This Side of the Creek

It’s true that my coworker, Katie, actually informed me that April is National Counseling Awareness Month and she is a reporter, not a counselor. I’m the one in a counseling program who’s about to graduate with my M.Ed. Thanks for informing me Katie.

I have very much enjoyed my journey through graduate school thus far and do look forward to my future as a counselor. It has been difficult, but life-changing. I think one of the most life-changing things has been taking what I’m learning and not only helping clients, but helping myself. I can see the purpose of counseling now more than ever before and it has assisted me in my own personal journey.

I do have qualms with the use of the title “counselor” when speaking of individuals who do not have a masters degree in the subject. You’re not a financial counselor, legal counselor, or anything else with the term counselor unless you have completed the rigorous work of graduate school, focusing on COUNSELING. Furthermore, the term “counseling” has been so generically used that it takes some of the pride out of the title. I prefer the word “therapy” over “counseling,” but still… I will be a counselor.

So what exactly IS counseling? Well, it’s many things and takes many forms. The ultimate goal, however, is for we as counselors to assist in empowering clients to be able to sustain their life and concerns that may arise in the future without our direct help. We want to provide tools for you to use when the time comes and we’re no longer your counselor. You, and all clients, must be willing to do the work because if we are working harder than you, we are not doing our jobs.

Counseling IS NOT a place for a counseling professional to tell you what to do, solve your problems for you, become your best friend or be someone on which you are dependent. No, no, no. We certainly want to help, but we’re not the givers of answers. Instead, we’re listeners who care enough to come along side you for a time, help you process, and watch as you change you. What a rewarding experience.

Everyone needs help at times. Each of us experience moments when we may not be able to see through the rain and we want someone to listen to us. You don’t have to be experiencing a crisis or be diagnosed with a mental illness to need the assistance of a counselor and I encourage you to seek one out if you find yourself losing precious time in life to concerns that can be changed.

Tomorrow, National Counseling Awareness Month will end, but we, the counselor trainees and licensed professional counselors, will not stop doing what we do. You are worth the effort and we look forward to serving you in the future.