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Grief Outreach Initiative


SS_Bock_06.16.15

Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Lindsay is currently seeking her MS in counseling with concentrations in clinical mental health counseling and school counseling. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania she received her BS in psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and came to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2013. We asked her to reflect on some of her past and current experiences. Read her responses below.

Awards
  • Outstanding Clinical Work – 2015
    Departmental award for determination and hard work throughout the clinical internship experience, commitment to professional identity, and willingness to accept challenges in the professional counselor development
Accomplishments
  • Upsilon Theta chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (international honor society) – Executive Board Member, Secretary, 2015-2016
  • UT Grief Outreach Initiative Mentor, Spring 2015
  • Upsilon Theta chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (international honor society) – Executive Board Member, Member at Large, 2014-2015
Current Occupation

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Intern
Focus Treatment Centers for Eating Disorders, Knoxville

Co-facilitate multiple group-therapy sessions per week with Binge-Eating Disorder, Anorexia-Nervosa, and Bulimia-Nervosa cohorts; administer Biopsychosocial assessments with newly admitted clientele.

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Personal Interests

When I am not working as an intern or attending class at UT, I enjoy spending time with my boyfriend of almost 9 years and our dog, Winston. We love to go for walks on the Nature Trails and have fun socializing at the dog parks around Knoxville. I personally enjoy reading, connecting with family and friends near and far, and volunteering. I plan to begin to volunteer at the Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee this summer. I love to travel, watch sports, and go to sporting events in my spare time.

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Future/Vocational Goals

I am very open to different professional positions in my future in the world of counseling. I would very much enjoy working in the clinical realm as a community mental health counselor in some capacity, whether it be within an agency or treatment facility. On the other hand, I believe that I would thrive within a school setting as a school counselor, working with middle or high school students. What I know for sure is that I desire to use my developing skills as a pre-professional counselor to assist those in need to the best of my ability.

Lindsay Jo Bock at desk working on Mac computer.

What sold you on this program?

When I interviewed for the clinical mental health counseling program with Jeff Cochran and Shawn Spurgeon, I knew from the get-go that these professors cared about their students. I came to understand that the faculty as a whole would go to great lengths to assist students in the program and give them the individualized support and direction they needed. I also found that the many different opportunities students are granted within the practicum and internship phases of the program are unique and essential to the experience in a clinical environment.

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What would you tell an incoming student who joins the program/department?

I would tell an incoming student who joins the program/department to be more open-minded about the experience and less strict about initial expectations of graduate school. Originally when I was accepted into the program, I believed that I knew exactly what I wanted to get out of the experience and where I wanted to be by the end of my time here. I came to realize that by letting my guard down and accepting more of a laid-back attitude, I opened myself up to greater opportunities and an even richer experience than I had originally anticipated. I jumped at the chance to enroll in the Dual Degree Program, accepted the role of intern at two separate internship sites in my second year, and offered my time to serve on the CSI Executive Council for two years running. Allowing myself to be open to new experiences during my time at UT, though challenging, has ultimately helped me believe in my own power to do things that I did not expect or know I could do.

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FS_Wheat_02.04.15

School Counseling

Laura S. Wheat joined the University of Tennessee and the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling as Clinical Assistant Professor, Coordinator for Grief Outreach Initiative, and Graduate Certificate Coordinator for Grief, Loss, and Trauma in August of 2014. We asked her to reflect on her first semester here. Read her responses below.

What sold you on UTK?
Believe it or not, I was born sold on UTK!  My paternal relatives have lived in East Tennessee for generations and my father made sure the first song I learned was Rocky Top.  I feel proud to be the first person in my family to give back as a faculty member!

What would you tell the next new faculty member who joins EPC?
I would remind them to take it slow.  Regardless of whether they have been faculty somewhere else before, transitions and learning new systems and new groups of people take time and energy.  It’s easy to forget that in the fast paced life we live, but in order to adjust well, we must give ourselves grace and attend to our needs so we can function at peak performance.

What has been your most memorable experience this semester?
The most professionally memorable experience so far has been witnessing the Grief Outreach Initiative mentors’ reflections on their experiences in the program.  The GOI is truly special and changes not just the mentees, but the lives of the mentors as well, in ways they never imagined going in.  I’m so proud of them all!  And the most personally memorable experience so far was finally moving to a place that was already home and where I have family.  Sitting in my empty apartment on day one after a pretty tough drive in from Georgia, it was beyond comforting for my cousins to take me out to eat and lend me an air mattress, a chair, and a table for some creature comforts.  I’m so glad to be around them!

Name one fact about yourself that most people don’t know.
I was born in Berlin and much of my pre-adult life was shaped by living in Germany twice.  For instance, I was living in northern Germany when the Berlin Wall came down and got to visit the remnants one month later!