George Clark, Counselor, DMACC Student Development, Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC)
1. Please describe your role on campus.
My role on the DMACC campus is multifaceted—one-quarter of my time is spent teaching the first-year transitional course “The College Experience.” This class helps traditional freshmen adapt and adjust to college life, understand the policies and procedures associated with DMACC, and the importance of mental and emotional well-being to academic success in higher education.
In addition to teaching four sections of The College Experience, grading related assignments, and providing students with respective office hours, the remainder of my time is earmarked for mental health counseling and facilitating ‘Counselor Workshops’ on loneliness and men’s mental health.
2. How do you lead and interface with mental health and well-being on your campus?
First, we highlight the significance of emotional and mental health through our individual sections of The College Experience. We (*six counselors at the DMACC Ankeny campus) often guest lecture in various classes, including but not limited to other first-year courses.
Second, I promote the essential role of mental health among various populations through serving on the Diversity Commission (DEI). Lastly, the counseling staff serve on DMACC’s Petition for Policy Waiver Committee which reviews student applications regarding academic difficulties associated with extenuating circumstances ranging from medical disabilities, personal hardship, military service, or the death of a loved one.
3. Would you share a story where you were concerned about something or someone, and the steps you took that either helped and/or left you considering how you would do it differently?
When I was in grad school, I can remember being somewhat dismissive about Carl Rogers’ belief that the therapeutic relationship (i.e., unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy) in and of itself can give clients space for self-exploration, healing, and personal growth.
Approximately 10 years ago, one of my clients was engaging in self-harming behavior (cutting) to the extent that I was worried she might unintentionally take her life. Each week we processed her thoughts and behaviors—we considered alternatives as well as the importance of having a ‘safety plan’ with trustworthy individuals in whom she could confide.
Over the course of that semester, we traveled to the hospital on three occasions as she did not feel safe alone. We spent considerable time working through her childhood trauma and abuse.
I will always remember her expressing a huge sense of relief from simply disclosing this secret she’d carried for more than a decade. I think she was generally amazed that I didn’t stand in judgment of her, that I created space for her to tell her story, and was vigilant about keeping her safe. Perhaps Walt Whitman said it best, “Be curious, not judgmental.”
4. Could you tell us about one high point and one low point in your work?
High Point: The simple opportunity to be let into my clients’ lives—the privilege to walk with individuals through their darkest times and help them come out the other side with renewed hope and insight.
Low Point: The recognition that despite my best efforts, some of my clients will remain ‘stuck’ and it ultimately has nothing to do with me (*that’s difficult to accept).
5. Is there something which you would like to normalize for others, where they may think they cannot share it?
Being a counselor for 27 years has taught me an important lesson: Humility. It’s okay to acknowledge you don’t always have the answer(s) and to seek guidance and wisdom from colleagues. Isn’t it ironic that we spend a considerable amount of time in consultation during grad school and then forgo the inherent value of consulting when we become “real” counselors.
3 Self-Care Strategies George Swears By
- Get Outside. Spend as much time in the outdoors and in nature as is possible. There is an abundance of research supporting the value of fresh air, vitamin D (from the sun!), and the soothing impact of natural sounds (e.g., birds, insects, wind, animals) on stress levels.
- Physical Exercise. Working out is our body’s natural anti-depressant. I combine regular cardiovascular workouts with intermittent strength-training routines. Now that I’m middle age, I recognize the correlation between muscular strength and my ability to successfully engage in outdoor activities I love like hiking, canoeing, and snowboarding.
- Fly Fishing. According to President Herbert Hoover: “To go fishing is the chance to wash one's soul with pure air, with the rush of the brook, or with the shimmer of sun on blue water.” ‘Nuff said.