Alonso studied and practiced Law in Mexico City before changing careers. In August of 2021, he graduated from Fordham after completing his internship at RobinsPsych -a private practice in NYC- where he is now working full-time. Alonso works with low-SES populations, focusing on culturally sensitive approaches, Trauma, Interpersonal Relationships, Compassion-based, and Mindfulness.

If you have questions for Alonso, you can reach him at adelconde@fordham.edu!

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham?

You mentioned I'm an international student, so I think for an international student it's a great opportunity to be and to learn. The students come from such diverse backgrounds and make the discussion so rich and valuable, especially because you're in New York City. Also, most of the faculty use that type of richness and carry it into the classroom so we can all learn about each other. And then, the cohorts are not that big. They're actually kind of small, so you get to know everyone fairly well and I think that's incredibly valuable. I think the approach is genuinely multicultural and inclusive, it's not just advertising, it's real.

Do you have any advice for graduates next year when they start their job search?

Listen to your gut. Sometimes the job looks perfect and paper, but if something feels off just listen to your gut and ask yourself what you really want, and you know allow your intuition, to put you in the right place. Stay curious and focus also on good supervision because I think that's key.

We are both international students, so I'm curious did you have any difficulties when doing your job search?

Yes, um it's a whole thing and because, as an international student, you need a visa and the paper permission… and navigating that field is just so difficult and challenging because you might not get an offer. Or when you are job hunting, some sites might be really interested in you, but then you have to explain to them that in a way, you have to also sponsor my visa in some capacity. Most of them get really scared because it's like “I don't even know how to do that.”

SherrieLynn graduated from Fordham in August 2020. She states that her time was challenging mostly as a result of her disability. She interned at a domestic violence shelter where she was hired shortly thereafter. She is currently working in private practice where her focus is on serving BIPOC populations. She continues to expand in the area of trauma and is also now an adjunct professor at her undergrad alma mater.

If you have questions for SherrieLynn, you can reach her at sherrielynnlilley@gmail.com!

Tell me more about how the pandemic and the shift to Tele-health has impacted you.

I feel like I've adapted really well… it might be just the rapport that I now have with the majority of my clients, but I don't find it to be much different. In fact, talking to colleagues who have vision, they are actually having a more difficult time than I am. I’m happy because I'm used to having to listen for cues and interact with clients, so that I can have that connection differently than most mental health professionals. So that was the biggest challenge and I think I've done very well now.

How would you describe your theoretical approaches?

I have really landed on having as my anchor or my foundation, a lot of psychodynamic kind of concepts, because I really do believe that the past and the childhood has a lot to do with where we are. But I use it in a much more modern way so where I pull that kind of forward actually kind of lends more around humanistic kind of approaches, where you are a person, a human being an individual and that, when you come into the room, you are the expert and I'm just here to kind of join with you and help you to figure this all out.

What advice do you have for students who are just starting the mental health program or just current students?

Really, I would say to enjoy your education like really take what you can get from what the program has to offer, and to really talk to your professors and talk to your classmates and really make the most of your learning. You're not going to get rich as a mental health care worker unless you write either the book with the newest theory or something like that. So, most of us are here because we love people so as you're going through the program really absorb the aspects of the program that are really going to connect you to your ability to work with people. That would be my advice. I think all the theory stuff and the diagnosing and labeling, that is important, but only to the extent that it helps you to better understand the person. So then, when you actually get into practice with the person it doesn't feel robotic, or it doesn't feel theory-heavy or like you're practicing on them more as if they're a guinea pig than they are a person. So yes, really being able to learn how to love people.

Max graduated from the MHC program class of ‘13 after completing his internship at FEGS’ Bronx PROS program working with dually diagnosed SMI clients. After graduation, he worked at a variety of sites until licensure, primarily with dually diagnosed clients on community supervision. He then moved to the MCO world, and now manages a team of programmers and analysts for Centene across the United States.

If you have questions for Max, you can reach him at itsmaxmileaf@fordham.edu!

What stood out to you during your time at Fordham in the Mental Health Counseling Program?

It was definitely the people that you get to know exceedingly well in ways that you never really thought were possible in other settings. There's never quite something as intimate as doing group therapy with your classmates so there's a whole host of people that I actually still keep in touch with even though we've kind of scattered to the winds.

What kind of aspects of the mental health counseling curriculum have you taken into your new role?

I would argue that computer programming and data analysis are as far from active listening and being empathetic, as you can possibly be but one of the reasons why I am effective at what I do is because I come into a lot of the problems that we're faced with but with an understanding that people are people and kind of listening to what they're saying.

What advice you have for students who are just starting their Fordham experience in the mental health counseling program. What about those who just graduated and are starting their careers?

Try to have as much fun as possible. Enjoying what you're doing is like nine tenths of the experience… If I had learned one thing about being a therapist, it's that the most important thing is just that you're there for your clients.

Annette Rapice earned her B.A. in Psychology from Providence College. In May of 2016, she graduated from Fordham University with an MSED in Mental Health Counseling. During her time at Fordham, Annette completed her internship at Fordham University's Office of Disability Services at the Lincoln Center Campus. Her internship focused on serving as an Academic Coach for various Fordham students. Annette currently serves as the Associate Director of Fordham University's Office of Disability Services at the Lincoln Center campus where she works to provide reasonable academic accommodations to students with a documented disability throughout their Fordham career. 

If you have questions for Annette, you can reach her at arapice@fordham.edu!

What stood out to you during your time in the Fordham mental health counseling program?

I would say the biggest takeaway that I had was the connections that I made with both my peers and professors. I am lucky to work with some of them now, as colleagues. I have a great group of friends from that program that I rely on for things like job advice.

What do you find most interesting about your current position?

I really like that I just worked with a wide variety of students, I think you know people here disability services and they kind of assume maybe some of the more typical disabilities or the ones that are like sort of presented to us... but I work with a wide range of students, we work with a ton of students with ADHD or learning disabilities as well as students with physical mobility challenges and visually impaired students.

What would you say are the most challenging aspects of your job?

Sometimes it is a bit challenging to explain why one individual is getting something versus another individual that might be getting something else. Just because services are offered does not mean that it really fits. For one student it might not work for them, but it will work for somebody else. Really explaining to just people about how this office works. It's not a “one size fits all.”  

Jamez Amour Anderson earned her B.S. in Theatre at Northeastern University. In May of 2021, she graduated from Fordham University with an MSEd in Mental Health Counseling. While at Fordham she completed her practicum internship at Grace ABounds, a private practice in NJ, and was awarded an APA 2021 Minority STAY Fellowship. Jamez currently serves as a full-time Outpatient Therapist at Bethanna in Philadelphia working with children and families involved in the foster care system. Jamez's areas of clinical focus include Trauma, Interpersonal Relationships, Substance Use, and Executive Functioning.

If you have questions for Jamez, you can reach her at janderson52@fordham.edu!

What has surprised you most about working with children and families?

Working with children and families is sometimes very akin to being a caseworker in the sense that, in order to help the child, you have to be familiar with what is going on in their school system. What are the resources they have access to? Do they have access to free testing and evaluation or is that something you are going to have to find them a referral for?  One of the challenges and one of the benefits of working with kids and families. Is you’re also working with the parent so you’re not just working with the child in isolation, you have to have regular conversations with the parent.

What would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work that you do?  

Right now I work with children, my population is anywhere from age three to twenty-one. That’s when you fully age out of the foster care system. It’s a huge range and I absolutely loved the program at Fordham and I have no regrets at all. However, working with kids is so different than working with adults… If there was any “wiggle room” to add something to the program it would maybe be an elective in child therapy or child play therapy because it’s just a completely different world.

What advice would you have for graduates entering their job search?

If you are able mentally, spiritually, and financially, take a month off. Take a month to enjoy the fact that you graduated grad school and that’s such a huge life accomplishment. Relax and decompress. There’s so much opportunity in the mental health field and it’s only going to keep growing in the next decade and beyond. There are so many different fields, career paths, and positions that you can go into with a master’s degree in education in mental health.

Fr. JunHee is a Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and graduated from the MHC program in 2020 after completing his internship at Queens College Counseling Services. Upon completing his master's degree, he is currently pursuing his doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences (Divine Mercy University) in Sterling, Virginia.

If you have questions for JunHee, you can reach him at frjunheelee@gmail.com! 

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

What really stood out to me at Fordham, especially at the orientation, was really the faculty members. For me, there was a very genuine friendliness and and conviction in the program amongst the professors and the staff. It really felt like a family, like they knew each other, they were very respectful, for their specialties and of their roles. The dynamic of the Faculty Member really made it feel comfortable for me to commit to the MHC program at Fordham.

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare students for the type of work you do?

Given the situation that we're in, and i'm sure Fordham is already doing this, maybe having some special classes for telehealth. The reality is, it is going to be another niche in our counseling and clinical practice and there's so much that comes with it. And I think, to have that type of background and class or will be very helpful. 

Do you see any shift in your understanding of the role of spirituality in one's mental health, especially given the climate that we are in?

Thank you for asking that question. Because I am a Catholic priest,  spirituality and religion, they are very important, in my own life and in my own clinical practice. I will never push my ideas and thoughts and my religious faith. I always leave it up to the client. If they bring spirituality into the therapeutic space, then that's something that we talk about, certainly. For many people spirituality, religiosity, and religion itself and prayer - it's a great way to cope with certain things, and especially with pandemic...

Lina graduated from Fordham in 2021 after completing their internship at Montefiore's Group Attachment-Based Intervention, helping families involved with ACS heal intergenerational trauma. Lina currently works at Intuitive Healing, a group private practice in Manhattan. Lina sees adolescents, adults, and couples interested in culturally focused mental health services. 

If you have questions for Lina, you can reach them at lina@intuitivehealingnyc.com! 

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

A couple things! I think the main thing is the network and community building. There were so many people, through internship, classes, and group projects, that I became super close with. Some of them are still my best friends! And I think that the support of other people who are going through the same things that you are [in school], and [simultaneously] figuring out how to be a clinician with you [stood out to me]. That support system was really, really valuable. Finally, a lot of the professors! Having resources to be able to chat with professors and get to know alumni are aspects of the program I feel very grateful that I was able to use during my time at Fordham.

How has the pandemic and the shift to telehealth impacted you? 

I think the first big thing was that my internship was virtual. I went into the office, but all of my clients were online. Right now, at my job I work in the office three days a week, and I have one work from home day. So I am in person more [now], but I think the biggest thing that has changed is that, as opposed to before when all of the clients that I see on my office days would be in person, about 40% are in person and 60% are virtual. So even though I'm in my office I'm still usually doing virtual [sessions] most of the day. One other thing is that has been impacted is who you can work with. For example, working with folks throughout the pandemic has kind of looked different based on [the ability to work] across state lines. That's another consideration that has come up.

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search? 

I think everybody should take the time to, if they can, is really think about what your strengths are - what are the things you want to work on? Ultimately, what you want to do long term [might] change, but really trying to get to that core authentic self [by considering] what [you] want out of a job, the types of clients that [you] want to work with and the type of schedule [you'd like to have]. Try to find that as much as possible, because it's probably more feasible than it feels like it is. The more aligned, you are in your workplace, the less likely you are to burn out, the happier you're going to be and the better the rest of your career will unfold!

Bizu is a Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor (LGPC) and 2015 MHC grad. She completed her clinical internship at Federal Employment and Guidance Services (FEGS) Health & Human Services providing individual and group counseling to adults with co-morbid mental health illnesses. She worked as a Career Counselor and Graduate School Specialist at Fordham's Office of Career Services where she also had the pleasure of counseling MHC students. Bizu is currently a therapist at Parkhurst Associates, a private practice in DC, where she works with clients focusing on life transitions and adjustment, anxiety, relationship issues, and college and career counseling.

If you have questions for Bizu, you can reach her at bksolomon3@gmail.com! 

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

The people - I'm still friends with a lot of my classmates. The backgrounds that they all brought and came from were always so interesting to me. Their presence was really supportive throughout the process. Not just the students, but also the professors. It's great to still be in contact with some of them. When I came back to work for Fordham, a lot of faculty remembered me which was surprising at first because it has been about six years since I've graduated. It has been nice to stay connected to the professors. It really stood out to me throughout the program how invested they were in us, not just as future mental health clinicians, but as people. It's not the type of program where you just check in and do the work and leave. It really sticks with you and I think the people in general allowed that to be a powerful and passionate process.

Can you speak a bit about your experience working at Fordham's Career Center and the ways in which it informed your personal transition to a job outside of New York? 

I worked at Fordham's Office of Career Services and I specialized in working with graduate students. That led me to the wonderful opportunity to work with MHC students as well as other students within the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. It was definitely a wide range of students which led me to appreciate more of my experience as a previous graduate student. One of the things I liked to talk to students about was about how there isn't one straight path toward your career. There are so many stops along the way. There are so many different directions you might go. And I think approaching that with curiosity and openness really allowed me to enjoy my own path.  

I went into graduate school knowing I wanted to be a therapist. I definitely wanted to work directly with clients in one-on-one or group settings. After I graduated I didn't see as many opportunities for that right away so I pursued a teaching opportunity working with middle schoolers with different special education needs - which is totally different from what I expected. That was a really powerful experience and I could see a lot of my counseling skills in action while working and communicating with their parents, teachers, caregivers and school counselors as well. That was one part of my trajectory. I stayed in contact with Fordham and was later invited to interview for a career counseling position. I wanted to get a chance to work with adolescent and college aged students so that was an opportunity to utilize those skills in a different setting.  

While I didn't know where that path would go, it brought me back to DC because I grew up here and wanted to continue my work closer to family. When I decided to move, I pursued licensure. My previous experiences teaching and career counseling did not require licensure. Knowing that at some point I would move back to this (DC) area, I knew that I would pursue hours in the state that I wanted to be licensed in. So I held off on that and that's why my licensure timeline is also different (from most students). It doesn't have to be immediately after you graduate.

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare students for the type of work you do?

I remember being surprised that multicultural counseling was not necessarily something that all programs focus on in the way that Fordham's program does.  I really appreciate seeing multicultural counseling in any program and believe continuing to incorporate that throughout all classes versus having just one class that's focused on it would be something I would encourage for any curriculum, not just Fordham's. I did see the moments where it was incorporated in my others courses and how valuable that was, so seeing more of that would be wonderful! 

Also, curriculum-wise it would be helpful for students (as busy as they are) to explore other theories and specialty areas on their own and bring it back to class themselves. For example, I worked with some clients around trauma and I think that would've been a helpful thing for me to discuss more with my professors at the time if I had done my own research or brought in my own questions versus it feeling like we had to follow what was written in the curriculum. As a student you are so immersed in the program that you are expecting to go along with whatever the syllabus is and whatever you're learning within the course. So it would be helpful to have some freedom to bring in other theories you're interested in.

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search? 

Coming back to those Acceptance and Commitment Therapy principles, definitely around flexibility and curiosity, approach your search with some openness. Definitely utilize your career services office! Speak to your peers - there's a lot to be learned from each other. Stay connected to your professors after your graduate as well. A lot of my thoughts around this come to continuing to be active after your completion of the program. There are so many benefits after you graduate. I remember talking a lot with MHC students while career counseling and learning about what they liked and disliked about their experiences. You don't have to feel like the population you work with during your internship is only population you are going to work with. There's a lot of curiosity in the search! 

Abigail Nicolas graduated from the MHC program in August 2012. Upon completing her master’s level externship at John Jay College's Counseling Service Center, Abi earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology at University at Albany (SUNY) and completed her internship at Georgia State University's Counseling & Testing Center.

A Brooklyn native and first-generation American of Haitian descent, Dr. Nicolas values authenticity, multiculturalism, and social justice.  She currently serves as a Staff Psychologist and Assistant Training Director at Therapy Group of DC where she provides clinical supervision, individual therapy, group therapy, and career counseling to adult women, people of color, and queer folx.

If you have questions for Abi, you can reach her at anicolas121@gmail.com! 

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

I always say that it's my favorite educational experience. The professors and their teaching are probably the thing that stood out the most. I feel like the people who are the core faculty are very knowledgeable, very invested, and passionate about mental health counseling and psychology and it rubs off on you. Also they're just very personable - some of my favorite professors! I also felt like the work that they gave us was never busy work, I felt like it was to grow us, it was to challenge us, and I felt very stretched by it - In a good way. They really made me love counseling psychology counseling psychology (which is what I went into) because of what they did, but I also think that the classmates [stood out for me], especially in the smaller classes (like the the counseling pre-practicum classes). I just loved everyone being vulnerable and trying roleplaying group therapy and feeling very real. The quality of the classes were just awesome.

What do you find most interesting about your current job? And most challenging? 

I’m a therapist and I'm also an assistant training director, which means that I help create a training program, but also provide clinical supervision to the external trainees.The most interesting parts of my job are my clients and my supervisees. My clients just fascinate me. They continue to help me expand my understanding of human experience and make me question my understanding. I continue to grow and evolve because of them. Training my supervisees and helping them develop more counseling self efficacy and just more trust in themselves as therapists - it brings me so much joy, it gives me life. 

What is most challenging and likely will be for a long time, if not forever, is just the discomfort of not always knowing. Not always having the answer. I think sometimes clients are looking for you to have the answer. Either they're looking for someone who is all knowing where they just have this assumption about therapists that they should know, they must know. But sometimes we don't. And it helps us, we want to feel really equipped with knowing. Being human and just being bound by existing in your own culture and your own context and you want experiences you just can't always know stuff. So sometimes i'm comfortable in the not knowing, but other times it's really uncomfortable, it’s anxiety provoking, and it's just hard. That will probably continue to be the biggest challenge: sitting in that comfort.

Can you take me through a typical day in the life at your current job?

Every day, is a little bit different because I don't just do one thing. But for the most part, on a on a daily basis, I, on average, see four to six clients and they will vary in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, their presenting concerns. I usually have a diverse load on each day, some of it is unplanned, some of it is planned, because I, just like the variety. On those days I also typically see one of my supervisees. And then on Wednesdays we have our training day where the trainees all do their other training components. On that day and that's when I do their group supervision. All of the doctoral level externs meet and we do group supervision and then on a monthly basis, I do seminars with them. My approach with both tends to be process oriented and not so didactic but more interactive. I want them to really be thinking and feeling as we talk about doing therapy, rather than being up in their heads. That's my approach and the other training director does the other approach, so I don't have to do it. I also do group therapy on one night so that's a group for black women. It’s also interpersonal process and that's what I do one evening so that's like generally what my week looks like.

How has the pandemic shifted the form and way in which you conduct therapy?

Yeah it would be hard for it not to, I would imagine. The pandemic has had its waves. To start, there was a lot more stress related to like “Oh, my goodness, we’re all going through a crisis together, how can I possibly be effective as a therapist when I don't have answers.”There's also like “I don't like Teletherapy,” or so I thought. I didn't think it was going to be as effective. I didn't know if I would be able to be as connected to my clients or if they would feel me through the screen. I was worried about all that stuff and then there was racial trauma that was happening and wanting to take care of myself, but also take on more clients. So just the dilemma of providing more access to care, while also realizing I only have so much capacity, but so much inner resources. But I feel like over time, (you know I believe in existentialism and mindfulness as philosophies) just accepting the uncertainty was like a really important thing for me, and in that I was able to kind of appreciate and accept some of the pieces of the pandemic, the gifts that came with it, even though it's not at all a gift. I realized that like I actually really do enjoy Teletherapy. I see all my clients virtually and I intend to keep it that way, predominantly. That was an unexpected gain. I love that I have more flexibility, and when I can see my clients and how I can see my clients not having to commute changes your life. Also, my clients being able to access me more easily because they can reach me through the computer, rather than having to travel to me. So I just appreciate the fact that I become more accessible to my clients and that the therapeutic relationship has to state itself, even through the screen. That's been an awesome revelation. the pandemic has very few gifts, but that has been one of them.

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare students for the type of work you do?

Well, I don't know… I really enjoyed the program and the curriculum so I’m not really sure what could have been changed. I graduated a while ago now it has been nine years since I graduated. so maybe it has evolved. Some of my favorite courses were in the Master's Program. I think the class that was the hardest course for me was the multicultural counseling course. It feels like it's just a really challenging class to teach. So much comes up and there's so much to unpack and there's very few places to unpack it. I think there were a lot of hurt feelings and also a lot of protecting one another, at the same time. That's the class that I remember just being left with questions of, how could this be different? how could this be better? Who was it protecting from having to do the work? But yeah, I think it she did the best she could do with a large class.

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

The biggest advice I have is be prepared to change. There's been a habit, I don't know if this is something that there's there's probably no research or data on this, but most people that I know who have gone into these mental health counseling masters programs while in a relationship they might not be in that same relationship by the end of it.There's a lot of self growth and awareness and reflection that is going to come up. Things happen. Take advantage of that, I think you know, having to be aware of oneself. Maybe trying therapy's a very scary thing and intimidating thing, but really take advantage of that you know you are paying for this experience. Absorb it all! 

What advice do you have for MHC graduates when they start their job search?

Be clear about where it is that you would like to get your experience from. I know that trying to get fully licensed is a big deal. And so you know you're trying to get your hours for your internship and then your externship and trying to get get licensed in the two years and get your 3000 hours. But you know, every experience is a professional development opportunity every experience is a training opportunity. Try to be as thoughtful, as you can about where it is you would like to work and what kind of population, you would like to serve. That's going to be something that's going to be a knowledge base that you develop and it's going to be a way that you have been trained. Be thoughtful and and reflect on that before you have to start searching for jobs. And also be thoughtful about who might supervise you if you get any choices about that. Your clinical supervisor can really impact your training experience. They can really impact the way you you approach your clinical work, how confident you feel in it and how safe you feel talking about difficult topics. So really be thoughtful about that as much as you can.

How well did Fordham prepare you for a PhD?

As well as it could. A PhD program is a beast. But the part of it that's not the sort of the academic experience, just like being prepared for the quality of work that is expected, the way you're supposed to be thinking, Fordham definitely prepared me for that. I also had like a lot of foundational courses taken care of. And while it still took me the same amount of time, I came in feeling a little bit more like competent and confident about doctoral work. I know that some of my cohort that didn't come in with a master's felt a little bit unsettled so I definitely felt academically prepared. I knew that the rigor that was expected academically I could meet, and that was because I went through Fordham's program. All that writing you are doing is not for naught!

What are the pros and cons of pursuing a PhD?

The pros: there are a lot of pros and I think people are tuned in to those froze but, like some of the pros are the variety of experiences you're going to get exposed to as a professional psychologist. You will get you'll get exposure to a lot of things depending what kind of program you go to but, like, I mean I had experience in research, teaching, assessment, consultation, clinical supervision, and therapy. All of them you learn. That was really great to get exposure to all the different hats, as they say in my program that you can wear it as a psychologist. And I just like the variety of like what my day to day looked like and kind of borrow that in my actual life afterwards. Another component is that you build a stronger knowledge base, research wise and clinically, which is the difference between I guess a PhD and a PsyD program. A PhD program usually has like a very high expectation of both research and clinical work, so you become really knowledgeable about counseling psychology, clinical psychology, depending on which way you go, and you probably become like really knowledgeable out particular sect that you end up doing research on. Another pro is your job opportunities afterwards. I’m training doctoral level trainees right now. I wouldn't be able to do that with my masters because degree levels would be different so that's an opportunity that I have. I’ve adjunct taught and I hope to teach some more later. I have a desire to be a clinical faculty member - i'll be able to probably do that with greater ease. I can do therapy and charge more and I can also do research - I have that knowledge base as well. Those are a lot of pros.

As for the cons: it is a commitment. It’s  a commitment like no other. Be prepared to feel guilty. You're either going to feel guilty for taking time out for yourself and not doing stuff for work. Or I feel guilty doing work and not taking time out for you there's always something that you could be doing because there's a lot of work. From many angles, learning how to do all those those skills or at those different areas means that: if you're teaching, there's teaching responsibilities; if you're doing research, there’s research responsibilities; if you're doing therapy, there’s clinical responsibilities. All of that matters, so there's always something you could be doing, and the commitment is beyond nine to five. It doesn't really turn off, and so, if you're going to spend the four to six years in this be prepared for that. If you got an internship and you have to do a postdoc you're going to have to probably move, so there's just change. I can happen in your life and it might require investment of other people in your life to be able to tolerate those changes. Life insurance is one thing, but that's true for masters level well. So it's very stressful it's very high commitment, and when I say it's a beast but there's no academic experience it's like it, because it's an academic experience, plus a training experience. The combination of the two is your entire life so prepare yourself to devote yourself to being a graduate student and probably feeling badly from time to time. A long time for your life to not begin, and I think that's another con a lot of my friends have mentioned either they were in the workforce and they gave it up to go into a doctoral program or they never went into the workforce and then, but they're seeing their friends be further along in their careers in their relationships getting married having children and you're a student. You know so there's a way which other people's lives seem to be moving forward and yours is being a student, so it pays off, but you have to really think about like. What it is that you are missing out on? What it is that you're sacrificing to do this? It's a sacrifice and it may be worthwhile and that's why it's important to know this is what you want to do.

Mike is a mid-life career changer whose journey has been unique and varied. Mike worked early in his career as an actor and classically trained baritone. He worked full-time as an IT professional for a leading fashion retailer while pursuing his Masters in Counseling and Personnel Services, graduating from Fordham in May, 2003. Subsequently Mike spent 2 years in the Fordham PhD Counseling Psychology program but did not complete his degree.

Mike’s corporate job was eliminated in 2014, which created an opportunity for Mike to return to the Mental Health field. In 2016, he came back to Fordham to take an additional 12 credits to meet the requirements of a Mental Health Counselor in NY. Mike completed his externship in 2019. He currently works with adults and couples in a group private practice focusing on LGBTQ+ issues and specializing in treatment for Developmental Trauma. 

If you have questions for Mike, you can reach him at therapistmikeny@gmail.com! 

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

I am a midlife career changer, so I actually went through the program quite a long time ago - I started the program literally the week of 9/11. So it was a very impactful time, as you can imagine, to be starting a program on mental health counseling. At that time, New York did not allow clinicians to practice with the Master’s, so I was actually in the PhD program. It was a very different program than what it is right now, but I did come back a few years ago, to take a few courses. And so I've seen the new curriculum - some aspects of it - but what really stood out to me was the faculty. I I felt that they were very approachable and that they got along well, even though there were things that they have different philosophies on - different approaches, different interests. But they created a collaborative environment. 

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work you do? 

I think that the curriculum covers a lot of ground, I just can't imagine how they could do more. I was pleased to see that there is trauma and interpersonal neuroscience or neurobiology because I think that the field in general is moving very much into brain science. Because we now have technologies available to us to be able to test things that we really couldn't do before, and I think that's going to change the field significantly. So I would say that, once the field starts moving in a new direction, I think we're going to find it less important to spend a lot of time on individual counseling theories. There might need to be an overview of the history of counseling theories, but I think that the emphasis really needs to be brought into current science around what we know and love. 

What do you like the most about your current job? How about the least?

My clients are what I love most about the job. I’m working in private practice and I started out doing agency work and had this opportunity come up. I've learned a lot about what it's like to work in a practice, but also seeing a breadth of clients and issues. I think the thing that I like least about it is some of the challenges of being in a practice. I don't personally have anything to do with billing or anything, which is great since I don't have to deal with that kind of paperwork. But at the same time, the practice can operate sometimes like a business. And I don't feel like I have a lot of leeway to try to accommodate somebody who desperately needs treatment and is legitimately in a situation where they're losing their insurance or they need a reduction in their copay or something. So that's very frustrating to me. 

Can you describe your typical day at work?

I think that was part of the learning process, to try out a couple of different options as I was building my caseload and see what's the more marketable time where people were really looking for a therapist. I think that working during this pandemic has definitely been its own unique paradigm, because there's been an increase in demand. I think that telehealth has really opened the door for some people, who may not have really explored the option of therapy. So, in terms of my day and how its structured, I get myself Monday mornings off, so  I don't really start seeing clients until the afternoon and then I work till seven. I usually don't see more than three or four clients in a row without scheduling a break for myself. But in a row I have five minutes between each client, that’s just not a lot of time. But it’s really important to get up, walk down the hall, stretch, or run down to the kitchen now that I’m working from home. I think that that's something that I would continue to do even when the day comes that we return to the office. 

How would you describe your theoretical approaches or interventions with the clients you work with? 

I consider myself to be very grounded in the psychodynamic approach. In my own personal therapy, I completed five years of psycho analysis on the couch three times a day and it was an incredible experience. I really recommend it because I think you learn a lot about yourself and I feel that it sharpens my ability with clients. Usually within a couple of sessions, I can kind of hone in on what's going on and what their challenges are, so I feel informed by that. In terms of interventions again I’m very much into current science - brain science, neuroscience, polyvagal theory, human development. Many of my interventions are just the typical best practices of client skills and counseling skills -  building the relationship is really most important. Being open and approachable and fully present. Going back to scheduling, I think that's why it's so important to take whatever time you have between clients to just let everything go and let yourself be fresh for the next client that comes in. But you know I'm also very flexible. I think that there are certain issues that are best dealt with from a CBT approach, DBT that type of thing. I do think that I'm grounded more in a psychodynamic background, but it is important to be flexible with clients and I think it also comes down to their goals. There’s two directions - symptom management and treatment. You know, sometimes in my experience, the CBT approaches are around symptom management. You can very quickly help somebody come up with techniques or skills to manage their anxiety or whatever the issue is. But I do find that lasting change requires a much deeper process and takes more time. 

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

Learn everything you can. Be open to learning anything you can. If you have the time, I know being in grad school is a lot of work, but if you're able and you can afford to, drop a couple hundred dollars for a workshop or something. Whether it's EMDR or other treatment approaches to keep yourself informed of what's going on. Because I think the other challenge with our field is that nobody can know everything. And so people do tend to find a niche that they specialize in whether that's a population that they're drawn to or they discover they’re really strong with. However, I think it's kind of about figuring that out, as you go through the process. 

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search?

You're going to learn a lot in the program through internships, friendships that type of thing. But you're really going to start learning when you get your first job. What's most important is supervision, so you want to make sure to ask questions about what supervision will look like. Even though the law says it's supposed to be an hour a week, there are places that won't necessarily deliver, so you want to hold them to that. You can find out if there is any group supervision, individual supervision, or a combination. It's really important because, when you're in school, you're just getting into the good habits of what it is to be a counselor. But when you are in that chair with a client and you're having a reaction to something or you're talking to yourself in your head saying “I'm really not sure where I'm going next”, you need to have a supervisor who can help you manage those things. I think it's also important to feel good about where you're working. And if you end up discovering that it's not the right fit after you've taken the job or the supervision is not working out, you don't have to stay. You can find another job. That's what I was doing with agency work. It wasn't exactly what I was hoping it would be, although it was a great environment, I believed in the work, and the supervision was good. But when I had the opportunity to do private practice, I  jumped on it, since that’s what I wanted to do. And I will say that the supervision in the private practice setting is a little different. It's not bad, but there's a lot of less supervision. We see each other once for an hour, and so I'm fortunate to be in a position where I'm going to hire a psychologist externally a couple times a month or once a week or something just for me.

Fatim Lelenta (GSE '15) is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Career Development Coach at NYU Wasserman. Fatim conducted her clinical internship at Fordham University Office of Career Services. Fatim serves the graduate/advanced degree student population. In her previous role, she trained and supervised mental health counseling interns in career services. As a career coach and therapist, Fatim enjoys using her counseling background to support the personal and professional development of adult learners.

If you have questions for Fatim, you can reach her at fatimlelenta.lmhc@gmail.com! 

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

The main thing that I would say that stood out to me was that I entered the program knowing that I wanted to be a therapist. Other than knowing that I wanted to work with people, I didn't really know in what area. So, I really just appreciate the faculty and how they have a wide range and come from different backgrounds and are passionate about the program. And I felt that passion came through at open house day and again it was the same energy as the classes. So that really stood out for me. And also the social justice and multicultural counseling part was really something that I wanted to know more about, and I felt like it was incorporated in all my classes, too, so that was really great.

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work you do? 

For the kind of work that I’m doing right now, given the time that we're in, I’m thinking about telehealth and ethics in that work. Traditionally, when I was taking my ethics course, ethics codes and technology were a part of it, but it wasn't the way that it is today. So I think that would be something I definitely would want more training in. I’d also like to see more about the private practice or business aspects. I’ve used my professional network to learn more, which is great, but if I got a little bit of knowledge about that, I think that would make me less intimidated about doing it right. I think I wasn’t interested in private practice because I was intimidated by all the factors and business, then I really looked at it and it's actually just another learning curve of how to maximize your skills. Another thing I didn’t know was that you can lead workshops for credits. That was something I did not know at all until now, five years or more down the line. It’s important to know how to maximize your counseling skills.

What do you like the most about your current job? How about the least?

I currently work at NYU Wasserman, which is a Career Development Center and I specifically work with graduate students on their career development, so I really help them from point A to B, and everything in between, and what I love most is just being in a part of a transition period. I get to guide them when they’re in the position of “I'm in this program and I want to go to X place.” It’s really a unique time, and I feel like all of my counseling skills come into play whether the client wants to practice interviews or gets anxious with job searches or is unsure of their values and interests. So I really love that aspect. I also get to work with Masters and PhD students and, being an advanced degree student, there is a lot more creativity involved in terms of problem solving. It’s a little bit more complex, and I really enjoy helping them with that and then hearing the success stories. You get to really see the results, and they follow up with you and they value that the interview went well, so it just keeps me going. 

And on the other side, the thing that's difficult or that I enjoy the least is the inability to sustain more long term counseling relationships. Sometimes when you’re helping someone through a transition period, you don't get to maintain those relationships, because it's usually just about what's happening right now. So that's something that I just missed about the training and the field is those long term relationships.

Can you describe your typical day at work?

My typical days are never quite the same. So it ranges from just individual coaching appointments, which are about 30 minute sessions with students, then I may have presentations where I'm a facilitator, or workshops on common career development topics. I also do group coaching. which I really enjoy, where I get to work with students in small groups of five to eight and we get to dive in deeper. I tend to do an intervention where group members tell their story, and imposter syndrome comes up a lot, so I really get to tackle those interesting topics. I’m also a part of some committees in our office and it’s really collaborative. When you're part of a committee, you work together to have a voice and think about how to better serve students. One of the committee's I’m a part of is the diversity committee. Right now, the priority is really planning for the summer and fall and what that’s going to look like. In higher ed you're always thinking almost a year ahead.

How would you describe your theoretical approaches or interventions with the clients you work with? 

I owe that to my training at Fordham. To this day, I still use a very person-centered rooted and Carl Rogers approach, very holistic. I take in the whole person and really remind them that they have the answers to their questions. Sometimes I'll have students that may come in and say “what do I do? Do I choose this career or that career?” I have to really remind myself that it's not about what I want, it's about what the client wants. I ask them “what do you think?” and then we can practice talking through both scenarios, what both careers looks like in terms of lifestyle and interest and all of that. I’m also currently taking classes in NYU coaching and consulting. That is also giving me a little more knowledge on some other type of interventions, a lot of positive sides, a lot of strengths-based evidence based practices focusing on areas of strength, rather than weaknesses which gives that encouragement, which really does work in career development too.

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

I would say just be open. I know that can be nerve racking and it can feel like “I’m in this program for two years, I already have to think about my internship with that licensure.” But just be open in terms of the different theories that you may want to apply, the different populations you may want to work with, and the different internship sites you might be interested in. I got into career development out of pure curiosity. I was like, “let me try it, let me interview for the career services center for my internship. What would that be like?” and I'm still in that field. So you never know where curiosity can lead you. Just remember that you have the interpersonal skills so, no matter where you go or who you work with, you're going to be using those skills. The other thing I would say is to use your career center. As a career development professional, I visited the career services center. And Bizu, who was my classmate, is phenomenal and I still visit her. She's an alum of the program and she's had her own career journey, so the career center and career counselors in general have the skills to support you. So definitely take advantage of that resource.

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search?

Speak to people who have graduated from Fordham’s MHC program and just see where they're at and learn about their paths. I think about my own cohort now and my classmates are now professionals in the field. Some of my classmates are doing grief therapy or family therapy now, some of them have private practices, and some have moved to different states. So they're all experts in the field now. Fordham has a huge alumni network that you can tap into through LinkedIn and things like that, so reach out. We all remember what it was like, and I will never forget my time at Fordham being a graduate student there. So we all have that feeling of wanting to help and to give any resources or knowledge that we can. In my personal experience, I remember connecting with an alum of Fordham who was in the counseling psych PhD Program, and they were so helpful telling me more about their private practice and their career path. We've been bonding over some of the professors that we had. So even in my experience, today, I still use Fordham alumni to really connect and gain some insights.

Stephanie Rojas, LMHC is the founder and lead therapist of Emergent Mental Health Services, a private practice in NYC, and a school-based mental health therapist at Henry Street Settlement. Stephanie received her Master's degree from Fordham University's GSE in 2014 and completed her internship at Henry Street Settlement, where she has been working for seven years. Stephanie provides therapy to children, adolescents, and adults.

If you have questions for Stephanie, you can reach her at stephanie@emergentmhs.com!

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

In addition to the great professors and the experience overall, I felt a sense of pride being at Fordham specifically. Looking back on those two years in graduate school, I just remember having study groups with my cohort where we could support and lean on each other. Comps was also an interesting time. I remember us getting through it together and being able to celebrate that we finished and then passed it, which was a really big time for us as a cohort. 

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work you do? 

Perhaps this is due to my career orientation and the populations I work with, but I would like to see an expansion of classes on children's mental health - children and adolescents actually. Right now I’m working both as a school based mental health clinician - working a lot with children, teens, and their families - and I am also seeing them in private practice. One of the things that I realized is that the focus and emphasis has been mainly on adults in classes.

So, to be able to expand more content to discuss children and youth mental health was something I missed when I was beginning to work with this population. This is something that I have noticed that is also an interest for some other students as well.

What do you like the most about your current job? How about the least?

I love being able to make an impact. You know, we don't go in assuming that everyone's going to make the same amount of progress. But it is really wonderful to look back at progress made. Even in those moments, where you are in a session and you've reached a breakthrough with a client who may have been guarded for a very long time. I love those moments; it's a nice reminder that this is why I do what I do. And those feelings don’t always come up in the moment, so whenever they do you can really feel it. But even when you don't always see it at the time, you’ll notice it when you take a moment to reflect back on the work that you do.

I love being able to see the progress being made and the work being done. It's really rewarding to make those impacts.  In terms of what I like the least, I would say that the immediate answer that comes to mind is the paperwork. In private practice, thankfully, I don't have to do as much work paperwork, but I do have to do a lot of it in my school-based job, so that requires being able to document appropriately. Additionally, working on a treatment plan and things like that can take a lot of time that can take away from planning for a session or doing other things.

Can you describe your typical day at work?

For my school-based setting, I work from eight to four, sometimes a little longer than that. I start my day by checking my emails or phone calls and returning any phone calls or text messages and then I really start around 9:00, depending on the needs or this specific day, I’m usually in back-to-back sessions. And that might also mean having meetings with school staff, a specific teacher or guidance counselor, or even having a family or parents session. Finally, I try to wrap up my day by doing some more paperwork or planning for the next day.

I realized that I need to schedule my lunch, otherwise there is a very high chance that it won't happen. But that's pretty much what  my day looks like in my school-based role. On the other hand, with private practice, usually it's a little smoother, but also it's usually filled with back-to-back sessions as well.

How would you describe your theoretical approaches or interventions with the clients you work with? 

It depends on who I’m who I’m working with, what their diagnoses are, and what their goals for therapy are, but usually I tend to gravitate more towards a CBT and psychodynamic approach. I do like to provide psychoeducation, but I also like to be kind of experiential as well. For example, if I’m trying to encourage someone to do some homework or mindfulness, then we can practice that in the session. And if I'm working with children, for the most part I tend to do a lot of play therapy if we're in person, in addition to art therapy or sand tray therapy as well.

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

I would suggest really making connections with your professors and with your cohort, making sure to keep an eye out on what their interests are or what they focus on in their research, for example. It can be really helpful in the future, maybe sometimes it's not always so clear, because you as a student might be a junior on the way trying to figure out what a career at Fordham is going to look like. Once you graduate you do kind of lose it. There's a higher chance that you'll lose touch with certain students and some people might move and many things may happen. So, realize learning a little bit more, maybe even making a list of who's doing what and what they're focusing on. This can be helpful if you end up meeting with a client that, for example, has an eating disorder. Perhaps you have a colleague that focuses or specializes in eating disorders, while you don’t have special knowledge about this issue. Additionally, there may also be someone else that might benefit from a different approach so keeping that in mind is also helpful. The same goes for your professors; in the future you never know who you might want to meet or connect to, so staying in touch with them is helpful.

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search?

One thing I do want to say is you'll be needed for sure post-pandemic. There is always going to be a need for mental health counselors. Staying open in your search is very important. I actually thought I wanted to just focus on working with young adults in a college counseling setting or maybe a hospital setting. I did try that for some time and I really enjoyed working with the adults, but then I noticed that I was a little afraid of working with children and adolescents. However, over time, I have been really enjoying it and so I’ve stayed open to that idea. And here I am and I really love the population that I work with.

Pushing yourself out of that comfort zone is important, especially if you're interested in private practice. I know that there were certain workshops at Fordham for the business aspect of it. I think we can get so focused on the clinical piece, which is, of course 90% of the job - I don't know the ratio. However, there's also a business that you're running too, and there's so many other pieces to consider. I would advise students to keep in mind that, in addition to doing clinical work, you’ll also be running a business, so you’ll have “both hats on,” in a sense.

Kathleen graduated from the MHC program in August of 2017 and joined The Adolescent Skills Center in the Bronx as a Clinical Case Manager. In this role, Kathleen worked with youth to facilitate groups, provide case management services and supportive counseling to assist them in meeting their educational, vocational and socio-emotional goals. More recently, Kathleen has been working at Redeemer Counseling Services as a Counselor and Finance Director working with clients dealing with anxiety, depression and trauma.

If you have questions for Kathleen, you can reach her at kmkhahn@gmail.com!

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

When I joined this program as a career change from finance, I was coming out of boredom to learn how to counsel other people. I ended up learning more about myself and how I can be more myself while creating that safe space for my clients. I think I really appreciated the encouragement from my professors to seek my own therapy and do my homework, and this idea that we are instruments in a healing crisis. Unless we’re healthy emotionally and mentally and physically, it's hard to serve other people, and so that really stayed with me. That idea of being attuned to myself, not letting myself get in the way of the process, and staying healthy translated into different populations and different settings for my work. Fordham's curriculum gave me knowledge of the different types of counseling with different modalities and different populations.

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work you do? 

My first job out of school was working with teenagers, so maybe having some more targeted and specialized subjects or electives that could go a little bit more in depth [would be helpful], because I think just having some more exposure at that next level down could be helpful working with adolescents, substance abuse, or trauma. I think just going into a little bit more in depth.

What do you like the most about your current job? How about the least?

I do love the variety of the work I do. I so appreciate being able to work one on one with my clients clinically and to hear their stories while working with them. I'm still growing as a counselor. There's also another part of me that loves numbers, doing spreadsheets, and problem solving. And so I get to do both. The center that I'm at also integrates spirituality into the counseling process and that was something that was important to me. I didn't quite know how that would work, but the center has a framework that has been developed over many years to be able to provide that holistic care of integrating spirituality when a client wants that as part of the counseling process.

Conversely, I think what surprised me as I started to work as a counselor is I originally thought I had infinite empathy when I worked in finance, because I didn't use a lot of empathy in my work. Then going into counseling, it requires empathy for your work and your clients. I kind of realized that I do have a limit, like you do run out. So that was kind of sad to feel that you have to be very careful about reserving enough empathy for yourself, your family, your friends, your work and a client. That awareness of my limitations, making the most of what I have to do and making sure that I do that wisely, has been important in my work. I love the idea of being able to be limitless, but realized I wasn't.

Can you describe your typical day at work?

I currently work at Redeemer Counseling Services, a counseling center in Manhattan with about 40 other counselors. My role is a combination of counseling and looking after their finances. Prior to coming into the world of counseling, I was in finance. So my role now is a combination of the two worlds. With the first part of my role, I work directly with teenagers and older individuals, who all have different presenting concerns. I have scheduled appointments that are all virtual right now. In between those appointments there’s a lot of paperwork and collaboration with other providers: psychiatrist, nutritionist, and sometimes parents. Also, supervision, training, and family in a forum gave us a good platform. There's just so much learning and training to be done on counseling techniques and inventions and races. If I'm doing the other part of my role, it could be budgets, numbers, and thinking about how we plan for fundraising or set up our website. It's a lot more practical.

How would you describe your theoretical approaches or interventions with the clients you work with? 

When I graduated I actually thought CBT was kind of the modality I was most definitely using. I was all about cognition and looked to changing emotions and behavior. And it was so strange, because once I started working with different kinds of clients, all my questions were more psychodynamic. I wanted to understand the  individual's whole history. 

What I've realized is that, as you practice, it's constant learning of yourself and what you gravitate to. And now I've actually gravitated to more experiential approaches, so what that one that I'm currently in training for - internal family systems, which also brings in CBT specific interventions. It's kind of working with all the different paths, because sometimes you feel like you have different voices connecting with those different times of your life, sometimes really protective of the traumatized experiences or really difficult experiences, and then being able to approach those traumatized parts with safety. I've really appreciated that approach of learning how to do internal family systems, particularly with traumatized clients. 

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

I would say stay open minded and really engage in the process that the program asks you to participate in. For me, coming from a finance background, a lot of my initial default responses are to do something and problem solve. I think the programming carried us to be more still - to reflect and observe - which was definitely outside of my comfort zone. I think allowing yourself to experience that discomfort and to notice how you and other people respond to that discomfort and to you is a learning process. So much of our work is dealing with uncertainty and discomfort in that process of change and learning. So through the program, allowing yourself to be pushed outside of your comfort zone and see how that process goes can be useful as part of your training. 

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search?

I know that it is a tough season. If you can, spend a little bit of time figuring out what is most important to you in this starting phase of your job. You are going to work for a long time, so consider various different stages where you can work with different populations and different organizations. But for you, what's important right now? That could be you want to get your license as soon as possible, or you want to work with a certain population, or you want to have financial security and insurance. Yeah, they are all like really important stuff but depending on what is a priority for you that can maybe help to kind of structure that job search process. Know that after you get your license, there's a lot more flexibility to move around and go into different roles as well. So have an awareness of what's most important to you, and focus on that part of it, because it can be so overwhelming going through everything. Fortunately, I feel like in this time of COVID there's been a lot of recognition for mental health professionals. So hopefully this is a time when there will be opportunities for growth.

I graduated from the MHC program in May of 2019. I completed my clinical internship at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation where I still work today as an Addictions Counselor in the Intensive Outpatient level of care. In this role, I run process groups and psychoeducational workshops, provide individual therapy and coordinate care with outside providers. In addition to being a therapist, I love to travel and eat great food.

If you have questions for Olga, you can reach her at ojurga@yahoo.com!

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

One thing I really reflect on is the practical courses we had in our first year that I really didn't even expect. That experience of being able to sit in the room and practice the skills that we were being taught, practice the theory, and see what's working for us has really been invaluable looking back. Also, getting feedback right afterwards from your client, who is your fellow student, is also really, really amazing. It really helped me hone some skills and really figure out what I like and don't like. 

Also, I appreciated the bonds I was able to make while I was in school. I didn't expect to make those types of bonds in a master's program. I'm still close to one of the girls that I graduated with, and she's been a huge supporter and source of support for me during this time.

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work you do? 

Something I've been really thinking about is having more classes geared towards specific populations. So I'm an addictions counselor, and I had no classes about addiction or substance use disorders - other than in the psychopathology course where we kind of went over it, probably in a span of two minutes. So having classes that are more geared towards specific populations, whether it's addiction even like young kids, I think would be really helpful and it could open up more possibilities for the students. I think people go into this field not really knowing what they want to do, so having more experience with different populations in the classroom could be very helpful.

What do you like the most about your current job? How about the least?

Being in this field can be really rewarding but also really frustrating and sad. Just seeing my clients grow and the arc that they make from the time they first start the program, coming in with one day sober, to leaving with two or three months, really making the changes they need to live long, fulfilled lives has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my work. 

I'll say something that's frustrating and sad is when you know people relapse, but the reality of the work is relapse. It’s part of the process of getting sober. And all we can do as counselors - and I'm speaking for myself - is make sure that they know that we will welcome them back into the program, and that they can come back and keep asking for help.

Can you describe your typical day at work?

I'm an intensive outpatient addictions counselor, so the clients are with us four days a week, three hours per day. They participate in a psychoeducational workshop for one hour during the day, then they have a 30 minute break before they participate in what we call a process group that's more open-ended. I split the workshops with my colleague, so I only do it once a week. Those groups include a range of topics from teaching clients about the 12 steps, teaching skills, teaching how to manage cravings, to healthy coping skills teaching about the disease of addiction. So that's a really great part of the work. 

And then those 90 minutes that I'm with my clients Monday to Thursday it's open ended. It's whatever they would like to talk about. I also meet with each of my clients for 30 minutes weekly. And then case management case coordination with third parties for my clients, so it can be a busy week.

How would you describe your theoretical approaches or interventions with the clients you work with? 

I'd like to say I am pretty eclectic, and I really try to be person centered. That's something that really stood out to me when I was learning about theories in school, the person centered approach. However, because this is addiction, I also use a lot of motivational interviewing in my practice, as well as DBT skills and CBT. So it's a little bit of everything.

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

Take risks and don't be afraid to make mistakes. That is something that I really, really struggled with myself, especially in my internship. I was so safe in my interventions that I actually wasn't growing as an intern, and my supervisor at the time actually told me to make mistakes. That's how you're going to learn, and it's okay to make mistakes. We're human. 

And what's really beautiful about making mistakes with our clients - even if it does create a rupture because it can - is that we can come back and repair that and model for clients what it's like to take ownership of a mistake and apologize. So many of our clients never had anyone take ownership of making a mistake to the client, or some of our clients also are not able to take ownership themselves,. so these are really beautiful teaching moments for our clients. And then we learn as clinicians, so definitely take that risk. Try that intervention that you're scared of. And don't be afraid to make a mistake.

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search?

So I actually got really lucky. I got hired for my internship, and it's something that I wanted. But I did go on a couple of interviews, just to see what's out there. My first advice is just check it out. See what is out there. Don't just commit to one thing. Go on those interviews. And the second thing that I will say is interview your interviewer. Ask what supervision looks like, ask what your day is going to look like, what your caseload looks like. As much as they're interviewing you to see if you're a good fit, you’ve got to know if this is a good fit for you. So make sure to ask questions and find out what going to be like when you start working there.

Fanny is a 2017 graduate of the MHC program employed at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services since June 2018. She has taken on the role of clinical case coordinator, supervisor, and now intake coordinator to provide support for adults with mental health diagnoses caught in the criminal justice system.

If you have questions for Fanny, you can reach her at fkuang@cases.org!

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

I think the main thing that stood out for me was how thorough a lot of the coursework was. I think the majority of the classes they did try to cover as much as they could - not so much in depth, but to give us a brief overview of everything possible. Particularly with the theories class, they tried to introduce us to all the theories out there, so that we can study further if we wanted to. We definitely left with a basic understanding of a lot of the theories out there. I did appreciate that. 

The other thing that I've come to appreciate after graduation actually was that they were real sticklers for documentation and teaching us how to properly write progress notes, case presentations, things like that. I found out recently that not everybody graduates knowing how to do those things, so that is super helpful.

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work you do? 

I wasn't actually exposed to much of my population that I work with. I work with forensic populations mostly, and I did my internship at a substance abuse treatment program. there wasn't there wasn't really a class dedicated to either of those things. I remember seeing a substance use focused class, but it was an elective that ended up being cancelled afterwards because there wasn't enough interest. So more information about working different populations would be helpful. 

Also, exposure to all the different types of social services in the city would help students best serve vulnerable populations that require more mental health intervention. We generally need more familiarity with services, like Medicaid care coordinators, case managements, health homes, should be touched upon in class.  Because not all of us are going to end up in private practice, or at the very least, start out in private practice. So it would be helpful to be prepared to work within different realms.

What do you like the most about your current job? How about the least?

I recently transferred departments to the men's health clinic. Right now, I’m the Intake Coordinator, so I do intakes all day every day. I don't carry a caseload. The thing that I like the most about my current position is my interactions with the clients. It's a lot of fun talking to them. It's an interesting feeling when you're really connecting with the client, because even intake sessions can be super cathartic for them. I've often had clients say “I feel better already!” But obviously there's more work to be done with their assigned counselors. 

The thing I like the least is that I get attached to the clients and then don’t get to continue working with them. I don't get to follow up with the clients unless they're high risk. Even in those cases, it's not really a happy thing when I am called to follow up with them.

Can you describe your typical day at work?

My official work day is from 9 to 5. I get there early, clock in, and take a look at my schedule for the day. I take a look at who's coming in person and make note of who's scheduled for telehealth. I usually see about eight clients per day. I'm supposed to have 15 minute breaks in between, but that doesn't always happen if there's an urgent assessment. 

In the intake, I do a bio psychosocial assessment, asking about the client’s mental health history, presenting problem, substance use history, medical history, and housing. We try to try to take a look at everything holistically, just so that we have a better idea of what coping skills and support systems they already have in place. I do those assessments in the session with them. Sometimes it takes two sessions, because I only have 45 minutes to get through these assessments.

After completing the assessment, I write the admission note, assign them to a counselor, and notify our medical schedulers to give them appointments with the psychiatrist and nurses. I'm also responsible for requesting any collateral information if they came in with an external therapist. If the client has a parole officer or they're coming straight out of incarceration, then we have a different type of record to request. We have high risk rounds once a week, where any high risk clients I've seen but have not admitted yet are discussed. I do the case presentations for those.

How would you describe your theoretical approaches or interventions with the clients you work with? 

I'll be honest, I do not have one because of the nature of my work. With my previous department, we literally just tried something and saw what stuck. For the most part, we took a very strong harm reduction approach. At least for me, CBT worked the best. So we use a lot of CBT skills. Motivational interviewing often also works well. We just try to meet our clients where they are. The majority of the clients that came in were not ready to stop using because it might have been the only thing getting them through the situation that they're in. So it really depends on each person's situation, how we want to support them, and we get their basic needs met, so that they can move forward and actually be able to do therapy.

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

If you don't have the skill already, learn time management. That’s super, super important. It's going to be like a reflex that you're going to fall back on a lot, especially when somebody assigned you back-to-back intake sessions and you have no time to do the paperwork. When that happens, you're going to fall back on those time management skills to try and fit something in wherever you can find time. It’ll also help you with balancing your work and personal life. You do not want to be working 24-7 just catching up with paperwork. It's not worth it.

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search? 

Right now definitely look into any resources that they might have. Check with your supervisors, see what partnerships your program has with any other program in the community, or if your program is in hiring. See if they know of any similar types of programs that are hiring. Personally, I used all of the job search engines, because sometimes jobs will only post on one and not cross post to other ones. 

When you go on your job interviews, you pay attention to your gut instinct. If you go into the interview and you leave feeling kind of kooky and like they just grilled you - that's not a good feeling to have. That's usually an indicator, you're probably not going to have a good time there. When I was at the interview for my current company, both interviews I left smiling. And I was like, “oh my god, I really want to work here”. I really think that that's what everybody should be aiming for.

Melissa graduated from the MHC program in May of 2017. Melissa completed her clinical internship at Cardinal McCloskey Community Services, where she continues to work today as a Clinical Supervisor. In this role, Melissa supervises a team of socio-therapists who work weekly with foster care youth on their socio-emotional health. In addition to supervising, Melissa also provides psychotherapy, behavioral assessments, and crisis intervention to the foster care population.

If you have questions for Melissa, you can reach her at melissagstein@gmail.com!

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

What really stood out for me was the passion and the dedication of the professors. The professors were always willing to help students and made the learning experience personal. The classroom style was never by the book and I really appreciated that about the classes. The professors really incorporate a lot of humor into the work, which was helpful since grad school is so stressful. I really appreciated when professors included real stories and personal experiences from their work in the field to create that real personal touch. It’s different reading from the textbook as opposed to hearing what actually happens in the field. Also, we did lots of mock counseling, which helped us get out of our comfort zone because therapy is scary. But, as clinicians, if you're not confident enough, how can you expect a client to feel comfortable in therapy? 

I still talk to a lot of my classmates now. We all went through school collectively as students and human beings who are interested in this field and are studying something they’re passionate about. You make friends who have the same interest as you in grad school. Now I have a lot of professional colleagues I can talk to for advice. 

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work you do? 

The program was heavily adult focused. For me, working with children now and at my internship, it was really difficult. It was hard to know how I work with and target this specific population without learning it in clases. Play therapy was not something that was discussed in the program. I think that it would be great if the program would be able to focus on specialized treatments or populations, like working with children, eating disorders, or substance abuse disorders because those clients require specialized treatment. 

What do you like the most about your current job? How about the least?

So my job is very rewarding. I like working with children a lot. I think it is very special because children, they're so young and they're so eager to learn. You can try a technique with children and they'll tell you... “I don't want to do that” or “yay I'm so excited”. As a clinician, you have to be very creative with how you work with children. You have to be flexible, and silly. They really do make an impact on your life. And it's very special. 

It gets challenging because there's a bunch of different systems involved. There's the child, a caregiver, the biological family, and then all the different other parts and incorporating them all and communicating. As a clinician you might want to incorporate the biological family at times, but that's not always an option.

Can you describe your typical day at work?

With this population being so high risk and high need, you never know when a crisis is going to happen or when you will be expected to intervene. There have been so many times when I have my day planned, or I'm in a meeting or supervision, and my phone rings and Johnny's in crisis. So it's definitely hard, you know, but an ideal day of work involves therapy with my kids, conducting behavioral assessments and supervising my staff. There's definitely paperwork involved. I don’t think school prepares you for how much paperwork you do in the field. 

How would you describe your theoretical approaches or interventions with the clients you work with? 

I'm definitely conceptualizing a client with a holistic mindset. I think that's crucial for any clinicians, regardless of what population they’re working with. You may not understand the full client, the whole history of the client, and every system in that client’s life. You can't treat every part of the client. I always practice a client-centered approach and I use play therapy and CBT. Play therapy is the language for younger kids don't who don't have that verbal skills or struggle saying how they feel, because they may not have that range of emotional expression. 

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

Take advantage of all the learning opportunities and professional opportunities that you can. If there is a shadowing opportunity, whether with professors or someone in the field, take it! And if there's a class you find interesting, maybe in another program, then inquire about it. Don't limit yourself or limit what you're able to learn, because that skill set and knowledge can be beneficial in the future.

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search? 

Look everywhere. Explore everywhere. Don't ever ever sell yourself short. Don't assume you're not qualified for a job because they want certain years of experience or they want a specific degree requirement. Experience and personality, like who you are and what you believe, are just as important as all the concrete things an interviewer asks about. I'm speaking as someone who conducts interviews. To me, how someone presents and what their beliefs are is more important than pure “qualifications”. I have hired people who are less qualified because of how they presented in person - like their dedication to the job and the population. On my team now I still have someone I hired because of the way they presented in the interview. They are one of the best staff members I have ever had. Your relationship with your internship site is really important. After I graduated, my internship site offered me a full time position, and there’s a lot of opportunities for growth here for me.

Adia Tucker, LMHC is a 2012 graduate of Fordham's Mental Health Counseling program. She is a Career Counselor and Program Manager at Baruch College, where she also completed her graduate fieldwork. In both higher education and private practice, Adia assists clients with career exploration and change, vocational assessment, and workplace challenges, paying particular attention to the intersection of career and personal/emotional wellness. Adia is also a published author, having penned a chapter in "Career Development Interventions for Social Justice" (Jackson, Regis, & Bennett, 2019.) 

If you have questions for Adia, you can reach her at adia.tucker@gmail.com!

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

I felt the faculty was very warm and close-knit. Before going to Fordham, I went to an open house to find out more. Dr. Ponterotto was leading the session. I asked him questions and what I remember about him was that he didn't have all the answers. But he said “Here's what I think, but I'm going to get that additional information for you. Here's my email address, contact me.” That impressed me. I emailed him and he responded right away. I could tell there was a level of care and connections with students that the faculty really had, since he went out of his way to do that for me. It was really great overall business, especially great because of the work with the faculty. Very tight knit close relationships between faculty and students.

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work you do? 

For me, the career counseling course at Fordham was really great. My experience made me understand why you’re required to take career counseling at Fordham. Career is such a really huge part of a person's identity and has a big impact on their mental health, wellness, and social wellbeing. That's a plus for me, as compared with schools who don’t have the career counseling course. Something I've noticed that some other programs have more of, is an opportunity to take electives. I think what could be interesting, is to offer a few more like population specific objectives. 

What do you like the most about your current job? How about the least?

I think what I like is that my role is dynamic. There are a lot of different things that I can do. My day isn't just an hour now. Just sitting in meeting after meeting with student after student…. for me, that was never really going to be enough. I also create and run programs for different student populations. Recently, I got involved in grant writing to help secure funds for new programming. All that, in addition to the one-on-one work with students, is what I really like. There's so many different directions that you could go in as a clinician. Over time I've gotten further away from the one-on-one work. That was one of my motivations in starting a part time private practice, because I wanted to get back to basics.

Can you describe your typical day at work?

It's easier to target a week... I definitely met with several students and I tend to meet with students to figure out the next stages of their career. They're often first-years or sophomores who are making a big decision for the first time on their own. What am I going to major in and what direction do I want to go into? It’s often parsing out what their professional identity might be and exploring different possibilities in different settings. Sometimes I work with students on interviewing. I run workshops with the graduate students who I supervise. Any given week, we’ll host writing workshops and we’re always meeting with our graduates who run peer groups for supervision. 

How would you describe your theoretical approaches or interventions with the clients you work with? 

It's natural for some of the work to turn a little bit more didactic because a lot of the students might just need some education around what it means to be a certain major. But I feel like my more natural orientation is a bit more psychodynamic. I'm interested in getting to know the person as a whole - like what are parental influences on career development and life lessons they heard about education. There's always some amount of psychodynamics, but while focusing on career and maybe having a creative component. Also, there’s some behavioral interventions, like gently pushing your students to go do something in between sessions and report back.

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

Learn everything you can about the working world before graduation. It's so easy to get caught up in the student bubble and then all of a sudden you graduate and you’re thrust into the working world. To think ahead for jobs, start networking with other professionals. The best thing I did as a student was joining a professional association called NYMHCA. By getting involved, you meet other people and start to network and learn more. Understanding what this specific degree (as opposed to social work, accounting, etc.) brings to a job has been fundamental. 

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search? 

Starting a job search and getting comfortable with the interview process is the biggest thing. Understanding the things that can make or break an interview in a virtual setting is also important. Talking to people about what it’s like working in a particular field of MHC and what it took for them to get there is also helpful. Be aware of how well adjusted a site is to using technology when job searching, especially now.

Anya graduated from the MHC program in May of 2019. She completed her clinical internship at The Renfrew Center of New York where she still works today as a Primary Therapist.  In this role, she runs groups, supported meals, and has a caseload of individual patients who are struggling with Eating Disorders at both the Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient levels of care. In addition to being a therapist, Anya is a proud new mom to baby Mia.

If you have questions for Anya, you can reach her at awarburg1@fordham.edu!

What stood out for you during your time at Fordham’s MHC program?

I don’t think I realized when I was applying to programs that this would be so important… but I think the most valuable thing to me was the Practicum style of the first year. Actual, real-time practice with each other, being authentic. I found that to be so helpful for getting feedback right after a session. Nothing will really ever compare to it, because, of course, we’ll never actually have that experience in the real world - where we have people sitting in the room watching us do therapy with an actual client. But I found the feedback from my peers, especially in the courses where we had a TA, to be so uniquely helpful. 

What aspects of the MHC curriculum would you suggest we change to better prepare our MHC students for the kind of work you do? 

I think one thing that would be beneficial is something where we could have access to a guest speaker or workshops in more specialized areas of the mental health field (like eating disorders or substance abuse). The stuff I’m doing right now I only learned because I got into this section of the field. I don’t feel like I walked away from the Fordham program knowing much about something as specific as eating disorders. Having experts come in where we could have a little bit more specialized knowledge - especially in the first year as students are applying for internships - would be really helpful. 

What do you like the most about your current job? How about the least?

There’s so many different things that are involved in the role of a therapist at this particular site. That is something that I really value. Every day I run a group, see individual patients, work on a meal, do other things like staff meetings and trainings, and of course notes and stuff like that. I really like the variety because it’s never boring and it’s never slow. I also really like a fast paced environment. Also, it’s the most incredible group of people I’ve worked with in my life. The thing I like the least is doing insurance reviews. It’s frustrating when insurance is a barrier to someone getting treatment.

Can you describe your typical day at work?

I’m actually part time right now, so I work three days a week and they are very packed. A typical day I may run the morning mindfulness group at 8:30. We start the day with the patients who do a 15 minute mindfulness group to check in and get anchored for the day. Then I might run an afternoon group, so I might do a little bit of prep for the group. Then I might see an individual patient after that. The patients have lunch and I might eat lunch with the patients. I might see one more individual patient in the afternoon and then I probably spend the rest of the time that I was working that day doing notes, possibly with a staff meeting. 

How would you describe your theoretical approaches or interventions with the clients you work with? 

Renfrew has a really structured program that they implement. We do some more open ended groups, but every single day the patients participate in what we call the “UT”, which is the Unified Treatment model. It pulls a lot from DBT and CBT. Everything in the Renfrew model is done um through a relational lens and it’s pretty didactic. It’s really beneficial to the patients I’ve seen. They work on understanding the function of emotions while working on tangible skills. It helps to understand the physical sensations they are experiencing and how it relates to their emotions, their behaviors, and their social life.

What advice do you have for students who are just starting their MHC program at Fordham? 

Keep your options open… be open to being changed and coached along the way. If I had been dead set on any particular population things would have worked so differently for me. Let yourself change and evolve as a human who has to work with and understand other humans. That’s the biggest takeaway, especially as people are thinking about what they want to do.

What advice do you have for MHC graduates next year when they start their job search? 

I didn’t actually end up doing a job search because I got really lucky that there was a position available kind of exactly when I needed there to be one. I think the biggest thing is to pay very close attention to what matters to you in your internship experience and really own that. Be thoughtful about the things that matter to you, like for me that’s work culture. Be really picky about what matters to you.