Louise Mirkin poses in front of a portrait of The Faulk Center founder, Dr. Elizabeth H. Faulk. Faulk, the first woman to receive a doctorate in psychology from the University of Florida, established a successful private practice in Boca Raton. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Rich Pollack
As a newsletter and publications editor for the American Hospital Association over the course of more than two decades, Louise Mirkin spent much of her time dealing with details.
Although she managed a staff as she worked her way up the organization’s ladder to become manager of editorial services, Mirkin’s focus was always more on facts and figures than on dealing with people.
“I never thought of myself as much of a people person,” she said. “I was kind of afraid to show a lot of emotion.”
Then, after retiring from the industry she spent a quarter century in, Mirkin began volunteering in the intensive-care waiting room at a hospital near her Chicago home.
“When I got away from chasing commas, I found out that I really was a people person and that I had a lot of compassion for people,” she said.
Now a resident of Highland Beach, Mirkin, 76, taps into that compassion every Monday, volunteering as a group facilitator at the Faulk Center for Counseling in Boca Raton.
In that role, Mirkin works with another facilitator and two group leaders who have credentials in psychology, social work or mental health counseling to help guide the discussion during hour-and-a-half sessions.
During the course of her 13 years at Faulk Center, Mirkin has honed her skills through hands-on experience and the continuing weekly training facilitators receive.
This month the Faulk Center and similar organizations around the country will be celebrating National Mental Health month by sharing stories of volunteers like Mirkin and by spreading the word that mental health is something everyone should care about.
For Mirkin, being part of the Faulk Center’s facilitation team and having the opportunity to help others is one more way to harness the empathy and sensitivity she didn’t show for many years.
It’s also something very personal, since Mirkin dealt with her own issues and benefited from the help of others after being diagnosed as clinically depressed while still a child.
“I was helped when I was younger,” she said. “I never thought I would be able to help other people in this way.”
What keeps Mirkin coming back Monday after Monday is the satisfaction she gets in seeing members of the group she works with help each other work through the issues they bring with them.
“It’s very rewarding when you see changes over time,” she said. “A good day is when I feel that people have connected with one another and are able to make progress with their concerns.”
Being a facilitator, Mirkin will tell you, requires patience and empathy.
“You have to be able to put yourself in another person’s shoes,” she said.
Mirkin says she also enjoys being a part of the Faulk Center family and working with the staff and graduate students who help provide clients with mental health services through a variety of free and low-cost programs.
Until recently, Mirkin also served as the editor of the center’s newsletter, using the skills she developed during her career.
“Being a part of the Faulk Center is very important to me,” she says.
Those who work with her say Mirkin is very valuable to the center.
“Louise really embodies what you hope for in a volunteer,” says Holly Katz, the center’s clinical and training director. “She’s the first one to raise her hand and is willing to do anything we need.”
Katz says Mirkin also has the skills to be an outstanding facilitator.
“She’s a good listener and she always wants to do better,” Katz said.
To find out more about the Faulk Center, visit faulkcenterforcounseling.org.
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