A Day in the Life of a Counseling Professional

By Nicole Houck and Taylor Mathus

At Authentic Counseling & Therapy, we have a lot of great people on our staff. Each individual brings a unique perspective to the table, which makes us even better equipped to help our clients. Keep reading to join one of our clinicians, Taylor Mathus, as she takes you through a day in the life of a counseling professional!

Before Work

After getting ready for the day, Taylor went outside at 9:00 AM to have a peaceful start to her morning. She spent some time meditating and journaling in the nice September weather.

About an hour later, around 10:00 AM, she went back inside, feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead. To get her house as awake and ready as she was feeling, she spent some time cleaning up a bit. This helped her feel organized, and she was now able to focus on her responsibilities. 

Taylor wanted to make some gift bags to give out to some referral sources, so she ran to the store to grab some goodies, as well as her usual necessities, and set the materials aside to bring to the office.

After Target, Taylor spent some time checking and replying to emails. She also got to spend a bit of quality time with her cat before it was time to head into the office for the rest of the day. 

At the Office

Taylor arrived at the Authentic office around 1:00 PM. When she got there, she got right to work on everything that needed her attention. She would have some sessions with clients later, so she took the time to prepare. Counselors know how important food is for the mind and the body, so Taylor fueled up with a poke bowl she had grabbed on the way to work.

Around 3:00 PM, Taylor took a quick break with our psychotherapist Jessica to enjoy the first day of Cornfest. Having a downtown office means being able to sneak in some time to enjoy the various events going on around town! Of course, grabbing a corndog was a must.

Once back at the office, Taylor had some productive sessions with her clients. Afterward, she spent the rest of the day completing her progress notes and responding to some work emails. Later, she was able to put together those gift bags she had gone to the store for earlier. She will soon be passing these out to doctors’ offices and schools in the area!

Back at Home

Once Taylor got back home, she spent some time winding down from her day, doing things like cleaning the house and putting pajamas on. Once her wind-down was complete, and her skincare was done, she hopped back on her computer. Not for work, but to join her sister on Discord and watch some episodes of Supernatural, Season 11. Prioritizing some time to spend with friends and family, or do something you love, is important to protect your mental health.

It is important to remember that the people responsible for helping you are also people themselves! They have hobbies, pets, and houses to clean, and are hopefully also taking steps to better their mental health. If they feel stable and secure, they are going to be better equipped to help you! This was just a glimpse at Taylor’s day, and the responsibilities of the staff at our office vary a bit from person to person. We hope you enjoyed getting to know one of us at Authentic, and we would love to get to know you as well! If you are interested in starting a counseling journey, visit our website for more information.