Shamauel Israel

BTAS, Counselor Trainee

I have four sisters and one brother, and I am the third born of my siblings. I take pride in being a brother, a son, and a friend, but nothing brings me more joy than being an uncle. It is important that I am a supportive figure and positive role model in the lives of my siblings’ children because I believe in the proverb “it takes a village to raise a child.” My name is Hebrew, and it means “God will hear.” I was born and raised in Cincinnati and my favorite quality about Cincy is it has big city energy without being as busy as the larger cities. I previously worked in manufacturing for twelve years and on the tail end of my work in manufacturing, I simultaneously volunteered as a tutor at a local elementary school. Through my volunteer work, I discovered my purpose was to serve others and that discovery led me to the mental health counseling field.

I am currently a graduate level student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Xavier University. A concept that is emphasized in the program is cultural competency. Cultural competency means understanding and respecting the cultural factors that contributes to an individual’s identity such as age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and socioeconomic status. Understanding a person’s culture is important, but I also realize that a person’s cultural identity does not define thementirely, so I look forward to getting to know people on an individual basis. For six months prior to joining LifeSprings Counseling, I worked as a counselor trainee in a community agency setting. At the agency, I worked with children and adolescents who struggled with social, emotional, and academic functioning skills. One of my biggest strengths was building rapport with my clients and I plan on building on that strength while continuing my counseling work at LifeSprings.

I have my counselor trainee license in the state of Ohio, and I am under direct supervision. I will be consulting with my direct supervisor for developing treatment plans, symptoms analysis, and diagnostic assessments. While at the agency, I learned a plethora of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing (MI) techniques to help clients manage symptoms such as anxiety, depression, stress, and irritability. I plan to utilize my previously learned skills with clients moving forward while also incorporating newly learned therapeutic techniques. I am a huge proponent for self-care, and I always encourage my clients to be intentional about their self-care practices as well as scheduling their self-care time.

Random Facts About Shamauel

I love to:

– I collect Marvel action figures 

– I’m a foodie

– I enjoy cooking and breakfast is my favorite meal to prepare

– I’m a big fan of combat sports like Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Boxing

– My favorite pastime is going to the movies