Summary+Response+Paper

Counseling: My Future Profession?  I had the great opportunity to talk to two different people about what it is like being a counselor. I first interviewed my mom who is a free-lance counselor currently finding footing for her own company Healing Strides LLC. She does marriage classes where they do dance classes, and relate this to their married life. She also does Equine Assisted Therapy, which is a therapy using horses for various exercises. Jo Ellen said, “ In one exercise, children who struggled at school were told that a group of ponies had some problems during the school year and have to go to summer school. The youngsters were each assigned to be a ‘teacher's assistant’ for one pony in the ‘classroom’” (Interview 1 Jo Ellen).  Using the ponies helped the children learn how to behave in the classroom through teaching the ponies so the ponies could do well in school. Jo Ellen went on to talk about the field of counseling can be tough because there are a lot of counselors in Colorado. She concluded her interview with talking about how rewarding counseling can be when she knew that she had helped someone make a better future for themselves. After talking with my mom, I received an email from one of two other counselors I emailed about the project. Michon Lubbers was nice enough to answer all my questions via email. Michon is a counselor that, like my mom, graduated from Denver Seminary. She works as a private contractor, and she is very happy with her job. When asked if she felt she would choose another career if given the choice, she replied, “ No, I believe God has me right where He wants me. The venue may change; however, the work of counseling will remain.” (Interview 2 Michon). She is a very spiritual person that likes to include her religion in her practice. Michon felt that her counseling was not unique, and that you may not always feel rewarded through counseling and that if that is what you were looking for that Counseling is not a good career for you. Through interviewing those two fine people, I learned a lot about the pros and cons of working as a counselor. For instance, I learned that you have to go to college for quite some time unless you want to be, “ managing patients at mental health institutions or ‘baby-sitting’ if you will ”(Interview 1 Jo Ellen). Whether or not I have the stamina and the funds to stay in school an additional 6 years is yet be determined. Also, I learned about just how many different types of counseling there are. I am a real animal lover and the fact that I wouldn’t necessarily have to do counseling in one of those offices that make you feel weird if you are the one in the reclining chair, greatly increases the fun of the job. I am not particularly religious; however seeing how much Michon’s religion was reflected in her work was absolutely astounding. Her sheer confidence in her work, as well as her life is a very positive thing for clients to see in their counselor. It made me realize how when you are a counselor you have to be a role model for your clients; you don’t talk about your own problems, because obviously the session is not for you. But more than that you have to gain trust from your clients and by having confidence they can see you are not fake; with clients with trust issues that is very important. After talking to both counselors that are self-employed, I did however decide that if I do indeed become a counselor I think I will work for a school. Both of their advice was that it is harder to be self-employed because of the population of counselors in the area. Also if you work for a company, although you are usually paid less, you get benefits such as health insurance, a retirement plan and more. The one question that I was most interested to know about was the question, “How rewarding is this profession to you?” (Interviews 1&2 Kim). I really wanted to know how they felt about their profession so far. Jo Ellen said it was very rewarding for her and although it’s hard to get clients in this time of economic crisis, she feels like she has seen people make positive changes for their lives and she is happy to know that she was about to be a part of that. Michon was much the same way she said, “ I love the work I do, as I love people. I believe God has a plan for each and every client I see and it is not always easy for them to see a plan due to the things they have experienced in this life. There is healing through counseling and the Holy Spirit's counseling power” (Interview 2 Michon). This quote really struck me, because it showed how her religion really boosts her counseling abilities. Also her quotation shows how she can really identify with her clients, which I now finally understand is very important in the counseling world.  Through the interviews with Jo Ellen Christian and Michon Lubbers, I feel like I have a much larger understanding of what the counseling world looks like. Through both of their insight I still am unsure of whether or not that is the field for me however at least I know some of what is to come if that is the career I decide to pursue.  ** Works Cited ** Christian Jo Ellen. Personal INTERVIEW. January 22, 2009.  Lubbers, Michon. Email INTERVIEW. January 24, 2009.