Counseling Awareness Month: An interview with SSCC's Tom Payton
Lead Summary
By
Kris Cross-
If ever there was a person destined to be a counselor, that person just might be Tom Payton. Employed as the Career Services Coordinator at Southern State Community College, Tom also works as a licensed mental health counselor and an instructor in the college’s human and social services program.
Greater than the sum of his experience and credentials, Tom is kind, genuine and a self-proclaimed goofball. In five words: he just wants to help.
In recognition of Counseling Awareness Month, Tom was able to take a short break from his duties and stop by for an interview. It’s time now for this writer to step back and let Mr. Payton do the talking.
TOM PAYTON
“Counseling Awareness Month is just a time to remind people that counseling is available and broaden their perspective of what exactly it means to participate in a counseling session,” he said. “It’s a time for people to really look at stressors in their lives and have the tools to sort through problems and have a fuller experience of life.
“One of the benefits of counseling is to be able to go to somebody who is not connected, can be objective, and really give you honest and open feedback. The other part is being able to talk to someone and lay out your story and not worry about feeling judged or criticized.
“Sometimes you just need to be heard because a lot of times when you go to someone close to you, they’re going to try to fix you, because they care about you.
And it’s not that a counselor doesn’t care, they just care differently.
“Sometimes we kind of need to be guided to think in a different way or at least consider other options to reflect on whether what we’re doing is helpful, whether it’s working.
“The fact of the matter is, most people who go to counseling are really well adjusted and I’m not sure people really think about it that way. They might think you have to be out of your mind, and that’s really not what it’s about.
“I was talking to a class about counseling services and they looked at me funny like, ‘I don’t need any of that.’ So I asked, ‘How many of you are stressed about school? How many of you think you’ve got people in your lives who are driving you crazy?’ and I got a lot of hands going up. That’s the stuff you talk about in counseling.
“My experiences of counseling have been very positive. You’re in a safe place where you can throw out ideas and thoughts in a way that you don’t have to worry about.
“Counseling also helps to deepen relationships. You work on getting rid of your own baggage that’s been shoved in the way. And we all have things that we carry, problems from other relationships. Our experiences in life sometimes get in the way and end up like ghosts that appear in current relationships.
“I think people would be surprised to find out the stuff we work on are the nuts and bolts of life, everyday life, not anything that exotic. Sometimes, however, it does have to deal with the big questions. You feel stuck in life, you’re asking, ‘Why am I here.’ I do deal with a lot of people who are at midlife and dealing with a lot of regrets.
“I was at a high school today and they were taking some of this less than seriously and I said, ‘You know what? I know part of this is because of where you are right now, I get that. But you’re lucky to have this career class because I talk to people every day who have regrets because they didn’t choose differently when they were younger. It’s really tough when you look at having regrets, because you grieve those kinds of things. And that pain is real.”
“We work on those kinds of questions: What do you want out of life? What do you want from relationships? What do you want from yourself? That may be the most important question of all.
“As for career counseling and mental health counseling, the fact that I am able to do both is ideal for me. There really is no separation between our work life and our personal life, and I try to help people open up to the thought that work is not meant to be a punishment; it is meant to be a part of our lives that fully engages and invigorates us. My clients and my students are a gift to me. Hopefully, I help them grow. They help me grow every day.”
MORE INFORMATION
And, with that, Tom folded his hands on the desk and smiled, leaving the readers with a lot to think about. Many of the counseling services Tom provides through Southern State are provided free of charge to students, alumni, staff members and the community at large. Those services include career counseling and benefits counseling (provided through the Ohio Benefit Bank and includes tax help and other assistance for Ohio’s children, seniors and families). Mental health counseling is offered free to currently enrolled students at Southern State.
To make an appointment for counseling, please call 1-800-628-7722, ext. 2600, and ask to schedule a time with Tom Payton. You do not need to specify a reason for the appointment. To learn more about Career Services at Southern State, please visit www.sscc.edu/Students/Career_Svcs/default.htm.[[In-content Ad]]
Greater than the sum of his experience and credentials, Tom is kind, genuine and a self-proclaimed goofball. In five words: he just wants to help.
In recognition of Counseling Awareness Month, Tom was able to take a short break from his duties and stop by for an interview. It’s time now for this writer to step back and let Mr. Payton do the talking.
TOM PAYTON
“Counseling Awareness Month is just a time to remind people that counseling is available and broaden their perspective of what exactly it means to participate in a counseling session,” he said. “It’s a time for people to really look at stressors in their lives and have the tools to sort through problems and have a fuller experience of life.
“One of the benefits of counseling is to be able to go to somebody who is not connected, can be objective, and really give you honest and open feedback. The other part is being able to talk to someone and lay out your story and not worry about feeling judged or criticized.
“Sometimes you just need to be heard because a lot of times when you go to someone close to you, they’re going to try to fix you, because they care about you.
And it’s not that a counselor doesn’t care, they just care differently.
“Sometimes we kind of need to be guided to think in a different way or at least consider other options to reflect on whether what we’re doing is helpful, whether it’s working.
“The fact of the matter is, most people who go to counseling are really well adjusted and I’m not sure people really think about it that way. They might think you have to be out of your mind, and that’s really not what it’s about.
“I was talking to a class about counseling services and they looked at me funny like, ‘I don’t need any of that.’ So I asked, ‘How many of you are stressed about school? How many of you think you’ve got people in your lives who are driving you crazy?’ and I got a lot of hands going up. That’s the stuff you talk about in counseling.
“My experiences of counseling have been very positive. You’re in a safe place where you can throw out ideas and thoughts in a way that you don’t have to worry about.
“Counseling also helps to deepen relationships. You work on getting rid of your own baggage that’s been shoved in the way. And we all have things that we carry, problems from other relationships. Our experiences in life sometimes get in the way and end up like ghosts that appear in current relationships.
“I think people would be surprised to find out the stuff we work on are the nuts and bolts of life, everyday life, not anything that exotic. Sometimes, however, it does have to deal with the big questions. You feel stuck in life, you’re asking, ‘Why am I here.’ I do deal with a lot of people who are at midlife and dealing with a lot of regrets.
“I was at a high school today and they were taking some of this less than seriously and I said, ‘You know what? I know part of this is because of where you are right now, I get that. But you’re lucky to have this career class because I talk to people every day who have regrets because they didn’t choose differently when they were younger. It’s really tough when you look at having regrets, because you grieve those kinds of things. And that pain is real.”
“We work on those kinds of questions: What do you want out of life? What do you want from relationships? What do you want from yourself? That may be the most important question of all.
“As for career counseling and mental health counseling, the fact that I am able to do both is ideal for me. There really is no separation between our work life and our personal life, and I try to help people open up to the thought that work is not meant to be a punishment; it is meant to be a part of our lives that fully engages and invigorates us. My clients and my students are a gift to me. Hopefully, I help them grow. They help me grow every day.”
MORE INFORMATION
And, with that, Tom folded his hands on the desk and smiled, leaving the readers with a lot to think about. Many of the counseling services Tom provides through Southern State are provided free of charge to students, alumni, staff members and the community at large. Those services include career counseling and benefits counseling (provided through the Ohio Benefit Bank and includes tax help and other assistance for Ohio’s children, seniors and families). Mental health counseling is offered free to currently enrolled students at Southern State.
To make an appointment for counseling, please call 1-800-628-7722, ext. 2600, and ask to schedule a time with Tom Payton. You do not need to specify a reason for the appointment. To learn more about Career Services at Southern State, please visit www.sscc.edu/Students/Career_Svcs/default.htm.[[In-content Ad]]