Title: Secrets of a Mental Health Counselor
Author: Patrice Shavone Brown
I am very interested in reading books on
self-improvement, therefore, when I found out this book dealing with the ‘behind
the scenes’ of a Counselor and Motivator, I got rather curious. When I say
behind the scenes I don’t mean that the author reveals details about the people
she helps, but about her own background, what made her who she is. It was very
interesting to go through the pages and acknowledge how difficulties and
failures can transform you into a strong and assertive person, who knows where
she wants to get and focuses on her targets. It is, in fact, rather logical
that someone with so much life experience should have a lot to give to other
people, in terms of counseling and helping them overcome negative periods.
Also, for a person to know that their counselor has gone through difficulties
and has overcome them, becoming a successful person, should reinforce the trust
he/she feels for the professional, and the suggestions they get to resolve
their own problems.
I have liked many aspects of this book: I gained a little insight into
an American community, followed a true story of emancipation, acquired a new
perspective regarding the figure of the counselor and the way the individual
life experiences might be used to help others. Also, the book is in itself a
sort of self-improvement course, if you are attentive to the pattern drawn by
the various life phases the author went through. The part of the book I
preferred is when the author narrates about her parents’ divorce and the way she
helped them to remain a family; I believe that part contains the essence of
what can be learned from this book.
