Tim has spent the last two decades learning with and helping people navigate the hard times life throws at us. He has served as an advocate, representative, Airman, Sergeant, mentor, organizer, educator, and therapist. He uses his experience, passion, and education to empower people with the skills and knowledge needed to find the best way forward. He owns a private clinical mental health counseling practice in Denver and Golden, Colorado. Prior to his clinical work, he facilitated the Peer Advisers for Veteran Education program at the University of Colorado at Denver. In two years, the program grew from two mentors helping roughly 50 students a semester to pairing every new veteran student with with a sponsor to help them transition into campus life. He also developed and provided staff training for the University on student veteran success and integration and integrated campus and community resources for student veterans and their families to ensure appropriate and needed support was leveraged. Before his career in mental health and education, he served as a Signals Analyst in the United States Air Force for five years. IN THIS PARTICULAR EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: Tim's military career and experience The Air Force Bystander Program in response to Sexual Assault Joining the military and transition out of the Air Force How military service support his work in the mental health counseling field Cultural Identity in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Veteran attitude towards mental health counseling The difference between college before the military and after the military The CU Denver PAVE Program Peer Mentorship being one of the key components to academic success The value of mentorship both in the military and out of the military The distinction between advocacy, resourcing, and being a clinical mental health counselor Challenges in transitioning out of the military into college The challenge in deciding what a veteran wants to keep from their military career, and what type of civilian they want to be Some veterans want to continue to fully identify as a veteran once they leave the military, and other veterans want to distance themselves from the military as much as possible The visible shift between when a veteran has made the transition between service member and civilian Staying immersed in a veteran community if it's part of your chosen post-military career as opposed to a different career field Non-veteran mental health professionals serving veterans. Find a clinical that does what you need help in Overcoming the "need" to "only" see a mental health professional who is a veteran Protective factors against Veteran Suicide: Family, Peer Support, Mental Health Professionals Therapy for therapists and doing our own work Shame as one of the most significant barriers to getting help LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Tim's Guest Posts on the Head Space and Timing Blog: The Veteran Scholar: 5 Things to Look At When Choosing a College The Veteran Scholar: 5 Things That Will Make Your First Year of College Better. The Veteran Scholar: Five things to do during your last year of college Empowered Change Counseling and Education Timothy Wienecke on LinkedIn Email: timothywienecke@empoweredchangeCE.com Hey, It's Eddie and Bennett! Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section or you can leave me a message about this episode by going to http://ChangeYourPOV.com/AskEddie If you enjoy the show I sure hope you'll subscribe and download a bunch of episodes on iTunes. All these shows are free to download and listen to and we don't ask for donations or anything to create this show. But if you'd like to totally make our day... we would be forever grateful if you would be so kind as to leave an honest review on iTunes. If you are new to reviews and need a little help, you can go to LEAVE A REVIEW and we will walk you through that step-by-step. Thank you in advance for doing that! – plus, we read each and every one of them! Please share this episode with your friends and family!
The psychological impact of military service is well known but less understood. Every Tuesday and Thursday, join combat veteran and clinical mental health counselor Duane France as he interviews mental health professionals, veterans, and those who support them about mental health and wellness. If you want to understand more about service member and veteran mental health, then this podcast is for you.