Ever since I started my master’s in counseling I became aware of how important support is in our profession. Not too long ago I wrote an article about the lack of mentoring opportunities for our counseling students; I brought up the fact that students need direction and help from seasoned counselors who know the ins and outs of our profession. At the time, I didn’t know where I could start but as the time passed by, with help from peers, an idea blossomed.

I kept on thinking about how I can appropriately write this article, without the risk of sounding too dramatic or too funny. I had this plan of writing a fairy-tale like intro where I would gradually let you in the topic of this article but, I decided against it. I want to tell you about the power of friendship, the awareness of here and now, and a possible solution to helping counseling students find the support they need in figuring out the next step.

I met Stephanie through a counseling listserv and soon developed a beautiful friendship; in fact, I may call Stephanie my counseling soul-mate because we both seem to be passionate about psychotherapy and all the issues around it. We write long emails to each other and meet at a local cafe periodically to talk about the field and to provide support for one another. Because we both feel that counseling is a solitary profession, we decided it doesn’t have to be this way and made plans of creating a group, a support network .

The group (Counselors and Psychotherapists Network of North Texas), is informal and meets once a month. It is geared towards counseling students, interns, and counselors in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Although we can’t make solid promises, we want to offer students the opportunity to network, learn, find answers to counseling related questions, and possibly find a mentor.

I am writing this email to extend an open invitation to everyone in North Texas who wishes to join us on the path of becoming the best counselors we can be. If you are interested in joining us or have questions, feel free to drop me a line at Diana.pitaru@gmail.com, otherwise please register at http://www.meetup.com/psychotherapy/.