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In 2010, Jodi Fiorini founded the CreekSide Counseling Services for the good of the community. As clinical director and president of the company, she strives to make sure the counseling service is a warm atmosphere filled with employees and interns of all ages and backgrounds.
Fiorini, who is also an associate professor for the counseling service at SUNY Oswego, said the staff at CreekSide is highly educated in various kinds of services like: divorce and separation, sexual orientation, depression, obsessive compulsive disorders, anxiety and panic, grief and loss, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) issues and relationship issues.
"Jodi started the business up as a result of recognizing there is not enough people in the counseling services hiring interns. Jodi also wanted to help new counselors get their service hours. Counselors need to gain 3,000 hours before they can become licensed counselors after graduating," CreekSide counselor, Christina Keim, said.
The business offers the ability to give students experience and actual counseling fieldwork. CreekSide employs a total of 10 full-time counselors along with 14 interns, too.
Three of the interns shared their experiences:
Shanda Cruz
Shanda Cruz is a 26 year-old first-year graduate student for SUNY Oswego's Mental Health Counseling program who is currently interning with CreekSide Counseling Services. Cruz plans on continuing her practicum and counseling work at CreekSide. Her biggest advice to students getting into the counseling process is to simply not be afraid. She went on to explain how the fear will fade as students get their hands dirty and begin the internship/practicum process.
"I personally like it here and began a little later than others in February of this year. When I'm not helping out at the front desk with paper work and greeting customers I have four clients I see," Cruz said.
Michael LaBarbera
Michael LaBarbera, a graduate student who plans on graduating with his masters this May, also interns with CreekSide. His journey with CreekSide began in 2002. LaBarbera began doing fieldwork, which led up to practicum and then an actual internship with the counseling service.
"I love the environment! Jodi was very welcoming and actually invited me to work here from being a professor at Oswego. Everyone's willing to help you and you feel a part of a family. Students need to experience things or they'll never know," LaBarbera said.
LaBarbera has gained various amounts of fieldwork from CreekSide and has had 13 patients while being a graduate student. The experience paid off for him and LaBarbera is awaiting responses from applications he has sent out for counseling jobs.
Katie Turner
"I have absolutely loved my internship at CreekSide and am incredibly grateful for the opportunity Jody provided for me," Katie Turner, another expected graduate student of the mental health counseling program at Oswego, said. "I have been able to work with a diverse clientele population and other counselors at CreekSide and this is valuable experience in our profession. The support and resources provided by the counselors, as well as the events Jodi hosted to show us new therapy techniques, was more than I could have hoped for. My clients have taught me that human resilience; strength and growth are immeasurable and just incredible to be witness to."
Currently, Turner is applying to counseling positions in the Albany area and will be relocating there after graduation this year.
Jodi Fiorini and the rest of the counseling staff at CreekSide strive to create a welcoming and affordable atmosphere. CreekSide accepts mostly all insurances and has a sliding fee for patients whom cannot afford counseling services. The cost of a session of counseling if a client does not have insurance is $50. The sliding fee is $25 and for clients who cannot afford counseling. Keim states that 40 percent of CreekSide's clients have pro-bono or a reduced session fee. Therefore, the interns are not paid for their time working at CreekSide, but the interns agree that the experience they receive is all the more worth it in the long-run.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact CreekSide Counseling Services at 315-343-3344 or visit the office at 335 W. First St.
