{"id":28289,"date":"2016-05-27T14:00:58","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T18:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=28289"},"modified":"2016-07-19T11:26:57","modified_gmt":"2016-07-19T15:26:57","slug":"committed-to-serving-fellow-veterans-michael-mcandrew-earns-scholarship-to-complete-counseling-conflict-transformation-degrees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/committed-to-serving-fellow-veterans-michael-mcandrew-earns-scholarship-to-complete-counseling-conflict-transformation-degrees\/","title":{"rendered":"Committed to serving fellow veterans, Michael McAndrew earns scholarship to complete counseling, conflict transformation degrees"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Navy veteran Michael McAndrew, a graduate student at Eastern Mennonite University, plans to use his education to provide mental health services for military veterans. His professional path towards a graduate degree in counseling was recently aided by a $5,000 military scholarship from the NBCC Foundation<\/a>, an affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors Inc.<\/p>\n

The foundation awarded five scholarships from a pool of approximately 30 applicants. Each recipient must commit to serving military personnel, veterans and their families in his or her future work.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael is passionate about the needs of military families and veterans, and he is compassionate,\u201d says Jayne Docherty<\/a>, program director of EMU\u2019s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding<\/a> (CJP) and McAndrew\u2019s advisor. \u201cThis scholarship could not have been given to a better person.\u201d<\/p>\n

McAndrew is a dual degree<\/a> program at EMU, earning both a master’s in counseling<\/a> and a master’s in conflict transformation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Changing purpose<\/h3>\n

After graduating from East Carolina University, McAndrew spent four years in the Navy as a flight deck electrician. Though not in combat, he saw the trauma that military service often caused from being in battle, long periods spent away from home, ethical challenges and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw a real need that wasn\u2019t being addressed for service members and their mental health needs,\u201d McAndrew says. \u201cI could see how things affected people and how divorce, alcohol abuse, drug use and other things came out of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

McAndrew decided to leave the military and, with Docherty\u2019s help, enrolled at EMU in 2013 to focus on veterans\u2019 advocacy and trauma awareness through the STAR<\/a> (Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience) program and other CJP coursework.<\/p>\n

[Read more about veterans’ issues and advocacy<\/a> at EMU and Eastern Mennonite Seminary.]<\/p>\n

Along the way he decided to expand his studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I saw the need for better informed care for veterans and their families, I knew I had to stay and do a counseling program, as well,\u201d McAndrew says. \u201cIt\u2019s been great, because they mesh so well. They\u2019re such similar things but also very different, as well. I really feel like I fit here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tailored studies<\/h3>\n

Most recently he has been working with Nate Koser<\/a>, assistant professor in the MA in Counseling program, in an independent study on psychoanalysis and its use as a therapy for veterans. The open-ended, free association approach can be more accessible for those typically averse to counseling.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael\u2019s experience in his military service, as well as his interaction with other veterans has been a great addition to this work,\u201d Koser says. \u201cHe is a great student, and one who is not afraid to challenge the somewhat terrifying status quo of treatment services for veterans. I personally work as a psychoanalyst with veterans, and I can attest to the problematic nature and significant limitations of the treatment services they are typically offered.\u201d<\/p>\n

McAndrew praised EMU\u2019s programs for being open to the expression of a variety of ideas while also opening him up to working with other populations, such as children, people with autism and senior citizens. Following his graduation next spring with dual MA degrees in counseling and conflict transformation, he hopes to stay in the Harrisonburg area. His wife, Mary Beth, is a behavioral analyst, so they have discussed doing counseling work together. Working with the Veterans Administration system, in higher education or with immigrant populations is also possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very comfortable with the ambiguity right now,\u201d McAndrew says. \u201cI\u2019m kind of just ready for whatever the world sends me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Navy veteran Michael McAndrew, a graduate student at Eastern Mennonite University, plans to use his education to provide mental health services for military veterans. His professional path towards a ... read more about Committed to serving fellow veterans, Michael McAndrew earns scholarship to complete counseling, conflict transformation degrees<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,12503,264,6393,12537],"tags":[6795,6003,11637,5690],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-28289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-cjp","category-graduate-programs","category-ma-in-counseling","category-star","tag-diversity","tag-jayne-docherty","tag-nate-koser","tag-peacebuilding"],"yoast_head":"\nCommitted to serving fellow veterans, Michael McAndrew earns scholarship to complete counseling, conflict transformation degrees - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/committed-to-serving-fellow-veterans-michael-mcandrew-earns-scholarship-to-complete-counseling-conflict-transformation-degrees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Committed to serving fellow veterans, Michael McAndrew earns scholarship to complete counseling, conflict transformation degrees - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. Navy veteran Michael McAndrew, a graduate student at Eastern Mennonite University, plans to use his education to provide mental health services for military veterans. 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