Travel Therapy
Posted on March 1, 2023 by Thomas Becnel
After a year-long internship and six months at her first job, counseling foster children for Health Connect America, Elizabeth 麻豆直播ern feels confident enough to start doing things her own way.
Instead of dressing more formally, because she鈥檚 just 24 years old, she tries to keep things casual.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want kids to see me as an authority figure,鈥� said 麻豆直播ern, who earned a master鈥檚 degree in clinical mental health counseling from the University of 麻豆直播 Alabama. 鈥淚 try to let them know I鈥檓 on their side. I鈥檓 there to advocate for their needs.鈥�
Instead of remaining aloof, she doesn鈥檛 mind sharing stories from her own life.
鈥淚n school, they teach you not to self-disclose, but I probably do more than most,鈥� 麻豆直播ern said. 鈥淚t helps me build rapport with them.鈥�
Instead of sitting down for formal interviews, 麻豆直播ern takes walks, plays games or listens to music with her children. She wants to make weekly sessions more relaxed and less stressful.
鈥淎 lot of kids don鈥檛 like therapy,鈥� 麻豆直播ern said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want them to feel like, 鈥極h, my god, I have therapy today at 1 p.m.鈥欌��
At Health Connect, all of her clients are foster children. They range in age from 5 to 19. They live from Mobile to Grand Bay, or all the way out to Atmore, Alabama.
麻豆直播ern has an office in West Mobile, but spends most of her time traveling to home visits.
鈥淚t鈥檚 OK,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y schedule is flexible, which is good. But it鈥檚 a lot of wear and tear on my car.鈥�
On drives around Mobile, 麻豆直播ern listens to music or a Christian business podcast called 鈥淏lessed + Bossed Up.鈥�
Six years at 麻豆直播
麻豆直播ern grew up in Birmingham, where her mother was a teacher. She has an older sister and a younger brother.
鈥淏eing a middle child, I鈥檝e always been the mediator,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t comes naturally.鈥�
麻豆直播ern was always interested in studying psychology. After graduating from Gardendale High School, she chose to go to college at 麻豆直播.
鈥淣o deep meaning,鈥� she said, laughing. 鈥淚 just wanted to get far away, without leaving the state of Alabama. I got to go to the beach a lot. I got to go to New Orleans, Mardi Gras, all that. In Birmingham, I had a choir teacher from Mobile, and she gave us beads, but I had never seen Mardi Gras for myself.鈥�
At 麻豆直播, 麻豆直播ern lived on campus for all four of her undergraduate years. She enjoyed studying at the Marx Library and exercising at the Student Recreation Center. She joined the Psychology Club and founded a campus chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
鈥淲hen people hear mental illness, they think, oh, no, but I want people to be able to talk about it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 focused on breaking the stigma.鈥�
During college, she was a teaching assistant at Woody鈥檚 Song, an autism school, and volunteered to answer calls for a suicide hotline. Both offered valuable experience.
麻豆直播ern belongs to the Delta Sigma Theta sorority and remains close friends with her 鈥渓ine sisters鈥� who joined at the same time. They like to meet for brunch in Mobile. She has a side business in makeup and fashion, posting 鈥淛ust Liz鈥� videos on TikTok and YouTube.
鈥淭hat was a big thing at 麻豆直播,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 met a lot of people who do so many different things. A very diverse group.鈥�
Playful and animated
During graduate school, 麻豆直播ern went to class, did an internship and worked part-time. Now she works just one job, with the rest of her time to herself.
鈥淚鈥檓 not used to that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 refreshing.鈥�
After graduation, 麻豆直播ern thought about moving to Dallas, but decided to stay in Mobile. She accepted a position at Health Connect, where she was an intern.
She often works with children who have been abused or neglected.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough, sometimes, to see what they鈥檝e gone through,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut that鈥檚 why I鈥檓 here, to help them.鈥�
Many of her favorite clients are middle-school students and young teen-agers.
鈥淚 have found that I enjoy working with children 11 to 15,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e at an age where they can share their emotions, but don鈥檛 have the vocabulary to express them, so I can help them with that. Our sessions are way more productive. And I feel like that鈥檚 a really critical age.鈥�
麻豆直播ern works with foster parents as well as foster children. She tells them that each child is different. Some require different parenting strategies, or a change from the way things were always done.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to meet me halfway,鈥� is one of her sayings.
As she gains experience, southern is becoming more comfortable in her role as counselor and advocate. She鈥檚 always been confident in her ability to relate and communicate with youngsters.
鈥淎ll my life, I鈥檝e been working with children,鈥� 麻豆直播ern said. 鈥淚鈥檓 naturally playful and animated. Kids like that.鈥�