combatingmentalhealth

[combatingmentalhealth]

A personal statement

DAY ONE: Combating Mental Health

July 2020

Kristin Beck Personal Statement for Admissions to study for a Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling.

As an alumnus of Alfred University, I have long appreciated the campus for its friendliness and the closeness that only comes with a smaller collegiate atmosphere. Furthermore, as a guest lecturer on several occasions, I see firsthand the professionalism of the staff and the quality of the education. Lastly, I realize that although I had a full career as US Navy SEAL, I am ready to move into a second career as a mental health counselor and there is no better institution to prepare me for this start than Alfred University.

In 1990 I joined the Navy to become a SEAL. I graduated #1 out of a SEAL training class that washed out 80% of candidates. SEAL training is so arduous that it is not uncommon to have a death just trying to pass the selection course. I went on to finish 20 years of service without ever applying for a job.

The SEALs taught me that I would excel, if I worked harder than any other person alive. That mantra guided me through my 20-year career, and I was always at the top and was requested to each job assignment while in the SEALs. I was awarded over 30 medals including the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart.

With all this combat and trauma, I have had my share of challenges. One of the biggest challenges in my life came after leaving the Navy. The transition from the military to the civilian world was hard and contributes to the 22 veterans who take their own lives every day. It is a scourge that has become as deadly as the combat many of us saw in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the next challenge I wish to tackle with the same gusto I did in the SEALs, and there is no better place to be trained then at Alfred University.

I have gone to the Veteran’s Administration (VA) for mental health counseling and found every encounter lacking. I know what it means to leave the VA feeling worse and finally, out of frustration and anger, to totally discontinue contact with the VA for any psychological or counseling help. No person seeking help should ever be made to feel this way, and it is something I am committed to changing.  

The VA has received much criticism and rightfully so as the services cannot keep up with demand and they often miss the mark anyway. The mental health care crisis amongst veterans remains. This is where I want to work, and this is the battle I wish to commit myself too.

Mental healthcare amongst veterans is a unique challenge. I believe that the epidemic of suicide in the veteran community can only be fixed by veterans trained in counseling, coaching or other healing arts. Just like being in the SEALs, veterans must trust their counselors – and that is too often the failure point. For many veterans, the hardest part is asking for help, I want to make sure the person who answers “the call” can truly help them.

I understand that the desire to help is not enough and that to be effective I must be trained and educated in this field. I am ready to start at step one to learn and take in as much as I can, so that I can truly be qualified to help. I appreciate and am excited by the fact that Alfred University offers a hands-on and holistic approach, while making sure graduates are fully qualified for a career in counseling by being CACREP accredited.

Becoming a certified mental health counselor would give me the credentials for a career in mental health, however, it is my experience as a combat veteran that gives me the ability to help in a special way that most current counselors cannot. I speak the language of veterans, and I understand how they think, because I am one of them. But being a veteran is not enough to help, one needs training and an education in this field -- and that is why I am applying to Alfred University.