Become a mental health counselor without sacrificing your own stability

0:00:00.1 Speaker 1: I chose OCU to earn my Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling because I've had such great prior experiences at OCU. I've attended three of their graduate programs and I've had wonderful experiences with faculty across the board. And I really like the addition of the student support coordinator. Sydney has been invaluable and so I just really felt called back to OCU. So some of the goals that I had going into the Master's program included feeling comfortable in a new field, developing clinical skills, developing a knowledge base that I can lean on throughout my professional career. And I really feel like the clinical mental health counseling program does a fantastic job of that by reinforcing concepts. Whether it's through the lecture or the modules or an assigned paper, everything that we read about is reinforced.

0:01:02.7 Speaker 1: And so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I really like the eight-week structure. In the past, I've only taken courses that require the entire semester, and this format has really enriched my understanding of the material and allowed me to focus on just a few classes at a time. And I find that I'm retaining more that way. Based on my experience, I would describe the online learning experience in the counseling program as very supportive. And I feel like my teachers are more available to me. My professors are more available rather than less available as they have been in more traditional structures. They recognize some of the challenges of online learning, and they are always available to discuss anything that might appear confusing or anything that need... Any concept that needs a little bit more explanation. They've been very responsive. Dr. Hodge and Dr. Roby have been extremely responsive.

0:02:13.9 Speaker 1: So I'm thrilled to get to know them more. I've had meetings with both of them and they were thrilled to arrange that with me. So I'm a huge fan of both of theirs. I've had classes with them two semesters in a row now, and it's been a wonderful, wonderful support. So the structure and progression of the curriculum have really supported my career at OCU, namely because I started in January. I did not start at the traditional fall semester. And I had a lot of anxiety going into the program about am I gonna be behind? Is there gonna be material that I need that I don't have? And none of those fears have come true. If anything, I feel extremely well supported and as... Lost my train of thought.

0:03:06.6 Speaker 2: It's okay. No, that was fun. So the last thing that you were talking about was that you feel well supported. You had a lot of anxiety coming into the program, right? So if you want, we can either pick back from... Pick back up from where you left off or if you want to re-answer it again, that's totally fine too.

0:03:26.3 Speaker 1: Okay. I'll pick up where I left off with coming on in January and due to the nature of the curriculum, due to the eight-week courses, due to the fact that the material is reinforced through multiple assignments, I don't feel behind. I feel very much a part of things. I feel like a contributor. And we even have peer responses that we provide every week to our classmates. And that has really been validating and it's been interesting to see different people's therapeutic styles.

0:04:04.1 Speaker 1: So this program has increased my confidence in my abilities. It's also kind of affirmed my therapeutic style. And I'm finding that my style comes from my history. And it's been such a joy and so enriching to see other students come into the course with their own experiences and their own background that enriches their style. And we have the opportunity to provide peer support feedback every week on multiple assignments. So it's been very validating and a healthy challenge and just wonderful to get to know my peers in the program as well.

0:04:44.0 Speaker 1: I would highly recommend this program to other aspiring counselors. It is incredibly well supported through the faculty, through the peer support network, through the resources at OCU. I've had wonderful experiences with everything from the dean's office to the library. And it's been a wonderful place to learn, a great environment, and it's also a very cost-effective program. There are some other programs in this state that are twice as expensive, and I'm not sure that you receive that value. Maybe I could re-record that part, but...

0:05:22.2 Speaker 2: Yeah.

0:05:24.9 Speaker 1: I've had great experiences on campus in all departments. Everything from the dean's office to the library has been incredibly supportive. I've really enjoyed my time on campus, and I would encourage online students to challenge themselves to study on campus and make those connections. But I would recommend this program to aspiring counselors because it is very cost-effective, it is very supportive, and it's very comprehensive, and you will not be disappointed.

0:05:56.6 Speaker 1: My most rewarding moment in the program so far has been the integrative paper that we wrote in our human behavior class. We learn about so much theory in that course. It spans the entire life cycle. And then you apply that learning to your own personal life. And it's this wonderful exercise of being introspective and being curious about yourself and trying to work on yourself as a clinician as well. But it also... The integrative paper assignment really drew my attention to how things like systems theory really played out in my life. It increased my awareness and it also... Yeah. It increased my awareness and it also... I don't have much more to say.