february lmc quarterly

LMC QUARTERLYA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCE GUIDE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LEADERSHIP MENTORING COMMITTEE

School of CounselingWalden UniversityVolume 2, Issue 2

What Are We About?Thank you for taking the time to review the

LMC’s quarterly flier. Our committee is

excited to help you develop professionally and

bring you exciting information and counseling

related resources!

We hope that by enhancing the connections

between the programs within the School of

Counseling and Counseling Faculty, students

can increase their research interests and

professional development through networking.

Be sure to check the classrooms for additional

information that may be posted throughout the

quarter in addition to the LMC flyer! We look

forward to this exciting journey with you.

Sincerely,

The Leadership Mentoring Committee

FEBRUARY ISSUE, VOLUME 2, LMC QUARTERLY

UPCOMING CONFERENCE & WRITING OPPORTUNITIESAmerican Counseling Association

March, 2017

http://www.counseling.org/conference/future-conferences

Join the ACA Listserv and Connect with Peers, Get Current Event Counseling News!

Click the following link to subscribe: mailto:[email protected]

American Mental Health Counseling Association Conference

July 27, 2017 in Washington, DC

http://www.amhca.org/

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http://www.counseling.org/conference/future-conferences

mailto:[email protected]


THE COURAGE TO GET COUNSELED

By: Heather Curry, CMHC Student, School of Counseling

The Courage To Get CounseledBy: Heather Curry

The Courage to Get CounseledGo deeper. Find deeper meaning. Find the hidden meaning, goal, insights. What are the client’s goals? I have heard these phrases repeated many times throughout my brief education thus far at Walden. My question to you is how deep can you get with clients if you have not gone deeper within yourself? How do you measure awareness, congruency, or insight? I imagine the term used to label this will be different for many but I will use peace. Not a dissociative sort of disconnected peace but authentic peace and acceptance of yourself – your total self with all your wonderful strengths and weaknesses understood. I view strengths and weaknesses as two sides of the same coin. For example, I am excellent at recognizing people’s nonverbal behaviors; however, sometimes I read too much into these behaviors as a reflection on myself. When I try to read another’s mind and interpret what they meant this strength can become a weakness. Let’s explore this further with a metaphor about finding deeper meaning within ourselves.


The Courage To Get Counseled (CONTINUED)

I just heard about an iceberg metaphor used to describe the parts of a person that are known and unknown to themselves. The top of the iceberg is what is known to everyone and everyone can see including yourself. The bottom of the iceberg includes things you hide from others and are known to you but also the parts that are not known to you or anyone else. Like in the example used above- in the past, I did not realize that reading non-verbal behaviors can become a real negative when used to interpret for someone else what that nonverbal communication meant as a reflection of what I was saying. Maybe their stomach started to hurt and they made a face which had nothing to do with what I was saying. I must clarify what they are communicating with these non-verbal actions. Here is another way to look at having the courage to get counseled. As Dr. Nina Spadaro said “How can we offer a product that we ourselves don’t endorse? The unfinished business in our lives limits not only us, but also those we counsel” (January 18th, 2017, personal communication). This can be said another way too – an effective counselor can only take a client as deep into insights and awareness as they have gone themselves. You can’t counsel that which you are not aware even exists.


(CONTINUED)


I will leave you with a list of questions to consider as I encourage you to reach out and let someone reflect yourself back to you in a meaningful and life-altering way. It is powerful and one of the best presents I have ever given myself by far.

Do you think there are no values or beliefs with which you will struggle to counsel when you graduate? If you stand for nothing, you stand for everything.

How effective can you be as counselor if you have not explored your own inner light and dark places?

You don’t have time for that now with school work and working. Why? What advice would you give your grown child or best friend in your

shoes? Why is it not the same for yourself? INSERT YOUR VOICE IN YOUR HEAD – What is it saying to you about giving

yourself the gift of counseling? Can you reframe it yourself to see added benefits?

Resources on Self- Care

Self-Care ResourcesSelf-Care Assessment:

http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/rehb/upload/Wellness_Assessment.pdfHolmes-Rahe Stress Inventory: http://www.stress.org/holmes-rahe-stress-inventory/Self-Care Strategies: https://www.helpguide.org/harvard/stress-relief-guide.htmRelaxation Techniques: http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/blissing-out-10-

relaxation-techniques-reduce-stress-spot#1Disaster Survival:

http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/pfa/english/appendix_e3_when_terrible_things_happen.pdf

Graduate School Success: https://psychcentral.com/lib/12-tips-for-surviving-and-thriving-in-grad-school/


Key To Finding Balance

The Counseling Profession can be incredibly rewarding. however, if we fail to recognize our own needs, we can ultimately fail to provide support to others. It can be helpful for counselors to share with one another inspirational quotes and tips on self- care. We hope that you find the following contributions from your faculty helpful in your journey to find a balance! Namaste.

There's a whole lot in life that can be fixed by stepping away from your computer and phone and going outside for a while."

Dr. Cyndi Briggs “Diminishing empathy for others is the red flag that says it is time to

practice self- care; drop everything and take time for YOU!” Dr. Joelle France


How We Find Our Balance“Self-care is not the hard part – I love lying on the floor and

breathing, taking a yoga stance, or riding my bike through pastoral beauty. Becoming aware that I have actually stopped breathing and tearing myself away from what I think will be finished is I just keep doing it for a “few more minutes” - THIS is the hard part for me.”

Dr. Nina Spadaro“For me, spending time with animals, in nature, and with my

loved ones keeps my tank filled and allows me to embrace life’s challenges”

Dr. Jennifer Gess


How We Find Our Balance

“Give yourself permission to say no…. Sometimes a no to others is a yes to self”

Dr. Maranda Griffin“Self care is realizing that one does not have to be 100% proficient in every aspect of life and accepting that realization”

Dr. Marty Slyter


Faculty Spotlight: Self- CareThe following excerpt was written by Dr. Nina Spadaro, CMHC School of Counseling

“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.” B.K.S. Iyengar

Self-care involves finding what truly works for your life, your body and your temperament. I never thought I would practice yoga as I do today because my tendency was to like being mindless and active. To me self-care is about play and losing myself in what I am doing. When I turned 50 and I finally slowed down enough to start to study yoga I found Iyengar Yoga and fell in love with this style. Iyengar Yoga is a particular style of yoga that is very detail oriented. All those details trick my monkey mind into settling down and, honestly, I just find them fascinating.

When I heard yoga teachers speak about yoga being good “for the nerves”, and helpful for decreasing anxiety, depression and anger I thought it was just pseudoscientific wishful thinking. However after looking at the research I found that there is evidence to support these claims. Yoga is designed to help the body find its path to self-healing and towards resisting aging. I hope to continue doing yoga even after I hit 100 as I have seen others do.


Faculty Spotlight: Self- Care

Honestly I am not good at relaxing and I am very stiff. Surprisingly I found out that yoga is meant for stiff people, not just for flexible people. It is not for looks but for how it feels. Mr. Iyengar has said that when a person starts out studying yoga their mind is scattered and their body is in one block, but over time that trend is reversed. When I take time to do some yoga I feel amazing – physically and emotionally. When I can’t spend an hour at a time (most days I don’t) I just do a pose or two every so often throughout my day. I now take two classes per week, in addition to practicing at home.

When something makes me feel that good I can’t help but want to share it with everyone who might want to enjoy it with me. Besides inviting friends, colleagues, neighbors and Skype friends to do yoga with me, I now incorporate specific poses into my counseling practice. Yoga helps clients in many ways - to relax, to breathe, to relieve a headache, to encourage optimism and courage, to decrease triggering from trauma, increase their ability to think and even to sleep better! Yoga requires physical effort and mental discipline – but for me the rewards of outer balance and inner stillness are well worth the effort.


Final Thoughts…

Students,

Thanks for taking the time to

review the LMC Quarterly!

Please be sure to check your

advising shells for updated

information on research

opportunities with Faculty

members within the School of

Counseling!

We will be in touch soon!

The Leadership Mentoring

Committee


LMC QUARTERLYcommittee faculty members

Christian J. Dean, Ph.D., LPC-S, LMFT, NCC

CMHC Program

[email protected]

Brandy L. Gilea, PhD, PCC-S, NCC, CDCA

CMHC Program

[email protected]

Wynn D. Mallicoat, Ph.D., LPC, NCC

Counselor Education & Supervision

[email protected]

Jessica Russo, Ph.D., LPCC-S, NCC

CMHC Program

[email protected]

Elizabeth M. Ventura, Ph.D., LPC, NCC

CMHC Program

[email protected]

OCTOBER ISSUE, VOLUME 1, LMC QUARTERLY




