Ep. 51 - Licensed Professional Counselor - Michelle (Long) Fissell, Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast!  This episode features a conversation with Michelle (Long) Fissell, a 2009 Van Buren High School graduate who is now a licensed professional counselor for Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services in central Ohio.  Michelle shares what she does as a counselor, what led her to a counseling career after intending to become a math teacher, what it was like to earn a counseling degree through Grand Canyon University’s online program, and much more.  Anyone interested in a career as a counselor will find information related to getting started down that path in this episode.  Enjoy the show!   1:58 - Becoming a licensed professional counselor  3:03 - A typical day for Michelle as a counselor  5:50 - Learning how to deal with the weighty issues counselors are helping patients manage  7:09 - Original plan - become a math teacher  7:37 - A New Testament class led Michelle in a different direction  8:33 - Dealing with loss in her own life contributed to Michelle becoming a counselor  10:00 - Worked at Dick’s Sporting Goods after college while “trying to figure out life”  10:42 - Chose Grand Canyon University because she wanted an accredited counseling program  12:23 - Working 60+ hours a week while completing her master’s degree  13:25 - Positives and negatives of online schooling  14:48 - An online group counseling class required some fancy logistics  15:39 - Advice to someone considering a counseling career  16:29 - The feeling of helping someone makes all of the work worth it  17:04 - There are many career options in the world   Questions?  Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).   Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/michelle-fissell-563659a9/) or e-mail ([email protected]).