Kendra Ostrovsky

CSP 511
10.06.2020
Interview and Wellness Plan

Part I: Interview Report

John Gates is currently a high school crisis counselor at Panorama High School and Cal

Burke continuation High School. In his present roles, he focuses primarily on helping students to

graduate. He has been a practicing school counselor for about 35 years and has several

specialized credentials (i.e. PPS, PPS in School Social Work, School Psychology, School

Counseling and Child Welfare and Attendance). In his work at both high schools, the population

reflects students who are often not served in a traditional school setting.

Mr. Gates spoke of the joys of seeing his students feel joy. How encouraging students to

identify personal motivators improves their educational experience. And how this improvement

can be seen in many different aspects of the students’ lives. He spoke of seeing his students

graduate and become productive members of society. On the other hand, many of Mr. Gates’

difficulties and obstacles stem from the population of students he works with. Often times

students are reluctant to receive help. Many do not speak English, which presents its own

difficulties.

Regarding the most prevalent areas of need at his school sites, Mr. Gates verbalized the

problems that arise when dealing with students who are immigrants and do not speak the

language, as well as those issues that arise when dealing with impoverished families. He spoke

of DACA recipients and how the current political climate has inherently affected their

psychosocial and academic development. He dove into the harsh realities of students who live in

poverty and do not have access to resources for basic needs and how this ultimately contributes

to these students falling into the opportunity gap in education.

 He often deals with instances of abuse, self-harm, and gang violence. There is a large

presence of the Modern Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang at his sites and as a result, many of his

students are formerly incarcerated. This presents the students with their own set of specific

psychosocial problems including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and more. Much of his time with

these students is spent focusing on integration back into the education system and using the

motivational framework to inspire these students to engage in their learning again.

When asked about his strategies for addressing these issues, Mr. Gates described a

combination of CBT and motivation of behavior change framework. He spoke specifically about

how his population sometimes requires some guided introspection about what would drive them

to succeed personally and academically. He highlighted how “identifying a motivator for the

young person to be in school whatever their motivation might be social, familial, etc. frames

their education with a personal desire for success”. In pair with this framework, he also utilizes

his version of CBT. Mr. Gates encourages his students to become aware of their negative

thinking and urges them to use those thoughts productively. In doing so, he believes that he is

inspiring his students to view challenging situations from a different and more productive

perspective.

When asked about his self-care and wellness strategies, Mr. Gates chuckled and admitted

that although he did try to engage in those sorts of activities, he often did not perform them as

much as he should. He acknowledged that he and his wife (who is an LCSW) have tried to bring

more awareness to their own mental state and are attempting to implement mindfulness into their

daily routine. However, he often finds his self-care in watering the garden and finding small

moments of peace. He also acknowledges how living outside of the community he works in is
his own form of self-care. He highlighted how creating boundaries for one’s comfortability will

ultimately aid in taking care of one’s mental health.

Part II: Wellness Plan

Over the course of a counselors career, numerous emotional and physical stressors can

lead to burnout. This burnout can ultimately affect the efficacy and validity of the counselor’s

work. By not taking care of oneself and one’s mental health, a counselor is unable to give advice

and guidance without being skewed by their personal biases and judgments. By implementing

different forms of self-care, counselors and therapists are able to bring self-awareness to how

their attitudes may affect their work. In creating a wellness plan for myself, I hope to incorporate

activities that I already enjoy doing as well as intentional self care that will allow me to become

more in touch with my body and mind’s needs.

One form of self-care that I hope to better implement into my weekly routine is the

practice of mindfulness, paired with yoga. In my undergrad years, I took a yoga class and

gradually saw how those practices carried into my daily life. Throughout the semester, I found

myself feeling less anxious and having the ability to calm myself in stressful situations. Along

with the mental health benefits, I also saw a drastic change in my body. I felt the tension in my

back and shoulders slowly be relieved and replaced by a general feeling of well being. I was

more in touch with my body and emotions as I was provided the tools to slow down and pinpoint

where my discomfort was coming from.

Shapiro, Brown and Biegel (2007) conducted a study that sought to examine the effects

of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in therapist training. These researchers established the

need for this research as they identified self-care as a useful complement to the training of future

counselors (2007). Their research found significant declines in stress, negative affect,
rumination, state and trait anxiety, and significant increases in positive affect and self-

compassion as a result of utlizing mindfulness. In relation to counseling specifically, one study

found that participants in their meditation practice group reported significantly higher levels of

self-compassion, while displaying lower levels of burnout than the non-meditating participants

(Ringenbach, 2009). With this knowledge, I hope to implement some type of mindfulness or

yoga into a weekly routine. In my first year, I believe it will be essential to find the time to

reconnect with myself. Making this a weekly practice will also allow me to become more

cognisant of my thoughts and my body.

Currently, I use journaling as a form of self care to express my thoughts and feelings in

an unfiltered way. It has helped me to think through different problems and situations, as well as

to become more articulate in the way I express my emotions. I have had many different journals

throughout my life and find them to be a therapeutic way to perform self-care. Literature on the

benefits of journaling has supported the idea that it improves many different aspects of one’s

mental health. Woodbridge and O’Beirne (2017) conducted a study that assessed the effects of

journaling on counseling students’ reflective thinking. Their findings suggested that journaling

led to greater self-awareness and provided opportunities to practice reflective thinking. Using

these findings, I hope that journaling will serve as a way to practice reflective thinking in ways

that will help my emotional and spiritual health, along with improving skills that are useful in

counseling. I plan to implement journaling into my everyday routine. Whether it be in the

morning or night, I believe that by journaling everyday will also provide a sort of catharsis that

will enable me to be a more effective and objective counselor.

In addition to these established forms of self care, some outlets for me would be social

interaction and staying active. It has been proposed that individuals with high levels of social
support suffer fewer negative health consequences than would those with low levels of support

(Umberson and Montez, 2010) .Connecting with friends and family, enables me to relieve stress

and increase happiness. By nature, I am a very extroverted person and I --in turn--feel energized

by the presence of others. In order to utilize this source of energy for me, it is important to create

and keep meaningful relationships. This goes hand in hand with staying active and it is an

important aspect of my current daily life. Doing things that encourage me to move my body

always end up having a positive impact on my mental health. Aside from the release of

endorphins and adrenaline that it provides, staying active also allows me to touch base with my

body, much like yoga. These are parts of my wellness plan that I hope to incorporate into my

routine as much as possible. I will admit that this is probably easier said then done, however I am

dedicated to keeping the relationships that have positive influences on my mental health close.

One strategy of maintaining boundaries that I have learned from my mom, who is also in

the professional mental health field, is to create physical boundaries. For example, a set of train

tracks could represent the transformation from “everyday Kendra” to “counselor Kendra”. By

being able to attach my roles to a physical boundary, it may in turn become easier to ensure that

my work dilemmas and emotional stress do not follow me home. In pair with creating and

following through on this wellness plan, I think that setting and maintaining boundaries is

essential for preserving my mental health.

In my first year as a school counselor--and from then on--I will use this wellness plan as

a strategy to improve my mental health and perform self care. Doing yoga or mindfulness once a

week, journaling daily, and maintaining a social and active lifestyle will aid me in becoming the

best and most effective school counselor I can be.

 Works Cited

Bryant, F., & Veroff, J. (2007). Enhancing Savoring. In Savoring: A New Model of Positive

Experience. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

Ringenbach, R. (2009). A Comparison Between Counselors Who Practice Meditation and

Those Who Do Not on Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout and

Self-Compassion. OhioLINK.

https://etd.ohiolink.edu/pg_10?0::NO:10:P10_ACCESSION_NUM:akron1239650446
Shapiro, S. L., Brown, K. W., & Biegel, G. M. (2007). Teaching self-care to caregivers:

Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in

training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 1(2), 105–115.

https://doi.org/10.1037/1931-3918.1.2.105

Umberson, D., & Karas Montez, J. (2010). Social Relationships and Health: A Flashpoint

for Health Policy. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022146510383501

Woodbridge, L., & O’Beirne, B. R. (2017). Counseling Students’ Perceptions of Journaling

as a Tool for Developing Reflective Thinking. The Journal of Counselor Preparation

and Supervision, 9(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.7729/92.1198