I was born and raised in Barbados and moved to the U.S. about 15 years ago. This last decade and a half, I have spent adjusting to the United States society, culture, customs, as that I think is optimal for entering a doctoral program. And I look forward to the finest years of my life in your programs, studying what I most love. I have come to appreciate America very much, for me it has indeed proven to be a land of opportunity and I am grateful. I especially like living in Minnesota with the conveniences and resources of the Twin Cities, such as Argosy University. I am not sure when my passion for Psychology began, almost as long as I can remember. I have always been a people watcher, learning about human behavior through close observation. This is why I majored in Psychology and then later went on to earn a master's degree in Counseling and Human Development from XXXX.

My first choice for graduate study is at XXXX University/ Twin Cities. I am interested in the PsyD program in clinical psychology with a concentration in clinical health psychology. I am especially drawn to the program at Argosy University/ Twin Cities because of the way that it focuses on the practical application of psychology on the community, especially in terms of the emotional and physical well being of families. I am applying to your program only because I am convinced that it is the best match for my circumstances, interests, and high level of motivation. What I most like about your program is the way that it provides such a wide variety of approaches to treatment with a concentration on health psychology. I am especially interested in doing graduate work in the area of chemical dependency and chronic illnesses, depression and diabetes in particular, and how people handle these conditions, mental health therapy for victims of these diseases. I dream of making important contributions to the work of mental health education for families of scarce resources, exploring and building upon or increasing understanding of the ways in which physical and general emotional well-being tend to coincide at the family level.

My long term goal is to work as a clinical health psychologist for women. While my focus at this point is on encouraging healthy families, I believe that a healthy mother is the central key to not only the physical but also the emotional well-being of the family. My ideal job would be to work in a health care facility where I could be an advocate for women who desire a lifestyle change, women who are victims, abused, in danger, and very much in need of a fresh start. I look forward to laboring to teach other women how to enjoy achieve and preserve greater levels of physical and emotional well-being through learning how these two central facets of our existence are mutually dependent. I also hope someday to return to home to Barbados and work on consciousness raising issues, health education, AIDS/HIV prevention/ education, diabetes, chemical dependency and especially the critical importance of lack of exercise and poor diet. I have spent the past eight years in substance abuse and domestic violence counseling which has greatly re-enforced my desire to further help women and their families fight the scourge of addictions, domestic violence and related mental illness. I see my diversity of experience, culture and ethnicity as my biggest assets. I am passionate, driven, and a very hard worker; I want to thank you for your consideration of my application.