Lesson 7

Lesson 7: Making Connections and Planning your Career

Attention

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

Connect with networking supports including the Mental Health Facebook site and Advising
Identify immediate and long-term educational goals.
Create a career plan.

Teaching

Get Advised!

Academic advising is one of the most important CONNECTIONS you will make as a student at KVCC

What Advising Is	The word "advising" suggests "recommending," "suggesting," and "informing." The prerequisite for all this is listening. Faculty Advisors can be of great help to you in shaping your college program while still letting you make most of the decisions. An Advisor's input is especially important to first-year students.
What Advising is not	Academic advising is not: - Having a faculty member choose courses for you or decide what major you should declare. (Of course, as noted above, we do need to make sure that certain courses are taken.) Good advising empowers students to make meaningful choices that direct their studies toward a goal. - Personal counseling. Students that have personal problems that are interfering with studies, are ordinarily referred professions
What You Can Expect From Your Advisor	You can expect your advisor to be available to you for consultation on the matters noted above (What Advising Is). Your advisor should make his or her office hours available to you. You can get in touch, by phone, e-mail, etc. Your advisor will want to meet with you at least a few times a semester. This is especially true for first-year students, who should meet with their advisor three times in the fall semester: to get acquainted to discuss midterm grades and get instructions for registration to prepare for registration Advisors are sensitive to the fact that some students need more advising than others. You may have more or fewer meetings with your advisor, as your needs require
What Your Advisor Expects From You	Contact your advisor at any time as questions about your academic program, or other issues arise Talk about dropping a class in mid-semester BEFORE you do it Come in if you are in academic trouble See your advisor before registering for classes, and get his or her recommendations for courses

Your academic advisor is the person whom you will consult regarding course selection and the overall planning of your degree. Listed below are some examples of general reasons for which you might consult with an advisor. You are encouraged to meet with your academic advisor as frequently as needed and for whatever reason you see fit.

College admission requirements, Major/Minor Information, and General Education (GE) requirements
Degree Planning
Academic Policies
Graduation (verification of degree completion)
Transfer Credit Review
College Resources

Making the most of your Advising Relationship

Academic advisors are here to help you make the best choices. They cannot however do that alone. The level of your participation is directly related to the type of relationship you have with your advisor. For a successful relationship, both advisors and students need to fulfill their responsibilities.

You should:

Prepare a list of questions before your advising meeting
Observe academic deadlines
Schedule regular advising appointments in order to monitor your academic progress. You should check-in at least once a year via appointment; more often via e-mail
Accept a decision you made. An advisor will present options, along with pros and cons. The decision is ultimately yours
Inform you advisor, immediately, whenever you have a serious problem (e.g., medical, personal, financial) that disrupts your ability to attend classes and/or succeed
Create a folder just for your advising materials. Advisors will often write notes on your degree audit or other documents, it is important to keep these notes.
Talk with your advisor about your concerns if you do not see eye-to-eye. If you both agree that your relationship will not work, you might want to contact your college advising office and request a new advisor

Connecting on Facebook

KVCC's Mental Health program maintains a Facebook site! This site is private so you have to request to join. The site is VERY active with over 100 area agencies and KVCC Mental Health Alumni actively involved!

Click HERE and submit a request to join this group!

Your Career in Mental Health

People who work in the MHRT/C role provide services to adults with severe and persistent mental illness. These services include:

Community Integration
Intensive Case Management
Assertive Community Treatment
Skills Development
Day Support Services
Family Psycho-Education

Certification	Requirements	Time frame
MHRT 1 Certification Individuals who choose to take the SOC 103: Introduction to Social Services Systems course as an elective can attain the MHSS Certificate. This is a critical part of the MHRT 1 Certificate which you need to work in residential services. Getting your MHRT/C is not the same as getting your MHRT 1...they are not related to each other.
Provisional MHRT/Community Level A	Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in a human services-related field from accredited college or university.	Valid for one year; requirements for Provisional Level B must be completed during that one year.
Provisional MHRT/Community Level B	Completion of five courses: Intro to Community Mental Health Psychosocial Rehabilitation Interviewing and Counseling Crisis Identification and Resolution Cultural Competence/Diversity (See list of degree programs pre-approved for Provisional Level B Certification in Appendix C)	Valid for two years; requirements for Full MHRT/C Certification must be completed during those two years.
Full MHRT/Community	Completion of the five courses listed above as well as these additional five courses: Group Process OR Vocational Aspects of Disability (Note: As of 1/1/09 only Vocational Aspects of Disability will be accepted.) Substance Abuse with a Dual Diagnosis Component Sexual Abuse, Trauma, and Recovery Case Management Mental Health & Aging (See list of degree programs pre-approved for Full Certification in Appendix B)	Full MHRT/C Certification does not expire
Substance Abuse Counseling Persons interested in Substance Abuse Counseling are urged to apply for their Alcohol and Drug Counseling Aide License. Click HERE for more information and to download the application form from the State of Maine. Click HERE to review the regulations regarding attaining a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor License.
MHRT/CSP This certification is for individuals who wish to provide Crisis Support Services. Click HERE for more information on how to get this advanced certification.

Examples of Occupational Titles of Mental Health Workers

(Some of these titles will require additional education/training)

Case Worker
Family Support Worker
Youth Worker
Social Service Liaison
Residential Counselor
Behavioral Management Aide
Case Management Aide
Eligibility Counselor
Alcohol Counselor
Adult Day Care Worker
Drug Abuse Counselor
Life Skills Instructor
Client Advocate
Neighborhood Worker
Social Service Aide
Group Activities Aide
Social Service Technician
Therapeutic Assistant
Probation Officer

Case Monitor Parole Officer
Child Advocate
Gerontology Aide
Juvenile Court Liaison
Home Health Aide
Group Home Worker
Child Abuse Worker
Crisis Intervention Counselor
Mental Health Aide
Community Organizer
Intake Interviewer
Community Outreach Worker
Social Work Assistant
Community Action Worker
Psychological Aide
Halfway House Counselor
Assistant Case Manager
Rehabilitation Case Worker
Residential Manager

For more information check out Human Service Workers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Pathways After Completion of Associates in Applied Science

(Common Alumni Tracks)

College	Degree	License/Concentration
University of Maine -Augusta (UMA)	Bachelors - Mental Health	Licensed Social Worker (LSW) Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC/LADC)
University of Maine (UMO)	Bachelors - Social Work Masters - Social Work	Licensed Social Worker (LSW) Licensed Masters in Social Work (LMSW) Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
University of Maine- Farmington (UMF)	Bachelors - Psychology Bachelors - Rehabilitation
Husson University	Bachelors in Psychology

So what are all these Letters about?

You see them everywhere!

LSW, MSW, LCPC, LCSW, MHRT/C, Ph.D., MD

OK...let's add some clarity to this. In the table below you will find information about DEGREES and LICENSES that allow you to do different things in the Mental Health field.

Letters	Education	What you can do
MHRT-I	Trainings MHSS First Aid / CPR CRMA Crisis Intervention Method (MANDT)	Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician - 1 Residential services, group homes, supported apartments, etc.
MHRT/C Provisional	Completed the first 5 MHT courses in the KVCC Mental Health Program	Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician / Community Case Management, Community Integration, Program Management, etc.
LSW	Bachelor Degree in Social Work or another related field Successfully pass the LSW Exam	Licensed Social Worker Medical Social Work, Hospice Social Work, Hospital Social Work, Nursing Home Social Work
LMSW	Masters in Social Work	Licensed Master of Social Work An LMSW is a person who has their MSW but is still working on the supervised hours to earn their LCSW. They can do all the things that an LCSW can do but they are under supervision.
LCSW	Masters in Social Work Work Experience Passed the Exam	Licensed Clinical Social Worker Supervise Social Workers, Clinical Work, Psychotherapy, Group Psychotherapy, Family Psychotherapy, etc.
LCPC	Masters in Counseling	Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor Clinical Work, Psychotherapy, Group Psychotherapy, Family Psychotherapy, etc.
Ph.D.	Doctorate	The Ph.D. is a degree, not a license, so in and of itself they cannot do anything specific (and charge insurance companies for the work) However, if someone has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and passes they exam, they are a "Clinical Psychologist"
MD	Medical Doctor - Psychiatrist	The difference between a Clinical Psychologist and a Psychiatrist is the medical background. A psychiatrist has a regular Medical Degree (MD) and specialized in Psychiatry. Often they are in the role of diagnosing disorders and prescribing medication. A clinical psychologist focuses on counseling and group work and does not prescribe medicine (though there are some states that provide special post-doc training to allow for writing prescriptions.)

Assessment

Lesson 7 Assignment

For this assignment we would like you to connect to the KVCC Mental Health Facebook page. You will need to create a Facebook account in order to do this (if you do not have one already.)

Be mindful that this is a professional use of Facebook. As you enter this field you need to be aware that your "expressions" on Facebook are subject to review by potential employers and will be used in their evaluation for employment.

The KVCC Mental Health Facebook site is a very active site. It is private so you need to log into it and ask to be added as a member. Any other member can approve you.

Here is the address.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/KVCCMentalHealth/

Lesson 7 Discussion

To meet the criteria of this discussion you will need to make an appointment with your Advisor. At this meeting you will create a plan on how you are going to proceed through the Mental Health program and a Career Plan.

Once you have this completed, post your Career Plan in here. Discuss the experience of meeting with your Advisor.