Bridging Understanding

Marietta High School 7th grader Gabriel Inman with mental health counselor Larkin Warsinsky from Southeaster Ohio Counseling Center.

What do you need to know about being a mental health counselor? This is the question that Gabriel Inman had. Gabriel is a 7th grader at Marietta High School and a part of BB2C’s Career Mentor Program. He is interested in mental health as a career pathway.

Gabe’s Career Mentor, Victoria Freeman Powell, connected him with local counselor Larkin Warsinsky. He had a chance to sit down and interview Larkin to learn more about her career pathway, why she chose to pursue a career in mental health, and what students aspiring to go into this field should know. 

Larkin shared with Gabe that, growing up in WV she saw the impact of poverty and addiction in her community. She often wished for someone to talk to about her feelings when she was younger and she wanted a career that allows her to give back and help others. 

When it comes to a “typical day as a counselor” every day looks different. She sees different people throughout the day. She talks, listens to, and supports people, including helping them prioritize their own needs. Her job lets her do community-oriented activities like job shadowing with students and being on different boards and committees in the community. She gets to speak to civic organizations. She also gets to supervise and support other therapists.

Challenges do exist though. Counselors have to “hold space” for people with really tough emotions. The people she works with come to her when they are unhappy and unwell- they are expressing negative feelings, thoughts, and experiences. It can be hard for counselors to know how to respond. Often they need to have very difficult conversations and tell their clients things that they may not want to hear. Sometimes clients are creating their own problems but cannot see that. Sometimes they are stuck and not moving forward to get better. Counselors have to be able to work with their clients to get through very difficult issues. But on the flip side, there are great successes as a counselor.

The memorable experiences that Larkin shared included having clients be able to graduate from therapy. Counseling can last through a situation, a season, or a lifetime. Clients don’t always graduate from therapy, but progress is important. The gratitude a client has from making progress or graduating therapy is very positive.

Larkin shared that there are small things that everyone can do to help their mental health. Getting outside everyday, setting a bedtime schedule and getting enough sleep, having hobbies, and prioritizing what is important and doing it can all help.

Finally, she shared with Gabe what he should know about pursuing mental health as a career. She told him to be gentle with himself along his own pathway and to do things when he is ready. Larkin’s career pathway started with social work, including working with youth who had family experiencing poverty, addiction, domestic violence, developmental disparities, and housing and food insecurity. Classes and experiences that focus on psychology, sociology, and career exploration can all help him find his way. She closed by reiterating that counselors are human. There is no one script to follow and human error happens but the human element is what makes therapy so valuable and successful.

Career Mentor Victoria Freeman Powell had great things to say about her mentee, “It’s been a great learning experience for me to help Gabe grow. Watching him come out of his shell and become confident has been a point of pride for me. He’s going to be a tough act to follow for future mentees, but these 7th graders are always surprising me so I have no doubt all of them are equally amazing in their own ways. I’d encourage everyone to be a mentor at least once!”

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a BB2C Career Mentor, email our Career Mentor Coordinator, Barb Schafer, at bschafer@bb2careers.org.

A special thank you to Larkin Warsinsky, MSW, LISW-S of the Southeastern Ohio Counseling Center for spending time sharing her career pathway and insights with our students.