NCC Spotlight: Kate Owen, NCC, LPC

Kate Owen, NCC, LPC, remembers always wanting to become a teacher while she was growing up in Ohio. 

“As I got older, I realized that I was more interested in listening to people and hearing their stories than I was teaching them information,” she says. “During college, I became fascinated with human behavior, and I excelled in classes such as abnormal psychology and psychopathology. I wanted to be able to learn more about the causes and treatments for depression so that I could assist individuals struggling with it. From that point on, I decided I wanted to work in the mental health field.”  

She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Indiana Wesleyan University and later moved to South Carolina, where she received her master’s degree in education with a concentration in clinical mental health counseling from Clemson University. 

Today, Owen is a school-based military and family life counselor in South Carolina. She recently talked to us about her work, what she enjoys the most about it, and what she’s learned from working with students and their families. 

Could you tell us a little about your work?  

I provide short-term, nonmedical counseling to the children of service members. In the day to day, I teach coping skills, emotional regulation techniques, and organization skills to my students. Military families sacrifice by making frequent moves (on average every 2 to 4 years). Military-connected children also cope with the deployments of their service member parents. I love my job because it allows me to feel that I am supporting students whose families are keeping our country safe, and I am passionate about empowering military-connected children to become resilient in the face of challenges.  

How is working with military families different from counseling civilians? What issues are they navigating? 

Military families face frequent deployments and relocations on top of navigating challenges that all families experience. Most military families experience a PCS (permanent change of station) every 2 to 4 years on average. Frequent moves can produce challenges such as difficulty for the civilian spouse in finding consistent employment; educational gaps for children between the curriculums in different school systems; and a lack of continuity of care in health, mental health, and community supports. It can be challenging to move to a new house, find new health care providers, and familiarize yourself with a new community. Some of the issues facing military-connected children are behavioral concerns, social skills problems, peer conflict, communication issues, academic issues, low self-esteem, grief, and coping with divorce or separation.  

How may these challenges affect their mental health? 

One challenge related to frequent relocations for families is that school systems often have different curriculums. This can leave gaps between the current school and what military-connected students have learned in previous school environments. Military-connected students may be new in school systems where there are not many other military-connected families and many of the individuals at the school already know one another. This has especially become true as more and more military connected families have opted to live off military bases in the community. When the military-connected student feels left out, the new school environment can become even more confusing. Additionally, community supports differ greatly from location to location. Families need to find new health and mental health supports in the new location. This can create a lack of continuity in health care.  

Moving frequently can produce a lot of stress in military-connected children. Children may experience anger and sadness when they have to move away from a duty station that they enjoyed. They may feel powerless. Frequent moves may contribute to mental health concerns such as behavioral concerns, social skills problems, communication issues, low self-esteem, and academic problems. Challenges such as a parent’s deployment can cause grief reactions in children as they miss their deployed parent. Deployments can also trigger academic problems and behavioral concerns in the affected children. When a service member returns from a deployment, the family then faces the challenge of reintegration. Family roles may have shifted when the deployed family member was away, and the family then needs to create a “new normal” upon the member’s return. The deployed family member may feel as if the family has moved on without them and the family may struggle to find a new pattern where the deployed parent is included.  

It is important to note that frequent moves can have positive effects as well. Generally, military-connected students are resilient, independent, and adaptable from having to shift into many different environments. They are often skilled at talking to people (in particular, adults) because they’ve had to learn to articulate their thoughts and feelings to others.  

What are your biggest work-related challenges, and how do you overcome them? 

I am constantly learning about all of the resources available to service members and their families. At times, it can feel overwhelming to try to find the correct resource for a family and to connect them with such resources. I overcome this challenge by forming relationships with individuals from other military-related organizations and constantly researching resources available to the families I assist. As a military and family life counselor, I strive to help the children I work with as much as I can within my role and refer these children to other resources when appropriate.  

How can counselors become advocates and help to remove the stigma associated with seeking mental health care?  

The best way to fight stigma is by openly discussing mental health challenges. Counselors can seek counseling when they are going through emotionally difficult times or circumstances. Open conversations about the benefits of mental health treatment allow counseling to become normalized in our culture. Going to a counselor during an emotionally difficult time should be looked at in the same way as seeing a doctor when you are sick.  

What self-care advice would you give to other counselors? 

I think a lot of counselors, including me, believe that we are not susceptible to the burnout and other issues our clients are facing. In the helping field, there is always more work to be done, and it can be tempting to overwork yourself. I sometimes find that I’m not implementing the techniques I teach to my clients such as saying “no” and setting boundaries. One thing that has helped me immensely is having set work hours and not taking calls outside of those hours. This allows me to recharge and “turn off” when I’m not working. It also allows me to pursue my hobbies and develop a life outside of work.  

Is there a particular achievement or career milestone that you are especially proud of? 

Last spring, one of the families I worked with “coined” me. In the military, special coins are presented to recognize a special achievement, or a job well-done. In this case, the family recognized that I had provided support to their children at the school and connected them with resources as they moved to a new duty station. Receiving this coin was the greatest professional honor of my life.  

What’s the best professional advice you’ve been given, if any? 

One of my early career mentors, Joe Franks, told me that people have two ears and one mouth for a reason. You must listen more than you speak and always seek to understand before speaking.  

Finally, what do you enjoy doing when you aren’t working? 

When I’m not working, I enjoy seeing friends, reading, practicing yoga, running, and traveling. I’ve traveled to more than 20 countries, and I lived in Zambia for 2 years. I currently have trips planned to Mexico, Belize, Latvia, and Lithuania in the coming months.  

*The opinions expressed in this article are reflective of Kate Owen, NCC, LPC, and do not reflect the Military and Family Life Counseling Program or Magellan Federal.