs why you?
Any and all advice is appreciated!
Thanks
🙂)

Don't get a service to help. Write from the heart, don't discuss your own mental health issues, and be done with it. That will be more than enough.

 

[Stagg737]

Agree with above, applicants think they need to really stand out through their PS, but this should not be your goal. Most personal statements will be some rehashing of the personal statements we've all seen a million times (see Splik's thread on the 6 types of PS). Most of the time that a PS stands out it is for the wrong reasons and it's pretty rare that one really stands out for the right reasons. Just write a grammatically and technically sound PS which conveys why you actually want to enter the field and fits with the rest of your application. Unless you've got an exceptionally unique/compelling story that doesn't have to do with your own MH problems and you're a great writer don't try to be a superstar on the PS.

Your PS almost certainly will not be the thing that gets you interviews, but it can definitely be the thing that loses them.

 

[Ole_Toe]

What are your thoughts about disclosing a family history of SMI. Caring for a loved one with SMI is a significant reason why I am pursuing the field, but afraid that it still may risk judgment from PDs.

 

[clozareal]

What are your thoughts about disclosing a family history of SMI. Caring for a loved one with SMI is a significant reason why I am pursuing the field, but afraid that it still may risk judgment from PDs.

This is a common reason why people want to go into psychiatry. About 20% of the personal statements I've read mention this as one of the reasons. PDs will of course judge your personal statement regardless of what you write—that's why it's part of the application. How they'll judge your self-disclosure depends on how you present this information in your personal statement.