Interview Summary Report: Methodist Children's Home Family Counseling Center

Kimberly came to Touch of Healing Counseling Center as a referral from Oak Park Church. She is being considered for the position of senior pastor at Oak Park Church. The leadership team of the church requested she be evaluated for suitableness for the position of senior pastor.

When Ms. M initially entered the counseling field she did so with the intent of obtaining an associate degree in psychology. During her studies she found that she needed to work while she attended school; professor suggested she investigate becoming an LCDC, something that Ms. M took to quite naturally. Her initial position was in conjunction with a program in the women’s prison. Her time began as a Counselor Intern for 2.5 years before becoming a Licensed Counselor I. She then spent 3 years as a Counselor I before progressing to the level of Counselor

A Paper Submitted to Dr. Marcus Tanner, LMFTA in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course, Theology and Spirituality in Counseling PACO 507 - D05

Counseling is defined as ”the use of therapeutic strategies to help clients address personal concerns and mental health issues” (Nystul, 2016). Pursuing counseling as a career involves many years of formal study and certification or licensure. After receiving licensure to practice as a professional counselors it is a requirement to maintain involvement and certification in certain associations in order to hold your license. These association often require further education and/or professional practice in order to maintain membership in these associations. It is quite obvious that counseling requires a large amount of commitment and passion in order to pursue it as a career and maintain a title as a counselor. I have conducted an interview with a professional counselor in order to further understand the experience of being a counselor. The interview that I conducted explores the requirements of maintaining and receiving a counselling career, the experience of being a counselor, and what characteristics or skills a professional may have. The Individual who agreed to the interview was a counselor by the name of Susie Facio. Susie Facio, through this interview, will be giving us a look at what influenced her to become a counselor, what her work entails on a day to day basis, and what qualities and skills she has acquired in order to become a successful counselor.

On a bright and crisp morning of March 25, 2015, I interviewed Joni Roche and learned what a typical day was like for this Professional Counselor. Mrs. Roche has owned her own practice for nearly eighteen years and has truly loved every single part of it. Mrs. Roche has received a Master of the Arts degree and is a Licensed Profession Counselor and a Nationally Credited Counselor. During my interview with Mrs. Roche, I truly learned so many things from different counseling techniques, what it is like to have a private practice and the good and bad things counseling comes with that people do not necessarily speak about.

Having a private office is usually required due to the confidentiality between therapists and their clients. “Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists work in a variety of settings, such as private practice and mental health centers. Most work full time” (bls). There is often stressful situations presented in this career as the therapist tries to diagnose their patient.

Growing up I witnessed my sister and grandmother deal with serious mental illness. My sister and grandmother both were diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It has always been my passion to help them manages their episodes. Growing up witnessing these episodes I always knew that I wanted to help those who are struggling to cope with mental health issues. Social work is not just a passion of mine, but a solution to the struggles many people face every day. I learned my “caring and compassion” for others, from my mother. My early experiences were a driving force for me pursuing my master’s in social work. As a child, my mother took in adults, children, and families within our neighborhood and afar to aid them in difficult times. Whether it was for a meal, a night, or longer, she has spent her life caring for others. The passion my mother possessed for helping others has become my

For the professional practice interview, I interviewed Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Joe Exnowski. He has been working with my population of interest for the past four years. He works with an array of students dealing with anxiety, depression, stress, and substance use and abuse. In addition, to working with this population across different college campuses, he also works with couples in private practice. I conducted a 15-minute interview in which we had the opportunity to explore the pros and cons about working with this specific population more in particular, in regards to alcohol use and abuse.

This paper is the development of my personal theory on Christian Counseling. I use many scriptural references to support my beliefs and stress the importance of gaining wisdom and knowledge from the bible. It incorporates all of the presentations, readings, and critiques I did at Liberty University’s Theology and Spirituality in counseling course. I talk about how I integrate Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality into my Christian counseling and believe that they all have a lot to offer the Christian counselor. The role of integration and multitasking is necessary to be an effective Christian counselor under the guidelines of the American Association of Christian

Anderson started as a part-time counselor at Foundations while working on her Master’s degree at George Mason University. She heard about the position from her professor. She worked 20 hours a week and volunteered when need. When a full time position was available, her supervisor immediately offered the position to her. She was interviewed by a panel of counselors and was mainly asked questions about how she would handle therapeutic conflict in the workplace and questions about her boundaries. She thought the questions were a bit strange at first, but later she realized why they were important for her position. Two weeks after the interview, she was offered the full time position. When asked what advice she would give a new counselor, Ms. Anderson could think of three gems of wisdom. First do a self reflection on your trigger points before taking the position. Always seek guidance and supervision; if there’s something that you don’t understand, ask. Last but not least, use your resources! You never know what someone knows or who they may know if you don’t

I interviewed, Ivonne Suarez, who is a case manager at Arizona Counseling and Treatment Services (ACTS). She has worked in the field for seven years, but has only worked at ACTS for seven months. Next, she has a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a Master’s degree in public administration. Also, she is in the Army reserves, prior to her working at ACTS, she was active duty and was stationed all over Europe. While in the military she worked as a medical tech, and also in behavioral health. Lastly, she enjoys her job because she gets the gratification from helping others who are in need.

Every person over the age of 19 can honestly say they have been a teenager, and as we all know the teen years can be pretty tough years. Being able to talk with an adult about these challenges is key to their future successes; unfortunately, many parents fall short on the explanation of God’s physical, emotional and spiritual design for them. This is where the Christian counselor comes in. It is my dream and goal to ultimately become a Christian counselor specializing in at-risk teens and families. To become a licensed Christian counselor, one must start the journey by setting solid academic goals and pursuing the education required for such licensure. For me, these educational goals include Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Christian counseling.

I attended Lander University to obtain a degree in Nursing. I wanted to help people! I soon discovered that being a nurse is a dirty job and I did not enjoy blood and guts. I wandered over to the Education Department and was an Elementary Education Major for a while. I wanted to help children! After taking the Praxis and student teaching for a few weeks, I developed a dislike for the classroom environment. My next thought was to major in Sociology. I liked the idea of having

A “contemporary therapist” is a therapist that is open to the different sexual orientations. This type of therapist would not and does not have a problem work with lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or transsexuals (LGBT). I never really thought of being called a “contemporary therapist” but I guess this is what I would be considered. I defiantly would not mind working with LGBT’s and any sexual orientation.

When I graduated from high school, I was admitted at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I enrolled in the School of Business. My major was Accounting. I did so to please my parents and what I thought would be the best fit. I was not very happy, and I must confess that I was bored to death. After two years of studying something that I did not like, I changed my focus to School of Social Work. I was taking elective classes in Social Work/Mental Health Counseling and realize that this field held my interest and really represented how I viewed myself and the world. I was out from College for 5 years. Working with the Department of Social Services and numerous nonprofit organizations. For the last 5 years I have been working as a Social Worker for Department of Social Service Child Protective Service Investigator. I actual love my job because it is customer (client) oriented and I got to practice my counseling skills indirectly and directly with my clients I encounter on an daily