Writing Samples

Selected samples of writing and graduate school projects

Objective 1 – Acquire knowledge and skills to practice effectively and ethically.

Item 1 – A paper that describes the laws that guide mental health professionals in the State of NC.

Rationale – In researching this paper, I was seeking knowledge to practice ethically and within the laws of North Carolina.

Item 2 – A case conceptualization of a client I saw during practicum.

Rationale – In taking the time to work through a full conceptualization of this client (she was actually the client of a therapist at my site that I was sitting in with), I acquired further skills in conceptualization that helped me practice more effectively as I progressed through my internships.

Objective 2 – Value professional diligence and life-long learning.

Item 1 – Literature review on personality types and beliefs of ACOAs.

Rationale – Research and the examination of prior research is essential to one’s growth and understanding of the field of counseling and the clients that one will encounter.

Item 2 – Case Study on River Phoenix’s substance use disorder.

Rationale – The academic review of cases where there is a large amount of available data, such as those involving famous people, can serve as a vehicle through which we can examine what went wrong and what might have gone right with the proper interventions.

Objective 3 – Excel as community leaders, advocates, and practitioners.

Item 1 – Advocacy Project (to Support the Members of Tribal Communities)

Rationale – Advocacy for all, but particularly those in underserved populations, is of vital importance in the counseling community.

Item 2 – Blog Post (from Addiction Counseling course)

Rationale – Part 2 of the blog post, the experience in an ACOA meeting, felt like it connected well with the theme of excelling as an advocate and a practitioner because without taking the time to evaluate community resources and be that part of the community, how do we know who we are serving and why? I would never have known what to tell someone to expect in an ACOA meeting until I attended a couple of them myself.

Objective 4 – Possess a deep awareness of themselves and of their impact on others.

Item 1 – Abstinence Contract Blog Post.

Rationale – The choice I made for this course had a profound effect on me, my spouse, and my college-age kids who still live here at home. I maintained my abstinence from negative, unimportant commentary after the contract period.

Item 2 – End of course self-evaluation paper from Internship 1

Rationale – I have long held that one of the best and most powerful ways that we as human beings, learn to be more aware of ourselves and how we impact those around us is via the practice of self-reflection. As such, this one feels appropriate as evidence of this objective.

Objective 5 – Commit to the compassionate service of humanity and foster the well-being of people at the local, state, national, and international level.

Item 1 – An Anxiety Group Workshop Design

Rationale – What can be of better service to people that a good workshop? I feel that with the advent of telehealth services as a regular format for the delivery of group counseling, this sort of program could be offered to groups on local, state, national, and international levels.

Item 2 – Conference presentation poster on uses and criticism of the HAM-A.

Rationale – Preparing presentations and attending conferences is one way in which we commit to the compassionate service of humanity by spreading knowledge.