College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

WKU graduate student Braiden Abbott from Portland, TN, started volunteering as an advocate with Hope Harbor, Inc., a sexual trauma recovery center, three years ago as just one of the multiple ways in which she created a path to gain experience for a counseling career.

Abbott always felt passionate about working in a field that would provide an opportunity to assist others in some way.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at Western Kentucky University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling on the Hill. 

“I originally thought I wanted to pursue education, but quickly realized I was more worried with the interpersonal aspects of assisting individuals in their life outside of the classroom than I was about the academic portion,” Abbott shared. “This newfound knowledge was solidified when I began assisting individuals accomplish personal goals through work and started volunteering with Hope Harbor.”

Hope Harbor provides educational programs along with free and confidential support in the form of a 24-hour crisis line, hospital calls, counseling, and more. The nonprofit trained Abbott to aid through the crisis line calls as well as to respond to hospital calls to go be with survivors. Abbott shared that she almost exclusively responds to hospital calls. Volunteers that respond to hospital calls visit a survivor of sexual assault once they go to the hospital. 

“My work as an advocate with Hope Harbor has also allowed me to gain insight into what it is like to work with an individual and their loved ones who are experiencing one of the most difficult times in their lives,” Abbott said. “I believe that anyone who is impacted by sexual trauma deserves to feel supported and empowered. Their stories should be heard, their feelings validated.” 

Abbott explained that seeking support can be a terrifying step, but she is glad that the community has Hope Harbor dedicated to creating a safe environment for survivors and loved ones to receive support. 

She believes it is up to us as a community to work together in eliminating sexual violence.

In addition to volunteering for Hope Harbor, Abbott has focused her graduate projects on best practices for working with survivors of sexual abuse. 

“This past semester, I helped in the creation of a population resource guide to share with my fellow classmates. It covered a good basis of what counselors should keep in mind if this is a population they are interested in working with. It also allowed me to interview a couple of Hope Harbor’s counselors, which allowed for some incredible insight that I plan to use in the future.”

Abbott also works as a Community Living Support (CLS) with individual clients. She teaches community and living skills to individuals who have an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Abbott will start her practicum in May followed by two internships to put her on a path to counsel her own clients in the future. 

To learn more about Hope Harbor, visit hopeharbor.net. To learn about WKU’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program visit wku.edu/csa.