Alumnus of the Month – Roy Huggins

Roy Huggins has had an interesting path to becoming a counselor. His professional career started when he and a couple of friends tried to start a video game development company, which led to Roy getting involved in web design for various clients. Roy says this experience taught him important lessons about how interacting with people was just as important as writing quality code. After several years as a web developer, Roy decided to follow his passion and make a major career change to become a counselor.

Roy came to the GSE to pursue a master’s in mental health counseling. After completing the program, Roy started his own private practice. However, his experience in IT is not forgotten as Roy currently serves as the webmaster for the Oregon Mental Health Counselors Association (OMHCA), and has led presentations on “digital confidentiality” at their annual meetings. As a consultant and educator, he leads NBCC-Approved continuing education workshops that teach counselors about the ethics of counseling and patient confidentiality on a national level.

Alumnus of the Month – Crystal Ellis

Crystal Ellis is curious about the social and emotional development of children and is intrigued by how children communicate their feelings and experiences. Crystal earned her BA in Liberal Studies and Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University and taught at a private elementary school for ten years. This experience had a profound impact on her, “I saw the amazing potential of the individual child and saw the beauty in reaching one’s potential at one’s own pace.” After teaching, Crystal volunteered in Romania working to help cultivate positive relationships with children that had been traumatized and neglected. These experiences eventually led Crystal to Portland State, where she received a MS in Counselor Education and a graduate certificate in Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy.

For the past seven years Crystal has worked for North Clackamas School District, with three of those years spent as an elementary school teacher. Currently, Crystal is in her fourth year as a school counselor and behavior interventionist at Oak Grove Elementary School in Milwaukie. Her work there includes integrating the school’s PBIS and RTI systems, overseeing behavior interventions and small groups, and working with parents to best support struggling students. Crystal was instrumental in bringing a full time mental health intern to Oak Grove to serve their most needy families and works closely with the staff at the two surrounding high schools to bring volunteers and mentors to work with students.

GSE members appointed to state boards

Marion Sharp has been named to the Citizens’ Initiative Review Commission (CIRC). The CIRC consists of seven members, appointed by the governor, who will perform independent, in-depth analysis of up to two measures that will be placed before voters in November. The group will study the issues, calling on proponents and opponents, and write an independent opinion of the measure’s impact for the voter’s pamphlet. The CIRC was created in 2011 by the Oregon Legislature.

Ms. Sharp is a program manager for Continuing Education who has developed and administered human services programs for the Graduate School of Education for the past 10 years. She is a former social worker and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

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Governor John Kitzhaber has appointed Graduate School of Education student Mark Foster to the Oregon State Rehabilitation Council (SRC), a board of consumer advocates that provides leadership and insight to the governor and state agencies on rehabilitation services throughout Oregon.

Mr. Foster is in his third and final year of the Rehabilitation Counseling program in the Graduate School of Education.

“We are proud of his leadership and advocacy abilities on behalf of Oregonians with disabilities,” says Professor Tina Anctil, who directs the PSU Rehabilitation Counseling program.

Alumni Profile: Jerry Ryan

Jerry Ryan is a 2012 graduate of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program and the recipient of two honors, the GSE Commendation Award, Master’s Level, and the university-wide President’s Excellence Award.

Recently, Mr. Ryan joined us on campus to discuss his experience in the program and his plans for the future.

Alumnus of the Month – Mike Siegel

Mike has over 35 years experience in management and business development. Along the way he’s worked in politics, and been a chef, a restaurant owner, a teacher, and coach. He credits his role as an advisory board/mentor at Sabin Skills Center, where he taught and coached students seeking an alternative education through the Oregon Restaurant Association’s Pro-Start Program, as the deciding factor in becoming a counselor.

Mike currently serves as Director of Clinical Services at Cedar Hills Hospital, which he says is very challenging on a daily basis, but he also finds it incredibly rewarding and humbling to have his employer’s support of his clinical vision. In addition, Mike has a private practice, Wise Counsel and Comfort, in Multnomah Village, where he treats Individuals, couples, and families.

2012 GSE Faculty Scholarship Series—Volume I

Lisa Aasheim announces a new book on clinical supervision

A valuable resource for counseling supervisors is now available from Professor Lisa Aasheim. Practical clinical supervision for counselors: An experiential guide, (2011, New York: Springer Publishing), was released in October.

Dr. Aasheim was particularly interested in gathering information that would bridge the gap between theories and ideas about clinical supervision and the actual practice of clinical supervision. She shares these results in a new book that will assist clinical supervisors across several helping disciplines. “Few aspects of the mental health profession are as illogical, inherently risky, and anxiety-provoking as clinical supervision,” she says.