Mental Health Advocacy in the Counseling Field by Chloe

Mental Health Advocacy in the Counseling Field by Chloe - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

As an intended psychology major, my goal with my profession is to become a mental health counselor for teens. In recent years, the representation and advocacy for mental health has improved significantly, but not enough to completely rid of the stigma around the topic. I want to create a safe space for teens to explore their potential, work through their challenges, and realize that mental health is something to be valued, not avoided.
My own experience with counseling and therapy taught me that it is difficult for someone to understand your struggles when you can't even face and acknowledge them yourself. I was asked so many questions and felt a pressure to always have the answers, when in reality, mental health is not something that can be compared by a yes/no question. My goal is to recognize this within my own patients one day and make it clear that mental health is not one thing or another, but rather a confusing journey that no one should be expected to fully understand.
The change I would like to see is a lack of judgement by teens when addressing mental health and to create a more open space where teens don't feel ashamed to ask for help and can learn to normalize their struggles and therefore grow from them.