Making Moves, Career Edition

I got a job! After almost two months of looking for a job in California (plus the five months after graduation of wandering aimlessly while trying to juggle family responsibilities and my own inflated expectations), I found an incredible nonprofit working to provide a variety of residential mental healthcare services, mostly to low-income individuals.

While this is not where I saw myself five months ago–heck, I didn’t even see myself in California five months ago–I am thrilled to be working in field where I believe I can be a real force for change. Beginning later this month, I will spend 43 hours a week as a counselor in a residential home for young adults recovering from commercial sex trafficking. My shifts vary in length from eight to 15 hours and most of them are at night. My job, more than anything, is about providing support. Being present in a powerful tool when it comes to healing and many people don’t have support networks like the one I have been gifted with. Outside of that, I think I am in for a lot of surprises.

A few weeks ago, an acquaintance who works in neuroimaging research expressed serious concerns over the fact (which was new knowledge to them) that most residential and wilderness treatment programs are staffed day-to-day by individuals with bachelors degrees, lots of hands-on training, and dedication to spare. How can these people, she said, claim to be counselors when they have no graduate degrees and no special training in mental healthcare? Aside from the fact that the job title “counselor” is also granted to summer camp leaders and lawyers because it is not a singular signifier of credential, I think often people don’t realize that part of mental healthcare is about honoring humanity.

In a nutshell doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, nurses, first responders, and research scientists are integral in the care of non-neurotypical illnesses. Diagnosis and prescription of treatment (including prescriptions) comes from doctors and psychiatrists. Therapists work to help implement weekly (sometimes more) changes to create new patterns of behaviors. In crisis, nurses and first responders help to stabilize situations. New information and understanding of how our brains function is part of ongoing work done by research scientists. Where do counselors fit in?

Counselors fill the space in the hours and days in between meetings with all sorts of providers. We stay awake all night. We make sure our patients have meals and company. We are the ones who run out the door at the home after our patients who have had enough and want to leave. We try to help people feel like people. Luckily, you don’t need any graduate degree to show kindness or compassion.