Summary of Qualifications for Nominee Celeste Coffman

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2 Summary of Qualifications for Nominee Celeste Coffman This summary of qualifications serves the purpose of securing a nomination for Celeste Coffman, Associate Licensed Counselor, for the ALCA 2015 Outstanding Practitioner Award. Ms. Coffman is a member in good standing of the Alabama Counseling Associations Chapter 1. She is both a certified P-12 School Counselor and an Associate Licensed Counselor under the supervision of Alicia Kelly, LPC-S. Ms. Coffman has owned and operated a private counseling practice, Thoughtful Journey Counseling, since November of Ms. Coffman served as full-time School Counselor in Alabama from She previously served from as an Academic Advisor and instructor at Calhoun Community College, where she authored the colleges Orientation To College (ORI 101) course textbook. As a member of ALCA, Ms. Coffman has demonstrated commitment to Chapter 1 by serving as the Newsletter Editor since the fall of In this position, she takes on the responsibility of producing and disseminating four newsletters per year to the Chapter 1 members. In order to secure accurate and engaging content for these newsletters, Ms. Coffman regularly interviews counselors from Chapter 1 and secures their commitments to write articles. Additionally, Ms. Coffman has written a number of articles herself for the publication. Thoughtful Journey Counseling, the private practice owned and operated by Ms. Coffman, is located in Florence, Alabama. In this practice, Ms. Coffman adheres to highest ethical standards and provides several hours per year of pro bono counseling as a community service. She provides quality treatment to clients with various counseling issues including depression, anxiety, anger management, personality disorders, marital conflicts, mood disorders and phase of life issues. Ms. Coffman considers her specialty to be working with women facing depression or anxiety related to the sociocultural pressures placed on working women and mothers. In January she hosted a life skills workshop called Productivity for Wives and Moms at her private practice. Most recently Ms. Coffman co-lead a counseling group for women called Inspired Self: 4 Weeks to Living Well. This group focused on self-esteem and self-care issues faced by today s modern woman. Ms. Coffman divides her time as a counselor between working in her private practice several days per week and also working as a contracted Behavior Counselor for the Limestone County School Systems Alternative School. In this position, Ms. Coffman works with high-risk students of varied cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds who present with myriad counseling issues. Often the students of the Alternative School require counseling for sexual abuse, drug or alcohol abuse, neglect, excessive school transience, anxiety, truancy, and legal issues. In order to serve this population of students, Ms. Coffman provides both individual and group counseling. She is passionate about serving children who are in foster care or have been adopted. Ms. Coffman is also highly committed to developing emerging leaders and equipping counselors with better knowledge of the field. She sells low-cost digital counseling

3 products such as worksheets and lesson plans on a variety of topics online, where she earns top ratings for assisting school counselors. Likewise, Ms. Coffman regularly takes time to meet with and mentor students majoring in counseling or the social sciences. During her tenure as a School Counselor, she supervised three masters level interns in school counseling. Last spring she held a low-cost workshop for counseling students called Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Opening a Private Practice And Some Things You Don t Want to Know. Ms. Coffman has previously taught continuing education courses to fellow counselors both in the schools and through her private practice, and she is in the process of writing an online course for Alabama counselors, How to Open Your Private Practice in 90 Days. At the 2015 ALCA state conference, Ms. Coffman is presenting a content session on ethical counseling practice in working with teen clients. For all of the accomplishments mentioned, Celeste Coffman is being nominated for the ALCA 2015 Outstanding Practitioner Award. She exhibits strong commitment to her ALCA chapter by serving as an officer and presenting at the annual conference. Additionally, her work in the schools and her private practice have been exceedingly helpful to clients of diverse backgrounds. Likewise, her passion for teaching and leading other counselors is evident by her history of training and mentoring.

4 CELESTE COFFMAN, ASSOCIATE LICENSED COUNSELOR 2401 Bower Dr. Florence, AL EDUCATION Master of Arts, Counseling: 2005 University of North Alabama: Florence, AL Bachelor of Arts, Psychology; Minor in Spanish: 2003 Samford University: Birmingham, AL WORK HISTORY Contract Behavior Counselor: Limestone County Alternative School, Athens April 2014 present Counsel students from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds on behavioral, academic and interpersonal issues Coordinate with community agencies, Juvenile Probation Office, mental health centers, doctors and private therapists to provide wraparound services Create meaningful programs and presentations to enhance students academic, emotional and social development Therapist/Owner: Thoughtful Journey Counseling, Florence November 2013 present Provide group, family and individual counseling to children and adults Manage all administrative aspects of the office including records, correspondence, marketing, and finance Behavior Counselor: Limestone County School System, Athens August April 2014 Counseled Special Education students with mental illness while maintaining detailed, confidential records Facilitated social skills groups and programs for K-12 children Consulted with parents, teachers and outside providers for quality care Guidance Counselor: Monrovia Middle School, Huntsville July August 2012 Maintained comprehensive, accurate academic records in highest confidence Counseled individual students and developed lesson plans to enhance learning Generated newsletters, blogs, and websites to promote counseling projects Utilized organization and advanced planning to coordinate large-scale programs and events Managed a strategic yearly plan for counseling services Part-Time Director of Evangelism: First United Methodist Church, Athens July 2007 August 2010 Designed and promoted events to increase membership and community awareness Wrote press releases, newsletter articles, and website copy Page 1 of 3

5 CELESTE COFFMAN, ASSOCIATE LICENSED COUNSELOR 2401 Bower Dr. Florence, AL WORK HISTORY, CONTINUED Advisor/Recruiter: Calhoun Community College, Decatur May 2005 July 2007 Created academic plans to aid college students in choosing courses and majors Taught Orientation 101 courses online and in traditional classroom environments Wrote a textbook for Orientation 101 course Designed page layouts and wrote copy for various publications of the College including press releases, ads, posters, brochures, bulletins and newsletters Developed and presented dozens of programs to enhance student learning SERVICE & MEMBERSHIPS Alabama Counseling Association Chapter 1 Newsletter Editor, October 2013-present Member, Alabama Counseling Association Volunteer speaker to high school sociology, psychology and health classes as well as local community organizations RELEVANT SKILLS & CERTIFICATIONS Proficient in Mac and PC operations with high trainability in new computer systems and software Proficient in use of social media, the Internet and Highly organized and creative, ensuring adherence to deadlines and ability to solve problems while working proactively to meet diverse needs of clientele Alabama School Counselor Certificate (P-12) Associate Licensed Counselor (ALC #C2195A) under clinical supervision of Alicia Kelly, LPC-S Certified Instructor for Crisis Prevention Institute, September 2012-April 2014 Page 2 of 3

6 CELESTE COFFMAN, ASSOCIATE LICENSED COUNSELOR 2401 Bower Dr. Florence, AL PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES Ms. Alicia Kelly, LPC-S, supervising counselor 118 E. Mobile Street, Suite 309 Florence, AL Ms. Krystle Landtroop, coworker Cedar Hill Road Ardmore, AL Ms. Carla Lawrence, former coworker & internship supervisee Williamsburg Drive Athens AL Ms. Corrie Harris, former supervisor University of Alabama Box Tuscaloosa, AL Page 3 of 3

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8 To the Awards Committee Members: It is my pleasure to write this letter of reference for Celeste Coffman, who has been nominated for the Outstanding Practitioner Award. I have known Celeste as a friend and fellow counselor for the past three years. I knew her first as the behavioral counselor for some of our special education students here at East. She worked with our students who had mental illness issues, that I was not trained to help them with. She would facilitate small group sessions and communicate regularly with the parents and teachers of those students. While I served as President of Chapter I of the ALCA, she volunteered to help by taking over the newsletter for our chapter. She has done a great job making our chapter members aware of upcoming events and providing encouragement and information through articles pertaining to skills they may need as community and school counselors. In her current practice, Thoughtful Journey Counseling, in Florence, she uses her skills to relate to diverse populations. She works with families, adults and children providing group and individual counseling as needed. She has worked over 10 years specializing in these areas, mainly working with children and teens with behavioral problems, and working with women who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety or depression. She also offers premarital counseling, wellness counseling and career counseling. I think this shows the diversity of her practice. I have witnessed Celeste demonstrating effective counseling skills, when we have sat in on meetings together for certain students here at school. If we ever had extreme circumstances, she was a phone call away, and always willing to come to our aid to benefit the student. She was able to listen intently and offer advice to the students and the parents. The improvement we could see in the mental health and wellbeing of our students she worked with showed evidence of her ability to facilitate development in the clients/students/ groups she serves. The services she provides her clients are refreshing and warming, helping them to see how important communication is in families, between husbands and wives and helping those

9 considering marriage openly discuss issues that make such a great difference that they may not have thought of. (money, sex, children, issues with extended family, and religion) In the time I have known Celeste, I feel she practices exceptional ethical behavior. She is a young woman devoted to her family and her practice. She has worked hard to be where she is and will maintain the ethics needed to represent herself and others well. In serving as our newsletter editor, she has followed the requirements there to a T. She completes assignments in detail and in a timely manner. I don t feel she would ever do anything to jeopardize herself or her clients through her practice or techniques. Thank you for this opportunity to express my feelings about Celeste and her qualifications for this Award. Sincerely, Deborah S. Poland Debbie Poland, MA, Ed. School Counseling 9 th and 10 th grade Counselor East Limestone High School East Limestone Road Athens, AL 35613

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