From Mother Hen to Master Therapist: How Gillie Abdiraxman-Issa Found Her Calling at North Park
| 5 Min Read
Gillie Abdiraxman-Issa has been listening to people’s problems her whole life. Riding the city bus home from school as a kid, she became the unofficial confidante for anyone who needed an ear. That natural instinct never went away. Two years into North Park University’s online MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, it has become her life’s purpose.
“Over these two years, I got really clear about my purpose,” says Gillie. “I became certain that there is nothing in this world I would rather be than a therapist.”
A Calling That Couldn’t Wait
Gillie’s path to counseling wasn’t a straight line. She first encountered social work during a college elective at Tuskegee University, filed the interest away, and built a career in operations and administration instead. But when her family became foster parents to her great-nephew after losing his mother to domestic violence, something shifted. She started writing children’s books about trauma and missing a parent. She started paying closer attention to the people around her.
“I heard what I believed was God telling me to go back to school,” she recalls. “My first reaction was, I have four children, I work full time, and you just asked me to be a foster mom. There is no way.”
She applied to North Park anyway. “I said, if I get in, then I know this is real. I got in. And here I am, two years later, about to be a whole therapist.”
Real Growth Requires Real Work
Gillie didn’t ease into the program. She was working full time, earned a promotion to a director role a year in, chaired a 400-person international conference, and completed two internship nights per week seeing clients. Her husband picked up the household. Her parents helped with the kids. McDonald’s was sometimes involved.
The coursework itself pushed her as much as the schedule. “The coursework challenges every fiber of your being,” Gillie says. “If you have any hidden biases, you will find out what they are, and you will be forced to do the work on them, or they will show up in ways you don’t want them to.”
Dr. Wolff’s multiculturalism course was a turning point. “She dealt with race, riots, how you grew up, who your friends were, what biases you were carrying,” Gillie says. “If you were hiding from something, she’d hand you a mirror and say, deal with it. That course was probably the awakening for me.”
Faculty Who Show Up
North Park’s faculty didn’t just teach the curriculum. They paid attention. When Gillie fell behind on assignments, a professor noticed, emailed her, and held her accountable in a way that stuck. Another professor, Dr. Roberts, had believed in her before she ever stepped into a classroom.
“Dr. Roberts holds a special place in my heart because she vouched for me, interviewed me, and believed my story was worth taking a chance on,” Gillie says. “I’ll forever be grateful for that.”
Dr. Pierre’s trauma class pushed that work further. “Taking the trauma class with Dr. Pierre made me face things in my own life,” Gillie says. “My life has been filled with trauma.” Dr. Pierre didn’t just assign the material and move on. She created space for students to process what surfaced, and that same attentiveness extended beyond the classroom.
When Gillie was weighing her next steps, Dr. Pierre offered direction rather than answers. “She listened and then said, ‘Gillie, you could do anything. But I really need you to get clear, and I need you to step away for at least 24 hours and figure out what you’re actually being called to do.'” The next morning, Gillie had her answer.
Where She’s Headed
Gillie is pursuing her Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) credential with a clear vision for her practice. She plans to serve driven women with families who need a trusted space to work through the intersection of life, identity, and ambition. Her two decades of operational and administrative experience will be an asset, not a footnote.
The program also changed who she is outside the office. She is more patient with her children, more deliberate in her relationships, and more clear about what she is being called to do. “Personally, I’m a much better human being,” she says. “I’m more aware, more empathetic, more genuinely able to meet people where they are regardless of their background.”
Her message to anyone who is still deciding: “I think you already know what’s inside of you. You might just be ignoring it. If no one supports you but you feel in your bones that this is where you’re supposed to go, press the go button.”
About the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at North Park University
North Park University’s online MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program prepares graduates to assess, diagnose, and treat clients across a wide range of settings. The online, CACREP-accredited program is designed for working adults and can be completed in as little as two years.
Coursework covers counseling theory, psychopathology, group dynamics, social and cultural foundations, trauma, ethics, and career development, building a comprehensive foundation for professional practice. Students complete 700 hours of supervised clinical training, including a practicum and a two-semester internship, with flexibility to accommodate work and life schedules.
The program prepares graduates to sit for the National Counselor Examination (NCE) and meets Illinois requirements for professional counselor licensure. CACREP accreditation supports smoother credential transfer across states and signals that the program meets rigorous national standards for clinical training, ethics, and professional preparation.
Graduates are equipped to practice in community mental health centers, outpatient clinics, hospitals, schools, private practice, and other settings, serving culturally and spiritually diverse client populations.
Learn more about the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at North Park University.