Counselors often help clients identify their personal values in therapy, whether it’s to aid them in decision-making, help them develop interpersonal communication skills, or guide them in choosing work that feels purposeful and provides meaning to their lives. This summer, I had the opportunity to represent the Samaritan Center by guiding discussions about mental health topics like this as co-facilitator at the Touchstone Foundation’s Rise Above Summit.
The Samaritan Center was one of Touchstone Foundation’s partners for the Summit, a 3-week summer experience for high school aged students. A group of 17 high school students from Lancaster County attended the Rise Above Summit, where they received education on topics from Race, Equity, and Inclusion to Teen Psychological First Aid. The students also had impactful experiences with local artists practicing activities in the expressive arts.
As a representative of Samaritan Center, I was involved with co-facilitation throughout the Summit. Specifically, I helped students learn more about alternative and complementary treatment modalities and the newest methods of clinical mental health treatment. I also led students through an exploration of personal values and discussions about how our values can guide us to a more meaningful life through our interpersonal relationships, moral and ethical decision-making, and educational and occupational direction.
As I reflect on my time at the Rise Above Summit, I think about my own personal values and those of the Samaritan Center. While many imagine the professional counselor simply as an individual working from an office, the role of the clinical mental health professional encompasses so much more. One of our roles as counselors is a commitment to provide services for our community’s psychological betterment. One of my core personal values is that of community. When I chose to pursue my degree in mental health counseling, I did so with a vision to increase and improve mental health education and services in the Lancaster community.
I am grateful to the Samaritan Center and their alignment with my values, and that Samaritan’s partnership with Touchstone Foundation provided an opportunity to serve my community in this way.
Thank you, Touchstone Foundation, for your ongoing partnership with the Samaritan Center!
By Erika Snitzer, Masters Candidate Therapist
