Mental Health Counselor Interview Analysis

The professional mental health counselor I interviewed is my faculty advisor and her name is Dr. Konja Kleeper. She has many credentials and certifications and, as my faculty advisor, is aligned with my licensure and career goals. She is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC). She also informed me that any credentials beyond the LPCC and NCC are up to my own discretion.

Summary of the key ideas discussed in an interview

There are very many key ideas that were discussed during this interview. The main ideas that were of most interest to me included counseling individuals from various religious and spiritual backgrounds, maintaining one’s safety and the importance of counselors practicing

self-care. The interview was very informative and I learned many things during the interview process.

One aspect of the counseling profession that is of interest to me is how mental health counselors are able to work with clients from various religious backgrounds. Dr. Kleeper described how she is able to do this in her own work. She described her counseling approach as being humanistic. My understanding of this type of counseling is when the client and counselor are considered as equals and the client as a whole person is respected and not reduced to the sum of their parts or experiences (SCHOLL & BRADY-AMOON, 2014). She also discussed transpersonal therapy and how this gives her the ability to work with clients from various religious and spiritual backgrounds. She also stated that each person has a different meaning for, and approach to, practicing spirituality in their daily lives and working with an individual’s belief system can be a part of the intervention process.

A concern of mine in this current climate is the ability to maintain my own safety as a future mental health counselor. When I asked Dr. Kleeper what are the most challenging aspects of being a counseling professional, I assumed she would discuss safety and, perhaps, working with clients that may pose some sort of challenge; however she responded to the question in two ways. She did state that all counseling facilities maintain safety protocols. Safety protocols in a facility usually include a panic button, certain ways to pick up and answer the phone and particular safety words. It also includes making smart choices; for example, not walking alone but with a colleague or not staying too late after work. She stated that counseling interns also discuss safety procedures with a supervisor in an effort to set up an environment that is conducive to safety.

Additionally, she felt it would be more informative to discuss with me the importance of self-care and the importance of maintaining balance. She stated how we, she as a mental health counselor and I as a counselor in training, have good hearts and want to care for others; however, most often we stop taking care of ourselves. She stated how she has to create a self-care plan every quarter and if she doesn’t plan it, it doesn’t happen. This includes going to the movies or a hike because it is so easy to push self-care aside, to do a little more paperwork and stay in the office just a little bit later.

We concluded the interview with her discussing the most rewarding aspect of being a mental health counselor. She discussed the trust and safety that counselor and clients develop while working together. She described it as being the magic that is created and exists. It is this part of the process that is most rewarding for her.

Reflection on the personal implications of key ideas discussed in the interview

It was very exciting to conduct this interview and I believe I could not have been matched with a more perfect faculty advisor.

Dr. Kleeper’s description of her counseling style and the relationship that a counselor is able to develop with clients has really assisted me with solidifying my intention of becoming a mental health counselor. Learning about humanistic counseling and transpersonal therapy was really interesting. Although I believe I am willing and open to work with clients from various backgrounds, it is of great interest to further understand how I can bring a client’s spiritual belief into the intervention

process.

When discussing safety issues while working with clients, I was put at ease by Dr. Kleeper’s response. Knowing that there are precautions mental health counselors and facilities have in place in the form of processes and procedures lets me know that I can feel good about focusing on the work as my primary concern. Also, I was very comforted that Dr. Kleeper took my question about safety in a different direction and discussed self-care. To know that she makes a plan for herself every quarter confirms that I should institute a self-care plan during my enrollment. During this quarter, I have read literature that discuss counseling graduate programs and internships that address self-care in the curriculum and during internship meetings with the supervisor. My goal is to seek out ways to institute this practice now and in the future.

Finally, our discussion about the safety and trust that happens during the counseling process has really given me a more important view of why I want to become a mental health counselor.

Dr. Kleeper having called this process magic has reminded me of my work with students and what I call light bulb moments. In essence, the light bulb moment is when a student’s eyes light up and their understanding of a concept has truly been internalized. Therefore, when I hear about the magic that can happen, I imagine that it is when the client has realized that they have the internal wisdom and power to truly shift their own lives. If this is true, I look forward to being a part of this type of process. Lastly, as I began to look into transpersonal therapy, the possibilities of the varied methods clients could have access to be very exciting for me. Methods include meditation or prayer, guided visualizations and altered states of being (Rowan, 2002). I hope to be able to ethically incorporate various types of counseling methods and styles such as these and also continue to invest in my own personal and professional growth, just as my potential clients are investing in their own

development.