CU Cares

Where is CU Cares and other CAPS services located?

Ms. Allen knew she wanted to be a counselor when she was 16. She shared a story from high school noting that counselors saved one of her friends' lives. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology but was still unsure how to reach her goal as a counselor. After some research she found a program at Clemson for a Masters in Counselor Education. She began work with the Greenville Mental Health Center for two years as a remote worker in the school system with an office at an elementary school. Ms. Allen notes she always wanted to be school based, and her program allowed her to work in education, as they were to have one semester of practicum and two semesters of internship. She completed most of these in school settings. She loved what she did but felt she could do more, and thus returned to Clemson.

Ms. Allen said she loved working with college aged kids because of the fun and energy they bring. She shared that with each new patient she states, "I am ready for the day that you are ready to fire me" meaning that this counseling is a temporary arrangement. The day the person leaves Ms. Allen's care or graduates is a rewarding day for her as she gets to see them fly on their own.

Ms. Allen also stated that the virtual environment was allowing greater access to counseling services. She mentioned that relationships and rapport were difficult to build however as long as you are a licensed clinician in South Carolina, you can work with anyone in the state. During the summer she was able to work online with clients that returned home. This was another benefit specifically to trauma survivors as there was no disruption of care.

Ms. Allen mentions every day can be different which leads to her work never getting boring. She spends the majority of her time meeting with clients, filling out paperwork, and connecting clients with resources such as a support group as well as housing and academic resources. Ms. Allen mentions that working on a college campus allows her to work closely with other offices on campus to help even further. She noted that at the end of the day, she is working with college students who need to remain in good academic standing and that is the forefront of her work.

Ms. Allen states that in the last year and half CU Cares has received a lot more support coinciding with women's movements on campus, allowing better conversations with administration. Ms. Allen mentioned that over summer there was a lot of work done to revamp the trauma program with adherence to evidence based practices and meeting weekly in a consultation team of seven. They have received more support by hiring a campus advocate but notes that more work can always be done but made sure to note that the program is moving in a very positive direction.

Ms. Allen mentions that young people and students are far more reliant and using social media than ever imaginable, allowing people to reach others much easier. She mentions that a lot of her work is with the effects of these issues but stressed safe internet practices such as being extra careful who you trust online and what you post. She stated much of her work with the effects of technology abuses are similar to that of trauma, helping victims adapt to better move past these issues. Ms. Allen shared that there was a training seminar educating on slang and social media sites to enhance care and keep up with an ever growing social media world.

Ms. Allen made sure to note that every single person that enters Redfern will be served and not turned away. Both the perpetrator and victim have access to Redfern resources but the CU Cares team does not meet with the perpetrator. She mentions there were many safety procedures involved in combination with the ethics of the job that keep this process running smoothly for both parties to receive the help that they need. Ms. Allen again noted that no one will ever be turned away from care.

Ms. Allen noted that there is a purposeful attempt to bridge the gap by using gender inclusive language as well as making sure outreach events reach anyone who needs to hear it, regardless of gender. She makes sure to note that gender identity can be a major issue for some, and it is known that men report their trauma at a much lower rate so continuing inclusivity is a must.

The interview with Ms. Allen heavily related to much of our course material, the most obvious connection being the interview skills we spoke about extensively in class. For this project we began with active listening and reflection to create this page, but also used both open ended and closed ended questions. We created clear goals for our interview and we received the answers and information needed to educate ourselves but also practice these skills. We made sure to adhere to professional questions and avoided any kind of bias or suggestion of an answer, hopefully making sure Ms. Allen was comfortable. We also touched on the topic of ethics both in making sure the patient was being taken care of but the professional as well. CU CARES and Ms. Allen made is absolutely clear the importance of these ethics and provided examples specifically where these ethics guide their practice. Ms. Allen mentioned many scenarios where patients were given inherent respect regardless of their situation, and also stressed the importance of their human relationships. While not speaking specifically too the ethics as stated by NASW, it was clear Clemson adheres to them and it was abundantly clear how using this ethics can create a productive and happy work place. Other course material that came up was working with male trauma survivors, the different ways to enter the field as well as her own personal experience at work and avoiding burnout situations. These were areas of interest for our group and this interview provided information and insight to the profession. All in all the interview with Ms. Allen provided reinforcement for what we have studied in class with both the job and how to enter the field.

Stacy Phillips

Our interview was with Mrs. Sarah Allen, M.Ed., LPC. Due to the interview being conducted over Zoom, Mrs. Allen was unable to show us around her office but interviewing her provided us with a lot of helpful information about the field of counseling and mental health. Mrs. Allen is a Licensed Professional Counselor that works for the Clemson University Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) center. She is also the Coordinator of CU CARES, a campus program that provides services for survivors of trauma. The program provides both individual and group counseling services by providers specialized in trauma treatment. During our interview, Mrs. Allen spoke about how she was inspired to become a counselor during high school after seeing how therapy helped a friend of hers through a difficult time. This story connected with me as Mrs. Allen’s inspiration for counseling is similar to mine. I am planning to attend graduate school to get a Master’s in social work and one of my interests is in mental health and counseling. I have also been interested in counseling and what cemented my want to go into the social work field was seeing family and friends struggle with mental health issues and want to help them. Also, hearing more about Mrs. Allen’s work with college students was very interesting and helpful as I am interested in working with young adult populations. One thing that Mrs. Allen said that I found to be very important and that relates well to our class is that “I am ready for the day that you are ready to fire me”; meaning that a person is not going to be in counseling, forever nor should they be. This statement spoke to me and helped me better understand the mindset a counselor needs when working with a client. A counselor needs to help their client at that moment, and they need to work towards a successful future for the client where they no longer need a counselor. Mrs. Allen said one of the most rewarding things about her job is when a person does graduates from their counseling program because she gets to see them fly on their own and be successful without her. I think this is a good idea to hold onto as I start graduate school and work towards a degree in social work. Overall, I feel that this experience was extremely beneficial to me as it helped me gain more knowledge about being a counselor to college students and working on a college campus. Mrs. Allen’s job aligned well with my interests and goals for the future.

Bella Lorenzo

I am a psychology major with a sociology minor, so a job involved with social work or counseling is my main career goal. Talking with Ms. Allen, I found to be extremely informative and even inspiring in some ways. I was able to get a sense of what she does in her career and learned a lot from just the one short interview. I can definitely see myself following a similar path as Mrs. Allen and could even see myself doing the work that she does. She also noted that day-to-day her job looks different. It’s never really the same, which makes it fun and exciting, further intriguing me. 

I’ve gone back and forth a lot with the kind of demographic I plan on working with in the future. I have considered working with children or families and have also considered working in schools, but speaking with and learning from Mrs. Allen definitely has me leaning more so toward working in schools. The way she talked about working with students made it so evident that she truly loves what she does. She explained that us college kids are fun and energetic and getting to help us makes it all worth it.

I also specifically loved learning about Mrs. Allen’s involvement with CU Cares. Trauma counseling is extremely important and an area I find very interesting as well. Trauma is something that so many people experience and have to go through, but many don’t really know how to properly deal with it. I think a lot of people also aren’t aware of their options to get help and it is important we have counselors like Ms. Allen who are involved with organizations like CU cares. She explained she is working to make CU cares more heard of and help it gain popularity around campus as a source of help.

Additionally, Ms. Allen was very helpful in explaining the steps she took to get to where she is today. Explaining where and how she got both her undergraduate as well as masters degrees I found to be informative and helpful. She also explained the other possible options and routes you can take to get where she is. 

The quote Ms. Allen uses when she first meets new clients really stuck with me. Upon meeting with them, she tells them “I’m ready for the day you’re ready to fire me”. I like this idea of her looking forward to the day where the client is better and recovered, no longer needing her help or guidance. I think this is a great mindset to have as a counselor and for me was one of the most memorable things I took from the interview.

Overall, it is clear Ms. Allen loves her work and is eager to help. She was excited when talking about what she does and I aspire to be that excited and passionate about my work one day as she is. She even noted that one plus about the COVID-19 pandemic is that she can now meet with clients when she previously was unable to. Over breaks or vacations, she can still be in contact with them. This showed just how dedicated she is and how much she cares for her clients. She noted this was specifically beneficial to her trauma survivor clients.

Nick Keuilian

Before this class I was unsure of my interest in a social work career, I wanted to work in education and I knew social work was a part of this field but mainly took this class to understand the resources available to schools. As I continued and in large part due to this project I have grown more interested in the field as a whole. Sarah Allen made it clear that she was in a position to help people and it was fulfilling to her to be helpful. This is something that I wish to be able to achieve in my career. The interview pointed out even more resources available to Clemson students and I was happy that there was a team devoted to trauma and violence on campus. I have read far too many reports of misconduct at other major college institutions involving assault and sexual violence. While I think this specific field is a little too brutal for me and I would have trouble separating myself from the patient, it was great to be able to learn how Sarah and CU Cares handles these sensitive issues with the utmost care. I was impressed with how the program has grown and how student led movements have pressured the administration to take concrete action. I think that Ms. Allen helped by also explaining how many avenues there are into the world of social work and mental health, providing examples of different courses and degrees that can steer you into the right direction. Overall this interview project in combination with the class was extremely helpful and the two overlapped a lot of information, reinforcing what I have learned. 

Whitney McFadden

I decided to take this class with the hopes that it would allow me to learn more about what it means to be a social worker. As a psychology major, I had thought about going into social work but was not sure that would be the right career path to go on. Once I found out that we would be interviewing an individual in the social work field I was excited because I knew it would afford me the opportunity to ask questions about their experiences. 

During the interview, Mrs. Allen gave us valuable information about why she chose to become a counselor and how her goal is to help her patients get to a point where they no longer need her assistance. One of the most interesting parts of the interview was when she mentioned the flexibility and spontaneity of her career. No one day is the same for her and that is the type of career path I look forward to having. 

Before this interview I knew nothing about CU Cares and their impact on campus. Mrs. Allen explained that CU Cares is a program that advocates for victims of sexual assault as well as other forms of trauma. She explained that CU Cares presence had begun to increase along with movements that have advocated for women. I learned that the program does not discriminate and allows both the victim and perpetrator to receive the help they need. CU Cares is a great program to have on campus and I think it should be promoted more so that more students can know about this resource. 

I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing Mrs. Allen because it was evident to me that she really loves her career. I had been thinking about going into counseling or the mental health field after finishing my bachelor’s degree and Mrs. Allen had really inspired me to look more into counseling. I want to be able to help people overcome their obstacles and find a positive outlook on life just as Mrs. Allen does each and every day.

Psychology Interviewing Skills - Leigh Mellish, Suzanne Morris, & Mark Do

Working With Men Affected by Trauma - MSWCareers

NASW Code of Ethics