Alton McCallum, Founder of Insight Counseling and Training Center, shares his journey through the military and deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan which led him to develop a passion for helping people, leaders and CEOs through difficult obstacles they face in their lives.
At the age of 17, McCallum enrolled into the military academy and received a Bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, he then began serving his country. He would later serve several deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan where he experienced active duty combat as an artillery officer. McCallum would receive the Purple Heart during his time in the military after suffering from a brain injury and broken bones while engaged in combat.
McCallum began experiencing post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression while he was still serving in the military. As an officer, McCallum still had to fulfill his responsibilities, and care for the men under his leadership. He says this was a difficult task to accomplish, and when people are put in this position it is often their personal lives that begin to suffer.
“When you’re doing all the work of a leader you’re always worried about everyone else. So, your family suffers, your personal life suffers, and the job is usually the easiest part of your life to manage,” says McCallum.
To overcome the struggles McCallum was facing he began finding support from people he connected with, some of which were Vietnam War veterans who had also been injured in combat. He started to see what his life could be like after the military, so he began studying and earned a Master’s degree in clinical mental health from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, a Doctorate in mind, brain and teaching from Johns Hopkins University which he integrates within in his work with mental health and education.
McCallum founded the Insight Counseling and Training Center to provide mental health services to people in leadership positions. The center also uses an integrative mental health approach to work with families and individuals from all types of backgrounds. McCallum says there are many societal factors currently affecting CEOs, people in leadership, First Responders and medical personnel and he wants to provide the proper services to help them.
“We live in uncertain times with the current financial and unemployment state of the country, and this creates a lot of stress and anxiety for people within these roles,” says McCallum. “It can be hard for them to reach out and find the proper treatment they need because often they are expected to not show they are dealing with adversity. When leaders have people they are responsible for it can lead to them feeling isolated,” says McCallum.
During his recovery from the struggles he faced in active duty combat, McCallum found he has a passion for counseling people, and helping them reach a place where they can achieve what they want in life. He says there are three components of life that he works to help people achieve.
“For leaders to continue on with a healthy career it’s important for them to seek counseling, and then there’s a deliverance component, which is realizing there’s a thought pattern that gets people to a place where they’re hurt and causes them to be stuck in that mindset,” says McCallum. “At the Insight Counseling and Training Center, we help people to move away from those thoughts and actions they take, so they don’t continue on that same path. The last component is educating people on the symptoms they are experiencing and what caused them.”
When McCallum begins counseling people in leadership positions he understands the responsibilities they have and that at any moment they may have to come up with solutions and solve problems for their business or organization. McCallum also challenges his patients to truly deal with the things that are causing struggles in their life. He says once leaders leave the Insight Counseling and Training Center they will have a greater capacity to be a leader with more emotional space in their lives.
During his time in the military McCallum gained many skills that he has transferred over to his counseling practice. He developed a sense of compassion for people when he would take on the role of a civilian affairs officer whether in Iraq or Afghanistan. McCallum says he is able to connect with leaders because he understands many of them feel burdened and ask themselves why they took on such a high position that requires being responsible for other people.
One of the most important factors of McCallum’s recovery from the traumatic events he experienced while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan was finding the spiritual component as an answer for the struggles he dealt with. He says by helping his patients work on building their souls they can become selfless leaders and care for the people that rely on them to lead.
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Name: Alton McCallum
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