The Counselor as a Person Podcast

Stevie VanAusdale is a counselor and mother who has been navigating life in a wheelchair since she was 17. She talks about the accident that paralyzed her, the power of anger, and finding love (and babies) in unexpected places. She also shares about how her first counseling clients helped her remember her own humanity. Join us for a touching conversation about pain, connection, and learning to live again after devastating loss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Nicole Karcinski is a psychiatric nurse practitioner and mother of two. She describes herself as a therapist who does medicine. In this wide ranging conversation about clinical training, personal growth, family, friendship, and marriage, Nicole reflects on learning to be real and how her way of being has changed as a result of doing this work.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Jillian Vella speaks about surviving breast cancer and a double mastectomy, and about the vulnerable choice to "live flat" as a counselor and a person.  Join us for a candid and inspiring conversation about growth at the edges of life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My long-time friend Katie White asks me thoughtful questions about my own experience of being a therapist. We talk about self-care and compassion fatigue, connecting with people in serious pain, and the art of sustaining our friendship.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Silvia Echevarria-Doan, PhD, LMFT is a professor of family counseling and a marriage and family therapist. She reflects on how her work informs her own marriage and family life, on facilitating student counselor development, and on overseeing the marriage and family clinic at the University of Florida.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kathleen Driscoll is a doctoral student in Counselor Education. She talks candidly about getting her own therapy and why she believes every counseling student should. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 23 years old, Morgan Ransom is a graduate student in Counselor Education who just finished her first practicum as a counselor-in-training at a local agency. With a background as a high-achieving student and collegiate athlete, Morgan reflects on the many changes happening in her relationships and in herself as she works towards becoming a professional therapist.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My Dad was a Hospice nurse, and a big influence on me. He talks about searching for meaning and purpose, learning to be present with people who are dying, and how his time in Hospice hasn't made facing the prospect of his own end of life any easier.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tina Tannen, PhD, LMHC, was reluctant to come on the podcast. She talks about her negative reaction to a previous therapist's self-disclsoure, and her ongoing efforts to grow. She also speaks about the counseling process as a meditation, and shares lots of resources.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My husband, lawyer Thomas Hawkins, was gracious enough to sit down with me  to talk about our relationship and what it's like for him to be involved with me.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laurel Nesbit is a registered intern in Mental Health Counseling who works with people in crisis. She talks about how her own therapy helped her learn to feel and be aware of herself as a person, and how she uses this awareness with her clients. We also discuss boundaries in counseling relationships. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Meggen Sixbey, LMHC, LMFT and I talk about the ways we care for and carry our clients with us as we move through our personal lives. We discuss our role as professors and supervisors and what we believe matters most in counseling relationships. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Marshall Knudson is a licensed psychologist who directed the Alachua County Crisis Center in Gainesville, FL for 35 years. He was also my supervisor and mentor for seven years, and perhaps the person who has most influenced growth as a therapist and a person. We talk about empathy vs. judgment in the counseling process, training vs. practice, and the "unnatural" aspects of the counseling profession.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Brandi Pritchett-Johnson is a licensed psychologist, mother, wife, and social justice activist. She talks about being Black in the context of her personal and professional life, the recent presidential election, and how her life has been transformed by clients and mentors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kristen Shader is a new counselor, grappling with questions of how much of herself to share in her therapy relationships. Kristen reflects on how her personal life has changed as she's become better at setting boundaries and saying "no" in her professional work, and ways she still wants to grow. We also talk about leaning into uncertainty and her next great adventure--quitting her job and back-packing around the world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sunni Lutton is an advanced doctoral student in Mental Health Counseling. She talks about her lived experiences of trauma and crippling distress, and how she is learning to integrate all of who she is and where she has been into the art of therapy relationships. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.