Interview+2

Interview #2

‍ Questions & Answers
1. Why did you decide to become a counselor? I studied psychology in college because I enjoy any kind of pathology. Psychology was the only major I considered. When it was time to select a career, I wasn’t interested in research but more interested in personality assessment. I enjoy being a counselor, especially in the college environment. I think I enjoy college counseling so much because that was such a difficult time for me in terms of becoming a complete and independent individual. I hope that I can help young adults make the transition a little easier than I had it. 2. What steps did you take to become one? I received my Masters in Psychology in the 80’s and took a few counseling courses to meet requirements to become an LPC. 3. What are the requirements for certification or licensure? I would recommend that you look at the Texas Department of Health website under Counselors to see the specific recommendations. I know that the LPC is a license, not a certification and it requires a Masters Degree in Counseling or related field with a certain amount of hours for coursework, practicum, etc. You also have 3000 hours of direct client contact in a job before you are an LPC rather than an LPCi which is an intern. It was only 2000 hours when I went through in the 80’s. You also have to sit and pass the board exam for counselors. 4. Were all the training requirements needed? Do they seem relevant to you work now? The training is relevant and I wish there were more courses on the issues that most counselors face every day such as more on depression, anxiety, eating disorders, etc. Probably more could be done to help counselors deal with transference, dual relations, etc. 5. How long have you been a counselor? 25 years 6. What is your typical day like? I work in the SFA counseling center so we tend to see a lot of sfa students on individual counseling basis. We also do a good bit of psycho educational presentations and suicide intervention training. A typical day usually includes about 5 individual clients and the documentation that goes with that. 7. How many counselors are currently employed at SFA? Is there a current demand? We have 4 full time counselors and a clinical director that counsels half of her time. The recommendation is one counselor for every 1500 students so we are actually understaffed. 8. What is the income for a counselor in a college/university? It very depending on which college but it tends to be in the 40,000-50,000’s 9. Are you doing any research at your campus right now or do you know of any current research that is going on in the college counseling field right now? We don’t do much in the way of research. 10. Do you document your entire individual and group counseling sessions like a LPC would? Yes, we document every session in Titanium which is a software system designed for counselors. 11. Among the different situations that arise in college which topic do you interact with most and why? Because depression is so common, that is what we see the most in college students, also. We see a lot of anxiety, relationship difficulties, family troubles. Most students we see are functioning very well with some problem areas in everyday life but we occasionally see someone who is very suicidal or psychotic. 12. What percent of your time is spent with direct contact with students? About 60 percent 13. Do you belong to any professional organizations? Why? Are you an active member? Member of Pineywoods Counseling Association which is part of TCA, Texas Counseling Association. 14. Do you stay aware of legislative issues regarding the counseling field? Do you ever take action? I am not very involved in the legislative actions. There are people in the Pineywoods Counseling Associations that do that, however. I am aware that with the college campus crisis that occurred over the last several years, that people view counselors as extremely important and I like that…job security!!! 15. What is your favorite thing about being a counselor? I enjoy helping young people find their way during a difficult transition time that college can be. 16. What is the worst thing about being a counselor? Sitting all day

17. Do you have any pointers or tips for future counselors? Have friends and outside activities