Someone once wrote that those who can do, those who cannot teach. This is not the case with Professor Kim Wiekel. Professor Wiekel has a thriving private psychology practice. She is a professional speaker. People from all around the country ask her to come and speak to them. Professor Wiekel spoke on the topic of Family Frustrations: A Discussion about Family Communication Patterns and Tips for Selfcare. This was part of the Mental Health Education Meeting and Support Group sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Health for Pennsylvania’s Cumberland and Perry Counties. With of this she does not need to teach, but she does. Not only does she teach, she also runs the Internship Program. Her students love her. She is one of the favorite Professors in the Psychology Department.
In her private practice, she helps individuals and does group therapy. Part of her counseling also involves talking not just to her patient, but also to everyone close to them. When a patient is having a hard time dealing with a problem she will talk to each family member and friend individually and as a group if she needs to in order to get them through a hard time. She also is very good at helping patients when someone around them is working through a problem. She helps them by teaching them to listen instead of jumping in and telling their friend or family what they should be doing. She also explained that one of the things we do when things are going wrong is we “enable” them to continue bad behavior by covering for them. Making excuses for someone is bad because you help them keep on doing the wrong things that hurt them instead of changing their ways. When you cover for a friend, they can get deeper and deeper into trouble instead of getting out of it.
I saw student reviews of her too, where students can evaluated professors and posted comments about them. Her students say she “She is so nice and doesn't just make her class all about psychology, she relates it to your life.” They also wrote that “She will always help you if you ever need anything.” One student who wrote about her and admitted that the only reason they got a “C” was because he only went to half the classes. He had her for an 8 o’clock class, and even though he hates mornings he always left class feeling good. Another student said she got bonus points for going to every class. She went to all the classes because she really enjoyed them. The points were a real bonus. Another of her students; Seamus O’Brien, said she was his favorite teacher ever. I think students reviewing teachers and sharing their experiences is a good idea. The ones I saw let students honestly say bad things as well as good ones about a Professor. This let other students let know what to expect. They did not have to sign their names; they could post comments anonymously. Professors had their own place on the page to rebut the student’s comments. Professor Wiekel did not need this section, there were no negative comments posted about her. I suppose that saying should be changed to say people who can teach do it with love.
Works Cited
NAMI. Mental Health Education Meeting and Support Group. 2010. 28 3 2012
Ship Underground. Kim Wiekel. 2011. 28 3 2012
