CSI Membership

Hi everyone!

So, we are getting into the home stretch of our fall semester. Practicum and Internship students scramble for hours, Fundamentals folks secure sites, and budding writers in the Writing Lab edit out all of that pesky passive language from final papers. Wow, I can't believe how rapidly this semester seems to pass us by. I know that this part of the year can be frightening for many of us for an array of different reasons. The internal process of becoming a counselor is one with no pre-existing formula. All we can do is consult with one another relentlessly and just be there for each other.

I know that many of us feel disappointed since the results of the recent election came to fruition. At the same time, some feel pleased with the results. One thing we know for sure is that unity and solidarity seem like foreign terms given the growing divisiveness that permeates our country. On top of that, we suffer from the budget blood bath that has been inflicted upon our department. Many students now face the reality that plans of study are completely messed up as a result of this blood bath. For those of you directly affected, I am so, so sorry. Man, we really have fallen on hard times. I have been thinking a lot about these very unwelcome changes occurring on the micro and macro level. As difficult as it is, I know it is time for us to mobilize and advocate for ourselves, our wonderful program, our incredibly important profession, and the rights of those who have been systemically marginalized in this country. We can do this by getting involved in organizations that promote an inclusive agenda and continuing to develop our professional identities as counselors.

With that said, I would like to congratulate the folks who officially joined CSI a couple of weeks ago. Congratulations! This is such a wonderful milestone in the journey to becoming a counselor.

From Left: Millie Reeves, Ashley Lopez, Rebecca Ryan, Tracy Buccino, and Jennifer Bacile
Not Pictured: Angie Martin, Emma Moates

In light of our new members, we (the CSI board) want to revisit what makes CSI membership great for emerging counselors. Jenn Glynn Mau, Treasurer of the CSI board and precious treasure of a person, spells out exactly why people in our program should seriously consider CSI membership as well as the nuts and bolts of joining up below.

Sincerely,
Anna McGowan, Parliamentarian Historian

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The many benefits of an active CSI membership:

Nationally:

Eligibility to participate in and apply for Award Nominations, Essay Contests, and Excellence in Counseling Research Grants. Every year, CSI awards members with recognition and funding in various arenas that promote and support active members in the counseling profession. 

Access to the CSI online Career Center, including links to useful job search websites for professional counselors, and the ability to post and search for jobs through the Job Links Forum.  

CSI Webinars provide exceptional professional development opportunities and CEUs at no charge to members. (Non-members pay a fee of $39 per webinar.) 

CSI’s Journal of Counselor Leadership & Advocacy, a source of cutting-edge information on professional and clinical issues, is available as a member benefit and resource. 

The opportunity to sign up to be a part of CSI’s statewide and regional networking 

groups and any of CSI’s groups for counselors to network and share on topics of mutual interest: Counselor Community Engagement Network, Global Network, CSI All Members Network, Professional Advocacy Network, and Professional Counselors Network.

Locally:

Opportunity to procure funding assistance from Loyola’s Student Government Association (SGA) to cover the costs of presenting at professional conferences.

Local dues make it possible for our counseling department to offer the Fall Bar-B-Que, Spring Crawfish Boil, Darkness to Light and Mandated Reporting trainings, After Hours, Initiation, and the Beyond the Degree panel and informational.

Members that are in good standing will receive an honor chord and tassel charm to wear while walking across the stage at graduation.

CSI membership offers numerous benefits to its members. 

For more information, please see an active CSI board member!

Chi Sigma Iota Membership Dues:

National Dues:

$50, initiation

$40, yearly renewal

National membership dues can be paid with a credit card or through PayPal.

Visit www.csi-net.org

Local Dues:

$20, initiation

$15, yearly renewal (x2 years)

Encouraged--You can save $10 by paying a one-time membership fee of $40. This will ensure your receipt of honor chords and tassels for graduation.

Local membership dues can be paid with cash or check (payable to Loyola University New Orleans). 

**If financial accommodations are needed, please let us know. The treasurer will work with you to create a payment plan that suits you.

Conferencing

Hi folks!

I hope that everyone had a wonderfully restful fall break! We are smack in the middle of our incredibly fast moving fall semester, which means a lot of different things, first and foremost of which is that we are all SUPER busy. Whether you are feeling overwhelmed with your first midterms, getting your bibliography ready for your Writing Lab paper, or stressing out about getting your direct hours in for Practicum and Internship, we are all in the same boat. Let's be honest; grad school is a tough endeavor, and we should all give ourselves a pat on the back, a wink in the mirror, and perhaps even a self indulgent treat strategically labeled, "self care." Whatever it is, I hope y'all are taking care of yourselves and putting our programs resources to good use. One thing that I love about our program is that we are all here for each other as we navigate the often ambiguous field of counseling and our places within it.

Today, I want to recognize some of the students in our program who continuously go above and beyond what is expected of them. I am talking about the upstanding individuals who went to the LCA and APT conferences in the past couple of weeks to present some of the research they have worked on so diligently during their time in the program. If you are new to the program and are interested in eventually presenting your work at a conference, I encourage you to pick the brains of some of these folks. I am sure that they will be thrilled to point you in the write direction when it comes to putting together proposals, putting together poster boards, and all other things conference-related. Patty Hickham, Secretary of CSI Alpha Phi, lives to tell the tale.

Sincerely,
Anna McGowan

2016 LOUISIANA COUNSELING ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

Sean Brite |  Dr. Kellie Camelford  |  Jen Chamberlain  |  Dr. John Dewell  |  Dr. Christine Ebrahim  |  Cassidy Fischer  |  Renee Floer  |  Kevin Foose  |  Dr. Thomas Foster  |  Jenn Glynn Mau

Patty Hickham |  Emily Jasper  |  Ashley Lopez  |  Stephanie Robinson  |  Keri Satterfield  |  Catherine Schully  |  Dr. LeAnn Steen

Renee Floer takes the floor!

Loyola’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling Department was extremely well represented at the LCA Conference this year at the Crowne Royal Hotel in Baton Rouge from Saturday, September 24 – Tuesday September 27, 2016. Our Professors all organized “The Loyola University New Orleans Five-Part Clinical Series: A Review of Advanced Approaches,” wherein each professor conceptualized a vignette about a family seeking counseling from their specialized clinical approaches of family therapy, trauma theory, play therapy, addiction work, and school counseling. Keri Satterfield, Renee Floer, Patty Hickham, Cassidy Fischer, and Emily Jasper also presented with the professors in this Lecture Series. 

But our presentations did not end there. Dr. Steen and Renee Floer also presented “Ethical and Legal Aspects of Spirituality in Counseling;” “Ethics in Supervision” was presented by Dr. Ebrahim; and Dr. Dewell and Stephanie Robinson presented “Evolving Addiction Treatment Beyond the Traditional Model;” and Dr. Kellie Camelford presented both “Ethical Issues with Counseling Adolescents in Private Practice,” and “Sexting: What Clinicians Need to Know.” Additionally, we had 7 students presenting poster sessions: Sean Brite, Jen Chamberlain, Jenn Glynn Mau, Cassidy Fischer, Patty Hickham, Ashley Lopez, and Catherine Schully. 

Sean Brite presenting on Adlerian Therapy with Female Sexual Addiction. Go Sean!

Cassidy Fischer and Patty Hickham presenting on Play Therapy and Betrayal Trauma. Pretty Neat stuff!

This year’s conference theme dealt with diversity. Claudia Fletcher organized and displayed a “reflection wall,” inviting conference attendees to write a few words or a phrase about diversity. The wall quickly filled up with notes about the nature and importance of diversity, displaying a wide array of perspectives and opinions. 

Great work, Claudia!


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Some Dates to Look Forward To:

Nami Walks, THIS Saturday, Oct. 15th @ 10:00am

Our team has raised a bunch of money for NAMI

and we are so excited to celebrate this feat with a 

second line in the park. All are welcome! 

Counseling BBQ at The Fly: Saturday, Oct. 22nd @ 11:30am

Voodoo BBQ is catering. Hope to see you all there! BYOB! 

Take Back the Night, Thursday, Oct. 27th @ 6:00pm

This is a great opportunity to represent our program and 

take a stand against on campus sexual violence. It will 

take place in the Loyola Horseshoe on St. Charles. 

Everyone is welcome. Hope to see y'all there! 

NAMI Walks Fundraising

Hi, everyone!

Every year our counseling department commits to raising funds for the NAMI Walks Campaign. I am sure each of you has heard this word uttered and received plenty of emails suggesting that you sign up for NAMI walks. But although you may have heard the acronym N-A-M-I spoken a lot, I feel it is important to define what NAMI is? 

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness and their mission is both to advocate for those with mental illness and pair individuals and families with mental health services and resources. NAMI of New Orleans, our local chapter, clearly states their mission:

“[WE offer] hope, help, and healing to people with mental illness – and to those who share their lives – through family support, education, and advocacy, and quality psychosocial services.”  

In practice NAMI New Orleans uses it resources to teach families and individuals how to navigate and receive proper mental health services. Their facilities are safe spaces for those with mental illnesses to support each other and to learn skills to function more comfortability in the community. In addition, NAMI gives classes on mental health advocacy and leads legislative efforts to ensure our state and national government invests in improvements to services for those with mental illness. The money raised during the NAMI walk campaign is the primary way NAMI can offer many of their services for free.

NAMI has two locations in New Orleans, one in Uptown and another on the West Bank in Harvey. From these locations people seeking assistance for Mental Illness are provided counseling services, weekly peer-led support groups, and class instruction to aid them in the initial stages of recovery. Also, NAMI New Orleans focuses on the families and communities of individuals with mental illness by building awareness and open dialog about mental health issues. For example, NAMI New Orleans provides classes to help families understand how to live with a member suffering with mental illness and community presentations to decrease the misunderstandings and stigma associated mental illness.

How does NAMI fund their mission?

For the past six years NAMI New Orleans has hosted a “Second Line” walk in Audubon Park to support mental health services and advocacy in our community. In 2015 the NAMI Walk raised $144,000 to support their mission. This year they are looking to raise $160,000! It is through contributions by caring people during the NAMI Walks Campaign that provides the funding for this organization to function throughout the year. 

Loyola’s Department of Counseling, organized by our Alpha Phi Chapter of the CSI honor society, has been a proud member of this fundraiser and walk for many years. The NAMI Walks New Orleans Campaign is an opportunity for all current students, alumni, faculty, and staff to contribute to a great organization. We are asked to stand up as professionals and future professionals to advocate for the population we serve or wish to serve. We are reliant on individual students, facility, and alumni working to support our counseling department’s team in many different ways. I invite everyone who would like to join our team to create an individual fund raising profile through the NAMI website to allow your family and friends the opportunely to donate.  Plus, we have many fun events in store, like our after-hours fundraisers, raffles, and of course the NAMI walk itself at Audubon Park at 10AM on October 15^th. 

I invite everyone to consider joining our NAMI funding campaign by first checking out our team sign up link on the NAMI New Orleans website: 

http://www.namiwalks.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=546

Or email: smbrite@loyno.edu

Sincerely, 

Sean Brite 

In addition to creating your own fundraising page for NAMI walks and asking your family, friends, and coworkers to donate, we have set up other ways in which you can help this wonderful organization:

Tuesday, September 13th at Rock'n' Bowl 7:00pm-9:00pm

That's right, next Tuesday CSI Alpha Phi will be taking to the bowling ally located at 3016 S. Carrollton Ave. to have ourselves a NAMI fundraiser. You can see Sean Brite or any of the GAs about purchasing tickets, which are $10. You may also purchase a ticket at the door. Proceeds will go to NAMI and best bowler ever title will go to me (kidding, I am quite prone to gutter balls). Anyway, its going to be a really chance to engage in some quality community building and raise money for NAMI simultaneously, so please come out!

Friday, October 7th at Courtyard Brewery 5:30pm-7:30pm

Courtyard Brewery, located at 1020 Erato St, is a local brewery and tap room featuring an amazing selection of craft beers, delicious street food, and a nice, family friendly atmosphere. This will be another great opportunity to raise funds for NAMI and also strengthen our bonds to one another. No need to purchase a ticket. $1 of every beer purchased at this event will go to NAMI, so come out and show your support! 

Another thing we are going to do in the near future is a NAMI raffle. Although we haven't quite gotten all of the items and tickets together, this is something you can expect to make an appearance soon. Tickets will be sold in the big room, and prices are TBA. Feel free to ask a GA and/or a CSI officer if you are curious! 

Graduation and Fall Semester

Hi Folks!

With the summer almost over, it is nearly time to usher in our wonderful new students. I, for one, am incredibly excited to get to know a few new faces and integrate them into our program. Fall is such a great time for our program because with it comes a plethora of opportunities for new and old students to get together and serve the community at large. That said, I strongly urge everyone to bring nonperishable food items and/or cleaning supplies to the Big Room anytime before August 24th. Sean Brite, President-Elect of our CSI chapter and local awesome guy, has organized a drive for Second Harvest Food Bank. These items will be given to victims of the recent flooding in the surrounding area. This is such an important cause because these floods have devastated members of our community and destroyed their homes. If you would like to know more or get more involved, please visit no-hunger.org/disaster-response/.
As we welcome our new students and get our ducks in a row for the coming semester, lets all take a moment to recognize and congratulate the students who have moved on, and who we will miss dearly. In May, we celebrated our 2016 spring and summer graduates. Celebratory events included the Counseling Department's graduation celebration for grads and their families, Honors Convocation for the College of Social Sciences, and of course commencement ceremonies at the MercedesBenz Superdome! Congratulations to all of you, and good luck in your future endeavors. Thanks for making such a meaningful impact on our community!

Sincerely,
Anna McGowan and Sarah Applebaum

Congratulations 2016 Graduates!



Spring and Summer '16 Grads

Kristen Centanni
Rebekah Cianci
Sarah Finney
Xenia Hatzilias
Lynsey Hinnenkamp
Blaire Hirstius
Tracy Kinamore
Devin Leivo
Kristen Lourens
Ben Ng
Laura Pignato
Polly Pillen

Many of our grads received awards for their excellence and fortitude in research, clinical aptitude, and service to our community. Special congratulations to the recipients of our departmental awards!
The recipients are pictured below from the left:

Kristen Centanni, Play Therapy Center for Education and Research Award
Laura Pignato, Counseling Research Excellence Award
Polly Pillen, Regina Matthews Oehmig Award for Excellence in Counseling
Ben Ng, Clinical Excellence Award
Sarah Finney, Alumni Association Award

Some dates to look forward to: 

After Hours at Dat Dog on Freret St. :                   

Sunday, August 21st at 4:00 p.m.                               

Nami Walks sign-up party in the Big Room:

Wednesday, August 31st at 12:00 p.m.