Before you can treat a client, you must figure out what is wrong with them and what their goals are. If you are in an agency, you will likely have a specific form that you will need to fill out. It’s usually called a “psychosocial” or a “biopsychosocial” and you’ll sit with the client for about two hours and fill it out based on how the client responds to the questions. In essence, you are interviewing the client based upon the questions in front of you. They respond verbally, and you record their answers.

If you are in private practice, you may opt to have a shortened version of this form that the client fills out prior to actually seeing you, and/or you may opt to interview the client personally in either a formal or informal manner. Most therapists in private practice have an abbreviated version of the form for the client to fill out prior to their appointment, and then they interview the client informally. Unless you are working under contract, or accepting governmental funds, as a private practitioner you are free to develop your own method for assessing clients.

Once the information is gathered, the practitioner determines what the clients’ issues are and how best to treat them. This process will vary somewhat based on the setting. In an agency, generally a formal diagnosis is made using the DSM-IV as a guide. This diagnosis is then entered into the client record, and is used to determine goals and treatment interventions. In private practice, clinicians generally don’t make a formal DSM diagnosis unless they are being reimbursed for insurance. In that case, the diagnosis is made in a similar way to the agency practitioner. Otherwise, if no formal diagnosis is required, the clinician will still make some sort of determination as to what the issue(s) are, however, there is no need to place a specific label on the client.

My next post will be about how mental health counselors establish goals.

Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,

Barb LoFrisco

It’s exhausting work, but very rewarding. It can also affect us greatly.

We enter the lives of our clients when they are at their worst and leave when they are at their best. Sometimes I think this skews our sense of reality. For example, the other day I read about all of these people who are actually happy at their jobs. I couldn’t believe it- I actually thought virtually everyone was miserable. Yet here was an entire list of people talking about how they loved their jobs. Same thing when I see a happy couple- I think it’s an anomaly, or that it’s just a matter of time until they need counseling. We have to be careful to balance our lives so that we see things in a more balanced way. Now I understand why one of my counseling professors told us to garden.

Some of us aren’t cut out to be therapists. If we are overly empathetic, and take our clients’ feelings with us when we leave the office we are in trouble. We simply can’t afford to carry around all of that pain and negativity. The people who do this will burn out in a few years and will no longer be effective counselors. We have to learn to keep clients’ problems at the office. This means establishing boundaries; ie. not allowing clients to continually run over their time, not doing phone sessions on demand, not allowing clients to expect on-demand phone therapy, and my personal favorite, not working on our day off. Yes, therapists need days off, too.

There are times that I get emotional in session. It doesn’t happen too often, but when it does I just explain (briefly! Therapy is never about the counselor!) to the client what is going on, shrug, and reach for a tissue. Nobody has ever gotten upset with me because I tear up as they are telling me a tragic story. But I don’t take this home with me. It stays in the office. When it starts to come home, I know something is wrong and I need to readjust my boundaries, limit my client load, and/or seek peer support.

Because my conversations with people are so intense at my job, when I come home I rarely feel like talking. To anyone. I don’t want to talk on the phone and I certainly do not want to talk in person. Your family has to understand this. We’re talked out and we need some time to regroup.

I also have to be careful not to enter therapy mode with my friends, or even people I have just met. I’ve caught myself several times doing this out of habit. It can be hard to separate the professional self from the personal self, but we must. Otherwise our friendships will take on that therapy-like one-way thing, and that won’t be good for us. In fact, I found that once I started doing counseling the needs in my personal relationships shifted. I found that I was in much more need of someone who would listen; I was much more sensitive and apt to feel slighted when friends failed to do this. And they did. Kind of often. As a result, I’ve had to carefully consider who to keep in my life. So, the work has changed the dynamics of my personal relationships.

But that’s all the negative stuff. There’s lots of positive- I just didn’t focus on it because if you’re reading this blog, you already know what that is. Otherwise you wouldn’t have considered this profession in the first place. And, yes, most of that stuff is true. It IS extremely satisfying to help people, and it IS an honor to be trusted enough in order to do that. All true. I just focused on the negative because this is stuff I didn’t know when I started, and so I suspect you don’t, either.

On the best days, counseling is like sitting down for tea with your best friend, only you can’t talk about yourself. On the worst days, it’s like facing the bully in the school yard, only you can’t speak up for yourself. At least not in the way you really want to. In a sense, becoming a counselor means giving up part of the human side of you – the side of you that has needs and wants to relate to other humans on a personal level. We can’t get our personal needs met while we are in relationship with our clients. Know that, be prepared, and get ready for the most fulfilling career you could ever hope for.

Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,

Barb LoFrisco

Cover Letters

Why is writing a good cover letter important? Or, rather, exactly what is a “cover letter”?

First of all, the cover letter is your way of introducing yourself to a potential employer. If you were at a party, you wouldn’t just walk up to a random stranger and hand them your resume and ask them for a job, would you? Please say “no”, or we’ll have to have an entirely different conversation. Your cover letter is your way of saying to a (potentially helpful) stranger: “Hello, I’m so-and-so, and here’s why I’m interested in you.” A gentle introduction before you get to the heart of what you really want: them to take a chance and hire you, someone they have never seen before and don’t know.

OK, now that we are in the right head space, let’s talk about the elements of a cover letter. But before I do that let me not make assumptions. You do know how to write a standard business letter, no? I forget sometimes that this is the age of social media and texting, LOL. (By the way do not use shorthand texting language in any kind of professional context like I just did). For those of you whose eyes again made the trip to the back of your head when I said “business letter”, just use Microsoft Word, and tell it to use the business letter template (the exact name will vary depending on the version of Word that you are using). Or, if you’d like to see an example of a specific letter, take a look at this cover letter.

OK, so now we know the purpose and format. But…what to include? Here are some specific tips:

1. Be specific. Just as you were for the objective on your CV, be specific in your cover letter. Do not create a generic cover letter to send to all employers. Tailor it specifically for the position you are applying for. For ideas on how to do this, check the example I provided above, or search the internet for examples of good cover letters.
2. Use proper grammar and spelling. Again, just like your CV, don’t allow grammar and spelling mistakes to come between you and the job of your dreams.
3. Formatting. Your cover letter should be easy to read, just like your CV. So, no teeny font or pink polka dotted paper. Or animal print. I don’t care how much you see it on the spring runways.

Lastly, contact your university career center. Chances are they offer cover letter review as part of their professional services. They can give your cover letter the once-over and help you fine tune it.

So…congratulations! At this point you are well on your way to securing an interview.

Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,

Barbara LoFrisco

OK…congratulations! You got the interview, which means your CV and cover letter were a success! Now let’s talk about what to do and not do at your interview. Because you want the job and not just the interview, right?

Do Your Homework

Well before your interview, research the company or non-profit along with the people who will be interviewing you. (It’s OK to ask for a list). You’ll want to know:

• Their mission statement
• How you can be useful, ie. what need can you fill
• The counseling speciality and educational background of each interviewer
• Position description, salary
• Employer history, image- consider reverse interviewing
• Formulate a list of questions to ask employer, such as:

  a. What is the normal counseling load?

  b. What qualities do you look for in a counselor?

  c. What do you enjoy most about coming to work? Least?

  d. What is the average work week like (hours)?

Dress Properly

This is your mother talking. Wear proper business attire. No cleavage, tight fitting clothing or short skirts. No sneakers, jeans, Tshirts, sweatshirts…I’m starting to feel like Stacy London from What Not To Wear. Dress professionally, and if you aren’t sure what I mean, ask a trusted family member or friend with a professional occupation to evaluate your outfit. Try to find out what the dress code is at the non-profit or company you are applying for, then dress one step above it. Generally, dress pants or a skirt (not too tight! Not too low!) and a button down blouse (not too tight! Not too low!) are safe, or a suit. Watch out for knit tops. There is a fine line between well-tailored and too-tight and I see students cross it all of the time. Lastly, check your rear view. Remember, just because you can’t see yourself from behind doesn’t mean others won’t. Fix any loose threads, gaps, stains, or peeking undergarments.

Preparing For Interview Day

This is your mother again. The night before your interview, lay out your clothes. Include a sweater or jacket, as many offices are cold. Make a practice run to the interview site prior to your interview, but at the same time of day so that you know how to get there and exactly how much time to allow for your trip. Then add about 20 minutes to it to allow for the unexpected (traffic, etc.)

Arrive early, and take a few minutes to decompress. Then put a smile on your face and stride confidently to the front desk to introduce yourself. Remember to make eye contact, and briefly but firmly shake hands with whomever you meet. If you are freaked out by germs, practice your replacement move. For example, clasp your hands about chest level and give a little bow.

Write a Thank You Letter

After the interview is over, of course you will personally thank the people who interviewed you for their time. But after you get home, don’t forget to send an additional thank you letter. Email is OK for this purpose. (But no shorthand lingo!) Follow the same principles outlined in creating a cover letter (last post), remembering to be specific, and end with a positive note, maybe about specifically how you think you can be useful to them, and/or how much you like their organization (say why).

Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,

Barbara LoFrisco

]]> http://www.mastersincounseling.org/how-to-find-a-job-after-graduation-interviews.html/feed 0 http://www.mastersincounseling.org/how-to-find-a-job-after-graduation-resumes.html http://www.mastersincounseling.org/how-to-find-a-job-after-graduation-resumes.html#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:00:18 +0000 Barb http://www.mastersincounseling.org/?p=1962 Continue reading →]]> OK, so now you’ve been accepted to the school of your dreams and you have started taking classes. Time has literally flown by, and soon you will graduate. Then what? Here’s what your university and professors won’t tell you.



Resumes

The first step to finding a job is writing a good resume. Despite what most people think, the purpose of a good resume is to get an interview, not a job. That’s the purpose of the interview, which I will cover in a future post, but I digress. Back to Resumes, or CVs (Curriculum Vitae, loosely translated as “the course of my life”) as they are called in our field.

Resumes or CVs need to be well-written and organized by sections, such as:

1. Header. The header should contain all of your contact information, including a current phone and email address. Think about how your email name reads. Ie, if your email provider is something like “hotmail.com”, consider changing it.
2. Objective. What is it that you want? Provide a one or two sentence summary, clearly and concisely written. Use active verbs. Hint: be specific, and tailor your objective to the job you are applying for.
3. Education. Be sure to list all of the universities you have attended, your major, and your GPA (for undergraduate studies). It is considered bad form to provide your graduate GPA. If you made it to graduate school, the assumption is that your GPA is good. So don’t guild the lily.
4. Employment. List all of your employers, most recent first. Be prepared to explain any significant gaps in your employment history. And hopefully with something better than “I was incarcerated” or “I couldn’t find a job so I just watched TV all day.” Did you do any volunteer work? Anything to sharpen or maintain your skills?
5. Other stuff. Include any activities relevant to your career aspirations, such as leadership positions, volunteer work, or hobbies that relate to your vocation. Do not put personal things on your resume. Sorry, but employers really don’t care if you like basketball or going to the beach.
6. Formatting. Use common sense (is that too vague?) and think of the reviewer. So, for those of you whose eyes rolled to the back of your head when I said “common sense”, do the following:

   a. Use font that’s large enough to read easily. Many reviewers are over 40 (ahem!)

   b. Be creative, but don’t use distracting colors or patterns. Think: easy to read. Not: This is so cool.

   c. Don’t use too much white space. Your text looks lonely and forlorn. Those are not thoughts you want to conjure in a reviewer.

   d. Use proper spelling and grammar. It isn’t enough to use Microsoft’s word check. It’s just a computer. It can’t read your mind and figure out what word you really mean. Read it over carefully yourself, OUT LOUD, and then have someone else read it, too. Don’t give employers a reason to eliminate you without getting to know you first. Rejection is somehow easier to swallow when it is informed.

Lastly, before submitting your resume, check with your university’s career center to see if they offer resume critique services. Most do, and can do it via email. That’s a great way to get further feedback and tips on your resume from a professional, and it won’t cost you anything.

Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,

Barbara LoFrisco

]]> http://www.mastersincounseling.org/how-to-find-a-job-after-graduation-resumes.html/feed 0 http://www.mastersincounseling.org/how-to-find-a-job-after-graduation-networking.html http://www.mastersincounseling.org/how-to-find-a-job-after-graduation-networking.html#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:00:59 +0000 Barb http://www.mastersincounseling.org/?p=1993 Continue reading →]]> Congratulations! Not only did you get into the school of your dreams, you are almost done with your classes! But…if you are like most students, you may not understand what to do next. Here’s what you won’t learn in your classes.



I know you’ve heard the term, but do you really understand what it means? Despite what you may think, networking does not mean contacting random strangers and asking for a job. No! Networking is about building relationships. This means beginning to put yourself out there in a way that’s helpful to others. In a way that they will remember you, recognize you so that when you do finally ask them for a job, or a job lead, you won’t be a stranger. They will be happy to help you, since you are a valued connection.

How do you do this? Well, you must begin introducing yourself. Start telling people you are a student, and tell them about your career aspirations. As you get closer to graduation, begin to formulate where you want to work and why. Add this to your “elevator speech”- a short (approximately 30 seconds) spiel about who you are and what you are looking for. Think of the time an elevator would take to go from the ground to the top floor, and that’s the amount of time you’ll have to pitch yourself to the decision maker that is (trapped) in the elevator with you.

But you need to also show an interest in others first. Look for genuine connections. For example, if your doctor also has a daughter in a graduate counseling program, ask him or her how the daughter is doing. It is likely that in return they will ask about you, and then viola! Give your elevator speech. Be creative. Here are some sources of future contacts that you probably wouldn’t think of on your own:

• Family friends
• Sports teams
• Co-workers (be careful! Don’t tell the boss!)
• Church
• Chamber of Commerce
• Ex-employers
• Other job seekers (share your leads!)
• Neighbors
• Volunteer work
• Service providers (ie. dentist)
• Professional organizations
• Social media (ie. LinkedIn)

A few quick words about social media. LinkedIn is where all the decision makers hang out, so you’ll definitely want to create a profile there and start making connections. For more detail and suggestions on creating a great profile, please see my previous post about LinkedIn.

Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,

Barbara LoFrisco

]]> http://www.mastersincounseling.org/how-to-find-a-job-after-graduation-networking.html/feed 0 http://www.mastersincounseling.org/dont-let-mistakes-derail-your-success.html http://www.mastersincounseling.org/dont-let-mistakes-derail-your-success.html#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:00:36 +0000 Barb http://www.mastersincounseling.org/?p=1958 Continue reading →]]> Recently I (successfully) defended my oral exams as part of my doctoral program. The experience was very stressful, but not for reasons you may think. I wasn’t stressed because I was going to be presenting a 50-page paper to my committee, whose decision could either allow me to continue on in the program of force me to quit. Nope. I was stressed because right before the meeting I realized that I was missing a key piece of equipment.



Feeling prepared that morning, I got to the conference room twenty minutes before I was scheduled to present. In the process of connecting my MacBook Pro to the projector, I was horrified to discover I had forgotten my VGA adaptor. Fortunately I had brought a second computer, a Windows machine, as a backup. I’ll just run the presentation from that computer, I thought. Only, for reasons I still don’t understand, it didn’t work. So my next thought was, I’ll just ask our support person if she has any extra adaptors. Since Mac usage is rampant in our department, surely there is a spare lying around somewhere. There wasn’t. At this point committee members are starting to filter in, and my panic level is rising.

I then try to switch my Skype session (one of the committee members is currently at another university) from my Mac to my PC, no luck. Again, for reasons I still don’t understand, Skype is not functional on my PC, only on my Mac. At this point one of my committee members feels sorry for me and suggests that I simply make paper copies of the presentation since I can’t project it on the wall. Simultaneously, our support person offers use of her personal laptop, which “has Skype.” Only, since she’s never run the program before, it is not set up. So at this point I am seated at the end of a conference table with two laptops and the projector, all useless. And the paper copies our support person is making aren’t collated, so I go into the copy room to help her.

Finally, at 11:15, I begin my presentation. I am pointing to my laptop, which had to be flipped around so that the committee could see it. And we can’t see the fourth committee member since I can’t run two programs simultaneously on my desktop.

Why am I telling you all of this? Despite my best efforts to be prepared, anything that could go wrong that morning went wrong. And there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.

Well, that’s not really true. I could control my own reactions and emotions. So that’s what I did. Even though I was panicked and sweaty, I purposely modulated my voice to project calmness. This helped me slow my pressured speech and feel a little bit calmer. I made myself smile, which made me feel confident. I immediately launched into my material, which I knew well, and pretty soon I had almost forgotten the multiple snafus. In short, I remained calm. I remained flexible and open to alternative solutions. I did not allow the technical glitches to affect my performance. I did whatever it took to get my presentation done, focusing on content rather than the delivery medium. In short, I passed.

I share this experience with you in the hope that you can learn from it without my blood, sweat and tears. Be prepared, yes, but be flexible. Something can, and will go wrong no matter how prepared you think you are. Know this, and know that no matter what you still know your stuff. You simply may have to present it in a different way. So, be flexible and open to new solutions. Adapt and adjust. You WILL accomplish your goal, but the road you take to get there could look a lot different from what you envisioned. And that’s OK.

Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,

Barbara LoFrisco

]]> http://www.mastersincounseling.org/dont-let-mistakes-derail-your-success.html/feed 0 http://www.mastersincounseling.org/essential-websites-and-links-for-counseling.html http://www.mastersincounseling.org/essential-websites-and-links-for-counseling.html#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:00:28 +0000 Barb http://www.mastersincounseling.org/?p=1946 Continue reading →]]> Below is a collection of websites and links that are essential for any beginning counselor:



Websites

As you proceed in your education, you should begin to develop a professional identity. In fact, many university programs will require that you join at least one professional organization. You’ll also have to follow the licensing laws in your state once you graduate, and you may even want to consider an extra certification. Towards that aim, below please find a compilation of professional organizations, certification boards and licensure information for you to explore:

• Professional Membership Organizations

American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA)
American Counseling Association (ACA)
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

• National Certification Organizations

National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC)

• Accreditation of Graduate Educational Programs

Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

• State Licensure for Mental Health Counselors

The American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB)
List of State Licensing Boards for Counselors

Professional Development and Support for Counselors

The rate of burn-out for counselors is very, very high. As part of developing your professional identity you should start to integrate good self-care into your clinical practice. Because counselors are natural helpers, we risk going a bit too far in helping our clients. Thus, a major part of good self-care is to be aware clinically when you are working too hard in the counseling process.

Overcome the Need to Fix

Developing Detachment

Establishing Healthy Boundaries

Preventing Compassion Fatigue

]]> http://www.mastersincounseling.org/essential-websites-and-links-for-counseling.html/feed 0 http://www.mastersincounseling.org/essential-tips-for-using-social-media-effectively-make-the-most-of-twitter.html http://www.mastersincounseling.org/essential-tips-for-using-social-media-effectively-make-the-most-of-twitter.html#comments Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:00:43 +0000 Barb http://www.mastersincounseling.org/?p=1935 Continue reading →]]> Social media can be an excellent way to network to find a job or build your business. But it can also get you into trouble. Last time, I gave you dos and don’ts for LinkedIn. In this post, I will talk about Twitter.



Twitter is probably the safest SNS as far as exposure is concerned. Because the connection between you and your Twitter account is less obvious, it’s a little safer. But that doesn’t mean you should be inappropriate.

If you want to use Twitter for personal fun, go right ahead. But remember that it is still possible for academic departments and employers to discover your Twitter account and what you have been tweeting about. Because the Twitter platform lends itself more easily to real-time communication, it may be more tempting to be impulsive. And that can be bad. How many famous people have gotten in trouble for ill-considered tweets? Remember, think: New York Times. As in, don’t publish anything you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times.

But twitter can be helpful to you. Because it is the fastest growing platform, it has the most potential to reach the largest number of people. If Twitter was a country, it would be the third largest. And that can be a good thing.

Many university career centers have twitter accounts where they tweet about job opportunities or other career information. It may be worth following several to keep yourself up-to-date. And of course, be sure to follow your own university’s twitter account if they have one.

Because hashtags (#) are used as an organizing convention, find out what the best hashtags are for career related information. You can do this by going to university career center twitter accounts and seeing what hashtags they use. You can also tweet your question and see what answers you get! Or, visit this site for more information.

The uses of twitter are limited only by the imagination. But be safe out there!

Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,

Barb LoFrisco

]]> http://www.mastersincounseling.org/essential-tips-for-using-social-media-effectively-make-the-most-of-twitter.html/feed 0 http://www.mastersincounseling.org/essential-tips-for-using-social-media-effectively-make-the-most-of-linkedin.html http://www.mastersincounseling.org/essential-tips-for-using-social-media-effectively-make-the-most-of-linkedin.html#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:00:39 +0000 Barb http://www.mastersincounseling.org/?p=1928 Continue reading →]]> Social media can be an excellent way to network to find a job or build your business. But it can also get you into trouble. Last time, I gave you dos and don’ts for Facebook. In this post, I will talk about LinkedIn.


It’s a little harder to get into trouble on LinkedIn, but still possible. If you have a Twitter account, and you are publicizing those tweets on LinkedIn, you must be mindful of what you tweet. So don’t tweet about what you had for breakfast, or the latest celebrity gossip if you want to use LinkedIn for professional networking.

And that’s really what you should be using it for. At over 150 million members, LinkedIn is the wealthiest SNS and contains the most educated participants. LinkedIn is where the high-ranking corporate decision makers hang out, so if you want to get a job, you need to be on LinkedIn. In fact, 49% are high level decision makers!

But just being on it isn’t enough. Don’t bother setting up a profile unless you do it properly. An incomplete or inaccurate profile is worse than no profile, because it shows that you thought you know how to present yourself professionally but you missed the mark. So, here are some essential tips:

1. Add a profile picture. Use a professional head shot if possible. If that’s not possible, then make sure it’s a photo of just yourself in some sort of business attire.
2. Use an appropriate, and attractive title. If you are an open networker (meaning you will accept connection requests from people you don’t know), consider adding “LION” (LinkedIn Open Networker) or “open networker” to your title and/or summary session.
3. Add your high school to your education. You never know when someone may contact you that went to the same high school. And that person could be a valuable connection.
4. Fill out the summary section fully. This is actually the most important section. Add bullet points about yourself, including what schools you went to. It’s OK to add personal stuff, but not things that are too intimate. For example, hobbies are OK, recent deaths in your family are not.
5. Join LinkedIn groups. The more groups you join, the wider your network will grow. (To check how large your network is, click on “contacts”, then “network statistics”).

Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,

Barb LoFrisco

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