My Interview With Donna Portnoy

I would like to pursue counseling as my career and become a successful leader in the field. I have always had a passion to assist people in emotional distress. As a qualified professional in the counseling field, I would be able to identify their problems as well as offer them the most appropriate solutions that may help them deal with their situations. However, working as a professional counselor requires that I possess the relevant skills and knowledge that would enable me to offer quality services in which I think that I can obtain the skills at Capella University. As a

I began my social work studies over twenty-five years ago at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I never questioned my decision to pursue a career in social work; I loved my classes and worked hard to learn as much as possible. But the information I gained in undergraduate school simply opened the doors of my education. Most of my learning has come through constant questioning, personal research, and especially through work and life experience. Through these experiences I have encountered the challenges faced by individuals, families, and society and have been able to further access and develop the innate personality traits and abilities that originally led me to study social work as well as learn and practice the many skills necessary to be a successful mental health counselor.

My commitment to my goal of receiving a Master’s degree in counseling has been demonstrated throughout my studies at Rollins by maintaining a GPA of 4.0, my willingness to support my cohort, and by exhibiting an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Although I had retired on a fixed income from a business career due to a disability, I have confirmed my potential, stamina, and desire to counsel through my volunteer work as a guardian advocate, working with people who suffer from addiction, and by remaining an advocate for the LGBTQ community. I have thrived with my undergraduate internship at the Center for Drug Free Living and with my prepracticum at Centaur.

With a master 's level education in social work, I see myself envisioning clients’ health and well-being. As a student, I will study and practice techniques, beyond a generalist perspective, that will allow me to give clients hope and the ability to see something greater than what they are facing. Upon completion of a Master of Social Work direct practice degree and certificates in gerontology and mental health programs, I intend to become a licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I will competently incorporate specialized skills in different professional settings while developing my knowledge of a wide range of social issues and professional standards. With commitment, I wish to develop skills that will enable me to create or find hidden resources and services for my future clients, create platforms through counselling for victims of trauma.

I am a mental health counselor working towards licensure in the state of Washington. I have a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University Seattle. In my current counseling practice, I work with individual adults (over 18). I take a humanistic approach to therapy; in our sessions together, we will focus on the here-and-now of your experience, while also exploring your past and social context to the extent they are relevant to your present concerns. Our first meeting will be a time for you to tell your story; then, together, we will assess your concerns and issues, and decide on the goals toward which you would like to move (Hilton, 2016). As we continue through the therapy process, we

Experiencing hardships and my resilience to overcome them is the main reason I chose to pursue a Master’s of Social Work (MSW) degree. My familiarity with asking for resources, as a former foster youth, a number of my interactions involved social workers. I utilized resources as a transition aged youth; and I believe it was those same resources that kept me focused on my future and school. I became homeless at eighteen years of age and it was transitional housing, through The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) that gave me hope and direction.

I chose to pursue this postgraduate degree in Yorkville University because I feel it is a suitable institution which harbours the basic program needs and is very beneficial to my career goals. Yorkville University thoroughly paves a pathway and prepares a student for effective survival to competitively match their fellow graduates in the labour market. It entails and covers a large concentration of foundational and elective courses such as Career & Employment Counselling, Developmental Psychology, Addictive Counselling, Psychopathology for Counsellors,

After graduating from Wright State University, with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, her initial plan was to become a Therapist. But over the years, pursuing

The Human Services Informational Interview was conducted on the phone I interviewed Tara Dakolios. She started in the Human Services field with a Master degree in Education from Virginia College and started working at the Hilton head Preparatory School. After working there for years she missed doing education and had an opportunity with the University of South Carolina Beaufort as an advisor. Before being in the Human Services Field she wasn’t aware of it being declared a major and knew she always had a passion for helping people. The skills utilized in the Human Services Field are being adaptive, organized, multi-tasking and time management. College help prepare her for the field in many aspects such as being a basketball coach and assisting

The specific area of interest within human services is mental health facilitation. I was raised in a household where all adults were involved in health care in one form or another. My maternal grandmother was an LPN and my mother is a Mental Health Counselor. Of course, my mother’s interest soon became my own, which inspired me to volunteer at mental health organizations even at the age of ten, where I spent my afternoons with helping with children suffering from mental retardation. An additional factor for my career decisions was, at the age of 21, I was diagnosed with Bi Polar disorder with suicidal ideations. It took several years for me to learn to manage my disorders and become a participating member

“Where did you go to get the position you have here today?” I asked. He explained that he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill his undergraduate years and University of North Carolina at Charlotte his graduate earning a master’s in social work. In addition to, a North Carolina state licensed in clinical social work. “My long list of education has taught and shown me how to properly get my studies completed within a certain time. I do advise you to

I interviewed Julie French, one of my teachers from high school. Julie has been married to the love of her life for thirty-three years, and eight years later they had their daughter. She is fifty-six years old, and has been teaching for twenty-two years. Julie is a science teacher at Lone Grove. Julie’s dedication to the student’s learning, why she chose science, and the relationship between her and her students is why I chose her instead of a different teacher.

Although my journey within the Clinical Mental Health program at the University of Scranton has come to an end, however, my journey to become a licensed professional counselor is still underway. As I tie up loose ends by handing in time sheets and remaining assignments, I find myself in a reflective peaceful space. As I look back over the years that I have spent within the program perfecting my craft, I can’t help but think that I am truly blessed. It is one thing to choose a career, but it is another to answer a calling. I say with great conviction, that I am blessed to be called to such a meaningful purpose. It is only by the grace of God that I can look back and see the person that I have matured into, not only personally but professionally. I remain humble and grateful for the opportunity, not only to reflect but, to have made it through this part of my journey. I started this program excited, yet, full of self-doubt and now in my last semester, I can gladly report that I am lesser of the two. Over the years, I have embraced challenges and endured self-doubt and it is through my internship that I have felt growth in solidifying my self-confidence. With this developed confidence I prepare to embrace the next chapter of my career with greater excitement and enthusiasm.

My interview with Debbie Cruit was very fun and informational. She explained to me all the questions I had about township and what it was. Our interview took place in the Okaw Township Building, which was the first time I had ever been in there, so it was really interesting to see where their meetings took place. Debbie says her favorite part about being the supervisor of the township is that she gets to oversee and make sure that the taxpayers money is spent right. Debbie has only been in the township for a year, but has enjoyed taking on the role.

Mental illness has become one of the most rapidly growing diagnoses to date ranging from clinical depression to Schizophrenia. It has become a worldwide epidemic and has created a shortage of specialized workers. As the shortage of veteran mental health workers declines, the amount of recent college graduates increase. Additionally, as more individuals aim to obtain a Social Work degree many have been reluctant to enter the mental health field due to stigmas and negative attitudes surrounding mental health patients. This has brought up the question of whether or not students within social work department and students not in social work would be comfortable working with individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental illness. In order to successfully answer this question the University of Tennessee conducted a study which included three types of students: those who were actively in social work classes, those who had other majors but were still in Social Work and those who were not in social work classes. This study not only measured the student’s willingness to work with mentally ill individuals but also measured their attitudes regarding the concept of mental health.