CHI TIMES
FALL 2015
In this Issue
2015 – 2016
Chapter Officers
President
Internship Sites
Lesley Shiver
Secretary/Treasurer
Melanie Schaff
Committee Chairpersons

Students share their experience
ALCA
Awards

Graduate student social
Billie-Rae Nelson

Conference
Fundraising
Brandy Holmes
Professional Development
Llyndze Holderfield
Public Relations
Antonia Anderson
Service
Elizabeth Scarborough
Professional Development

Workshops
Upcoming Events
INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES
Melanie Schaff
My internship is through the Refuge for Woman in Robertsdale, AL. It is a
residential substance abuse rehab for adult women only. The site is on 22
acres of land with a fish pond, veggie garden, pray garden and volleyball
court. The Refuge can house up to 10 women at one time and
accept clients who are court mandated or voluntary. The women come
here to overcome their drug use in a holistic and spiritual manner and end
up address a lot more areas in their lives. If anyone is interested in using
The Refuge as their site for practicum, please feel free to contact me with
further questions.
Kristy Elderkin
I am interning full-time (all 600 hours in 1 semester) at E.R. Dickson
Elementary School as a school counselor. The school consists of grades
Kindergarten through 5th grade. So far I have performed classroom guidance
lessons, small group counseling, individual counseling, participated in
administration team meetings, parent consultations, and the planning and
coordination of school-wide events (Anti-Bullying week, Red Ribbon week,
Blessings in a Backpack, uniform drive). This school has a large population
of low SES families. Personally, I've seen students for: behavioral issues,
bullying, emotional disorders, anxiety, adhd, re-adjusting from being in an
abusive home, grief (the loss of a parent), students struggling in their foster
home, depression, social issues, academic counseling, anger management
issues, low self-esteem, and attendance issues.
INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES
Stephanie Fairley
For some, Practicum and Internships are fast approaching and with that
comes the added anxieties, fears, and frustrations of picking a site that
is appropriate for your career goals. It is critical to pick a site that will
allow you the ability to grow in knowledge, skills, and opportunities to
practice hands-on with clients. With that being said, I would like to take
this opportunity to provide feedback on how my Practicum and
Internship has helped with my developmental growth.
As I began Practicum I was a bit nervous about what to expect from the
whole process of transferring the skills I had learned in the Master’s
program of Clinical Mental Health Counseling and applying those skills
to actual clients. However, I can graciously say that after spending time
at my site those anxieties are starting to fade away. My current site is
BayPointe Children’s Residential and I am currently supervised under
Carla Ladnier. During Practicum, Carla made sure to place me with a
different therapist and environment every week to allow me the chance
to observe and to become acquainted with how the whole facility
operates. At BayPointe the population is pre-adolescents and
adolescents from the ages of 5-18. These children may struggle with
suicidal ideations, sexual trauma, drug abuse, anger management, or
defiance. Now that internship has begun I have started running my own
groups and have my own case load too. It has been a great experience
thus far and a very versatile environment.
Thank you to everyone
who shared their
experiences!
Laventrice S. Ridgeway, Lukas Presley, & Bryant
Bradley
Dr. Amy Upton (Left) - Assistant professor at
the University of South Alabama
Leslie Weaver - ALCA Chapter 8 President
Graduate Student
Social Event
August 2015
Thank you to everyone who
came and attended the ALCA
Chapter VIII Graduate Student
Social!
Shout out to Lukas and
Laventrice for organizing this
event, they did a fantastic
job!
TRAUMA INFORMED CARE
CONFERENCE
November 18—20
Montgomery, Alabama
Renaissance Hotel and
Conference Center
Saturday, September 26
University of South Alabama
University Commons
8:00a—12:30p
Check your email for details!
Sponsored by USA and ALCA Chapter 8
Don’t forget to apply for the
Chapter 8 Sponsorship
Applications due October 5th
www.alabamacounseling.org
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Workshops
Counselors as
Consultants
Workshop
For Clinical Mental Health Students
Saturday October 24, 2015
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
UCOM room 3230
We will be honored to have Dr. Bree Hayes conduct
a hands on applied presentation on counselors
consulting in organizations
Free to all CMHC students
Please RSVP to Dr. Browning
Click here for more
information
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Free Workshops
Fall Webinars
September 29
Group Counseling with LGBTQI Persons
October 15
Developing a Chapter Awards Program
October 21
Developing a Successful Chapter Mentorship
Program
November 3
Promoting Play Therapy in the Schools: Practice and
Impacts
Studying for the NCE?
Join the Group Study Sessions!
Saturdays 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Contact Luke at lmp802@jagmail for more
information
Study resources
Association for Advanced Training in the Behavioral Sciences
NCE Workshop - October 27th
NCMHCE Workshop - October 28th
UPCOMING EVENTS
SOUTH ALABAMA WALK
18 October
Daphne City Hall
Registration: 1:00 pm
Walk: 2:45 pm - 4:00 pm
FUNDRAISING
Thank you to all of you who
contributed and participated in our
recent bake sale, it was so successful
that we have decided to throw
another one in October!
Theme: Halloween treats
Details will be emailed to you
soon
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We need people to help sort out food at
our local food bank.
Please contact Llyndze at
leh603@jagmail if you are interested in
helping out!
Our CSI induction ceremony is going to be held next month.
Interested in joining? CSI membership requirements
Please consider applying for a position on our CSI board!
Billie-Rae, our Awards chair, is looking for people to join our
Awards Committee.
TO JOIN CSI
Contact her for more information: bmn1001@jagmail