Psychology Personal Statement Example 39

In everyday life, people take for granted that some people are good at things and some people are not. But I have always believed that human beings are capable of far more than they realise.

It is this interest in human potential that motivates me to want to work as an Educational Psychologist.

I have always had an interest in the human mind, but never considered working in this field.

However, personal experience of ADHD and autism led me to volunteer at an autistic unit in a local primary school, which I have now been at for almost two years.

Whilst there, I realised that my interest in the Autistic Spectrum and ADHD was more than a passing curiosity.

My experience at the school provided me with a deeper understanding of these conditions, and, combined with my interests in educational psychology and technologies such as entrainment and biofeedback, led me to consider the potential application of these to assist such children in reaching their full potential.

One day I returned home with a sense of exhiliration, and realised that helping autistic children was something that I wanted to pursue as a professional psychologist.

I have also worked voluntarily as a teaching assistant at a local college. My duties included creating certificates, writing course manuals, and supervised teaching.

In addition, I was comissioned by the charity DYCF to teach relaxation techniques to "difficult teens" as part of a remedial programme, and wrote a report of recommendation.

This demonstrates that I am able to empathise and interact with a variety of people in a range of educational settings, as well as cope with a high workload.

I spent some time researching careers in psychology and it was quite clear that Educational Psychology was the route for me.

Although I had studied Counselling Skills in --- and DD100: Introduction to the Social Sciences previously with the Open University, it was of course a case of preparing myself for Higher Education.

So in 2008 I enrolled on DSE212: Exploring Psychology, with the Open University. My overall assesment score on DD100 had been 81, but of course it has been a while since my last formal academic study.

Hence I was pleased to receive my first essay back from the Open University ----, scored at 83, giving much promise for my future studies.

At the same time, however, I have worked hard to overcome my difficulty with mathematics. So I enrolled on GCSE Mathematics: Foundation.

I recently used accelerated learning protocols such as mnemonics and entrainment to learn my timestables in just under two weeks, and have also enrolled on a second course for extra help.

Because of this, I am now confident of achieving a grade C in Mathematics, and believe that this demonstrates my committed and creative approach to learning, as well as my practical application of psychological research.

I read psychological articles and reports in New Scientist, Scientific American, and Psychology Today.

I also keep up to date by researching psychology online, and have a particular interest in the research of the HeartMath and Monroe Institutes, and the application of their research and technology within education and therapy.

My latest read has been Human Givens: a new approach to emotional health and clear thinking, by Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell (2004).

Having a keen analytical mind as well as a deep empathy for working with children, I look forward to continuing my study of Psychology.

My ultimate aim is to apply psychological techniques to help the autistic and ADHD populations achieve their full potential, and hopefully add to and expand the current theoretical understanding of these conditions.