FEATURED TRAINEE - Samuel Kohlenberg, LPC

Samuel's area of specialization is 15-25-year-olds in the superior IQ range. In his spare time he is adjunct faculty in the transpersonal counseling psychology program at Naropa University, and a teaching fellow at Saybrook University. My limited work with sleep issues has utilized clinical hypnosis, psychophysiological interventions, or education about basic sleep hygiene.

HOW DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN BSM?

I have long been interested in sleep medicine, but as my graduation from school nears I am thinking more and more about post-doc education. My education has been in counseling, clinical hypnosis and psychophysiology and at this point, BSM is what I am most interested in.

WHO ARE YOUR BSM MENTORS?

I do not have one at this time but am very interested in finding one, hopefully in Denver, CO.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER GOALS?

I am interested in clinical work, research, and instruction. One of the things that I am most interested in long-term is bringing more integrative behavioral medicine to masters-level mental health curricula.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?

I enjoy working as part of a multidisciplinary team. Finding a team for which I would be a good fit would be the dream job.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE FIELD OF BSM IN 10 YEARS?

Part of what I would like to see is greater importance given to sleep and sleep medicine in counseling and psychology. I would like to see the field influence general counseling and psychology even more than it does.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO AWAY FROM THE OFFICE?

Art films.

WHAT IS YOUR NEXT VACATION OR DREAM VACATION DESTINATION?

I don’t really get to take vacations, but I’m looking forward to being in Seattle for a few extra days after an ASCH conference next year.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL HOBBIES OR TALENTS?

I’m pretty proud of my grilled cheese technique.

WHAT EXPERIENCES HAVE HELPED SHAPE YOUR TRAINING IN BSM?

While my training has been very limited, the thing that has shaped it the most thus far has been seeing the difference sleep makes in my psychotherapy clients. 

My limited experience with seeing the difference that addressing sleep has made has made me very interested in the greater field of BSM.

WHAT RESOURCES HAVE HELPED TO ADVANCE YOUR TRAINING?

All of the training that I have received so far has been from psychophysiology and clinical hypnosis.