After sending her resume and cover letter to at least ten places, Criswell grad Jessica Hull got a job interview that landed her a position at a counseling firm in New York City, NY. Hull and her husband moved from Dallas to New York right away as everything miraculously fell into place.
During spring 2019, Hull received her M.A. in Counseling. But before coming to Criswell, she had some big decisions to make.
“I was working in retail, and I was in between jobs. Someone came in while I was working at Buffalo Exchange. This guy and his wife were telling me that they went to Criswell. I had just enrolled in seminary in a program in counseling. I had been there for three months and learned that they don’t track you for licensure. I had no idea to look for that, and I knew I wanted to be licensed by the state. I then remembered Criswell and looked further into them.”
It was then Hull realized that Criswell College offered counseling with a licensure track.
“I lived in the lower Greenville area, so it was a 10-minute drive. Everything fell into place by the grace of God,” Hull said.
Hull chose the counseling program because of her own positive experiences, having gone to counseling herself.
“I went to counseling myself and loved it. And that was prior to getting married. I lived in Tyler, Texas, at the time, and my husband lived in Dallas. I went to a couple of sessions and realized, ‘I want to do what they do.’ But I wasn’t sure in what capacity. It took a few years and a few things to fall into place before I realized what I wanted to do.”
Criswell’s program was shorter. Additionally, [Criswell] is so much less expensive, hands down. Criswell just kind of fell in my lap,” Hull said.
Hull added that counseling can be beneficial for those who want to take it seriously and those who put in the work to begin the healing and restoration process.
“I find it not to be helpful unless people want it,” said Hull. “A lot of people think everyone should go to counseling, and I don’t disagree with that. Probably half of the people for whom I provide therapy are there because of someone else in their life who will not go to therapy. Many of the people I see are there because of a broken relationship, or a parent, a roommate, a sibling, or a spouse that is not interested in doing the work. So, my client is having to adapt or change or recognize that they are not the problem or at least not the whole problem.”
Fortunately, the stigma for those attending counseling appears to be decreasing, especially among young adults who are admitting they need help.
“There are more people coming in, saying ‘I just need help,’ Hull said.
To find out more about the M.A. in Counseling program, visit criswell.edu and contact the Program Director, Professor of Psychology & Counseling Dr. Steve Hunter.
