The million dollar question

I'm done with grad school. I don't have my diploma yet, but I've already received my first student loan bill. Sallie Mae really doesn't waste any time. Par for the course, many people have inquired about my post-graduation plans. Ah yes, the million dollar question: So what are you going to do now that you're done with grad school?

Most people actually expect a short answer, but I don't really have a short answer. In the broadest of terms, I'd love to earn a paycheck. More specifically, I'd love a job using the skills I've been trained to do. Even more specifically, I want a job that doesn't really exist so I'm actually working on making that happen.

First things first, I need to become licensed. The timeline for the licensure process is as follows: Wait 4-6 weeks for my university to finalize my diploma. Once I have documentation of completed degree, I register to take the National Counselor's Exam (NCE), which is scheduled four weeks later. While I will know whether I pass or fail at the time of the exam, it will take 4-6 weeks to receive my official scores in which I can submit to the state for licensure. And quite honestly, I have no idea what the process is like for the state to approve the application. Basically, I have right around 12 weeks until I'm employable in a counselor/therapist role.

For now, I just plan to spend a lot of quality time with this study manual and it's companion audiobook set. So far, I've made it through 2 of the twenty CDs. 

As for finding my perfect job, well, it doesn't exist... yet! But, I'm working on it and I'm hopeful. My education, experience, and passion have me looking for ways to serve the mental health needs of our veterans in a civilian, community-based setting. I am hoping to work along side some of the established organizations in our area (and/or bringing successful organizations from other cities here into Kansas City) to provide psychological no-cost services to veterans. This would involve seeking funding from local businesses and individuals, reaching out into the military and veteran population, providing psycho-educational tools, and reducing the stigma of mental health issues. Once I'm licensed, my hope is to provide therapeutic services in a practice geared to serving veterans and their families.

So, this about sums up my post-graduation plans. Granted, I could go on and on (I wrote an entire 16 page paper and prepared a 90 minute presentation of the civilian role in military/veteran mental health needs, so I really could go on  and on...), but most people seem to check out at about this point in time, so I'll finish it up here. Though, if you do have comments or questions, let me know! And if you have tons of money just waiting to pour into past and present service members-- let me know. I'll put it to good use!

My Internship

A couple of weeks ago, I introduced my degree program. Today, I'll talk a little about my internship. Similarly to most programs, the internship is one of the last courses completed and is an opportunity to implement, practice, and enhance the skills learned in the classroom. Though in order for our degree program to prepare individuals for licensure, the internship requirements are different for each state. The internship requirements at Avila require 750 hours (half must be direct client contact) over a period of at least two semesters in which the instructor for the classroom portion must be different.

I have acquired quite the knowledge of the 12 steps during my internship! 

As for the classroom portion of internship, we meet for class weekly. We prepare case reports and share with the class, seek advice or suggestions about things going on at the internship sites, along with some coursework, too. This is the "capstone" course in which we will complete what is essentially a thesis during the final semester of internship. I am working on this now and it is by far the most lengthy, in-depth, and time-consuming paper I have ever written.

Lastly, my internship requirements also include weekly supervision at my internship site. My supervisor  reads over and signs off on all of my paperwork including my diagnoses, progress notes, and reports. We talk about each of the clients on my caseload and offers guidance and direction.

Students seek out their own internship sites. My classmates work in a variety of areas including the university counseling center, women's shelters, inner city mental health clinics, and inpatient children psych facilities. When I first began looking for internship sites, I was looking for a place to work with veterans and military personnel. It turns out, there isn't such site.

Side note: The VA didn't even recognize Licensed Professional Counselors as qualified personnel to work in the mental health services they offer until this past year. As it stands now, LPCs are eligible, however, openings for fully licensed LPCs are limited. Students are ineligible to serve as interns unless they are members of a specially accredited university, in which, only one school in Kansas City is such. 

Another side note: My degree program does not prepare students as school counselors. People always ask if I will do school counseling, but the truth is... I can't, at least not in the public schools. Basically, it all boils down to state regulations and requirements. Some schools may offer this option as part of a counseling psychology degree, but they are generally two separate degrees (at least in MO and KS). 

So, after coming to terms with my inability to serve the population in which I desired, I began to search out a site that claimed to have any veteran population whatsoever. I found a single site in all of the KC Metro that is all but officially a veteran facility-- a transitional living substance abuse treatment facility for homeless men. I work with veterans on a daily basis. In fact, almost 75% of our facility are veterans (ranging from the Korean war to OIF/OEF) and there have even been a few currently active duty military personnel while I have been there.

source

Despite the unfortunate reality of the alarmingly high rates of homeless veterans (and homeless individuals of any status, for that matter), I absolutely love my internship. I work 25 hours a week and at least 12.5 of those hours are required to be direct client contact, such as an individual session and/or group therapy (I love group therapy!! Actually, I love working one-on-one, too. I just love it all!... except the paperwork...).

At our facility, the clients work with their Substance Abuse counselors to create a treatment plan for their substance addiction (including plans for recovery, housing, employment, etc). Furthermore, all clients are required to participate in a mental health assessment. Clients may then chose to continue to participate in individual counseling sessions. The latter two fall into my job responsibilities-- to make an official diagnosis for each client along with a psychotherapy treatment plan if they so choose.

Often times an individual who presents with a drug or alcohol addiction has underlying issues that have contributed to the addiction in the first place (and many times, the drugs or alcohol use began as a means to self-medicate). It's my job to work through the underlying issues, such as depression, trauma, and/or anxiety. I have worked bipolar and schizophrenic individuals, too, though I work in conjunction with the staff psychiatrist and clinical psychologies who administer medication prescriptions and testing, respectively.

I lead three groups each week- Relapse Prevention, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and a Veteran's Processing Group. My average caseload is approximately 5-6 returning clients and I average about one new intake each week. I was told that I'd need to acquire some "tough skin" to work in this population, yet, I don't feel as if I have had to all that much! I am well respected by the clients, as well by other staff. The men hold the door when I walk by and they take me seriously. In the very few times a client has displayed a perceived disrespect, the other clients are quick to defend me-- even if it's unnecessary! I wish I could experience working where I do. I think it'd be such a great opportunity to realize that a majority of the homeless population don't fit the stereotype.

Internship is clearly a dedicated process, which will hopefully explain why my blogging has declined over the last several months. I started in January and will end at the end of July-- just seven weeks! This was a bit longer than I anticipated, but I wanted to cover the requirements, but also my experience of internship!

11.11.11

Today is Veteran’s Day! Let’s celebrate, honor, support, and pray for our soldiers today {and every day!}.

To all the Veterans who’ve served—thank you for all of your sacrifice. To the men and women serving today—I pray for your safety every day. To all the military families—from one to another, let’s stand together and support our heroes. I happen to live with an American hero—what a lucky girl am I.

As a country, we have really stepped up to the plate in terms of supporting our troops {after the disaster of Vietnam-era wake up call}. Many send care packages, others support families of deployed soldiers. We thank soldiers in uniform. And on a day like today, we remember those who’ve given the ultimate sacrifice.

And now for a soapbox if you will. We are dropping the ball at really, *really* taking care of our veterans. All politics aside, it is undeniable. I am a student of Counseling Psychology, and with a newly appointed military psychology focus. {Just ask Derek who has had to repeatedly listen to my plan about moving to Chicago so I can join the Doctoral Clinical Psych, Military track program at Adler School of Professional Psychology}. 

My research into the military psychology is heartbreaking. And I know that I am just a very empathic, passionate person and being that I have chosen to focus my education and my career in this, I of course am more vested in this than most. {Again, just ask Derek who has to listen as I vent, I cry, I anguish into the wee hours of the night about the psychological distress that is evident in a war movie/tv show we watched, i.e. The Hurt Locker, Battle Los Angeles}. But even for the rest of you, this should matter to you.

This is a tiny portion of what Adler Professional School of Psychology has to say about today’s veterans:

Collectively they suffer above-average rates of psychological problems, substance abuse, suicide, and chronic homelessness. Veterans… often experience challenges with reintegration into society, preparing for additional deployment, recovering from a traumatic injury, trying to further their education, and trying to manage all of the above while attempting to seek treatment for mental health or substance abuse problems.

Did you read that!? And these are the soldiers who have been returned to us alive. These aren’t just the ones who’ve lost limbs and/or have other medical issues. These are the “normal” guys! Yet, these guys {and gals} are struggling to stay sober, to find a place to live, to stay alive in our own country. It’s not only the ones who have made the ultimate sacrifice that are our heroes—our heroes include every single man and women who make their way back onto free soil and attempt to live a “normal” life that will never, ever compare to our civilian normalcy.

It turns out that the National Guard and Reserve soldiers have suicide rates that are higher than active duty. The military community in our area consist of mainly of guardsmen and reservists, so this hits home. These guys are caught between two worlds—the military world and the civilian world the rest of us live in. While the active duty guys like to poke fun at the guardsmen and reservists because of the “easy” life they are granted— only dealing with army stuff {PT, army BS, so on and so forth} once a month. And it’s true—they only have to do those things once a month, but it also means that they only experience the camaraderie and support once a month. They are not surrounded by people who “get it”, who have “been there”, or with whom they can share an unspoken bond. They have been more affected by the economic downturn. Many are unable to find employment, unable to pay for housing, which are primary benefits of enlisting full time. Many are falling through the cracks and we need to make sure we are reaching out to our civilian warriors. They may seem so much like us—going about their daily lives, working at a normal job, but you can’t take the warrior out of a veteran. It is still there, whether you can see it or not.
But guardsmen or reservist or active duty, whether serving in Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force— they all suffer. In fact, another article states:

Although only 1 percent of Americans have served in the military, former service members represent 20 percent of suicides in the United States.

Holy cow. We are losing just as many {if not more} soldier here on our turf than overseas.
One of life’s questions that I will never understand is why those who’ve made the commitment to fight for others, why must they carry such heavy burdens for their remaining existence? Shouldn’t they be free from mental warfare for volunteering to go into physical warfare!? Physical warfare for you and for me. It’s just not fair. 

Many of our veterans are fighting still today— fighting to maintain mental stability, fighting to keep their marriages together, fighting to find a purpose in life, fighting to become what they used to be before the scars of war were etched in their souls.

Please read sentence over, and over, and over again. Let is sink in to the depths of your toes. May your gratitude, thankfulness, respect amplify ten-fold. The sacrifice our soldier have, and are, making is not simply to lay their life on the line if duty calls… but to sacrifice what is often considered “normal” mental health. Marriages are failing, drug and alcohol rates are sky-rocketing, and we’ve already taken a look at the suicide rates. Our soldiers have sacrifice continues for a lifetime and we civilians need not to forget it.

What are you doing to help, support, encourage the veterans near you?

We all need to be doing something. Something bigger than what we may already be doing. Something more than a simple facebook status on this holiday, more than forwarding a sentimental email. Go out and actually *do* something. Find a group that supports our veterans; create one if you can’t find one. Shake hands of vets. Teach your kids. Send care packages. Adopt a veteran. The opportunities are endless. The important thing to remember here is to continue to support, encourage, and pray for those soldiers who’ve already made it home. They still have a battle to fight.

Consider sending a card to a veteran, courtesy of Tiny Prints. Just like them on facebook follow the directions. I’ve done it—it’s super simple and it doesn’t cost a thing. They have even teamed up with an organization to determine where to send the cards!

We met up with great grandpa for our annual visit to the Hy-Vee breakfast. Derek had the day off, so he was able to join us! We love our vets—especially Daddy and Great-Grandpa!


Happy Veteran’s Day! Enjoy it! And make a wish—it’s 11.11.11, a once in a lifetime occurrence {for most of us anyway}. God Bless!

The Real American Heroes

To celebrate Veteran's Day today, we headed out to the Hy-Vee breakfast with Grandpa. We started this tradition last year and I hope that we can continue for many years to come! It's more than just having Jackson spend time with Great-Grandpa, it's about exposing him to the real heroes of our society. He's still a little young to understand, but I did my best at explaining that the men and women there today were all soldiers like Daddy! It is so important to let him know that we honor and support our veterans-- of all branches, active duty or retired, family members and even strangers!

Jackson and Great-Grandpa Duff, Retired Air Force

Jackson really surprised me this morning as I was getting him dressed. Chacey had on her shirt first and he pointed and said, "flag!" I really didn't know he knew the concept of the flag. And then he cheered, "wooohh!" I haven't quite figured out where he picked up on cheering for the flag, aside from maybe at Derek's Basic Graduation, when he had a flag and we cheered for Daddy. Either way, it was just really sweet.

Jackson and Chacey got really into waving their flags!

And of course, eating breakfast!

We can't wait to celebrate with our number one Veteran next year! We love you Derek and we are so very proud of you!! He is heading off post this evening to attend an appreciation dinner at a local church and he is VERY excited. (He was very disappointed about missing a pot-luck dinner at our church last week and so this is his consolation!)

A big thank you to all the servicemen, past and present. Derek and I both have several Veteran family members and friends, both active duty and retired, and they each were contributed inspiration in Derek's decision to enlist. And lots of prayers go out to the men and women serving in battle right now.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I took this quotation from a friend's facebook page. I just love it. For some good, easy ideas to do something for a soldier, check out this link.

But let's not just focus only on the members serving in combat. I think we tend to reach out to families and pray intently for those on Active Duty, which I undoubtedly believe is our civilian duty. However, let's not forget about the ones who've already served and are now back home. Soldier suicide is at an all-time high these days- June marks the all time high with 34 deaths. This is not okay. Have you seen last years Oscar-winning movie, The Hurt Locker?! (Not that I recommend it for a relaxing night in, but as a good image of the psychological battle our soldier endure).

Thousands of men and women come home each month and are fortunate enough still have all of their limbs, no visible scars, and most of their friends. However, each and every soldier will come home with psychological scars that may haunt them forever- some more serious than others. The divorce rate upon returning soldiers is through the roof. These people are not only fighting overseas; they have intense battles to fight upon returning home.

The military has improved the services they proved greatly in the past decade, but we need to do our part too. Granted, there's not a lot we can say or do considering they experienced something we can not even fathom to understand. However, genuine love and support, deep gratification, and reaching out to them can go a long way. Never trivialize what they do. Listen if you have a friend who wants to talk about it. But more likely, if they don't want to talk about it-- don't pry. You can let them know you are there for them without having dig. And truth be told, we probably couldn't cope with the real details anyway. Most importantly, remember these soldiers in your prayers, and pray intently. Thank the Lord for our real American heroes.