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The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention….
~ Rachel Naomi Remen
This has been my professional email signature for seven, approaching eight, years as a Mental Health Counselor. Over these years, I have lobbied in Albany with the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS), worked with Westchester and Putnam MHA’s.
While the statement above may seem simple and obvious, it is a daunting task to truly give one’s complete attention. Counseling skills involve ways of listening and speaking that help a person feel supported, understood, validated, and hopeful. This is a remarkable mission and why I feel that counseling these past years has not only been a job but also a commitment.
To me, listening is a science and a core of Mental Health Counseling. Columbia’s Center for Practice Innovations, where I have done training, supports, as do I, the approach of Motivational Interviewing and the science and art of listening that makes up strengths-based, person-centered approaches. In applying these skills through counseling, and facilitating groups and training, I have seen countless individuals benefit. I have worked in multiple settings: In-patient adolescent, substance abuse and 12-step groups, PROS Day programs, individual counseling, care coordination, social skills after school programs, senior living, domestic violence crisis, clinics and more. I have seen dignity return as individuals experience defining themselves from a strengths-based perspective that does not focus on prescribing interventions to prevent “maladaptive behaviors”.
I have utilized the Stages of Change model and been trained in DBT, EFT, IFS, Somatic Experiencing and received certificates in suicide prevention, CBT, wellness, and Play Therapy techniques. My resume will show, I also have been recognized with several professional awards. Needless to say, my professional experience is extensive.
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