by Jill | Jul 22, 2018 | Becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor, Child Counseling, Counseling Supervision, Licensed Professional Counselor Application Process, mental health business, Play Therapy Ethics, Play Therapy Supervision, private practice
I live in Georgia and recently there have been some rules/requirements changed in our state for those applying for their Licensed Professional Counselor license. I remember as an early counselor in training, even starting as an undergraduate I was fortunate to have professors and supervisors who prepared me for many of the hurdles of what lies ahead. One thing I can say, is that it is an always changing discipline in some ways, evolving with the needs of the public, culture, and as we learn and grow as professionals.
Unfortunately I’ve seen too many new counselors in training in my career blindly following what they think they know from hearsay, not reading or staying up to date for themselves, or believing they don’t have time or money to put into the supervision and training requirements. This can lead to more time, money and paperwork than necessary when pursuing your Professional Counseling or other license type.
I do as much as I can to encourage my supervisees and other new mental health professionals starting out to do their own homework and keep up with current changes and trends in the field. That doesn’t mean I don’t do my best to guide and assist them on their journey, quite the contrary. But I do believe it is a collaborative effort and level of responsibility on both ends of the couch so to speak when it comes to completing the licensure process.
I do that because knowledge is power. Power to pursue your career. Your license is your ticket to the career you’re pursuing to independence in your livelihood.
At the end of the day it’s yours, you guard it with everything you can.
Are there hurdles? Yes.
Is it a challenge? Yes.
Is it easy? No way.
But at the end of the day lives will be helped, families will be restored and abused children will have one more caring adult they can trust in their life. It’s worth the challenge. Make it your own.
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by Jill | Jun 18, 2018 | Becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor, Burnout prevention, Coping with Burnout, Counseling Ethics, Counseling Supervision, mental health business, Play Therapy Ethics, self care, stress management, Therapist Self Care
I’ve been studying a lot lately about how self-care with counselors relates to ethics and what happens to therapists during the course of their careers. This is a personal topic for me, first, because I am a therapist, and second because I’ve both dealt with my own and witnessed others’ in the field deal with being overstressed, overworked and pushing the burnout phase.
After hearing about multiple therapist suicides in the Atlanta area over the last few years, it really got me wondering how we, as a profession are supporting each other’s journey in this career. What changes can we, together, make to better address our colleagues’ if/when we see them struggle? What did we miss with these folks who were silently struggling?
We, as therapists are constantly trying to balance the needs of our clients, supervisees, students, demands of our work setting, ethics codes, laws, and potential liabilities all while dealing with the demands of our own personal life, financial strains, and our own losses, crises and life challenges.
I’ve noticed by my own observation over the last few years or so that the terms, “self-care” “vicarious trauma,” and “burnout” or “compassion fatigue” appears to have be more common themes of discussion both in trainings, blogs, conversations and other areas of our profession. I think the fact that we, as a profession are talking about and it is fantastic and opens up well-needed conversations about our own mental health as caregivers.
In fact, looking back, I can only think of maybe one or two professors in my graduate studies even approaching the issue. And I definitely don’t remember anyone in my state job as an undergraduate talking about it or paying attention to it’s effect on us. It was one of my early on supervisors that noticed it. She probably did me one of the biggest favors of my life at the time by pointing out some blind spots that I wasn’t noticing about myself, like how much I was stressing or overworking myself at the time and that I needed to take some steps to take care of my own mental health while I pursue caring for others.
According on the APA report on stress from 2015 (there is a more recent report from 2017 that focuses more on our political climate and healthcare) most of us when we’re stressed out or overstressed know it, or know we need to make a change, but feel too stressed to do anything about it or make the changes necessary to address it. It makes me wonder how many of the therapists I’ve been reading about in some of my ethics research, or cases I’ve read about counselors who made poor ethical choices and had poor boundaries with clients were experiencing the deep hole of stress or burnout that mental health professionals sometimes find themselves in. It makes me wonder, what, if any could have been done to support them before they reached that slippery slope of boundary violations and crossings.
It’s and ethical mandate for counselors to be aware of our own impairment, according to multiple ethical codes, but if, when we’re overstressed how aware are we really? Are we setting ourselves up for a catch 22? Are we shooting our wounded so to speak by sending our newbie therapists into high stress, high caseloads and high expectations? Are we setting each other up to sink or swim in the sea of conflicting demands and ethical grey areas, or sometimes outright ethical breaches?
What happens between the time we leave graduate school where ethics are preached and studied and taught and our lives in the field? How do some of us end up in organizations (not all, there are many wonderful organizations!) that contribute to toxic work environments, expectations and overworking?
I know, I know, I’m venting.
Maybe these questions are just mine.
But I believe they are important to ponder and discuss so that we can find a way to support each other in this career. Stop the fighting over political decisions between professions, find a way to pay our new therapists fairly and support each other rather than tear each other down. Pay attention to each other and build each other up. There are many, many wonderful supportive folks out there, but I think creating a culture of support and healthy self-care becomes more difficult when there are so many systemic challenges that come into play.
I know I know, it’s a blog, I’m supposed to give you tips, but all I have right now are questions. What do we do? How best can we support the mental health needs of other counselors, our colleagues, both new and experienced? Leave your ideas in the comments below, and lets work together on this.
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by Jill | Feb 22, 2018 | Becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor, changes, Finding Peace, mental health business, self care, self help, Uncertainty
Shedding the old life and old things can be an uncomfortable place to be in. There are times where it is necessary. For a long time I felt like I found myself in a holding pattern, stuck and unable to move forward, and waiting around for the next thing to satisfy me. It causes a lot of mixed emotions for me. Sometimes hurt, sometimes anger and frustration, sometimes confusion, and sometimes it feels like pure focus and determination.
It changes day to day for me. But the other day I began writing down what I’m grateful for, and I realized that when I look back, I’m really not stuck. I looked around and saw many of the goals I set and many of the desires that I feel God has put in my heart are actually coming together and making sense.
It doesn’t always feel like it, but we really are moving forward, one day at a time, one small step towards the goals we have. Then, before you know it you look around, and there it is. You’ve reached your goal. You’re there in the career you prayed for, the new relationship, the blog you decided to start, or the book you dreamed of writing.
I think sometimes we want to look at the big picture, and forget the smaller steps that led us there. That one phone call, that one prayer, that one chapter you wrote that turned into another, and then another until the book is completed.
The change is in the smaller steps and decisions that lead to the larger dream.
What small decisions have you made that have helped your journey? Please share in the comments below.
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by Jill | Dec 30, 2017 | Becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor, Boundaries, Burnout prevention, children, Coping with Burnout, Finding Peace, Holiday Stress, Jill Osborne, mental health business, parenting, Play Therapist Self Care, self care, small business, stress management, Therapist Self Care
Overscheduled
I looked at my schedule and I asked, “what did I do to myself.” It was the week before Christmas and I looked at my calendar and realized I crammed as many client appointments as I could all week, supervision appointments, all after a full training day the week before and amidst all the holiday to dos that weren’t yet done.
Man did I feel overwhelmed. I forgot the white space. You know, the space between clients to get my documentation done, the time to wrap up loose ends from training day, pay taxes, all the fun stuff.
I worked so long last week (training week which always adds more to dos’) that my 4 year old daughter asked me, “mommy does your work close?”
Oops. I overscheduled myself again. I felt guilty about it most of the week because I miss my kids and this time of year you plan holiday activities (our holiday pancakes with Santa was kind of a bust because 4 year old cried the whole time because she had an ear infection).
I know what I was thinking when I scheduled it all. I was thinking that I needed the money and my clients needed me. Feelings like I wanted to please others and not disappoint anyone by making them wait until January for an appointment.
On the other end of it, I prayed for this. I prayed for full client load, a growing training and supervision business, and to expand myself. Growing pains.
I think this kind of thing ebbs and flows for me. I go from not busy enough and broke to overdoing it. But I kind of feel like our business, the counseling business is like that. Ebb and flow. Busy and not busy. The trick for me is, I think, is noticing when it gets too much and pulling back and making necessary adjustments, sticking to boundaries, assisting clients to move along that are ready for discharge, etc.… and stop being so hard on myself when it starts to take over and run into family life, but just to make the changes I need to make.
Sometimes that advice is easy to say, but takes a TON of courage to pull off. I have had to work very hard at setting boundaries in general and it doesn’t come easy to me. I am really blessed right now when I think about it. To have enough work that I need to pull back and set boundaries in my daily schedule, time to breathe, time to write, and time to create.
Gratitude for it helps. Gratitude and making small adjustments along the way to tweak the overworked schedule into something more balanced. I’m thankful.
How do you manage your schedule when it becomes insane? Leave a comment below with your tips. Thanks!
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by Jill | Aug 22, 2013 | Child Therapy, mental health business, Play Therapy, play therpay, private practice
The life of a play therapist can be pretty hectic sometimes, especially if you throw in a family, social life, and managing your own problems. These are 5 things that I do that help me to be a better play therapist.
Create a Set Work Schedule
I wake up and each day my schedule is different. I work many after school hours, mainly afternoons and evenings. I set regular hours that I schedule clients to help stay organized and balance between work and family life.
Have Go-to Creative Activities for My Clients
Before my clients arrive, I review notes, and plan the session. However, children can often be unpredictable. I remain flexible about what a child needs that day, so I have go-to activities always prepared to meet their changing needs. I use www.angriesout.com, www.creativecounseling101.com, www.lianalowenstein.com, www.pinterest.com for ideas.
Create a Trusting Relationship with Caregivers
If it’s my first session with a family, I meet with caregivers to identify the main reasons for seeking therapy. I involve parents weekly in sessions to discuss behavior issues, family stressors, child’s progress in therapy, and how to implement changes at home.
Consult with Other Counselors
Sometimes I have been working with a client for a long time, or a child has a particularly complex case. If I am stuck on a case, I seek out another therapist’s perspective to learn new ideas for a case. I have relationships with colleagues and mentors that I trust when I seek out another opinion.
Practice Self Care
I hear troubling stories, from sexual abuse, to neglect, to loss of a loved one. It can sometimes feel exhausting. In order to prevent burnout I participate in activities to relieve stress. I find journaling, being social, reading a novel, watching movies with my husband, going to church on a regular basis, and also writing to help.
I love that I witness children heal everyday, and families change. I use these techniques to remain balanced, focused, and keep the child’s needs first.
How do you survive as a play therapist or in your chosen career? Leave a comment below.
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