I interviewed: Jennifer McKinnon, a counsellor & foster mom
I chose this individual because I have always been attracted to the field of helping peoples with their problems and mental situations. wether it’s helping my friends, family, I also have been the “group counsellor” and have taken upon that role since gr 5. Therefore, talking to a counsellor really helped me assure that this is the career that I want to pursue and really sparked my interest even more.
From talking and emailing Ms. Mckinnon, I’ve realized what a powerful woman she is and how much more she did then I realized. Not only has she been fostering for 15 years, which is as long as I’ve lived, but she is also a mother of 2 and juggles all their extracurricular activities as well. I have also learned that to be a counsellor, it takes lots of patience and passion. Being a counsellor, you are faced with some difficult topics and being able to handle and help others through that time to make them a better person is one of the best feelings in the world and I cant wait till it’s my turn to do that as well.
Questions:
- Why are you passionate about your job?
- What obstacles have you faced to get you where you are today?
- What advice would you pass on to someone interested in what you are doing?
- Would you be open to further contact from Riverside students and if so, can someone contact you?
- When did you decide you wanted to be a counsellor?
- What are the pros and cons of your job?
- Why are you passionate about your job?
At the core, I am a problem solver and I enjoy helping people to empower themselves to feel better.
- What obstacles have you faced to get where you are today?
Everyone has stuff going for them in many stages of there life. I wouldn’t say it was necessarily an obstacle but when I decided to get my master’s degree to become a registered clinical counsellor in private practice, at the time we had five foster kids in the home and two kids. that is my own and I took my master’s degree online because I couldn’t commit to leaving the house to take the courses. Although it allowed me the flexibility to complete my Master’s Degree and then finish my practicum, it was extremely difficult to take care of 7 kids and commit to the coursework.
- What advice would you pass on to someone interested in what you are doing?
Lead with your heart, be yourself and make connections with people where ever you go, it’s the connections that you make with a client that make you a good counsellor. Listen to people wherever you are, just listen and try to understand people even when you don’t necessarily agree with there choices.
- Would you be open to further contact from Riverside students, and if so how can someone contact you?
Sure.
- When did you decide you wanted to be a counsellor?
I had been taking care of foster kids for about 15 years at that time and probably at that point had impacted the lives of approximately 50 kids. During that time most kids would be mandated to attend Counseling Services provided by Community agencies. I spent many hours driving kids to and from counselling with what I would consider poor outcomes. It’s not that people didn’t care it’s just they didn’t have the right perspective and didn’t live through or see the world through the lens of a child who had been impacted by trauma and attachment issues. This wasn’t an approach you could just read about in a book it was very nuanced, fluid and goal-directed and what worked for one child would not necessarily work for another, in order to see marked improvements in there emotional, behavioural and developmental difficulties. At that same time, I had supported some of my foster kids transitioning into adopted families and I learned the support that I was giving the adopted parents was so impactful to them and multiple adopted families had indicated to me that no one really understood what they were going through except me and they actually felt judged by the counsellors that they went to for support and advice. I honestly couldn’t believe that! Yet it was true. So I discovered that I was a great sense of support and strength for those families and really I was only doing what I thought I should do intuitively and instinctively. At that point, I considered myself a master problem solver. I would get placed with some of the most difficult kids in the province of British Columbia and somehow was able to to see amazing results within a very short amount of time of being placed in my home and developed excellent relationships ships with some of those parents who were very difficult to work with. So the answer to your question is I didn’t choose the work, it chose me. If it were not for the experiences the kids had given me through fostering I would not have pursued my masters and get into private practice. It’s truly been a gift.
- What are the pros and cons of your job, and how do you adjust to the cons?
The pros are that I’m in private practice so I decide what my own schedule is. The difficulty with going in private practice is he doesn’t have health care coverage and an opportunity to build a pension so in terms of long-term you really have to plan for the future in a very smart way. The cons are I take very difficult cases with people that have been through a lot of trauma and as a counsellor you listen to the stories of what people have had to endure through their life and at its core, that can be tough. But that being said I love the idea of empowering people to see that they can be resilient through life and live their best lives and actually figuring out what that entails based on their personality, life experiences, cultural background, birth order etc…..its like a puzzle for me on a daily basis.
Contact information:
rccjennifer@gmail.com
pictures from:
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Thank you for submitting your Community Connection assignment for COL. We have reviewed your Edublog post, and have the following observations regarding your work:
– Good job interviewing someone and seeking out information regarding their expertise
– Even more details could have been incorporated to strengthen this post (sourcing photos)
Thank you,
Mr. Barazzuol and Mr. Robinson
COL Teachers