Nationally Recognized Counselor Carol Boulanger Daniels Carves Out
A Creative Career Path

Carol Boulanger Daniels ’93/MA, LPC is known for brewing an “amazing” pot of coffee, her gluten-free blueberry muffin recipe and “can keep up with the best of them while shoveling snow.”

And she just happens to be a nationally recognized counselor. The product of the Siena Heights University Graduate College received the Counselor of the Year Award from the American Mental Health Counseling Association in 2011. For more than 20 years, she has worked for Pines Behavioral Health Services, a small community mental health agency in Coldwater, Mich., as an outpatient therapist. She said the relationships she has developed with the people she works with is the best part of her job.

“Over the years people create their own styles and strengths as counselors,” Daniels said. “I have been very thankful for the series of trainings I have been able to attend. The trainings have been supported by the agency I work for and they have been very effective in providing the needed training so we can do our jobs.”

Her career in counseling did not take a traditional path. Daniels was waitressing at an Italian restaurant in Hillsdale, Mich., when she decided “if I could master the restaurant industry, I could do many things, even go to college.”

She completed her bachelor’s degree in human resources, but didn’t find her true calling until she ran into a former restaurant co-worker who was enrolled in SHU’s graduate counseling program. She invited Daniels to come and sit in on some classes.

“It had a profound effect on me, and I felt motivated to assist others,” Daniels said of that experience. “Yet, I was unsure where that would take me.”

She eventually took a leap of faith and enrolled. Daniels said the small group classwork with faculty members like Linda Brewster and Bob Brady made SHU’s program unique.

“I think Siena stimulates creativity in students, and perhaps it was the drawing card to the profession,” she said. “The creativity stimulates ongoing learning, which makes the counseling profession a lifetime learning experience.”

Less than two weeks after completing her master’s degree in counseling, Daniels accepted a counseling position with Pines, where she has remained. Daniels said she has embraced Siena’s creative philosophy, developing many interests, including cooking, making handmade soaps, yoga, digital photography and collecting Petoskey stones. In fact, she is often referred to as the “Rock Lady.”

“Sometimes I share Petoskey stones with clients who use them as a tool for mindfulness,” Daniels said. “Some keep them in their pocket and utilize them as worry stones. Sometimes clients bring me stones they find, so I have a nice collection. Once in a while, I give a small Petoskey stone as a symbol of comple-tion of counseling, or completing a skill group.”

Daniels said receiving the Counselor of the Year Award was something she will never forget.

“I have the award in my office, and it always gives me a sense of pride and motivation when I look at it,” she said. “It was awesome to hear the kind words of others who know my work.”

She said an effective counselor is one who “is capable of taking care of themselves both physically and emotionally, so then they can guide and coach their clients down a healthy path.”

During her counseling career, she has provided numerous services, including group and individual therapy, co-occurring issues with substance use, after-hours emergency consultation for local hospitals, inmate consults, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) screening of individuals who meet criteria prior to going into medical care facilities and LPC supervision for licensure requirements.

Her future goals include serving on insurance panels to assist with coverage for mental health and substance abuse services, as well as studying the effects of applied nutrients in addiction rehabilitation centers. She also hopes to join the Critical Incident Stress Foundation as well as assist with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and suicide.

“With my degree from Siena Heights, I have been able to reach many goals in my life,” she said. “It should always be a priority to work with and for the people, encouraging growth, wellness and inspiration, not only to those we provide service for, but for each other and ourselves as well.

“One of my favorite quotes that sums up my work experience is by Winston Churchill: ‘Far and away, the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.’ ”