Wow, it’s been almost nine years since I posted here. A lot has happened, but most of it will be of little interest to most people. The big news is that in 2021, I started work on my master’s degree for the third time, and it stuck. I graduated in December 2024 with my M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lamar University. Since then, I have been licensed as a counselor (associate) and have started working my dream job as a professional counselor.

So, what’s next?

Starting in October of 2024, I started looking at PhD and PsyD programs in both counseling and psychology. I applied to the counseling psychology program at New Mexico State University, but they only take six new students per year. I was not among those selected this year. I thought about holding off and applying again next year, when I had more counseling experience under my belt, but the truth is that as much as I wanted it, it’s not a program for working adults in their mid-40’s with a family to support. So, I started looking at online programs.

Eventually, I settled on three to which I would apply: Capella University, Walden University, and Kansas State University. Of the three, KSU was the least expensive, but I don’t entirely trust public education in red states anymore. Walden was the most expensive, and it didn’t have a lot of scholarship options for PhD programs. Capella has a mid-price program that is CACREP accredited and pretty well-respected in the Counselor Education circles.

I applied to all three and was accepted to Walden and Capella. I never finished the application for KSU because of the reasons given above. Ultimately, I accepted the offer from Capella, and I will start my journey as a doctoral candidate in Counselor Education and Supervision. I want to ultimately do my research and write my thesis on how to integrate pop culture into counselor education. I think we can do better for the next generation of counselors.

There are some great resources for those interested in integrating counseling and pop culture, but there’s not much on integrating it into our counselor education. I know that I would have been more certain during my internship about a great many things if we had more relatable examples to which we could refer. That’s my goal, to make counseling education – and thus the counseling process – more relatable.

I’ve wanted to be a PhD in psychology or a related discipline since my undergraduate days at Texas A&M. I started as a math major but quickly switched to psychology. When life and illness knocked me out of commission there, I eventually finished online with the University of Phoenix. I probably should have done more research because I would have learned that a UoP degree in business management is basically worthless. It got me to the next step, but it took 15 years and a lot of heartache.

So, here I stand on the precipice of the next great adventure, the next great undertaking. I am nervous, but I am excited. Hopefully, I will begin updating this blog more regularly, again. Thoughts on school, counseling, and pop culture bubble through my head all the time. Won’t you join me on this journey?