My name is Kandice Correa, and I am a Counseling Intern. I am in my last leg of my Clinical Mental Health Counseling Master Program from Stephen F. Austin State University, and I am so glad I get to use this time with the Better Path team. 

I have not only been trained within my counseling master’s program, but I have trainings beyond the standard classroom. I have worked with trauma survivors since 2016. I first worked as a Title IX advocate at SFA in which I helped survivors through the complex and rendering process that is reporting sexual assault on university campuses. Not only did I work for the department, off the clock I volunteered as a Sexual Assault Advocate and Peer Educator for Intimate Personal Violence for the entire campus. During my volunteer time, I was able to become a certified SFA (and beyond) LGBTQIAS2+ Ally, a certified Suicide Prevention Advocate (QPR), and was state certified to present about Toxic Couples in the Media (“Nightmare on Lover’s Lane”) by the Office of Violence Against Women. 

After my time on the SFA campus, I became certified in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). I found that my drive from my campus advocacy has led me to carry this passion into my counseling career. The first half of my internship I worked with children who experienced emotional, mental, physical, and sexual trauma from ages 3-17. I have been taught in Play Therapy, Therapy with play, and general Talk therapy for my teenagers. 

I am now excited to expand my knowledge and passion to help all ages that have gone through trauma. Trauma is not black and white, nor is anyone else’s trauma the same. I want to be a space where someone can process and heal through their experiences without feeling judged or belittled. Through personal endeavors, my work as an advocate, and my drive to be a trauma-informed counselor, I want trauma victims to become not only healed, but to become survivors. Trauma does not have to be something we just deal with. With the right healing, we can be more than just the statistics. We can learn to see what drives us to do more, be more, be us. 

“I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me.” 

Sincerely,

Kandice Correa