The interns are back! We had such great success with our first intern, now staff member Kelly Williams, that we’ve doubled down and now have two interns with us starting now, until August 2018! Chantelle Phillips joins us from Adler School of Professional Psychology, Kelly Williams’ old stomping grounds, and John Bablitz joins us from ACTS at Trinity Western University, my own alma mater. We’re excited to have them on board!
Having interns is a great thing in so many ways. First and foremost, it allows us to get involved in training the next generation of therapists, providing them with opportunities to learn from some of the best in the field, get opportunities to be involved in the community and other organizations, and to instill the values we believe are crucial to success as a therapist, and to care for clients in the way we do here at Alongside You.
Second, it allows us to offer another way for individuals, couples, and families to receive counselling at an affordable rate, even below what we can offer on a sliding scale basis. It really is a pretty good deal – you get an intern, and you get me along with it as the supervisor, in addition to the expertise of all of our counselling staff who also spend time with the interns. For $40/hour, you really can’t go wrong.
Third, this year I’m very excited because we’ve been able to expand our services to offer counselling to individuals with developmental disabilities. As someone who has worked with individuals with developmental disabilities for years, this is exciting for me because it lowers the barriers to services for these folks in our community. Both of our interns will be available for this, and Chantelle has quite a bit of experience with individuals with developmental disabilities and is excited to see them in the counselling room!
I sat down with our interns over dinner a few weeks back and thought I’d ask them some questions to help you get to know them a bit better. Without further ado, here’s what they had to say!
Meet Our Counselling Interns
Chantelle Phillips
How did you decide to pursue a career in the counselling field?
I think I always wanted to go into psychology and counselling, but it took me a while to figure out I could do something I wanted to do, not just what I could do. I’ve always connected well with people and been the one that listened to others and it interested me. Our family has had some experiences with mental health and addictions and so it’s something I’ve felt drawn to.
What excites you the most about doing an internship with Alongside You?
Learning how to operate the coffee maker to save Meg from doing it. On a more serious note, I’m very interested in collaboration, and the multidisciplinary team environment and I love the approach. I love the atmosphere of connection and the team environment at Alongside You and want to learn from it.
What is something unique about you that a client might want to know?
I think I’m super funny and nobody else does. I think my fallback career should be as a stand-up comedian but I’ve yet to find someone to corroborate that. I am a fan of the awkward moment and people who say what they mean.
Who is someone you’ve looked up to in your life and has influenced how you live and work?
My immediate family is very close, but my sister, I call her “my person” – she’s the yin to my yang, we’re super close. She’s the one who gives me strength to try new things and get out of my comfort zone.
What are you like outside of work/school? Interests, hobbies, etc.
Sports are my life – I played four competitive sports. I’m super competitive and love playing team sports, being in nature, outdoors, and I love animals. I’d lay in a pen of puppies for hours.
John Bablitz
How did you decide to pursue a career in the counselling field?
I decided to pursue a career in counselling because I’ve always been interested in psychology and how people work and do the things they do, but when my sister went into the field it really had a positive impact on our family. Being with people makes me feel alive. I feel that there is something really important to this, and the more interested I became, the more I wanted to do it.
What excites you the most about doing an internship with Alongside You?
I remember talking to Andrew and Meg and listening to the scope of what is covered and what Alongside You is excited about and the opportunities are exciting. Learning about the business side, finding needs, learning to communicate in various forms and reach people in a labour of love because it’s what should be done. I like how Andrew and Meg and Alongside You take care of people.
What is something unique about you that a client might want to know?
I’m very emotionally responsive and find I connect very quickly with others’ emotions. I’m really fascinated with Germany and German culture and minored in German in university. I worked in Disney World in the Canadian Pavillion in Epcot Centre.
Who is someone you’ve looked up to in your life and has influenced how you live and work?
My grandfather because he had a really child-like spirit that I think I adopted and a sense of wonder for all sorts of little things and people. I think that’s something I still hold with me very dear.
What are you like outside of work/school? Interests, hobbies, etc.
I like sports a lot. I’ve had to take it easier lately, so I’ve picked up slow pitch lately, and I really enjoy team sports and getting to be around others. I love learning and growing with others, particularly within organized sports.
Now What?
I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know the interns a little bit – they’re excited to be here! If you’re looking for some counselling, they’d love to meet you. To book an appointment, please give me a call at the office at 604-283-7827 ext. 701 and we can see about arranging an appointment for you.