Tammy Ahn Hock, LPC, CAADC, CCTP-II

Teaching:

Co-Instructor: Drug and Alcohol Counseling (CNS 510)

May through July 2024 (Summer Session I)

Shippensburg University Counselor Education Graduate Program

• Responsibilities:

  • Collaborated with co-instructor

  • Developed lesson plans that implemented the course syllabus

  • Conducted interactive in-class activities

  • Provided in-class and recorded lectures

  • Graded assignments and provide feedback regarding progress

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Clinical Supervision:

January 2024 to present

Shippensburg University’s Growing Edges Community Counseling Clinic

• Responsibilities:

  • Provide supervision to clinical mental health graduate (master’s degree) students earning practicum, field I, and field II-required individual and group counseling experience.

  • Meet weekly with supervisees for one-hour sessions to discuss cases, view recordings, and monitor procedures.

  • Attend monthly supervision of supervision meetings with Growing Edges’ Clinical Director and fellow doctoral students/supervisors.

  • Complete documentation of supervision sessions and mid-semester/final evaluation forms.

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Leadership and Advocacy

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I strive to be a servant leader. Lewis (2022) cites Chi Sigma Iota’s (1999) Principles and Practices of Leadership Excellence (2018), which states that “service to others, the profession, and the associations are the preeminent reasons for involvement in leadership positions” (p. 37). The author clarifies, “CSI stipulates that to realize this form of leadership, one must accept leadership positions primarily for the purpose of service rather than personal gain or reward” (p. 37).

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I recognize that all humans are biased. As stated by Brubaker & Myers (2022), “Exemplary leaders engage in self-reflection, obtain feedback on their performance in the leadership roles from multiple sources, and take appropriate action to better serve the organization” (p. 60). This statement references CSI’s Principles and Practices of Leadership Excellence (1999) regarding feedback and self-reflection. The authors explain, “We all mean to do well when we commit to an organization, project or purpose” (p. 60). They further explain that “others need to help us find our way gently” (p. 61) and that “being open to feedback can be hard.”

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The American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics (2014) includes “honoring diversity and embracing a multicultural approach in support of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of people with their social and cultural contexts” and “promoting social justice” (p. 3) in its five core values. Lee and Gomez (2022) point out that counselors have a responsibility to “promote access and equity” (p. 108), and self-exploration on the part of the counselor is necessary to do so. The authors recommend six steps that can assist counselors with developing a leadership style that incorporates social justice advocacy. These steps include self-reflection, recognition of personal privilege, understanding of oppression, the development of cultural competency, understanding multiculturalism outside of one’s community and country, and the development of and adherence to personal values and morals. As Lee and Gomez (2002) explain, social justice “is considered to be the ‘5th force’ in counseling” and “rests on the premise that the environment is a primary factor in determining wellness and human dignity” (p. 115).

 

​I strongly believe that leaders are responsible for serving as social justice advocates. As a leader, I want to encourage honesty, authenticity, and genuineness and respond to prejudice ethically. This means that I want to practice and lead compassionately, seek to understand others’ points of view, and work collaboratively to address situations that must change for the work and therapeutic environment to be emotionally safe. I strongly believe that shaming is divisive, and compassion is encouraging, empowering, and more likely to result in positive change.

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Teaching

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My teaching philosophy is to offer creative instruction, flexibility, open communication, and accountability. Creative instruction is student-led and experiential, allowing students to utilize their strengths and better understand and retain the content. I believe it is my responsibility to remain inquisitive regarding the successes and struggles my students are experiencing, assist with addressing learning barriers, and maintain a boundaried yet supportive, inclusive, and socially just educational environment.

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As a counselor educator, I recognize the importance of modeling the ethics, skills, and compassion that encompasses high-quality counseling. I also recognize that my roles include being emotionally and mentally present in the physical and virtual classroom and noticing body language, dialog, and academic performance that may indicate students’ feelings and experiences. I believe there is value in uncertainty and discomfort within counseling education. By challenging my students, I create a learning environment that cultivates resilience and awareness and encourages healthy risk-taking. I believe that educators must incorporate accountability in a way that promotes growth but does not create a punitive or impossible learning environment.

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I recognize that effective educators ensure students’ understanding of the purpose of the course and assist with goal-setting, assessing, and revising based on learning objectives. As a counselor educator, I understand the importance of meeting CACREP (2024) standards and that students must be able to apply what is learned by completing courses to their work as counselors. I also understand that it is my responsibility to recognize and address deficiencies with students, as not doing so may result in client harm.

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I believe that no single assessment method fairly and accurately measures the knowledge retained, so I must remain flexible regarding the methods I utilize to monitor the effectiveness of my teaching and the quality of course materials. I realize the importance of higher and lower-level outcomes and understand that instructors play a significant role in students' ability to recognize and utilize their strengths. My strategies for assessing my teaching effectiveness are to remain outside of a vacuum. Regular consultation with professional peers, staying informed of current CACREP (2024) standards and the latest research on effective instructional methods, and maintaining good self-care practices are essential to high-quality teaching.

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Professional Leadership & Advocacy Development Plan

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​​​​My leadership and advocacy development plan for 2025 includes continuing to present at professional conferences, continuing to volunteer with a 501(3)(c) running club that organizes running events and donates much of its proceeds to local charities, such as food pantries, trail restoration groups, and health and wellness-related organizations, and offering low-cost counseling to individuals who cannot afford to pay typical out-of-pocket rates. The process of considering how my strengths, skills, and passion may best serve others is ongoing. Over the past four years, my work as a counselor in the higher education setting included leadership and advocacy roles, such as facilitating/co-facilitating suicide prevention trainings, facilitating stress reduction and substance abuse awareness and prevention workshops within the university and community settings, and participating in outreach events to inform students about counseling center services and promote mental health care. I am currently seeking a position as a counselor educator in a higher education setting that will offer opportunities to teach, supervise, lead, and advocate for college students. 

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Resources that Guide My Practice

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• Brown, C. B. (2010). The gifts of imperfection: Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and Embrace who you are. Hazelden Publishing.

  • ​Wholeheartedness “means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, ‘No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.’ It’s going to bed at night thinking, ‘Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging” (p.1).​

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• Fickling, M. J., Tangen, J. L., Graden, M. W., & Grays, D. (2019). Multicultural and social justice competence in clinical supervision. Counselor Education and Supervision, 58(4), 309–316. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.1215

  • We propose viewing supervision as a process through which both supervisor and supervisee develop as competent multicultural and social justice practitioners" (p. 310).

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• Guiffrida, D. A. (2014). Constructive Clinical Supervision in Counseling and Psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315890227

  • "In this article, an approach to clinical supervision (which I refer to as constructive clinical supervision) that is grounded in constructivist principles of learning, growth, and development is presented" (p. 40).

 

• Josefowitz, N., & Myran, D. (2005). Towards a person-centred cognitive behaviour therapy*. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 18(4),  329–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070500473600

  • “We argue that CBT, while using different interventions than those traditionally used by person-centred [sic] therapists, can be practiced as a highly empathic, person-centred [sic] form of therapy” (p. 329)

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• ​Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. Hyperion.

  • “To allow ourselves to be truly in touch with where we already are, no matter where that is, we have got to pause in our experience long enough to let the present moment sink in" (p. 9).

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• Neff, K. (2013b). Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. Hodder & Stoughton.​​

  • ​"From the Buddhist point of view, you have to care about yourself before you can really care about other people. If you are continually judging and criticizing yourself while trying to be kind to others, you are drawing artificial boundaries and distinctions that only lead to feelings of separation and isolation" (p. 7).​

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• Van der Kolk, B. A., & Pratt, S. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Random House Audio.

  • “Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves.” (p.97)”

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REFERENCES:

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American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2014-code-of-ethics-finaladdress.pdf

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Counsel for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. (2016). The 2016 Standards. CACREP. https://www.cacrep.org/for-programs/2016-cacrep-standards/

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Chang, C. Y., Barrio Minton, C. A., Dixon, A. L., Myers, J. E., & Sweeney, T. J. (2022). Professional counseling excellence through leadership and advocacy. Routledge

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Chi Sigma Iota Academy of Leaders. (1999). Principles and practices of leadership excellence. Greensboro, NC: Author.

 

 

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