Br

Chi Sigma Upsilon Chapter

FALL/WINTER 2014

Chi Sigma Iota Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Member Cultural Narratives 2

White Ribbon Campaign for Healthy Nonviolent Relationships 3

Power of Peer Mentoring 3

Call for Cultural Narratives! 3

Massage for Self-care 3

Be Involved! Wear an Ugly Sweater Party & Backpack Drive! 4

Are you a Member? How to join CSI! 4

Co

ver A

rt by B

rienn

e Miller

I’ve done some things of which

I am not proud to belong. To

belong and feel accepted by

others is all I’ve ever wanted,

and still want as I prod waist

deep through my third decade

of life, heavy responsibility

clinging to my stride. This is

important to me to describe for

a variety of reasons one of

which is parenthood, another is

relief that I’m more aware of

what I’ve done in a well-

intentioned effort to connect

with other people. I’ve messed

up though; I’ve said things to

people I’ve

sought to

help with

prejudice

laced infer-

ence. I’ve

noticed

physical

reactions to

passersby

with a

shameful

acknowl-

edgement of my hesitation. I’ve

done all of these things while

internally congratulating my-

self that I’m not one of “those”

white people. And what makes

me think I should be recog-

nized as on of the enlightened,

one that is free to carry the

ugly, wretched weight of op-

pression and one up-“woman”

ship? I wonder if others do the

same kinds of thinking that I

do…As I become more keenly

aware of my domination over

others, I lose some of the sta-

bility on which I have stood for

so long. I feel the vulnerable

sores left in the wake of reali-

zation that I, we, have created

this. Human beings devised

these layers upon layers of

hierarchy in our world that

benefit some people, while

limiting and suffocating others.

As a sisgender female and a

person with white skin, I have

many options that others do

not because they have other

than white skin and live places

with scarcity. How, for so long,

have I been blind to the inequi-

ties that harm so many? I’ve

been unsettled, each day more

and more.

Crumbling Steadily by Brienne Miller

Page 2

“How, for so long,

have I been blind

to the inequities

that harm so

many?”

My Journey to Becoming a Culturally Competent Counselor by Jamie Johnson

In my experience a compe-

tent multicultural coun-

selor’s goals not only inter-

sect with Chi Sigma Iota’s mission “to promote scholarship,

research, professionalism, leadership, advocacy, and excel-

lence in counseling,” but mirror those ideals in a strong and

powerful way. The mirroring of the above-stated mission is

necessary because it takes each of these ideals to truly

recognize the various levels and aspects of culture, and to

respect those differences in others that do not reflect our

own worldviews.

My personal journey toward becoming a counselor who is

competent in multicultural issues did not begin with an

awareness of the needs for these ideals. Instead, it began

with me naively believing that I understood the concepts of

racism, sexism, minorities and discrimination because I

had read about these issues in books, and had attended

courses focused on the solving of these world problems.

My work outside the classroom, both for school and within

the field, forced me to recognize my ignorance of the ex-

periences, values and suffering of individuals from other

cultures. My concepts of the cycles of poverty and violence,

which had been handed out to me before on clean work-

sheets drawn in circles with clear lines and arrows, ap-

peared to have a straight-forward “fixes” for the problems

involved. These issues and their obvious solutions were less

apparent and offered the people suffering less alternatives

when I approached them in a real life situation.

After experiencing the ways in which the system is not al-

ways willing or able to support members of minorities, in-

teracting with people who come from different cultural

backgrounds and belief systems than myself, and witness-

ing the fear that discrimination creates for all involved, I

now recognize the need for me to act as an advocate and

leader in my behavior as a professional as well as in my

personal life.

CSI awarded a National Counselor Examination Prep scholarship to one of our members this Fall! Good luck to all CSI mem-bers taking the upcoming for NCE for Licensure and Certification! Stay tuned for upcoming scholarship

opportunities!

Pledge to never commit, condone, or remain silent about violence on November 21, 2014! The Domes-

tic Violence & Child Advocacy Center, Healthy Fathering Collaborative, and Passages, Inc. invite all men

in Greater Cleveland to join in the White Ribbon Campaign this fall to promote health nonviolent rela-

tionships.

Chi Sigma Iota members Julie Kallenborn, Brenda Sims, & Brienne Miller helped cut ribbon for this im-

portant event. Chi Sigma's presence was greatly appreciated and gratitude is extended to Julie and

Brenda for their participation and service!

Although most counselors are familiar with self-care and educate our clients on its importance we often

find it a challenge to put the concept into practice in own lives. Our work can be emotionally stressful,

having a good self-care regimen in place can go a long way to keeping us balanced and to avoid burn out. I

would like to bring your attention to one of the oldest healing arts, a powerful and beneficial form of self-care that you may not have consid-

ered: Massage!

Massage and its correlates bodywork and somatic therapies are defined as the application of various techniques to the muscular structure

and soft tissues of the human body. There are more than 250 variations of massage, bodywork, and somatic therapies and many practitio-

ners utilize multiple techniques.

♦ You can find more information on different modalities and what to expect in a session here: www.massagetherapy.com/learnmore/

whattoexpect.php.

♦ The American Massage Therapist Association AMTA offers a free professional massage therapist locator service at;

www.findamassagetherapist.org.

♦ The American Holistic Health Association lists some great certified bodyworkers here: http://ahha.org/ahhasearch.asp.

♦ Cleveland State University has its own Wellness Services offered through the Campus Recreation Center, http://www.csuohio.edu/

services/recreationcenter. Their licensed massage therapists offer 30- and 60-minute sessions with many package options to fit your

budget.

Schedule a massage for yourself and reap the benefits to your body, mind and spirit!

In the infancy of our peer mentoring program, Chi Sigma successfully matched Madison Wheeler with

mentor Jamie Johnson. Madison reported that Jamie provided excellent support and guidance with

some of her concerns. If you are a new student in the counseling programs, we invite you to reach out

to Chi Sigma to be connected with a more mature student who may provide additional support as you

apply for practicum/internship and any other advice you may need. If you are a more advanced stu-

dent and are willing to be added to our mentor list please provide your name and email address to

Briana Russ, brnnruss@yahoo.com

White Ribbon Campaign

Massage for Self-care by Sage Johnson, Licensed Massage Therapist

Power of Peer Mentoring

Page 3

Call for Cultural Call for Cultural Call for Cultural Call for Cultural

Experience Narratives!Experience Narratives!Experience Narratives!Experience Narratives!

One important way for us all

to connect and grow closer

as a community is to share

an important cultural

experience or other writing

that has shaped you. This is

a personal way to connect

individuals to aspects of

cultural awareness. Let's

start within our community. If

you would like to share an

experience or insight, please

send any officer an email

with your submission. Thank

you for sharing!

Your Chi Sigma Upsilon Advisor & OfficersYour Chi Sigma Upsilon Advisor & OfficersYour Chi Sigma Upsilon Advisor & OfficersYour Chi Sigma Upsilon Advisor & Officers

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Logan Lamprecht

Student Officers:

Brienne Miller, President,

Jennifer Vasquez, Vice President,

Briana Russ, Treasurer,

Sage Johnson, Secretary.

To Join Chi Sigma UpsilonTo Join Chi Sigma UpsilonTo Join Chi Sigma UpsilonTo Join Chi Sigma Upsilon

• Fill out our Chapter Application available at the CASAL office along with a

$10 application fee payable to CSU Chi Sigma Iota.

• Look out for an email from Logan or Brie indicating you may now sign up

nationally @ https://www.csi-net.org/?page=Membership

• Log into Chi Sigma Iota National, Sign up and pay the new member fee of

$50.

You will be notified via email and officially be a member! The induction cere-

mony will be held on April 23, 2014 where you will receive your official member-

ship certificate, membership pin, and recognition for your contributions to our

chapter.