Welcome to my desk...

Yes, this really is my desk...isn't it fabulous?  I cleaned it off just for you!
Photo:  Personal



Albert Einstein once said "In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity."  I have this quote outside my office door because I know this to be true:  The only times in our lives that we learn, change and grow is when an obstacle gets in our way. 

I believe that counseling can be a safe, non-judgmental place where people can turn for help when life gets tough and they don't know what else to do.  It's my job to help the person learn new ways to jump over the obstacle and move on with their lives.

My philosophy is guided by the belief that each individual has within them all the wisdom and knowledge necessary to change and heal.  In other words, you are the expert in your life...I most certainly am not. 

That said, the purpose of this blog is to share information about some of the issues that are of interest to our college community (and beyond, I hope); ones that may inspire people to live better, feel better, and perform better. 

Some issues could possibly prompt someone to seek counseling; I am eager to share the value of this kind of help and dispel the many myths and stigmas associated with it. 

Your comments, concerns, and suggestions for topics you'd like to see addressed here are always welcomed, and invite you to subscribe to the RSS Feed option, so you'll know when a new post is published.

So glad to have you here.  Welcome.







(c) 2011-2016 Robyn King.  All Rights Reserved.

Quoted in the Media

Kind Over Matter, "Eating Lunch in the Bathroom: My Story" (May 9, 2013)


The Huffington Post, "How to Help Your Unmarried Child Find Love," (Apr. 18, 2013)

2. Do ask your child how you can best offer support. Start by finding out exactly what your child would like from you in her search for a mate. Robyn M. Posson, a counselor at Schenectady County Community College, suggests, “Do they need a shoulder to cry on, advice or a nonjudgmental sounding board?” Be prepared for the possibility that your child may ask that you do absolutely nothing. “If they want or need no involvement from you, step back and trust that they will figure it out for themselves.”
6. Do suggest breaks -- and counseling. There’s more to life than searching (and finding) a mate. Remind your child to engage in favorite hobbies, and invite him or her to join you on outings. “Caring for the self with enjoyable activities lifts their mood and fills their free time in meaningful ways,” Posson says. If such offers and suggestions are rebuffed, see if they're open to professional help. “Counseling will recharge their self-confidence and self-acceptance and strengthen their ability to trust themselves and others,” she says.


The Office Professional , "Stress Management: More on-the-Spot Relief," (Feb. 1, 2013)

“Get out of your office and take a quick, brisk walk for 3-5 minutes (maybe around your building or parking lot), telling yourself that you can handle whatever is given to you and you will do it well and on time. Fresh air, a change in scenery, and positive self-talk are an awesome combination to calm your nerves and clear your head.” -- Robyn M. Posson, counselor

(c)2013 Robyn M. Posson

What counseling is...and what it is not

Image:  Google Images

Many years ago, when I was a relatively new counselor, a student came into my office and immediately asked, "Where's the couch?"  I laughed and replied, "In my living room!"  While this was certainly a fine way to "break the ice," so to speak, it reminded me that there are a lot of people who--through no fault of their own--have no idea what counseling is really all about.

There are so many negative stereotypes and misconceptions associated with counseling--most of which can be attributed to the media's skewed, overdramatized portrayals.  Many people believe seeking counseling means one is weak and a coward, or that they're "looney-toons." 

Some other myths include:  You lay on a couch and talk about why you hate your mother.  The counselor tells you exactly how to solve your problem.  You look at inkblots and attempt to re-enact your birth experience.  You do primal screams, or the counselor interprets what your dreams mean.

Image:  artistswhothrive.com

In a word, these misconceptions are crap. So to dispel some of these myths and inform you of what REALLY goes on behind the closed doors, allow me to explain what counseling is and what it is not:

• Counseling is basically a conversation between two people.

A caring person with special training (the counselor) talks with a student who is having a difficult life experience or needs to make an important decision.  Counseling focuses on helping that person to identify the change they would like to make in their life, identify their strengths and resources, recognize the things that may be holding them back, and collaborate on the potential ways in which the student can make change happen.

• Counseling is not a place to come to be told what to do. 

Except in cases where safety concerns are present, it is very unlikely that a counselor will tell a student how they should act in a particular situation.  Instead, counselors help identify and fully evaluate the options available in terms of the student's own values, goals and circumstances.

Image:  Google Images

• Counseling is not a place that people go to find out if they're "crazy." 

It's an opportunity in which to get support when the world seems crazy.  It might interest you to know that in the last 12 years, I've never met a crazy person (for reals)...only people who were scared, in pain, grieving or confused about what to do next.  That's not crazy...that's human.

• Counseling is not an activity where an expert "analyzes" the student or gives a diagnosis for a mental illness.

It's instead an opportunity for the counselor and student work as a team to make positive changes in the student's approach to life.

• Counseling is not a crutch for weak people. 

Rather, it is for strong people who decide that they want to feel better and live a more fulfilling life.  These are people who choose to face their challenges directly, rather than avoiding, being frightened or using escape strategies (for example, addictions) that others use to deal with difficulties.  It takes courage to hope for something better than what one's got.

Counselors cannot/will not:

• decide what to talk about
• force you to do anything you don't want to do
• use their personal values and beliefs to influence your choices
• talk about your difficulties with anyone else

Counselors can help you to:

• understand the problem
• decide what's important to you
• come up with ideas about what to do next
• put your feelings and needs into words
• find your own strengths and identify other supportive resources
• recognize beliefs, habits and attitudes that may be hurting you or holding you back
• see things from a new perspective
• make the changes you want to make

Hopefully this has helped you to better understand counseling and debunk some of the myths associated with it.  Counseling is a welcoming, non-judgmental service that can help you figure out what to do next.

QUESTION:  What are some of the misconceptions you have had about counseling?

(c) 2011 Robyn M. Posson

Why do people seek counseling?

Attending college can have a profound effect on one's life.  It is a time of personal growth and development that has the potential for producing both short and long range achievements.  It is also a period of significant adjustment, whether you are coming to college directly from high school, or as an older adult student who has been away from school for a while.  Regardless of your unique circumstances, you will probably find the college experience to be exciting and stimulating but at the same time challenging, as you are faced with many academic, personal and social responsibilities.  Sometimes finding a way to balance everything you have to do causes distress or interferes with your day-to-day living.





Image:  education.indiana.edu



There are many reasons people come to counseling:

• difficulty concentrating or completing academic tasks
• poor academic performance
• test anxiety
• family or relationship problems
• exploring a career change and/or program change
• procrastination and other self-defeating behaviors/habits
• issues of grief and loss
• difficulty with a professor or another student
• difficulty managing stress
• transferring to another college
• coping with traumatic events
• domestic violence or sexual assault
• depression or lack of motivation
• anxiety
• problems with alcohol or other substances
• issues with eating behaviors and/or body image
• problems with managing anger

In sum, people seek counseling to find ways to better manage their everyday problems.  This blog will address many of the issues that cause people distress. 


QUESTION:  Have you ever sought counseling?  If so, was it helpful?  If you needed or wanted to but didn't, what kept you from doing so?


(c) 2011 Robyn M. Posson

The Top Ten Reasons People Why Avoid Counseling

"Tell me why you hate your mother."

Jeez...If a therapist who looked like him said that to me, I'd be totally freaked out and would run screaming for the hills. 

As I explained earlier in what counseling is and what it is not, people have deeply-rooted opinions about counseling...most of them based on the opinions of others and not necessarily from personal experience.  Here's the top ten reasons why people avoid going to counseling, and my responses to their erroneous views.

1. What’s happening in my life is nobody’s business but mine.
Response: False.
Your life and your choices have dramatic effects on others. Like dropping a pebble in a pond, your behaviors and decisions have a ripple effect that impacts your family, friends, classmates, professors and coworkers. You can find comfort in knowing that counselors are bound by their professional code of ethics (not to mention state law) to preserve confidentiality...so in essence, your business will still be your business...and it won't be discussed around the watercooler.

2. If we’re at a point where we need to get counseling, the relationship is too far gone.
Response: False.
This is like saying that if you break your arm, you might as well go ahead and get both of them amputated. Recognizing that there are problems in a relationship, and wanting to work together on a solution is actually healthy, and are very good reasons to go to counseling, either separately or together.  Many relationship issues can be resolved by learning new ways to communicate, establishing healthy boundaries and working on mutually-agreed-upon goals as a couple.

3. Counseling doesn’t work.
Response: Sometimes true.
What matters more are the reasons why it doesn’t work:  most of the time when counseling doesn’t work, it is because the person resists the process, and even sabotages it.  Counseling is only as successful as the work that's put into it by both the counselor and the person in counseling.  It takes time, patience, courage and practicing new ways of behaving over a period of time before the person really begins to feel better. 

4. People are mysterious and there’s no way to really know what’s happening inside of them.
Response: True.
It is true that people are mysterious, but counselors don't have special powers to unlock the hidden secrets deep inside us.  Rather, they use proven ways of helping people make adjustments so they can live more peacefully and comfortably.

5. I’ve been to counselors before.  They’re just going to get me on medication.
Response: Most counselors are not qualified to prescribe meds. 
One needs to be a medical doctor or psychiatric nurse practitioner to do that.   However, counselors appreciate how combining counseling with medication can produce effective results and symptom relief.  The point is to use whatever will best help you to move forward, to feel better, and to make genuine progress. Whether you go on medication is ultimately your choice.

6. Counselors are quacks.
Response: Of course some are...every profession has quacks.
But every profession also has its share of highly skilled professionals. Ask your counselor about their credentials (this is a reasonable question).  Spend time assessing whether the counselor you meet with really cares about you, listens more than he/she talks, and wants to partner with you in finding solutions to what's troubling you.  If you meet with a counselor and you don't think it's a good fit, make an appointment with another one and try again.

7. I don't want to cry in front of a stranger.
Response:  This is a common worry. 
Counselors are trained to help people feel comfortable enough to talk about what's concerning them, and when those issues are painful, people cry.  We cry when we are in pain, fear we are alone, or that no one has ever had this problem to this degree.  These are all absolutely appropriate reasons to shed tears.  You should know, also, that crying is actually a very healthy way to rid your body of stress hormones and pent-up anxiety.  I assure you that there will be a box of tissues nearby for you to wipe your eyes and blow your nose.  And any counselor worth their salt won't think you're weird or a cry-baby...they'll think you're human.
 
8. It’s going to be weird.
Response: Probably.
Everything new feels weird at first. That has nothing to do with whether it’s the right idea or not.  As with any new experience, once you get comfortable with the counselor you're talking with, the weirdness dissolves.

9. I went to counseling once and it didn’t help.
Response: Once? Really? 
It takes years to develop behaviors that make us feel stuck, and can take many months to unlearn old ways of thinking and behaving, and learn newer, healthier ways to get unstuck. Humans are creatures of habit and fear and resist change every chance we get.  Learning new ways of thinking and behaving is hard work that takes time, and sometimes people get impatient and are fearful of doing something different because they don't know how it will turn out.  But if one is committed to making important changes or decisions, a counselor can be a significant source of support and encouragement. 

10. I don’t need/can’t afford counseling.
Response: Most people need counseling at some point, and probably at multiple points.
Sometimes we just can't get through a difficult circumstance because the coping strategies or problem-solving skills that used to work no longer do.  At times when we need to make a decision that will have a significant impact on our lives, it can help to have someone to sort it out.  Counseling can help you take personal responsibility for the path your life takes, help you to better understand yourself, and make healthy, appropriate choices.  As for affording it, The Wellness and Support Services office can provide you with a list of nearby agencies and counselors who take insurances as well as cash.

(c) 2011 Robyn M. Posson