Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 9. Source pages: 11, 12.
Dr. Kathryn Steele recently returned from Havana, Cuba, where she helps train counselors in her role as Director and Professor of Counseling Professors Training Program for the Baptist Seminary there since 2009. The bilingual, associate professor from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, brings a diverse background and multi- cultural focus to all her duties, developed in part from over 20 years of missionary work in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.
“We started out with about 40 students,” she told the Times, “and completed about two years of course work with them.” From these, 21 will go on to become trainers and teachers. “These are the students that will actually be teaching in the seminary to prepare counselors,” Steele explained. “Their work has included an intern setting.”
“The students have a variety of backgrounds … some are pastors, there are four psychologists, two psychiatrists, and three medical doctors,” she noted. “Seven different individuals have served as professors for this program,” she noted. “Five of us are Spanish speakers or bilingual and teach in Spanish, and two use translators.” Dr. Steele told the Times that one of the most rewarding aspects of this work has been to watch how the students grow and develop in their ability to help others who are hurting.
“… these students take every little bit of information we bring to them, learn it, and work at putting it into practice,” she said. “This July we will graduate 40 students from this program!”
Steele and colleagues travel to Cuba on a visa, requested by the seminary from the Cuban government, which precisely outlines their activities while in the country. “We have not had any problems while there, but we are always careful to follow all the rules for our visit.”
The work is not without its headaches. “The greatest challenge is finding materials to use for teaching,” Steele said, “since not all texts are in Spanish.” The professors try to take materials in a digital format, she explained, because of the cost and weight of printed materials, which can mount up. “We have week long intensives four or five times a year.”
“Another challenge,” she said, “is doing quality supervision of their clinical work. We purchased Flip cameras to distribute to the students so they could video their sessions and we could at least see a part of what they are doing to help with supervision. Most students there do not have access to the internet, which greatly restricts what they have available to study and research.”
Steele’s work to help and train others abroad is not a new effort for her. She and her husband, Dr. Ed Steele, were missionaries for 20 years, serving the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Their work included Central American countries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and they spend ten years in Panama.
“All the time I was overseas I never stopped reading,” she said. “I did tons of reading. And I did a lot of work, especially with those who had experience childhood sexual abuse.” But due to lack of funds, she was not able to afford to go back to school. She told the Times, “I said, ‘Okay God, if you want this to happen, you’re going to have to make it happen.’ ”
So when Ed felt called to finish his DMA in musical arts, the couple came to New Orleans. Ed taught at the seminary and completed his work in Worship Leadership and Hymnology, and Kathy was offered a part-time job in the church.
“It opened the door for me to go to school. I found myself enrolled in the seminary in 1999,” she explained. “I started getting hours under my belt for my clinical training.” She began regular studies and in 2001 received her Masters in family and Marriage Counseling. “I felt I was getting the knowledge to help people that I was previously unable to help.”
In 2002 Steele completed her Masters of Theology, and in 2004 earned her doctoral degree in Psychology and Counseling. “It has been a tremendous joy to have the tools to get to help people, when they get stuck and don’t know what to do.”
During this time she also taught at the Seminary, beginning as an Adjunct Professor in 2001, her courses including, “Social and Multicultural Issues in Counseling,” “Marriage and Family Issues,” and “Ethical and Professional Issues in Counseling.”
In 2005 Dr. Steele became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Counseling and by 2010 was the Director of Clinical Training for the NOBTS (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Counseling Program.
Some of the courses she currently teaching on a regular basis include: “Family Systems: Theories and Therapies,” “Clinical Assessment in Marriages and Families,” “The Bible in the Professional Counselor,” “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Marriages and Family,” and “Contemporary Approaches in Premarital and Marital Therapy.” She currently occupies the James H. and Susan E. Brown Christian Counseling Chair and previously occupied the Baptist Community Ministries’ Chair of Pastoral Counseling, at the Seminary.
“We have master of arts in marriage and family therapy and a master of divinity in counseling,” she said. “Both of these degrees fulfill the required areas for LPC [Licensed Professional Counselor]. Since we are a seminary, training for ministry, students are required to take courses in Biblical and ministerial courses. All our courses are taught from a Biblical worldview,” she explained.
“Our program is extremely skills-based,” she said. “We push for them to be skilled counselors, and we push faculty members to be actively practicing counseling, which keeps our feet to the fire.”
Dr. Steele follows this approach herself, as owner and founder of Life Solutions Counseling, LLC, her counseling service in Metairie. The center is largely focused on Spanish speaking and lower income persons.
“I have chosen to focus on Spanish speaking clients primarily because they are an underserved group due to the language barriers,” she said. “I think about 75% of my practice is with Spanish speakers. Many of them are low income families, which requires a no-fee or low-fee service.”
“I love working with this group because they are typically very open to receiving help and thank- ful for whatever you can do for them,” she noted. “I think there are cultural differences that are important when working with Latinos. For example, they have a much stronger community orientation, which is quite different than the typical North American who thinks in very individualistic terms.”
“It is also very important,” she noted, “to take into consideration any issues related to trauma they may have experienced before immigrating.”
And, “ … the challenges of acculturation here in the USA can have a huge impact on their mental and relational health. One of the challenges is that Latinos often are struggling with immigration issues –visas– and with socio-economic issues such as poverty.”
Dr. Steele sometimes helps train interns at her Life Solutions firm, supervising from one and up to five interns at a given time.
Dr. Steele, was recently appointed to the state counselors’ board by the governor, and has attended her first two meeting. “Since I just started, I am still learning what it is like to serve on the LPC Board,” she told the Times. “But I am looking forward to the experience, and feel privileged to have the opportunity. So far I have really enjoyed it.”
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