Reflections Magazine Issue #81 - Fall 2014 | Page 13

Feature Article

C

“With my degree from
Siena Heights, I have
been able to reach
many goals in my life.”

arol Boulanger Daniels
’93/MA, LPC is known for brewing an
“amazing” pot of coffee, her gluten-free
blueberry muffin recipe and “can keep
up with the best of them while shoveling snow.”
And she just happens to be a nationally recognized counselor. The product
of the Siena Heights University Graduate
College received the Counselor of the
Year Award from the American Mental
Health Counseling Association in 2011.
For more than 20 years, she has worked
for Pines Behavioral Health Services, a
small community mental health agency
in Coldwater, Mich., as an outpatient
therapist. She said the relationships she
has developed with the people she works
with is the best part of her job.
“Over the years people create their
own styles and strengths as counselors,”
Daniels said. “I have been very thankful
for the series of trainings I have been
able to attend. The trainings have been
supported by the agency I work for and
they have been very effective in providing the needed training so we can do
our jobs.”
Her career in counseling did not take
a traditional path. Daniels was waitressing at an Italian restaurant in Hillsdale,
Mich., when she decided “if I could master the restaurant industry, I could do
many things, even go to college.”
She completed her bachelor’s degree
in human resources, but didn’t find her
true calling until she ran into a former
restaurant co-worker who was enrolled
in SHU’s graduate counseling program.
She invited Daniels to come and sit in
on some classes.
“It had a profound effect on me, and
I felt motivated to assist others,” Daniels
said of that experience. “Yet, I was unsure where that would take me.”
She eventually took a leap of faith
and enrolled. Daniels said the small
group classwork with faculty members
like Linda Brewster and Bob Brady made
SHU’s program unique.

“I think Siena stimulates creativity in
students, and perhaps it was the drawing
card to the profession,” she said. “The
creativity stimulates ongoing learning,
which makes the counseling profession a
lifetime learning experience.”
Less than two weeks after completing
her master’s degree in counseling, Daniels accepted a counseling position with
Pines, where she has remained. Daniels
said she has embraced Siena’s creative
philosophy, developing many interests,
including cooking, making handmade
soaps, yoga, digital photography and collecting Petoskey stones. In fact, she is
often referred to as the “Rock Lady.”
“Sometimes I share Petoskey stones
with clients who use them as a tool for
mindfulness,” Daniels said. “Some keep
them in their pocket and utilize them as
worry stones. Sometimes clients bring
me stones they find, so I have a nice collection. Once in a while, I give a small
Petoskey stone as a symbol of completion of counseling, or completing a
skill group.”
Daniels said receiving the Counselor
of the Year Award was something she
will never forget.
“I have the award in my office, and it
always gives me a sense of pride and motivation when I look at it,” she said. “It
was awesome to hear the kind words of
others who know my work.”

She said an effective counselor is one
who “is capable of taking care of themselves both physically and emotionally,
so then they can guide and coach their
clients down a healthy path.”
During her counselin