The Mentors Project: Dr. Cindy Baker

MENTEE
Alison Ulrich, a provisionally licensed professional counselor at Touchstone Counseling

OBJECTIVE
The state of Missouri requires graduate level students to meet very strict requirements prior to receiving their licensure. Alison graduated with a master’s in counseling, passed the national examination and is obtaining her requirement of 3,000 total hours before she can be recognized as a licensed professional counselor. The (hours) served is under the direction of a supervisor, and I was honored Alison invited me to be her supervisor. She will be fully credentialed in October.

HOW
A minimum of meeting once a week to discuss Alison’s clients and her treatment plan. Alison’s office is located next to mine, so we have an ongoing dialogue each day that allows for continuous training and brainstorming.

RESULTS
An obvious measure of our success is that Alison has a full practice with a waiting list in less than two years. In addition, Alison has received some wonderful feedback of the amazing changes that parents have seen in their prior oppositional teens.

BREAKTHROUGHS
I have held off giving Alison any court-related high-conflict custody cases as they can be horrific. In a week’s time, Alison was served with two subpoenas, and she was ready for these court cases after almost two years of supervision. She took the stand and was able to successfully present her findings on behalf of the children in two different families.

YOUR MENTOR
My mentor is an amazing woman, leader and pillar in our community: Elise Crain.