Kim Hall

Background

About Kim Hall

I'm a licensed professional counselor transitioning from clinical practice to teaching, with the goal of supporting the counseling profession through graduate education, consultation, and supervision. My clinical work has primarily been in serving clients with severe and persistent mental illness. This work has honed my interest and skills in psychopathology and case conceptualization, as well as afforded opportunities to lead and mentor teams of other mental health professionals. This work has also inspired me to critically examine how beginning counselors are prepared for the settings in which they will practice. Particularly in community mental health among the most vulnerable clients we can serve, challenges are steep and counselor turnover and burnout are high. My long-term goal as a leader in counselor education is to see our students and residents empowered with not only the clinical, but the professional and personal skill sets necessary to thrive in this field for years to come. Currently, I'm enrolled in a counselor education and supervision doctoral program at James Madison University. Through this CACREP-accredited program, I plan to continue developing my theories of practice in both counseling and pedagogy, particularly in the areas of diagnosis and treatment planning. My intentions for my dissertation include developing and providing educational materials for beginning and experienced counselors in treating clients with both paraphilic interests and paraphilic disorders. This research is intended to address current gaps in counselor education literature surrounding the teaching of these complex and sensitive topics. By empowering my students to meet such challenges before they depart the classroom, I hope to see them use their clinical knowledge and self-awareness with confidence. These counselors I hope to help develop have a sense of agency and capability that supports their belief in and identification with our professional field as a whole. I believe that such commitment to counseling professional identity is crucial to the legitimacy and longevity of our field, beyond that of any individual clinician. This commitment must be earned from beginning counselors by providing both rigorous and nurturing counselor education. I hope and plan that my advocacy for these new professionals will go beyond my classroom and will influence the aims and outcomes of counselor education institutions.