Mental Health Counseling Personal Statement

Currently, I am admitted to my second year as a Master of Science (M.S.) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling student, which prepares professional counselors to work in community agencies, educational settings, as well as private practice. As it is a CACREP accredited program, I will eventually be eligible to take the National Counselor Examination (NCE) leading to certification as a National Certified Counselors (NCC). The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program also prepares me to seek licensure as a Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Nevada. This program has many great benefits and is a great fit for my educational and professional goals, but one other area that I am interested in learning more about is research.
As a whole the counseling profession, is relatively new for the state of Nevada. There is a great need for mental health
I have been setting up meetings with different members of my faculty to start research projects related to mental health and substance abuse since these are my areas of interest. I am actively becoming more involved in doing research and presenting on behalf of UNLV. I am also becoming more interested in presenting for UNLV and will hopefully present some of my own research related to substance abuse next year at the Graduate and Professional Student Research Forum if you accept my application. This will be especially important since I want to not only get my masters degree, but also get certified in addiction studies. I believe this will increase my understanding of addictions further and give me more experience if I decide to pursue my doctoral degree in the future. I have an insatiable desire to learn as much as I can about mental health and I would be so incredibly grateful if I could receive any funding to help me on my professional journey. Lastly, thank you for considering me and taking the time to read my