MaDonna Interview
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Dec 6, 2023
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An Interview with MaDonna Land: A Licensed Professional Counselor
Ontario Ervin
Department of Counseling, Lamar University
CNDV 5304: Foundations of Counseling
Dr. Mary Hestand
October 25, 2022
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Running Head: Licensed Professional Counselor Interview
An Interview with MaDonna Land: A Licensed Professional Counselor
I interviewed MaDonna Land, a licensed professional counselor (LPC), licensed chemical
dependency counselor (LCDC), and nationally certified counselor (NCC). With 16 years of
combined experience with juvenile probation, adult probation, corrections, substance use, and
other at-risk populations, she is now the program director for Tony’s Place and a residential
therapist for Serenity Light Recovery. She also has a private practice, Do the Work Counseling
Services, PLLC, which prioritizes individual needs to promote recovery. MaDonna has been
practicing counseling for ten years and has been in private practice for 5.
The Organization
Madonna is the program director for Tony’s Place. Tony’s Place is a nonprofit
organization that serves members of the LGBTQ+ up to 25 years old and are unstably housed.
The mission of Tony’s Place is to promote respect, physical safety, security, and development for
LGBTQ+ youth and their unstably housed allies. The housing instability can be couch surfing or
homelessness. Tony’s Place helps youth survive daily by providing services that meet their
immediate and basic needs. The model for Tony’s Place is molded after Abraham Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs. This theory of psychological health is predicated on fulfilling innate human
needs in priority, building to self-actualization (Mcleod, 2020). When needed or desired, Tony’s
Place provides referrals to services that will help the youth develop and succeed through
education, health & wellness, and cultural development. By accomplishing its mission, it will
equip its members with skills to manage and avoid the challenges and barriers they face.
During an initial visit, staff will conduct an intake that will identify the biopsychosocial
needs of the client. Tony’s Place provides food, hot showers, laundry, and a clothing closet
within the facility. However, they have several external services that can be supplied through
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Running Head: Licensed Professional Counselor Interview
referrals, including housing assessments, medication, mental health services, and employment.
These services are funded through grants and private donations. The program does not utilize
federal grants, which give a broader spectrum of how to assist the clients since they do not have
to provide specific services; their services are based on the client’s needs. This facility is a drop-
in center, meaning there is no case management; the clients “drop in” to receive their services.
The goal isn’t long-term services. The goal is to meet their immediate needs and refer them to
another agency for further assistance.
While board members lead the administration, this facility relies heavily on volunteers.
This facility only has four staff members, including Ms. Land. Alyssa Kelly, MSW, is the
program assistant, Ariel Miranda, B. A is the program coordinator, and Lindsay Konlande, BA. is
the communications director. These four women run the only nonprofit organization directly
focused on unstably housed LGBTQ+ youth in Houston. The staff’s development opportunities
are based on the needs of the client. For example, if there is an influx of clients affected by sex
trafficking, the staff can receive training to assess them to provide better service.
The Person
While working for Tony’s Place, MaDonna’s title is program director; however, she is
also a residential therapist for Serenity Light Recovery. As a residential therapist, MaDonna
provides individual, group (3+ people), and family counseling sessions. A typical week for her
will consist of a mandatory 60-minute session with everyone on her six-person caseload and
three hours of group sessions; she will also meet with her clients on an as-needed basis, whether
an extra individual or group session. She even went the extra step to earn her exercise instructor
certification to include exercise sessions with her clients. The challenges Ms. Land face is that
clients are sicker than before, requiring more inadept and customized treatment than before;
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Running Head: Licensed Professional Counselor Interview
building relationships with other professionals can also be complex, with some coming from
different backgrounds and schools of thought. We also discussed being able to compartmentalize
and remain emotionally involved with clients. However, her ten years of practice have balanced
her professional life and personal feelings. MaDonna states that the most significant benefit to
being in her position is that she gets to witness the success of her clients. Seeing her client learn
skills they didn’t have allows them to navigate life successfully.
MaDonna believes motivational interviewing is the best way to build rapport with clients.
Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling style for prompting behavior
change by helping clients to discover and resolve uncertainty. Cultural competency, she works
with individuals from different walks of life, body language, and crisis intervention. The tool I
thought was most interesting was her use of session structure. I was unaware that the design of a
session played a significant role in the outcome. Allowing the client to feel safe enough to speak
freely and asking powerful questions to help guide the client.
MaDonna’s work allows her different freedoms than other professionals. Since her
facility is a private pay facility, she is given more control over her sessions and groups. There is
also a cap on the number of clients in her caseload, which decreases her workload and ensures
she isn’t spreading herself too thin. Unfortunately, she is the only black clinician at her facility,
which causes her to have some uncomfortable situations with her peers. Aside from
microaggressions, she feels this environment requires her to complete her sessions and notes
perfectly to avoid biased thoughts of her. To prevent burnout MaDonna has a personal therapist
whom she meets consistently; this allows her to relieve work stress and release it to someone
who has experience with mental health counseling. She also supports taking mental health days,
saying “no,” creating boundaries, and using assertive communication. She is sometimes asked to
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Running Head: Licensed Professional Counselor Interview
assist her colleagues with tasks she cannot complete at the time they are due; however, she
makes up for it by assisting her peers when she can to show that when she says she cannot
complete it, reinforced by her helping. Serenity Light Recovery is a private pay facility, and
Tony’s Place works on donations and grants. However, in her private practice, MaDonna’s
private practice, Do the Work Counseling Services, PLLC, accepts all major insurance
companies.
Reflection
Speaking with MaDonna gave me immense insight into my counseling future. Currently,
at my job, I have training in coaching (financial and employment), and I see several overlaps
between counseling and coaching session, aside from the basics like using empowering words,
confidential information, and data collection. Both counseling and coaching require substantial
questions that guide the conversation, focusing on the client's values, not what I feel is right, and,
most importantly, not telling the client what to do.
Counseling and coaching goals are to have the clients identify goals and potential
solutions to problems that cause emotional stress, seek to improve communication and coping
skills, strengthen self-esteem, and promote behavior change. Learning this has made me enjoy
my coaching training. Before, I looked at my training as just part of the job, but now that I know
these skills are transferable, I take more interest and engage in the classes more.
MaDonna informed me that she didn’t allow me to interview her solely because of our
mutual friend but because she wished she had a chance to know more about the specifics of her
counseling journey before she began. I was aware that to take the counseling exam, I was
required to have 3,000hrs of direct and indirect supervision post-degree. She informed me that if
I’m not employed by a facility that has a counseling supervisor on staff, then I may have to pay
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Running Head: Licensed Professional Counselor Interview
to have my hours supervised. She stated that the typical fee was $100 a week when she was
getting her supervisor hours, but she earned her LCDC and could work in a facility with an LPC
supervisor on staff. I was unaware that I’d have to pay for them. I was under the impression that
it was free, but I knew I would not be paid to get them. I was also told that even after you pay,
you can receive negative remarks about your performance and be required to take more courses
and require more supervisor hours. Overall, I’m excited to continue my journey and happy that
she told me I could reach out when if I needed her in the future.
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References
Background
. (n.d.). Tony’s Place. Retrieved October 25, 2022,
from https://tonysplace.org/background
Mcleod, S. (2020, December 29).
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
. Simply
Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html