The Servant Leader | Michael Gibbons

 

About Michael Gibbons

Michael Gibbons is the director of student support and an adjunct instructor of family and child development at Southern Virginia University.

He has held that position since August of 2003 and also teaches courses in family and child development and in social and behavioral sciences. His BS degree is in developmental psychology; he also holds a master of social work degree and is a licensed psychotherapist and clinical social worker (LCSW).

Prior to working at Southern Virginia, he worked as the clinical director of a federal research project studying and implementing community based systems of care for struggling children and families. He has experience working in the child and family services and mental health communities as a counselor, program director, and administrator. He also has extensive teaching experience and has taught courses in psychology, sociology, social work, and child and family development at the College of Eastern Utah, Utah State University, University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Dabney Lancaster Community College, and now Southern Virginia University. He has presented and given keynote presentations at numerous national-level conferences.

He was honored by the Utah Child Welfare League as recipient of the Marty Palmer Award for leadership in developing a system of care for children and their families.

Michael and his wife, Kristie, currently reside in Buena Vista, Va. They have four children and their two oldest are graduates of Southern Virginia.

B.S., M.S.W., Brigham Young University, 1990, 1992 Bio Courtesy of Southern Virginia University

 

Interview Transcript:

Alan
Welcome back. I’m here today with Michael Gibbons. We’re on the campus of Southern Virginia University. And, Michael, welcome to today’s show.

Michael
Thank you. Happy to be here.

Alan
So you have all sorts of hats that you wear here at the school, but you’re, but by profession in education, your background is in child psychology?

Michael
Its mental health. Yes. I’ve my first degree was in developmental psychology in graduate school, I studied psychiatric and clinical social work. So I’m a licensed mental health practitioner. Yes.

Alan
And after after school, what did you did you go into private practice? Or was it always in the academic?

Michael
Oh, goodness, I’ve done a lot of a lot of different things. I’ve actually worked in community mental health, sort of the Free Clinic concept. I’ve done emergency room response. I’ve taught at junior colleges, I’ve worked in nursing homes, I’ve consulted in public schools, I directed a research grant, three county area, done a lot of different things.

Alan
And what what eventually led you here to Southern Virginia University?

Michael
You know, interestingly enough, I wasn’t looking for a job at all. I actually had a, I had a position that was ending because it was soft money. It was a grant funded position. But with that same company, I had an a pretty much an assumed position, the administrative position that I would move into, just read an article about the school in Virginia. I thought, wow, that looks fun. And so I got online and looked it up and just clicked around and saw that there’s this opening that seemed about right for me. So almost on a whim, I called them up and they said, Well, come on out. Let’s talk.

Alan
Now the school here, you’ve been here for how many years came in 2003. Okay, so it’s going on 12 years now. And then what is your role with the school.

Michael
My title is Director of Student Support. But mostly what I really do is mostly the mental and emotional well, being of the students, I get to teach a course in the family and child development major. I’m involved with a freshman seminar style course. But we call it becoming a leader, servant. And all the freshmen take that I’m involved with that course. I’m the faculty advisor for the Student Service council. So I do a few different things on campus.

Alan
Is that as a as I’m here and learn more about the university, this leader serve and I want to focus a little bit on that. It’s a freshman course.

Michael
Well, we try to get as many freshmen in it as we can, our hope is that they will take it early in their experience at SVU. Because part of the idea is we want to inculcate the SBU value system, and help them appreciate this is what we do as a school that makes us different. So the more students we can get in earlier, the better doesn’t always work out that way. But that’s the goal. We want them to have it their first year, if possible, what is the leader servant. So phrase that was coined by Elder Maxwell’s my understanding, but certainly a somebody that can use their skills that they have to provide leadership to people while serving others. I mean, it’s maybe that’s oversimplified. But I think it’s exactly what it sounds like.

Alan
You know, it’s interesting that the term leader servant was, you know, so oftentimes, I guess, in leadership, you think the leader is everybody follow me? But that’s not necessarily the case, is it?

Michael
No, not at all. It’s more of a King Benjamin model, it’s, it’s we, yes, we need someone to follow, we need somebody to be in charge. But he’s not just giving the orders, he’s in the trenches doing the work as well.

Alan
And when you’re working with the kids, how many kids are in the class, again.

Michael
Total, maybe 200 are registered this semester, that that’s done in six different sections. And so part of it, we get the whole group together for some larger experiences, some forums, some devotionals, what we actually call the leadership lecture series. And then also one time a week, they’ll divide up into the smaller groups, maybe 30, to a section, and then we’ll have different instructors or leaders rotating through and leaving a smaller group discussion so that all of those are part of that class.

Alan
How do you instill into each individual life and the student said to, you know, that the pathway that they choose, is of their own making and to, to have the maked autonomously with the gifts that they they’ve been still with?

Michael
I think it’s a lot. It’s kind of the conversation we were having before we turn the cameras on, really, we want them to find their own passion. We want them to find this is what I believe in. This is what excites me, and then realize that as they develop that, then if it’s something that brings them happiness and fulfillment, then they will be successful. I’m teaching another course right now on campus where the whole premise of the course is, we believe I’ll be happy when I succeed this when I graduate, or when I get married, or whatever it be, there’s always some future thing that’s going to somehow bring us happiness, when just the opposite is true. Happy people. are successful people, we pursue our passions, and we want that to include leadership and service. And realize that as we pursue those passions and things that we enjoy, and we will be successful.

Alan
It’s so well said. And I think that getting kids to understand that early in life will help them as they as they go through their own set of trials.

Michael
I think so many of them come with, you know, they come with this preconceived notion of this is just a hoop I have to jump through. But what next, what’s next is what really matters. When When in reality, it’s the journey now, you know, enjoy the journey, it’s not the destination, you’re missing out on today, if we’re just waiting for, what will I get to do when I graduate, there’s too much to enjoy. Now, to have that attitude.

Alan
I’m visiting here today with Michael Gibbons, he of one on the campus of Southern Virginia University, I want to, we have to take a quick break. But when we would come back, I want to dive into how we help students deal with conflict and crisis and in the midst of their schooling, okay, we’ll be right back after these messages.

Alan
Some people see a father and his son fishing together, while others see a succession plan. Welcome back and visit here to the day with Michael Gibbons on the campus of Southern Virginia University. And in the first segment, we touched on this, about, you know, happiness is, you know, basically, it’s still within the state of mind of an individual and, and as we figure that out and move forward, you know, we’re able to have that much, much quicker I, what happens to these kids today, everyone comes from diverse backgrounds and family situations, and some have mental health issues where.

Michael
Absolutely, and I think it’s important to distinguish that because we can’t just think that because we’re doing all the right things, somehow we’re going to be depression free, because depression is still an illness. And it’s still happened sometimes in spite of our best efforts. So I guess a lot of what we’ve been talking about so far, I would say, barring an actual disorder, then these kinds of things that we’re talking about are very important. But we have to acknowledge that there are also just mental health issues that that are very real that we have to deal with.

Alan
You have the opportunity on campus, and this is all in incompetence, with kids coming to you and saying, Yeah, I need you to help me with coping skills. How do you work with an individual who is struggling?

Michael
First and foremost, this is university. It’s not a treatment center. And so we have to have the students appreciate that. If you can’t succeed as a student, if you get can’t get to class and can’t pass your courses, then this really is not the place for you right now. Okay, so that has to be the foundation. And if they’re able to do that, then beyond that, well, then how can we help you we have, you know, like any other population, we’re not immune from these things. We have eating disorders, we have depression and anxiety, we have, you know, full scale mental illnesses. We’ve had students with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. And so like any other population, these disorders exist, and we just have to deal with them as they come up and, and do the best we can to find the resources that can help them and do what I can to help.

Alan
What percentage of kids go through these anxiety or mental health disorders.

Michael
And well, you know, nationwide, it’s actually considered a crisis on college campuses. You if you were to just Google that term, you would see it’s a mental health crisis on college campuses. Right now, the spring 2014 National College Health Assessment 33% of all students report feeling so depressed within the last 12 months, it was difficult to function 1/3 of them, okay, well, what’s going on there in the 1980s, that number was only 10 to 15%. So we do have to just ask the question, what’s going on in society, that that is happening. And there are a lot of different theories out there. I think social media is contributing to it. We can’t blame social media, but certainly that’s making our lives so much more public, that it’s adding some anxiety. You know, there are theories around everything from diet to you know, just what is happening in our world today. That’s creating that, but, but clearly, it’s a problem here on campus, I probably see upward close to 200 Different students over the course of a calendar year, will have anywhere between 160 and 200 students that actually come to the office that’s on a campus with maybe 700 plus students 800 students almost at times. So that’s a good proportion

Alan
Must be comforting for the students to know that they’re not that, that they that their mid tech company

Michael
Well, and we really need to do a better job of that as a society, not just you know, at college. But in general, we have to destigmatize that, if somebody has a broken arm, then they were a cast. And we see, okay, there’s a problem here and they’ll heal. But we don’t really see that when there’s an a mental or emotional problem, people are able to try to hide that if they choose to, you know, I remember the words to him that I love. In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can’t see. You know, and so when we see this group of people, we don’t necessarily know that, you know, one out of four of them, or one out of three of them might be having this very real private struggle.

Alan
I’ve been visiting here today with Michael Gibbons on the campus of Southern Virginia University. When we come back, I want to talk about how you guide him individuals through coping skills. We’ll be right back after these messages.

Alan
Welcome back, I’m here today with Michael Gibbons on the campus of Southern Virginia University. And he is a teacher. He’s a teacher and also a counselor,

Michael
Mostly a counselor, but I do get to teach him I really enjoy that.

Alan
Okay, so now let’s I want to jump into the counseling site for this segment of a student comes, they’re having difficulty with anxiety or some type of a coping skill, or their exercises or, or a methodology that you run them through to help them work, work through these issues.

Michael
Yeah, there really are. I mean, there’s a basic mental health assessment where I’m gonna go through the background and find out I mean, there are genetic predispositions that we have to consider. Certainly, many of these things are biological and basis, and we have to rule those out as medication, something that we’ve tried, and how’s it working? But beyond that, you know, what can we actually do here without a psychiatrist on campus? The first thing I do is, again, I remember that this is an educational institution, first and foremost, they have to be able to see succeed as a student, we’re not just a treatment center here. Okay, that’s ancillary to why they are here. And so first thing I want to know is how are they doing in their courses? Are they are they passing? Okay? But then the basics that I get to on what can you do? And again, this would also we need to at least insert, barring a major disorder, what can you do, and I just go back to the standard three things that I that I just preach over and over, that’s just diet, sleep, and exercise. And so many college freshmen don’t really have that foundation. I often joke that if I could cast a magical spell across this campus, that will be the single intervention that would elevate the emotional well being across the board, what will be the one intervention I would choose, and it would be everybody fall asleep in their own bed by midnight. They just they don’t appreciate what they’re doing to themselves. So often, with the sleep deprivation, I’ll have students show up at three o’clock in the afternoon in my office in tears. And, you know, they’re they’re having this crisis, and they just don’t know if they can do this. And after hearing them out for a minute, it’s okay, what time did you go to bed last night? And what have you eaten today? Have you had breakfast? And we find out they’ve been up most of the night, they haven’t had anything to eat yet? How often you get any regular aerobic exercise and take care of yourself that way. And often, it’s a matter of, okay, after you get some food in you and a good night’s rest, then let’s talk that because so much of that crisis might just pass if you do as you do some very basic self care things. Okay. So but beyond that, of course, there are real mental health issues that we have to certainly deal with. But there are just those basic things that they can do.

Alan
I think it says it’s so well put, though, that would you agree that as a student goes through life, they may not necessarily have a mental health disorder that requires medication, but from time to time, the majority of kids will face that crisis because of not understanding how to approach difficult situation.

Michael
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And it’s important that we distinguish the two. You know, depression is a genetic condition that can be very biological in nature. But there’s also just self care, just things you can do that that you can take better care of yourself. off and be better prepared to handle those different vicissitudes and things that that are thrown at you in life.

Alan
When you’re, I’m going to jump back now from the counselor side of you to the leader servant, because I think that I think one of the comments that you made an earlier segment is that of happiness. How does a person find their happiness, the pathway to happiness?

Michael
I think much of the much of what I teach in that particular course, we actually have some some research. And certainly what we’re doing is scientific based, and there’s research to support it. But it’s the idea of finding out what your values are, and living according to those values. There are certain character strengths, certain values, things that you hold, dear. If you have your life centered around, those are the things that I believe in, and you’re acting accordingly and living accordingly. Those are the things that that bring happiness. And so as we find out, this is what’s important to me, this is what matters, this is my passion. As we find out what do I value, what matters to me, as I find a way to actually even maybe pursue a career in that direction, if not a career, certainly an avocation, or something to keep me busy. And those things that are important to me. That just, it breeds happiness.

Alan
You throughout a statistic earlier that 30 years ago was 10 to 15% of the kids on campus, were in some type of mental health crisis, and today is the third. And there was some attribution to social media.

Michael
I think that, you know, in all fairness, the research is still being done on that it’s still very new, but the just the whole phenomenon of your life is so public. No, that wasn’t that wasn’t there, when you and I were kids, you can be famous with a click of a button. And just yet, and sadly, though, it’s gonna sound like I’m being very condescending to today’s college student, but just the narcissism levels are, are not what they used to be. I mean, we have this instant gratification, instant fame, opportunity and possibility that is just changing the the emotional landscape for people. And I guess we still have to see exactly what the implications are. But certainly, it’s being researched. And, and it’s not fair at all to blame, you know, social media, but it’s one of the newer things that at least is being looked at. Yes.

Alan
It said that the millennials, from an early age and only new having cell phones or texting at a very early age, but how does it How does the social media play in on social skills? Are people being removed from relationships?

Michael
Absolutely, that’s a very big one, right? There is what is the definition of an definition of an actual relationship, not online friends and real communication face to face, not just tweeting some acronyms, but actually having relationships. There are no happy hermits. there’s really just no such thing as I’m alone in life. And that’s okay. We have to be part of a community and we have to have people and sometimes we can use technology to isolate ourselves from others. And, and clearly that that’s not in our best interest.

Alan
I love this thing. There are no happy hermits first time we’ve heard it. Maybe I’d do a book on that.

Michael
Maybe, Maybe.

Alan
I’m visiting here today with Dr. Gibbons, is,

Michael
Actually no, I have a clinic, a master’s license, but not a doctor.

Alan
Okay. Michael Gibbons here on certain Virginia University. If a person wants to find more about the leader, servant program, is there some type of resources that are online? Or?

Michael
Yeah, it’s yes, it’s certainly there online. We actually even have an award for a student who wants to actually graduate with a leader servant distinction. And those those criteria are online as well as criteria you can you can look up and see that if you give so many hours of service and sort of documented almost like a resume, and then we have a senior capstone project where you actually organize and orchestrate some sort of a service project, then you actually graduate with that leader service distinction. It’s all there on the website.

Alan
Michael, thanks for being on today’s show. We’ll be right back after these messages.

 

We hope you enjoyed this interview; “The Servant Leader | Michael Gibbons”.

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This transcript was generated by software and may not accurately reflect exactly what was said.

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