Show Oaks Uses Divinity Degree In Counseling By Lynette Taylor Although Thalie Oaks didn't become minister after receiving a Masters Degree in Divinity she makes good use of that training in counseling She now works with the Single Parent and Displaced Homemaker Project counseling students at Thalie began her college education in Maine her home state She studied culture with a liberal arts major and in her junior year she went to France and studied the French language A year later she earned her Bachelors Bachelor's Degree at Bates College and went on to Yale University to obtain her Masters Master's Degree in Divinity She feels that the year she spent in France gave her a perfect opportunity opportunity opportunity to study a different culture To see how differently people viewed things was important Through that experience she was able to get some insight into our culture When she returned to the states Oaks became involved in the peace movement and issues of dis dis- crimination She studied Theology in East Harlem NY and became very interested in what the church was doing to meet the needs of the people After Divinity school Oaks moved to Providence Road Island and was wasa a Chaplin in a omens hospital for a year She then worked for several years in a women's center counseling victims of divorce incest and many other stress-related stress situations where she not only worked one on one but with couples and groups She also worked with psychiatric emergency cases at a community mental health center While in divinity school Oaks realized that with the kind of work she did her education was very important and she really didn't need to become ordained But within the church Oaks sees the need to challenge many of the forces fores of repression that fit into the society ty at large She feels that the church is isa isa isa a good place for these things to start II and talked about improving the conditions of discrimination in our culture today Oaks Oak's goal at is to be available to single parents and displaced displaced displaced dis dis- dis- dis placed homemakers to help provide an opportunity for education She is particularly interested in women's issues and women's counseling Her aim is to help women to believe in themselves to go after what they want and to help them realize their goals and abilities to fight th the elements elements elements ele ele- ele- ele ments of society that keep us from achieving our goals Through her he past experience education and her unselfish desires to help others to believe in themselves themselves them them- selves Oaks is overly qualified fied in her area But she is determined to reach another goal in education and has now started course work for a Masters Degree in Social Work |