After spending years in the corporate world as a communications director for brands like Target and Caribou Coffee, Gretchen Fernelius decided to take a different career path. She took a professional leap and started her own communications consulting company, specializing in large-scale change projects like technology migrations, reorganizations, layoffs, and other major transitions.
Her business thrived, even during the pandemic, but she found herself at a crossroads. She had mastered the skills of communication and reached a plateau. She wondered, “Can I really do this for another 15 years? Is this where my heart is? I started really reflecting on what I wanted the next phase of my career to look like. I followed my intuition and landed on therapy.”
Finding the Right Professional Fit
During this time, Gretchen also realized that she had always been more than a communications expert. “You're an advisor a lot of times. You're a confidante,” she says. “Those same skills are really foundational to therapy–active listening, being able to reflect back to people what you're hearing, being able to take what they're saying and writing about it.”
Gretchen was drawn to the Integrated Behavioral Health at the University of Minnesota program because it was at the forefront of the integrated, co-occurring philosophy that addresses both mental health and substance use disorders. She also loved going to the U as an undergraduate and wanted to stay in Minneapolis.
“I noticed that other universities were kind of catching up,” she says. “They had dual programs, but it seemed like they were sort of in their inception phase. The second piece that I really liked is the rigorous clinical side of it. So I felt like I was going to get a really great, well-rounded education, because I'm going to learn what’s on the cutting edge of research, but I'm also going to get the relational side, what it’s like to work with a person.”
She had found the right program, but going back to college as an older adult is a big decision. Gretchen wondered if she would feel out of place on campus. What she found surprised her.
The Graduate School Experience
“In every single class there was a wide range of generations,” Gretchen says. “There were people in their forties, fifties, sixties, seventies. It's been a really wonderful experience. There are other people there who are facing the same thing; they're transitioning a career or looking for new challenges.”
The curriculum is built to give students both a solid foundation in counseling as well as a deeper dive into areas like psychopharmacology and career development for counselors. Gretchen especially enjoyed the courses on motivational interviewing, assessment and diagnosis, family dynamics, and sociocultural diversity in counseling.
Pauline Boss, the developer of Ambiguous Loss Theory, visited Gretchen's Human Lifespan Development course via Zoom. “This is a really influential person in the field who created an entirely different way to think about grief and loss, and being able to hear directly from her was just an incredible highlight. It was amazing.”
Gretchen says all of her instructors had unique ways of teaching that made the learning process “so much more enriching.” While they each had different styles and perspectives, they all established a respectful environment where students could talk about anything. “You could ask questions that you may not feel comfortable asking, and they never judged. They all created a very welcoming and inclusive classroom.”
She also found a group of other IBH students who she consulted with and who continue to support each other. She says, “What I’ve enjoyed most about the program is the opportunity to form meaningful friendships with other students. It’s been really nice to just connect as people.”
Ready to Lift Up Others
Gretchen will be working at a private practice after she graduates this spring. She is particularly interested in working with people going through major life changes—whether it’s divorce, becoming an empty nester, menopause, or even returning to school later in life.
“There are a lot of things that we don't feel comfortable talking about openly,” Gretchen says. “I would love to create spaces where anyone can just talk, get support from each other, and feel like they're being heard.”
Even more specifically, she is passionate about helping clients who are managing some type of illness or who have unique physical healthcare needs and may be searching for meaning. Often referred to as post-traumatic growth, it’s the idea that facing adversity can lead to newfound strength or purpose, something Gretchen has firsthand experience with.
“I am a breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed when I was 33,” she says, “and I see it as a gift because it changed my perspective on life, my relationship with work, and my relationship with others.”
Now, having undergone a transformation of sorts herself, Gretchen is well prepared to usher others through those difficult periods and help them build resilience.
Advice for Future Students
Prioritize self-care. “Make sure you're taking care of yourself on a daily basis. I take daily walks with my dog. It’s a way to get out in nature every single day. That sort of filled my cup as I was going through some of these intense learning experiences. I was also staying engaged with family and friends. It's really easy to fall down a rabbit hole of studying and getting lost in the work. It was really helpful to have confidants in the program who knew what you were going through. When you're in this program you understand that there are some pretty serious requirements. I have no regrets about it, but it's tough, and you're going to be challenged, so take care of yourself.”
Mia Boos is a writer and content strategist with the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, covering the College’s graduate programs and undergraduate individualized degree programs. She joined the CCAPS Marketing team in 2014 and has worked for Thomson Reuters and New York University. Connect with her via LinkedIn.
