It was a pleasure to interview Raul, a Mental Health counselor at the International Business School (IBS Americas). His background has brought about his career in mental health. He hinted that passion and caring values have molded him to be the person he is. Raul looked up to his parents, who worked in the health sector. At the moment, he has been in the field for 15 years. The experience is thus well-matured and he has been able to interact with various students with varying mental issues at his work place.
From the interview, I learnt that holding a conversation with students and making them open up about their challenges can be tough for mental health workers. Courage and good communication skills are very essential skills in this job to get students to open up and trust mental health workers with their issues. Furthermore, seeking help from colleagues in the same career increases their knowledge and expertise. Besides that, he has formed a group of peer counselors for it to be impactful and far-reaching. The roles of peer counselors are: taking up small tasks and coaching affected students. His intention is to curb these issues since total eradication is impossible.
After this interview, I understood that fighting mental health issues is not something to be done in a single day but requires time. Success on the same is gradual, and if one is not careful, one could merely stop. Dedication is a must-have tool, as well as courage and attention to detail. Communication is quite crucial as a problem shared is a problem half-solved. Therefore, when someone can speak up openly, it becomes easier to get assistance. Parents also play a very critical role in raising children and if they get it wrong, recovering from it can be a big challenge later in life. Overall, I learned that social work (mental health counselling) is a challenging but rewarding field that requires empathy, active listening, and a commitment to supporting individuals in need.