{"166321":{"#nid":"166321","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Stress Management is Key to Dalton\u2019s Success","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom making a judgment call to hospitalize a mentally ill student to conducting a one-on-one counseling session with a student with an eating disorder, Irene Dalton\u2019s days are filled with listening to and dealing with the stress and worries of others.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn a job like this, especially when things are hectic around the Counseling Center, self care becomes really important,\u201d said Dalton, a psychologist in the center. \u201cCounseling students is rewarding, but it can also be very stressful. And we\u2019re no good to the students if we don\u2019t take care of ourselves.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s why Dalton has developed her own coping mechanism for maintaining her happiness \u2014 she makes a daily lunch trip to the Campus Recreation Center (CRC).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI do the stair climbing machine, because I think it\u2019s the most efficient way for me to get a good cardio workout,\u201d she said. \u201cComing to the CRC is a distraction that allows me to recharge.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETaking on the role of graduate student practicum coordinator is another way that Dalton copes with the stress that can come with counseling students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAlthough I enjoy counseling, sometimes it\u2019s nice to change gears,\u201d she said. \u201cAs practicum coordinator, I get to focus on training students who want to do what I do. Being able to do this in addition to counseling three to four students a day helps me balance the stress that comes with listening to students talk about their problems.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERead on to learn more about Dalton and her time at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did you want to be when you were a child?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn elementary school, I think I took a career test that indicated I should be a pharmacist. Careers in science run in my family, so this made sense. But over the years, my interest shifted to psychology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you arrive at Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI came to Tech to do my post-doctoral work in 2000 and ended up taking on a permanent position. So I\u2019m still in my first real job since graduate school.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is an average day in your job like?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAside from counseling students and being the practicum coordinator, I\u2019m also part of an eating disorder treatment team on campus. The group includes a nutritionist, physician, nurse practitioner, psychiatrist and myself. We exist to provide more well-rounded care for students with eating disorders. I also co-facilitate an Asperger\u2019s Syndrome support group for students who are impacted by this form of autism.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the most rewarding part of your job?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt would have to be watching the students I work with learn to deal with their problems and grow into successful adults. For example, I worked with a young man who was diagnosed with severe depression. At some point in our conversations, he became more open to medication and taking gradual steps to improve his health \u2014 like getting more sleep and exercise. By the time he graduated, the student was doing much better. A few years later, I received an email from him saying that he was married and living a healthy lifestyle. These moments remind me of why I do this for a living. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the one piece of technology you couldn\u2019t live without?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMy iPhone. I try not to fiddle with it during the day, but I do love to play Words with Friends.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place to have lunch?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat would be Spoon, and I love the panang curry with tofu and vegetables. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the biggest risk you\u2019ve ever taken \u2014 did it pay off?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMy biggest risk was to pick up and move to Georgia at age 23 to pursue a doctoral program in psychology. I had not moved much up to that point, and all of my friends, family and much of my extended family lived in the Washington D.C. area. So to leave the only place I knew as home to move to a new culture (the South is very different from the D.C. area) where I didn\u2019t know anyone was scary. But it paid off \u2014 I\u2019ve lived in Georgia for 21 years and consider it home.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019d want to get to know my maternal grandfather, who I never met. He risked his life to emigrate from Armenia, and I\u2019ve always wanted to speak to him about this experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us the best advice you\u2019ve received. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s always better to listen than talk, meaning you can learn a lot about a person by listening \u2014 not by talking at them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you like to do in your free time?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAny spare time my husband and I have is spent with my 10- and 4-year-old daughters.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom making a judgment call to hospitalize a mentally ill student to conducting a one-on-one counseling session with a student with an eating disorder, Irene Dalton\u2019s days are filled with listening to and dealing with the stress and worries of others. \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From making a judgment call to hospitalize a mentally ill student to conducting a one-on-one counseling session with a student with an eating disorder, Irene Dalton\u2019s days are filled with listening to and dealing with the stress and worries of others"}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-10-29 15:18:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:02","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"166041":{"id":"166041","type":"image","title":"Irene Dalton","body":null,"created":"1449178936","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:42:16","changed":"1475894804","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:44","alt":"Irene Dalton","file":{"fid":"195561","name":"irene.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/irene_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/irene_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":151250,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/irene_0.jpg?itok=Q3LZSoO9"}}},"media_ids":["166041"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1020","name":"counseling center"},{"id":"48241","name":"Irene Dalton"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}