Editor’s note: This guest post has been authored by Jennifer Nardine. Jennifer (she/her) is a teaching and learning liaison, and Coordinator of International Outreach at the University Libraries of Virginia Tech. In addition to her interest in international librarianship, Jennifer is fascinated by the intersection of humans and information, especially as it relates to individual health and well-being.
I recently finished a second Master’s Degree, an MaEd in Counseling from Virginia Tech’s School of Education. Having two Master’s is common in academic library-land, and several of my colleagues have dual Master’s or have earned Doctorates. Shortly after graduating, I was startled when a colleague asked, “how are you going to show that [mental health] counseling is related to your work?” Her implication: even though I’d put in the work to earn the degree, it wouldn’t serve me when it came time to apply for promotion. My response: While I don’t serve as liaison to any of the units in the School of Education which would create a solid link, or to our Psychology or Marriage and Family Therapy programs, it’s obvious to me that education, librarianship, and counseling are related.
Librarianship and teaching are service professions invested in helping our patrons/students to understand what they really need, effectively ask for it and independently search for things and, ultimately, find something of quality. Underneath the more overt activities, we teach critical thinking skills and social issues awareness. Behind-the-scenes workers do this as much as folks on the front line, only their patrons are generally other people within the library or school. We’re all pulling together to provide help to those in need, and to do so in a way that those we interact with generally leave conversations feeling satisfied with the exchange, even if the answer is some form of “no.”
Mental health counseling is also a service profession invested in helping people understand what they need, express themselves clearly to get what they want or to find it themselves, and to develop an understanding of social justice and critical thinking beyond the surface level. While those last two may come as a surprise, consider this: people grow up in a context – family, friends, etc. and develop their understanding of the world from within those parameters. Similar to consulting a librarian, counseling isn’t just for people in distress; it’s a useful tool for anyone processing their lives, their options, and the state of the world around them.
Among other things, counseling students go through semester-long courses on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), how to conduct intake interviews which resemble a reference interview in terms of gathering initial information about client needs, and effectively continuing consultations to help their clients develop the skills to understand and ask for what they need. Counselors find their client’s strengths and highlight them, helping to increase those strengths through strategy and practice. Pretty similar, no?
On the individual development front, counseling students continually reflect on their feelings, learning, and experiences in the form of journaling assignments. They take on challenges that they expect their clients to encounter so they have first-hand experience of those challenges. As a parallel, library students do research projects and practicums which reflect what their patrons will experience. Student counselors do internal development work so they can set aside their own biases to help their clients, and know when they need to confer with a more experienced colleague. Academic librarians are called upon to help with research on many topics, and commit to building collections including multiple perspectives on controversial issues, regardless of their own sentiments.
Beyond those commonalities, there’s been an increased interest in student and, to some extent, employee well-being in the last years, especially during the COVID pandemic. We were encouraged to give ourselves and each other grace, to alleviate stress and get enough rest, to use our sick leave for our mental as well as physical health. Those of us who teach were encouraged to be honest with our students, directly addressing the fact that we were all in the midst of something none of us had ever experienced and that we were all doing our best. More courses for employees on mental health first aid, mindfulness, and self-care appeared in the campus offerings, and the university established links to free online mental health resources for both students and employees. That idea of helping each other to use and find our strengths rolled across our campus. Student mental health continues to be a focus in secondary education, with sessions at conferences like the one at SXSW EDU addressing practical ways to implement solutions. We teacher-librarians were and continue to provide a form of mental health support.
Add in the admittedly hopeful idea that we’re all trying to grow as human beings, and that we want to perform our jobs as ourselves rather than as a persona developed for business purposes. Bringing authenticity forward, not sharing beyond your comfort level but up to that point, naturally creates connection and empathy. Being able to deal with irate or rude patrons/clients, having the inner stability to adapt to change, the mental flexibility to continuously learn and develop, and knowing ourselves well enough to cultivate healthy relationships with colleagues and clients/patrons are all desirable skills in both professions.
Effectively relating with distressed students, from understanding that they are distressed onward, can help us shepherd them to the right help that they need if we can’t personally provide it. Juggling an overabundance of tasks and still helping colleagues when they need it fosters a sense of teamwork. And knowing when we need to stop and rest and renew ourselves, despite that mountain of tasks, is a key skill reiterated again and again in counselor education programs.
So yes, mental health counseling and librarianship are inextricably linked. We use different vocabulary and have different specialties in each discipline. Nonetheless, my counseling background allows me to bring a deeper understanding of human needs and to bring kindness and patience to each interaction, has increased my toolbox of techniques for digging for the real information need under the surface of a question, and has taught me that taking care of myself really does allow me to better serve patrons and collaborate with colleagues.
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