I truly believe that I have highly advanced, exemplary competence in advising and helping skills.  I have endured a wide range of experiences and educational opportunities that helped me attain knowledge, awareness, and skills in crisis counseling, crisis management and intervention, confrontation, advising, problem-solving, mediation, and other helping concepts.

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​Crisis Counseling Course

First, I took a Crisis Counseling course through the Master's level counseling program at BGSU.  In this course I learned counseling techniques and methods, specifically related to managing immediate crisis concerns and long-term effects.  I also learned about multicultural considerations for counseling and how counseling needs and perceptions are influenced by level of development.  Additionally, I had the opportunity to learn a great deal about specific types of crises and the unique factors that influence the severity and longevity of the crisis impact for an individual.  Throughout the course, I also learned about various crises in detail, such as suicide; sexual assault; intimate partner violence; loss and death; school-based crisis; natural disaster; child abuse; substance abuse and addiction; and terminal illness. 

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​I practiced the ABCDE model of crisis counseling, which is used to assess the affective, behavioral, cognitive, development, and environmental factors associated with the crisis to best determine the appropriate counseling response.  One way I practiced this was through a partner scenario where I role-played a counselor intervening a client who had suicidal ideations.  Not only was I able to practice responding to this situation as a counselor, but I then had the opportunity to watch the recorded video of my performance and write a reflection paper critiquing myself.  Below is a link to a PDF of my reflection regarding my technique in the role-play scenario.  I also completed a group research project on the crisis of sexual assault.  Through that research project, I learned how to apply the ABCDE model in the circumstance of a sexual assault crisis and I learned about the different considerations and implications related to that specific type of crisis.  A PDF of our group paper is also linked below.

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​​Since completion of the crisis counseling course, I have more confidence in my ability to informally counsel and support students through crises.  For example, I had a student staff member pass away unexpectedly in February, which was a crisis that impacted several of my supervisees and students.  Because I had learned about different perceptions toward grief, factors that can determine whether an individual will have an 'uncomplicated' or 'complicated' grieving process, and methods for how to specific support individuals with various reactions toward grief, I handled the crisis with confidence and exemplary skill.  I was the leadership member in charge of disseminating information about the death to my staff members, and my understanding of the grieving process helped me determine what communication methods to use and  prepare myself for the various reactions I would receive.  I have two staff members in particular who are undergoing a continued, complicated grieving process, but I am diligent in supporting them from a supervisory standpoint that is also informed by crisis counseling education.
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​Crisis Intervention

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​In my role as a graduate hall director I have had to support students and student staff through a wide variety of personal crises.  Although I am not a licensed counselor, I have various opportunities to support students in crisis and have done so through a variety of techniques.  Understanding ones' own limitations in responsibility and skill to counsel students and intervene in crises is a critical component for development of exemplary competence in this area.  Because I am not a counseling professional, I often refer students to the BGSU counseling center to attain professional support.  I have even walked students to the counseling center if they are anxious about utilizing the counseling services or are not at a place to be left alone during the crisis. 

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However, not all crises occur during the business day.  As a graduate hall director, I participate in the on-call duty rotation for the east side of campus.  While on duty, I have had to intervene and manage several different crises.  During my very first weekend on duty, I had a student who had sent suicidal text messages to friends from back home, and when I performed a wellness check to verify this individual was safe, this student was in fact missing.  During this crisis, I had to console and support the two friends who were afraid for the student's well-being, while also working with university police to connect with local agencies to search for the student.  I have also been on-call when an off-campus student commit suicide, when a student was in crisis regarding an eating disorder, and for a variety of other mental health crises.  For these situations, I am skilled at keeping calm and collected, gathering necessary information, and connecting the students with University Police, Wood County Hospital, or the LINK (the local 24-hour mental health crisis center).  I am a practitioner who is not afraid to take extra steps to ensure the student is receiving the best support; when I receive duty calls for mental health crises, I actively go meet the RA and student of concern to provide support to the student staff members, calm and comfort the student, and facilitate the next steps of the intervention.  I actively listen to the reporting staff member and the student of concern, and I inform appropriate senior staff members as necessary. 

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​Advising Hall Council

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