For over a decade, I have dedicated my academic and professional career to the care of others, attending to their minds as well as their spirits. Indeed, my work and studies reflect a transsystemic approach to the mental health needs of others, an embracing of psychology, psychiatry, social work, yoga and meditative techniques.

My introduction to the importance and need for mentoring others came at a very tender age. As the eldest sibling in a single-parent household, the responsibility of looking after my brothers and sisters was an unspoken task. This coupled with the nurturing village within a city neighborhood around us in inner city San Francisco left me little room for missteps. Moreover, I have walked more than a mile in the shoes of minorities. Indeed, I was made personally aware of the assorted difficulties facing inner city youth from the time I was in grade school: acculturation, poverty, childcare inadequacies, racism, discrimination, and language issues.

I have reached a point in my career where I need to enter into an academic relationship with a quality educational institution, with the goal of completing my XXX in Clinical Psychology. More specifically, through my own professional experiences, I have found distinct evidence of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the application of XXX. Through in-depth research, I am intent upon proving a causal relationship between XXX techniques and its impact upon inner city youth demographics that have fallen into delinquent and or violent behavior patterns. It should be noted that XXX is more than a technique, rather it is a skill that can be imparted to clients, an approach to managing thoughts, feelings and has been proven to be effective in slowing the reactivity mood, increasing the time and ability to choose newer and, ideally, healthier responses.

XXX said that, In the giving of oneself there is a direct experience of pain, yet in the giving there is love. Thus compassion has the power to dissolve pain by not avoiding it. As a person who has been there, on the streets, and through my exposure and interaction with kids from the street, I am completely aware and sympathetic to their situations and distinct needs. Oftentimes, there are scant resources and immense social pressures in the inner city environment. Choices, then, are placed on tiny shoulders, a disruption to normal and healthy growth. When this is disrupted, social deviance seeps into their very make-up. Rather than try to undo and resolve the intertwined issues, XXX and behavioral health programming allow for the reduction of stress and therefore negative reactions and choices, and increase skillful responses. And even when negative stimuli or situations are not present, inner city youths are frequently plagued by unpleasant thoughts, and feelings. There is a need to address these issues, and this is where my research begins, my contribution to the amelioration of lives. We were all once young, struggling to grow up, wrestling with hormones, and life choices. Nothing ever has nor ever could bring me greater personal or professional satisfaction than tipping the scales in the favor of teens trapped in societal cracks, in such fragile circumstances, one step from falling or one step from flourishing.

Having a solid foundation in child and adolescent mental health, I bring with me to XXX's student body myriad experiences as a mental health clinician, mentor to young pregnant/parenting teens, yoga instruction, guided meditation for at-risk homeless youth, XXX teens, and within youth detention centers. Coupled with this, my licensing as a clinical social worker has brought me into extensive contact with the mental health needs of children and adolescents. In my own practice, I have found that the inclusion of stress-reduction techniques and meditation skills from my yoga instructional work teaches children and adolescents to be in the moment, mindful of their bodies, and in situations outside of the controlled therapy environment. More specifically, I have noticed that the students using the skill of intentional focusing, helps students to de-center from their thoughts and emotions without avoiding, denying or suppressing them. This training teaches students the skill of close observation of these phenomena and thus discourages experiential avoidance.

XXX Institute is my sole choice for scholastic development and research. The Clinical Psychology program with its XXX accreditation, access to resources and eminent faculty are all reassuring of a superlative educational experience. I look forward to being a creative leader for the mental health field, and thank you for your consideration.