Tim Hatfield has transformed counselor education … and the lives of his students

When you first ask about Tim Hatfield, chair of the counselor education program at Winona State, you get a variety of responses.

Undergraduates in service learning classes note his engaging and supportive teaching style. Former students in the graduate program remember his insistence that good counselors help clients heal and grow, but also undertake a journey of personal development and transformation. Colleagues and fellow professionals say that this energy, vision and passion have profoundly changed counselor education at Winona State and throughout the region.

But ultimately they all sum up their relationship with Hatfield by saying, “You know, he's just a nice, regular guy.” And, there are usually a couple of comments about his tendency to wear “unusual” socks.

Dr. Timothy Hatfield, with degrees from Harvard and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, has been in the counselor education program at Winona State since 1980. When he first arrived on campus he had no idea that he would be at WSU for almost three decades. But as he taught more and more students, “my roots grew deeper and deeper.” Hatfield became firmly planted on campus when he met his wife, Susan, who is assessment coordinator at WSU.

Hatfield worked as a school counselor for nine years after earning his master's degree at Harvard. He thought he might make a bigger impact by training others to be qualified counselors, so he entered a doctoral program at the University of Minnesota. There, he studied with Norm Sprinthall, a developmental psychologist who tried to understand how people develop and learn over a lifetime, and how they make meaning of their experiences.

With Sprinthall, a theoretical descendent of the pioneers Piaget and Kohlberg, as a guide, Hatfield uses a developmental approach in his teaching, and in how he trains graduate level counselors. Stories from his own life are a large part of his instruction. These personal examples establish a lasting bond, according to his students, and help them to make sense of themselves and a complicated world.

“The college years are a big stage of transition for students. In higher education, we have a responsibility to be models for personal growth. What better way to do this than to tell stories of our own development, and then to nudge students to stretch a little bit?” explains Hatfield.

Gayle Lassen, a graduate student who is now finishing up an internship in school counseling in Sparta, Wisconsin, observes “Tim inspires you to live the life of a counselor, to be passionate about it and not sit there to be only a sounding board.”

“He knows the developmental systems, but he uses stories from his own life to illustrate them. You realize that it comes from deep down inside, that he's a real person. And that makes the theory more real when you see how it applies to daily life.”

While he knows where to draw the line between private life and public, Hatfield reveals much himself, at least on the outside, in the classic rock videos that he rolls before class. His taste in music - Neil Young, Eric Clapton - is reiterated in the way he dresses. Hatfield chooses a modern update on early 1970s wear, punctuated with an array of colorful socks. Tie-dyed yellow and red ones are a student favorite.

Hatfield may be relaxed when he gets dressed every morning, but he's serious about what makes a good counselor education program. The basics of psychological theory and case management are there, but Hatfield also demands student commitment to building trusting relationships and community engagement.

“When I arrived at WSU, counseling was at a crossroads,” says Dr. Colin Ward, who studied under Hatfield and is now on the counseling education faculty at Winona State.

“Tim guided the department, not only in how we trained counselors but also in the larger issues, such as being a part of the bigger community, and advocating for social and systemic change.”

“For example, how do you manage depression in a client when they are living in an oppressive situation, such as domestic violence or poverty?” asks Ward. “Community and social conditions are central to education and treatment. And we have to be willing to tackle those.”

“Tim is very serious about the people who graduate from the program. He's a nice guy, but an open seat in the program is not enough for a potential student,” says John Rislove, an alumnus of the counseling education program and a program director at Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center.

“They have to be willing to grow not only personally and develop as a therapist, but also contribute something to make the profession and the community a better place,” continues Rislove.

To enter the graduate counselor education program, candidates must complete an application detailing their commitment to personal and social development. “To help others think and reason, good counselors must be able to look at themselves and understand themselves and the world around them,” says Hatfield.

“A theoretical base is important to counseling, but to help the client, things ultimately rely on the quality of the relationship. Trust depends on operating as a true self. I believe you can only understand the other person if you understand yourself, too.”

“Tim makes sure you understand that when you sit across from somebody, it's serious and it's life impacting,” says Rislove.

Part of what makes Hatfield so appealing, and so influential, is that he looks deeply within himself, just as he demands of his students.

“You realize he's a real person. He wears it like a badge,” says Lassen, the graduate student working in Sparta.

“Powerful teachers are transparent. We see their struggles and it's a journey that we all share, that we've all been through,” observes Ward.

Ward believes that this is what makes Hatfield beloved by his students, and why he is so influential as they make the transition to adulthood, or to careers in counselor education. For regular guy, Hatfield has had an extraordinary impact.

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 10:51 by Brooke Sherer