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Copyright © 2020 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.
American Counseling Association
6101 Stevenson Avenue, Suite 600 • Alexandria, VA 22304
Associate Publisher • Carolyn C. Baker
Digital and Print Development Editor • Nancy Driver
Senior Production Manager • Bonny E. Gaston
Copy Editor • Lindsey Phillips
Cover and text design by Bonny E. Gaston.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Austin, Julius A., author. | Austin, Jude T., author.
Title: Surviving and thriving in your counseling program / Julius A. Austin, Jude T. Austin II.
Description: Alexandria : American Counseling Association, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references. |
Summary: “As students, we were desperate for a book that would help us prepare for and get through our counseling program. We could not find one that spoke to us. Maybe some of them were written above our heads, or perhaps some authors just could not reach two Black kids from the country. Regardless of the reason, our unsuccessful hunt for literary support sparked an idea and promise that when we could, we would write the book we needed. We believe we accomplished that goal with this book”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019053759 | ISBN 9781556203923 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Counseling—Vocational guidance. | Counseling—Study and teaching (Higher)
Classification: LCC BF636.64 .A87 2020 | DDC 158.3023—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019053759
This book is dedicated to our kids. Your smiles make surviving and thriving in our counseling and doctoral programs worth it.
As students, we were desperate for a book that would help us prepare for and get through our counseling program. We could not find one that spoke to us. Maybe some of them were written above our heads, or perhaps some authors just could not reach two Black kids from the country. Regardless of the reason, our unsuccessful hunt for literary support sparked an idea and promise that when we could, we would write the book we needed. We believe we accomplished that goal with this book.
You may not have been born and raised in a country town in Louisiana, but we tried our best to be mindful of the diversity of our audience when writing. In our minds, our audience is recently graduated undergraduates who applied to a graduate counseling program, got accepted, and are now in a cold sweat thinking about how they will get through the next 2–3 years. Keep reading. We may also be speaking to someone in the throes of their counseling degree who may feel like they are in a spin cycle. Your assignments are backed up, your email inbox just displays an infinity sign instead of numbers now, your relationships are strained, your self-care is a distant dream, and your next session is in 10 minutes. Keep reading.
No one can fully explain the physical, psychological, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and relational strain students sign up for in graduate counseling. Don’t get us wrong: The reward is well worth the struggle. But the struggle is real, and we were hilariously unprepared for it. If you have picked up this book because the struggle bus is currently doing donuts in your life, know that you are not alone. Keep reading. Throughout the book are chapters dedicated to some of those struggles, with down-to-earth discussions and suggestions to help you not only survive but also thrive in your counseling program.
Rather than providing a book focused on an exhaustive review of the empirical and scholarly literature on the graduate school experience, we share our experience getting through our counseling program. We have also invited contributions from a diverse group of recent graduates, new professionals, and current graduate students to share their experiences of thriving in their counseling programs. Their contributions can be read in the Voices From the Field sections.
Students can use this book the moment they decide to pursue a graduate degree in counseling. Counseling professors can also use this book as supplementary reading in undergraduate professional preparation courses as well as in graduate seminars and entry-level courses.
This book contains 10 chapters that guide you through your graduate and professional journey into counseling and offer tips for success. Chapter 1, “You Got In. Now What?,” offers an introduction to graduate school. We start from the moment you get accepted. We discuss the expectations placed upon you now as a graduate counseling student. We also talk about how to prepare for this journey, both personally and professionally.
Chapter 2, “First Year,” addresses some of the issues and experiences you may have during your first year. We share ways to organize your life to set you up for success before you start working with clients.
Chapter 3, “Second Year,” focuses on clinical experience. We discuss not only the professional challenges you will face but also obstacles to be mindful of in your personal life. We share experiences of our first counseling session and discuss other experiences the second year brings.
Chapter 4, “Third Year,” highlights the switch from graduate student to a professional counselor. We discuss closing the chapter of graduate school and share insights from our journey.
Chapter 5, “Life After Graduation” offers insight into the world you will now face as a legitimate therapist. We start from the moment you step off of the stage during graduation and discuss career plans later in life. We discuss the licensure process and the best ways to get the most out of this critical part of your counselor development.
Chapter 6, “Getting a Doctoral Degree,” illustrates what you may face if you choose to continue your education by obtaining a doctoral degree. We generally discuss our experiences as well as offer other’s experiences. We walk you through a step-by-step process of getting into a doctoral program.
Chapter 7, “Emotional Maturity,” focuses on the intangible characteristics that define who you are as a student and counselor. Some of these characteristics cannot be taught but pulled out of you. We not only discuss these elements but also share ways you can grow into them.
Chapter 8, “Dealing With Setbacks,” addresses an inevitable part of your counselor training journey: setbacks. We outline some of the most common ones and share ways to bounce back and continue to thrive in your program.
Chapter 9, “Managing Conflicts,” offers insights into the potential conflicts you may face while in training. Whether those conflicts are personal or with family, colleagues, or faculty, we break them down and suggest ways to come out of those conflicts with stronger relationships.
Chapter 10, “Multicultural Considerations,” highlights the cultural issues embedded in counselor training. We discuss the areas of culture you may want to familiarize yourself with and process through as you start your counselor journey.
Writing this book was challenging and more rewarding than we could have imagined. It would not have been possible without the support of our loving and patient wives, Lindsay (married to Jude) and Megan (married to Julius). Both delivered babies around halfway into this book’s writing process. While being amazing mothers, they pushed us to keep writing when we felt drained. They put blankets over us when we fell asleep at our desks. They recorded Arsenal Football Club’s games and didn’t tell us the score when we worked through weekends. We could go on and on. We love you both immensely.
We are eternally grateful to our parents. Their consistent love and guidance steady us and give us the security to be genuine, humble, and vulnerable in this book, with our students, and in session with clients. When people describe us in session and class, we hear them describing our parents. Our therapeutic relationships are secure because they taught us how to love. Knowing we are loved by them gave us the security to explore who we are professionally. There is no failure when you know you can always go home to mom’s crawfish étouffée and dad’s fried chicken and everything will be all right.
To our baby sister, Dr. Jasmine Austin, thank you for continually inspiring us as you move through academia with style and grace. Your unflinching commitment to your identity in a world that aggressively attempts to define you leaves us in awe. Thank you for driving, flying, crawling, and doing whatever you had to do to get to us when we needed you. Thanks for holding babies while we wrote and slept. Thanks for never asking us how the book is going when we call.
We also want to thank the contributors, who, without hesitation or without even being asked sometimes, stepped up for us when we needed you. Whether you reviewed the proposal, wrote a piece, re viewed the first draft, or just listened to us craft the idea for this book, we appreciate you. Thanks for always believing in us and being willing to be vulnerable with us.
Saying thank you is not enough for our counseling program faculty members at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, specifically Dr. Leonard, Dr. Chou, Dr. Eary, Dr. Benner, Dr. Howard, Dr. Statz, and Dr. Ballard. You have given us and our growing families a future. You have taken the lessons we have learned and our character, built by our parents and grandparents, and molded them into the therapists we are today. Thank you for seeing and training the person in us. Thank you for allowing us to be ourselves. Thank you for showing us how to serve the field and our communities with integrity. We survived and thrived in our counseling program simply because you gave us the opportunity to do so.
Julius A. Austin, PhD, LPC, is a former collegiate and professional soccer player who earned a master of arts in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and a doctorate of philosophy in counselor education and supervision from the University of Wyoming. He is currently a clinical therapist and the coordinator for the Office of Substance Abuse and Recovery at Tulane University. In this role, he serves students struggling with substance abuse issues and works with other academic and local community resources to support students in recovery. He is also an adjunct professor at Southeastern Louisiana University and Southern University and A&M College. His research focuses on counselor development and training. He is also the coauthor of the books Counselor Self-Care and The Counselor Educator’s Guide: Practical In-Class Strategies and Activities. Contact him at jaaustin16@gmail.com.
• • •
Jude T. Austin II, PhD, LPC, LMFT-Associate, NCC, CCMHC, is an assistant professor and clinical coordinator in the Professional Counseling Program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. He is also in private practice in Temple, Texas, working with individuals, couples, and families. His research focuses on counselor education pedagogy, specifically finding ways to help counseling students develop therapeutic presence in session. He is the coauthor of the books Counselor Self-Care and The Counselor Educator Handbook: Practical In-Class Strategies and Activities. Contact him at drjudeaustin@gmail.com.
Laura Capasso is a doctoral candidate in the counselor education and supervision program at the University of Northern Colorado.
Vanessa Dominguez, PhD, is a therapist at Whole Journey in Chesapeake, Virginia, and an adjunct professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Services at Old Dominion University.
Ray Eary, PhD, is an adjunct faculty member in the professional counseling program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Alicia Eggleston is a recent graduate of the marriage, family, and child counseling program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Gulsah Kemer, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Services at Old Dominion University.
Kenya King is a recent graduate of the marriage, family, and child counseling program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
ShanTrail King is a recent graduate of the marriage, family, and child counseling program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Kellie Kirksey, PhD, is a holistic psychotherapist and certified rehabilitation counselor at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine in Lyndhurst, Ohio.
Joel Lane, PhD, is an associate professor and interim chair of the Counselor Education Department at Portland State University.
Gil Lerma, PhD, is a therapist in the CAPS for Counseling Services office at Tulane University.
McKinley Marks is a graduate student in the clinical mental health counseling program at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Benjamin Ng is a therapist in the CAPS for Counseling Services office at Tulane University.
Judith Preston is a doctoral student in the counselor education and supervision program at Old Dominion University and a therapist in private practice in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Sarah Silva is a doctoral candidate in the counselor education and supervision program at Walden University and a therapist in a group practice in Chicago, Illinois.
Martha Thomas is a graduate student in the clinical mental health counseling program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Areah Thompson is a graduate student in the clinical mental health counseling program at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Natasha Villegas is an alumnus of the marriage, family, and child counseling program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and a stay-at-home mom.