My personal experience in marriage, long-term work with families within the framework of my occupational duties, and the desire to help people through life’s difficulties motivate me to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. I have obtained a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and currently work as a property manager. However, I am considering changing my career path because I could not pursue a criminal justice-related job due to my ex-husband’s background. I believe that the profession of a marriage counselor will allow me to contribute to the improvement of life of other people and help me grow professionally.
My experience in mental health and marital counseling is based on my personal marriage and divorce that I have overcome. The issues concerning family relationships are of significant importance since they constitute a backbone of the society as a whole, and the psychological well-being of each individual (Johnson et al., 2017). As a property manager, I have acquired extensive experience in resolving property-related interpersonal issues and conflicts that have significantly improved the lives of tenants. In 2019, I was divorced and have been trying to provide a better life for my children since. The ability to deal with people and provide support to them might be valuable experiential background for my future career as a marriage counselor.
The population that I am currently planning to work with constitutes individuals from minority communities and multicultural families. As a property manager, I continuously deal with diverse populations and families of multicultural backgrounds, which necessitates a specific approach. In general, white privilege challenges the marriage and family therapy filed by requiring more effective interventions for underrepresented populations (Combs, 2019). Therefore, I would prioritize racial minorities as families with whom I would like to work.
I believe that self-care and self-awareness are key elements of the counselors’ profession. As a mother and a divorced woman, I have managed to cultivate my self-understanding through reflection, self-analysis, and exploration of the psychological issues behind the feelings I was experiencing. Reading psychological literature, meditating, developing spiritual practices, and maintaining a consistent self-care routine helped me overcome the difficulties. I consider that the experience I have accumulated in combination with my great desire to help people in their relationships will become a strong basis for my successful career as a Marriage and Family Therapist.
References
Combs, G. (2019). White privilege: What’s a family therapist to do?. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 45(1), 61–75.
Johnson, L. N., Miller, R. B., Bradford, A. B., & Anderson, S. R. (2017). The Marriage and Family Therapy Practice Research Network (MFT‐PRN): Creating a more perfect union between practice and research. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(4), 561–572.