6 years a Therapist.

On November 5th, I entered my 6th year anniversary at my non-profit mental health agency. I have been in this field for 7 years (1 year internship while I was in the graduate program) and I enjoy it because it's a field that always challenges me.


When I had the chance to work with graduate students I gave them a few pieces of advice

1) Find an agency that will teach you while you learn the ropes of DMH paperwork. DMH paperwork was not taught to you as a grad student and requires almost a year (or for me 2) just to get a handle on it.

2) Accept that you will never be caught up you over-achieving glorious goons! It's ok, accept it and walk away

3) Find what works with your energy. I work best at the beginning of the week and taper out in energy as the week progresses, I schedule more clients on Monday Tuesday than Wednesday and Thursday. Some people are the opposite.

4) Above all, take care of yourself. You are a well of support, empathy, and understanding. Make sure you are always filled with what brings you joy and life, or else you will run dry, rendering you empty. Take care of yourself.

 I have heard some pretty horrific stories of abuse, deceit, lies, and all around awfulness. I have been yelled at, challenged, and been complained about to my boss. I once actually had to save a 10 min rant on my voicemail because I called DCFS on a parent just to cover my ass. It was crazy, and I wish I still had it. Working with LA County DMH standards is enough to test anyone's tolerance. The mountains of paperwork, the productivity demands, and the constant change and push for evidence based practice can drive you batty. The current climate of health care reform has been challenging for many of us. Evidence Based Practice can suck to soul out of the most promising therapists. This field is not for the weak of heart or the weak of soul. However hard the day is, the week, or the fiscal year I have still managed to keep my faith in humanity. I still find the energy to do what do and here is why:

1) My clients: Not all my clients are gems or the most enjoyable people to care for, but when you find that flicker of desire to change it's amazing. You see that that person wants to change and wants you to be a catalyst for that change. It's pretty awesome

2) I now have mad UNO skills. I challenge you to an UNO duel, I'll win.

3) The ugly: When you hear about abuse in such graphic detail as I and my colleagues have had to  you wonder how can you keep going. It's the trust behind the ugly is what keeps me hopeful. You trust me to hold all that awful in your life. For a moment I can carry the weight of it for you, even though you go on living with it every day.

4) Group Supervision: man, learning different techniques from new therapists and group supervisors is amazing. You can never learn too much.

5) My colleagues/friends. I am surrounded by incredibly smart, empathetic, driven women (and men-but they are few in this field). They are the reason why I haven't lost faith in humanity, because of what they do when they are in the trenches of mental illness. Not only have these women supported me professionally, but they have also supplied me with female camaraderie that every woman should have by my age.

So, may I have many more years in this field, and still maintain the level of hope and faith in me to continue to give to others. Because the only way to survive in this field is to continue to have faith the the human spirit and the human desire to change.