Jill Osborne EdS, LPC

Evolution of Vision and Passion

Jill Osborne EdS, LPC - Evolution of Vision and Passion

How to find Rest for Your Souls

I am currently going through some pretty significant changes in my life, and I never really stopped to allow it all to sink in. I just kept going along with working at full speed, even though these changes are impacting me physically and emotionally. I had this idea that I could just keep things going with no consequences until this week when i began waking up early all by myself, and thinking about work related things at times when I should be resting. That is usually a sign to me that I am in need of some type of change to balance out my life and relieve stress. I struggle with this battle of balance. How do I take care of myself, my family, and my clients to the fullest? Can I really be superwoman and have it all? A career? A family? and Enjoy it? So, I began praying and I asked God to show me how to navigate this path that I am on right now. I always find it interesting how he works. I pray for balance and for rest, and then all of a sudden I have a day (like today!) where all my clients cancelled and so I stayed home and spent time with my son all day, what a blessing it was. It was a reminder to me that if I just stop, and time to take care of myself, I can be refreshed and able to navigate these changes with more energy and clarity.

 

28 “Come to Me, all [a]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is[b]easy and My burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 11:28 Or who work to exhaustion
  2. Matthew 11:30 Or comfortable, or pleasan

 

Changes

I’ve been contemplating some changes lately. I have had “Jill’s Writing and Play Therapy Page” for about four years now and have finally decided to move to a self-hosted site to expand the website more. I am excited and have been planning for about a year, but I look at it and I always feel a little afraid. Afraid  that it will fall flat, or something won’t work, or that I’ll lose….fill in the blank. But at the same time I am truly excited to see where it goes from that change. So how will I deal with that change? Do I stay stuck in the same because of fear of change, or do I push through the fear to expand my website? I know I’m just writing about a website here, but there are many times we are faced with change for whatever reason. We move, we start a new career, we end a job, we make new friends, we move churches. Whatever the change, it helps to see what’s on the other side of it: New, Fresh start and how we get there: The process God leads us through.

10 Things to Make Your New Year Stress Free

I don’t know about you, but for me the end of a year and the beginning of a new one always has a feeling of relief for me. I love the idea of a new, fresh start and starting over. The past year for me has been full of ups and downs, and a lot of personal stress. But at the same time, there are many blessings in my life. If I look back this year, I can see where God has really come through for me and my family. I love the hope that a new year brings. I believe that this year will be better than last year, and that God will continue to teach me how to trust Him in my life.

Here are 10 things that I am going to do this year to make life more stress free take these ideas and also add your own in the comments:

1. Say no to at least one project a week.

2. Reduce the amount of caffeine and sugar I consume.

3. Plan at least one date night a month with my husband.

4. Plan more time with my girlfriends.

5. Schedule in at least one morning a week for writing and business planning.

6. Pay down debt.

7. Say what I am thankful for everyday because God supplies all me needs and provides for me every day.

8. Read more for pleasure.

9. Read a good Bible study or join a Bible study group.

10. Give up trying to plan every little detail of my life and allow God to work things out.

 

Verses that Spoke to Me this Week:

 Isa 43:16, 18-19

This is what God says,
the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can’t get up;
they’re snuffed out like so many candles:
“Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands.
Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’
—the coyotes and the buzzards—
Because I provided water in the desert,
rivers through the sun-baked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose,
the people I made especially for myself,
a people custom-made to praise me.

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Proverbs 3:5-6 

The Message (MSG)
5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
a father’s delight is behind all this.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Confusion vs. Trust and Faith

What’s chronic, repetitive, or inflamed in your inner or outer life?

This burning question is personal. There are many things I could say about it. The past year or so of my life have brought out a lot of hurt, joy, tears, laughter, many mixed emotions. Most recently I took on some opportunities in my life that reminded my of the things that I left, and inflamed a lot of mixed emotions, distrust and confusion. Confusion about what God’s will is for my life right  now, how to decide if an opporunity is one that Is from God, or just a distraction from what His will actually is in my life. And me,being stubborn would rather take an opportunity and then stress about how to get out of it rather than saving myself the heartache and stress and trusting the path that I believe God has put me on. The repetitive is the constant battle to trust the process, and my practical mind, the need for certainty and to provide for my family financially vs. patience, trust and hearing the whispers of the Holy Spirit in my heart leading me, allowing God to unfold his will for my life openly without reservations. The balance between the “busy syndrome” that often accompanies the profession of counseling, the need to pour out compassion everywhere, and the need for self care and rejuvenation. It is a constant battle and conflict for me, and left unchecked can lead me to stubborn slips of faith. It reminds me of Peter, when he sees Jesus walking on the water towards the boat, he takes one step out, and begins walking towards His Savior, and then loses his focus off Jesus and focuses on the storm, then fear sets in and he falls into the stormy waters. There are several things that I love about this picture. One: Peter has the faith to get out of the boat, and two, Jesus is right there pulling Peter out of the water to bring him back to safety and into the boat. It reminds me that I don’t have to fear, that I can take the steps of faith that are presented to me, and that when I fail Jesus is there to rescue me and bring me back to safety, and showing me that I can Trust Him and His will and place in my life.

Matthew 14:22-34

 

Letting Go and Cleaning the Slate: Trust

Burning Question for Today from Danielle Laporte:

What would you be more of if you let go of the past?

This is a timely question for me, as I go through the month of September I have been thinking and praying a lot about this past year and the transition from agency work (that ended traumatically for me) and going into private practice. There have been ups and downs, and there are still some leftover emotions and fears from last year. To top it off our office is moving at the end of this month and it will be exactly a year from when I left my last job. 

So what do I need to let go of? And what would I be more of if I let go of the things from this past year? I let go of the fear that I had about speaking up when I needed help. I let go of the fear of not doing, being, providing, working, giving in, bending to the demands of my job no matter what, even when it meant sometimes fudging boundaries I never should have fudged or moral and ethical attitudes that weren’t the standards I want to uphold. Letting go of feeling like I’m not enough, or like others could succeed at the cost of my success. What I am more of now is more of myself. More of what I believe God has created me to be. Free to succeed by doing His will for my life. Serving my clients with compassion, mercy, support, ethical boundaries, and confidence that I am the right person to help them. Free to expand and explore other areas of my career that I now have the courage to try. I would be so much more joyful if I didn’t have to think about how I was put down, shut out, and worked in a schizophrenic environment, or held on to the fear that somehow I would have to experience that again. 
The best part of this whole experience is that I have experienced the true compassion, support, and love of God as He has provided for my family during a time of financial and emotional re-building. I am so thankful to have had this experience, and my faith is fuller, stronger and closer to my God than ever. This is one of those trust and faith building times that has changed my life forever for the better.
A Few Verses for your Soul:
“Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.” Isaiah 46:4NASB

Jeremiah 29:11-14

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

11 For I know the plans that I [a]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your [b]fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

The Cure for Anxiety

25 “For this reason I say to you, [a]do not be worried about your [b]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the [c]air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by being worried can add a single [d]hour to his [e]life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But [f]seek first [g]His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be [h]added to you.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [i]care for itself. [j]Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

The Road Not Taken

I have been exploring the book, “Spiritual Journaling: Recording Your Journey Toward God,” by Richard Peace. Today I was exploring parts of my recent past that led me to where I am now, which is at Eagles Landing Christian Counseling Center. About a year ago I attempted to open my own office by myself in order to delve into the world of private practice. After much prayer, seeking God, crying, and changes at my job at the time I decided instead to stop going that route, hince ending up at Eagles Landing. But I asked myself today, what if I never tried to open that office? Where would that have taken me? Was it God’s will or my own stubbornness to try to make things happen myself? And, is that door completely closed to me? 


I imagined myself back at that place. I had just turned down an offer to join another group, and began to feel some courage that I could begin making the move towards private practice. I have felt this pull for a while, and while I enjoyed my co-workers the job I was init  was no longer working with the rest of my life, and my growth as a therapist had begun to feel stifled. I needed something new, a risk, something fresh. I remember dragging my playroom toys upstairs and starting to make the move, and beginning to feel like I was disconnecting from the job then, and connecting to something new.


I think if I stayed  in the job I was in I would have continued to feel stress from not spending enough time with my family, and more pressure to give precious hours away. I think I would have continued to feel that I wasn’t growing as a therapist anymore. I think I would have continued to feel like I couldn’t try anything new. 


Or, I could have made a move to Eagles Landing earlier than I planned.What If I had done that? After watching a massive change at my job, and some painful things I experienced and saw people I care about experience, I think it would have saved me a lot of heart ache, and probably saved me from the trauma that I experienced from that time period. 


During that time I learned courage. Courage that God gave me to make a change and take a risk in my life. Courage and faith that God is leading me closer to His will and closer to the desires for my career that He has placed in me. Courage that if I am unhappy that there is a reason for it, and that God is speaking to me about change. 


Today I accept the decision I made to try things on my own, and I can look back and see how God lead me to the decision to leave that job I was in and move to Eagles Landing Christian Counseling Center. If you think about it, it wasn’t really a wrong choice, it was God leading me the whole time, and showing me that I can trust Him and have Courage to move on when it is time. 


My prayer today is is that God will show you how to have Courage to make changes in your own life, and that He will show you how He is really there with you all along, no matter what direction your life is taking. Peace.

What money resentments do you have? Mine are professional money resentments and I am letting go of them today.

What money resentments do you have…that you could let go of?

Ok, so this Burning Question was sent out a few weeks ago, and it’s been nudging me ever since it came out. I have been wrestling with money issues for a while, and about 6 months ago went into private practice, which brought more of these issues to the surface for me. There’s this fine balance that I feel I walk as a therapist. The balance between feeling my work  as a ministry I believe God called me to, doing good in the world for the sake of doing good in the world, helping others, seeing people heal, etc… and the fact that it is a business and I have a family to support. Up until this point most of my career experience has either been with those in poverty, on medicaid, with disabilities or the counseling was a free service, so when I entered into private practice and began charging fees, collecting money for services rendered directly from clients it felt odd. I thought I was prepared for it, in fact I was excited about the fact that I could charge fees and also encourage more responsibility from clients. 


It has been a more difficult mind shift than I expected. The past month or so I’ve really been asking myself why it has been so hard and where my money resentments are so that I can let them go and make some brain space for creativity which is what I really want to use my brain for :o ).


I think as it relates to the counseling business my resentment is more about feeling confused about how to integrate the idea that I believe God called me to be a therapist, my passion for it (especially those little kiddos) and the idea of therapy as a business. In addition, as I search my heart, I noticed some negative  messages I received as a new therapist about money contributed to feeling undervalued and disrespected, and having the false belief that I shouldn’t expect get paid for what I do.


Negative Messages I Received as a New Professional



I have spent a lot of grunt work time providing services free or reduced for “experience” and “to help the client out.” 

Take for example graduate school. While I was working full time in the mental health industry, I was also expected and required to complete a practicum/internship component that was UNPAID and took up approx 30 hours a week of work on top of a full time job (I have to eat you know). Those students who had paid internships were rare, and we were told, “Don’t expect to get paid, everyone interns for free.” 

Even after graduate school, I spent time working somewhere where we saw clients often in homes and schools, and drove around a lot using my own gas, paying for more insurance than usual, and also spending lots of unbillable, unpaid, unproductive time in the car. In addition, I was often required to take days off from seeing clients (that I got paid for) to go to all day or half day workshops (that I did not get paid for and didn’t really learn from). WHAT??!! That put me in a horrible bind, so do I go see my clients so I can feed my family today or do I go to a training I don’t get paid for so I don’t  lose my job. When asked about that time spent, we were constantly told that there was either not money or we shouldn’t expect to get paid for such and such.


So where do my resentments lie? That I worked hard and saw little financial return, and spent hours away from my family working and not getting paid.  I began to feel undervalued and disrespected, and the false belief that I shouldn’t expect to get paid for what I do was planted.

So What’s The Truth? I’m Giving Up that Belief Today!

1. Time is valuable, family is valuable.
2. Clients who invest monetarily are more invested in therapy.
3. Therapy is both a business and a ministry for me, they are not mutually exclusive.
4. There are ways to give back that don’t necessarily involve reducing fees.
5. I can expect for clients to pay a fair fee for counseling services.  
6. My self worth is not what I am paid, it is who God says I am and who I believe I am.


I am sure there are many more truths I can think of that will help to combat the negative beliefs and give them up today. Feel free to leave positive comments and thoughts.

Faith Building Thankfulness

I’ve been thinking, praying, reading a lot about business, life goals, re-inventing myself lately. I keep wondering what’s missing from my life, and why am I where I am at this point. It’s easy to get into this thought pattern of what I don’t have right now. I am so glad this question came up today. I find it refreshing to think positively. It helps me to see where I am blessed, and how God is working in my life and building my trust and faith. So, here’s the list.
1. I want more than anything to be loved: I have a God, husband, son, family, friends all that love me right now.
2. I want to be a play therapist: I have Eagles Landing Christian Counseling where I can practice play therapy and help traumatized children and children with disabilities learn to cope. I have my supervisors and colleagues I can call on if I’m stuck clinically.
3. I want to write more: someone emailed me about starting the writers critique group again just today, I started a new blog, I have Jill’s Writing and Play Therapy Page, I have at least 3 unfinished manuscripts hanging around my computer files.

4. I want to support my family: I have a great group of therapists I work with, a building client load and it is surprising how many people have given me groceries, childcare, and odd jobs to help fill the financial gaps.  

Joined Eagles Landing Christian Counseling Center!

I am excited to announce that I have joined Eagles Landing Christian Counseling Center and will be seeing clients at the McDonough and Conyers offices. I am currently taking Cigna and Private Pay Clients. I am pursuing other insurance panels, including Amerigroup and Centpatico. I am a play therapist and a writer, I wrote the book “Sam Feels Better Now,” and I help children learn how to cope with traumatizing situations and disabilities. I can see ages 3 and older. I am hoping to find more time to write, blog and teach. If you are interested in referring to me please contact me.

Eagles Landing Office Phone: 770-898-2966 or my

Cell Phone: 404-234-0546.

Email address: kjillosborne@comcast.net

Blog: www.jillosborne.org

Eagles landing website: http://www.eagleslandingchristiancounseling.com/

Thank you for reading!

Financial Success in Mental Health Practice

Recently, I interviewed Dr. Steven Walfish, the co-author with Dr. Jeffrey E. Barnett of “Financial Success in Mental Health Practice: Essential Tools and Strategies for Practitioners” about his book and also surviving as a private mental health practitioner. I think that most mental health practitioners who are in private practice or are planning to be in the future will benefit from this book.

What inspired you and Dr. Barnett to write this book?

I was a frequent responder on list serves regarding the business of practice. An Acquisitions Editor at APA Books asked if I would be interested in writing a book about the financial aspects of running a practice, as there were no such reso

urces out there at the time.



What is your background in private practice?



I went into part-time practice in Tampa, Florida upon receiving my PhD in Clinical/Community Psychology in 1981. After I completed a Research Fellowship I then took the plunge into full-time practice. I remained in practice in Tampa until 1992 when we moved to Seattle. I was in full-time practice in Edmonds and Everett, Washington for ten years. We then moved to Atlanta. I was a visiting professor first at Kennesaw State University, full-time as I started my practice, and then two years later was a half-time Visiting professor at Georgia State University as my practice continued to grow. In 2006 I stopped teaching and concentrated solely on my practice.

Are you working on any other writing projects?

Jeff Barnett and I just completed another book for APA Books that will be published

this summer titled, Billing and Collecting for Your Mental Health Practice: Effective Strategies and Ethical Practice. It is a continuation of our emphasis on our first book in that mental health professionals receive little, if any, training/guidance on the business aspects of a private practice. The book focuses on how to bill and collect and to avoid ethical or illegal behaviors in the process. Lisa Grossman, a Psychologist in Chicago, have just signed a contract for Springer Books titled, “Translating Research into Practice: Researcher and Clinician Perspectives. Academics/researchers will present the evidence-based research on a large number of clinical problem areas and then clinicians will comment on what it is like to try and implement evidence-based practices within clinical practice.

When you’re not writing what else do you do?

My wife is an artist so we go to openings. We also enjoy dining out in the wide variety of restaurants that Atlanta has to offer. I also enjoy watching our local sports teams.

What are other books that you have written?

In 2001 Allen Hess and I co-edited, Succeeding in Graduate School: The Career Guide for Psychology Students. It looks at the application process to grad school, then how to make it through (both academically and politically) through the rigors of program, and then looks at career options. In May of 2010 APA Books published a book that I edited titled, Earning a Living Outside of Managed care: 50 Ways to Expand Your Practice Many people want a practice that falls outside the purview of managed care. Very few know how to accomplish this in their practice. The book presents vignettes of people who are doing this and they discuss their interest in the area and if the reader is interested how to learn more about incorporating the practice activity into their practice.

What are some of the top pitfalls that private practitioners find themselves in?

I think the main one is not viewing our practices as a ‘small business” and that we are ‘small business owners.” Another key one is ignoring our entire skill set (assessment, psychotherapy, consultation, writing, research) in helping us to make a living in independent practice. I believe too often people say, “I only do this or I only do that.’ It limits our options to deliver good services or to develop products.

What tips do you have on thriving in mental health private practice?

Jeff Barnett and I have 20 Principles of Private Practice Success that we present in our book.

Here are the top 5:
1. You Need To Resolve the Conflict Between Altruism and Being a Business Owner
2. It Is Essential That Mental Health Professionals Have Ready Access To Competent Professionals To Answer Questions Outside of Their Areas of Expertise. To Ignore This Places the Clinician at Ethical, Legal and Financial Risk
3. Private Practitioners Need To Become Comfortable With Negotiating From a Position Of Strength. If You Are Desperate For The Job or Income You Will Negotiate From a Position of Weakness. Strength is Found in the Ability to Say No Thank You and Walk Away.
4. Participation In A Managed Care Plan Is Not A Requirement For Being In Private Practice. If You Choose To Participate Clearly Understand, and Emotionally Accept, All Of The Financial and Clinical Ramifications and Limitations Beforehand. If You Do Not Do So You Will Be Setting Yourself Up For A Great Deal Of Frustration During Your Participation.
5. There Are Only So Many Hours In The Week That A Private Practitioner Can Earn Income. Therefore It Is Financially Advantageous To Develop Revenue Steams of Passive Income.

How should a therapist prepare themselves for opening a private practice?

First and foremost of course is to buy our book (tee hee!). Actually there are many good books out there on developing a private practice (Chris Stout, Lorina Kase, Holly Hunt, Lyn Grodzki). I would find appropriate mentors who can teach you about the ins and outs and pros and cons of private practice and perhaps they will take you under their wing. Also be prepared to pay for consultation and program development advice. Mental health professionals tend to “be cheap” and not want to pay for services that will bring them more money (or preserve the money they have) in the long run. There are also professional organizations one can join. For psychologists there is APA Division 42, Psychologists in Independent practice.

Who will benefit from your book?

Anyone considering going into practice. The review of the books have lauded how realistic and practical we try to be. In the Preface Jeff and I point out how many mistakes we have made in a combined 50 years of practice. We want others to avoid making these same mistakes.

Many of my readers work with children, what are some additional considerations when working with children in private practice?

Working with children requires flexibility in hours, especially if it is a long-term case. Parents do not like to take their kids out of school on a weekly basis. So hours may need to be offered after school, early evening, or on Saturdays to optimize filling psychotherapy slots. You also need a waiting room that is “kid-friendly” and office staff that can tolerate children with behavior problems. Working with children also requires working with the adults that control their lives (e.g., parents, teachers, school administrators). So skills in working with adults that can be difficult are an essential part of the job description.

What is one of the most rewarding things about working in private practice?

For me it is in having been able to create my own successful small business. I also get to choose my hours, client populations that I work with, and that I have no boss listening to one of my ideas and saying, “No!”

What is one of the most difficult things about private practice?

The uncertainty of the continued success of my practice. One fact about private practice is that it is always changing and evolving. Some of these changes are within my control and some are not. This is the reality of free enterprise in out culture.

How/when did you decide to start writing?

I have always written professionally, though most has been for formal journal articles. Moving into books was a natural progression for me.

Where can “Financial Success in Mental Health Practice” be purchased?

Through the American Psychological Association, Amazon.com and likely other book outlets.

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