“When a child shows progress in communicating, or when they meet other goals such as joint attention or functional play. It always brings me joy when it seems that something finally clicks!”

“I received my MSW and went on to get my Clinical Social Worker License. While at Roanoke, I had an internship with the VA working with older adults in an at-home care program. After graduate school, I coordinated care for older adults in living HUD-subsidized affordable housing. My current full-time position is with a non-profit senior living agency.”

“My favorite part of my position is being able to connect with people. Humans are interesting and unique, so I never have a uniform day at the office. I am rarely certain about what my clients may bring week to week, which challenges me to continue learning on the job. I especially love working with couples and families because they are so dynamic. I often witness special moments in real time, which is a part of what makes this work so fulfilling. Additionally, it is always a gift to walk the journey of life alongside others, supporting, caring for, and hopefully ushering them to health and happiness.”

“In addition to obtaining my Bachelor’s degree from Roanoke College my educational journey includes obtaining my Master’s degree in professional counseling, licensure from the VA state board and now several others. Formational moments within my work experience included my residency at Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, an Acting Director position at Shenandoah University’s Student Counseling Center which finally inspired me to open my own mental health counseling practice.”

“Primary Care Mental Health Integration at the VA (PCMHI for short) provides brief mental health services to Veterans and conducts the initial assessment and referral process for more intensive care. As a psych tech (and a newly added position to the team) I have my hands in a lot. I am on-call to see folks same-day in primary care to conduct assessments and referrals, I help conduct group therapies, I complete referral management to administer screeners and ensure Veterans attend their initial therapy intakes, I conduct brief alcohol interventions and follow-up tobacco cessation appointments, and I do some light data tracking for our clinic. This is besides the other random responsibilities and tasks that come up weekly!”

“I love this work so much, and I think a big part of the reason is that I get to use both my creative and investigative sides. Young children can’t always tell you how they feel, but by using expressing arts techniques, I can help them show me.”

“I work at an outpatient detox center for opiates, alcohol and benzodiazepines. I help guide patients into their first steps in recovery after completing their detox by providing talk therapy, resources in their community (therapists, psychiatrists, and/or substance use programs) and by facilitating weekly support groups.”

“It’s inspirational; watching someone come from horrible circumstances like jail, homelessness, addiction, poverty, trauma, etc., and seeing them grow into productive members of society is amazing… You develop amazing relationships with people, and you learn something from them every day, just as they learn things from you. That doesn’t mean that working as a therapist (especially in substance use) is easy, because it’s not – but it really is so rewarding when someone who has been using substances for 10+ years shows you their 30 day NA key tag. Even on the hard days I love my job because I know that I’m making a difference, and in this field, sometimes you are literally the difference between life and death for someone.”

“I provide therapeutic services to first responders in Western North Carolina with a primary focus on Asheville’s fire and police departments. However, my job is not typical for a therapist. The embedded component of my job means that I work intertwined with the firefighters and officers on a daily basis. I spend time in each of the stations and get to ride along regularly to help create greater connection and decrease the stigma of mental health within the first responder community.“

“After graduating from Roanoke, I worked for a nursing home as part of the social services team. I then went to Virginia Commonwealth University for my Masters of Social Work with a clinical concentration which included two years of internship experience. After I graduated, I worked in outpatient therapy settings and participated in licensure supervision to gain the hours of practice to qualify for licensure examination to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.”

Adjunct professor: “Seeing my student’s reactions to new and interesting topics. Most of my students have an interest in forensic psychology which I studied in my Master’s program, so bringing in elements of forensic psychology and tying it back to our development has been insightful to my students and it is exciting to see them become so engaged in these new topics.”

Trauma-informed counselor: “Seeing clients learn and take skills from sessions, apply them to their routine, and experience improvement in their mood and well-being. As I work with a lot of survivors of crime, getting back into a daily routine can be challenging but when small signs of progress are made and noticed, it goes a long way in treatment.”