Counselor Spotlight: Simone

Simone Castro, LAC shares her counseling journey.

Tell us a bit about yourself. 

I am a community-loving introvert.

What do you do for fun?

I love to run, bake, and spend time with my communities.

Favorite book, movie, or artist?

The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller. It is so rich in not only describing what a biblical, God-honoring marriage should look like, but aspects of what relationships between two believers should look like.

What does your ideal day look like?

An ideal day would allow me to sleep in and have a slow morning filled with reading, working out, and eating breakfast with a warm beverage. The afternoon would consist of baking and completing a few house chores. I would finish the day by having fun and fruitful conversations with friends over a home-cooked meal and then watching a movie with them while devouring ice cream.

Cake or pie?

The answer varies based one whether or not ice cream is present. Pie if there is ice cream and cake if there is not.

What was your journey to becoming a counselor? 

Here is the condensed version (lol): As an undergraduate student I studied Bible and Math Education. After teaching for half a year I realized that I enjoyed being with students more than teaching them. This led me to working at Chick-fil-A for several years where I loved the regular interaction with guests but craved deeper, consistent interactions with people. I wanted the main part of my role to be to invest in others and help people grow. So I decided to apply for resident director positions at Christian universities. The Lord brought me to Cairn University, where I had actually received my undergraduate degree. After two years of being a resident director, I recognized that my favorite part about my job was spending time with students and having 1-on-1s with my resident assistants. I thought that counseling might be a good a fit for me and decided to apply for Cairn's graduate counseling program. Within less than a year of being in the program I knew that I wanted to counsel in some capacity.

Describe your approach to counseling.

I believe there is much value in getting to know a client and determining the root of the issues that they are coming to counseling for, so I take some time getting to know and understand the context of a client's world through discussing their past and present experiences and environments. I do this at a pace that is helpful for each client, wanting them to feel comfortable with sharing but not forced. Additionally, to understand a person also means to understand their heart and mind. In counseling, I equate this to understanding their core beliefs, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

What areas of counseling are you most passionate about?

Although I enjoy many areas of counseling, I am most passionate about working with individuals who are struggling with self-worth, perfectionism, and interpersonal issues. Though we are sinners and imperfect (Romans 3:23), as God's creation made in his image (Genesis 1:26) we have much value. And I believe that we were made to be in community and that it’s in community that great healing and growth can occur, so it brings me joy to help others learn what healthy communities look like, as well as what they can do to foster those communities.

Any advice for someone considering becoming a counselor? 

Do not take lightly the responsibility that comes with being a counselor. It takes much courage for someone to share their story with someone whom they do not know and invite that person into their journey of healing and growth. Therefore, counselors should be humbled by this great honor and take the role seriously.