I’m really sick and tired . . . really heart-broken at the prevalance of single stories in private practice. You know the ones of . . .
There’s too many therapists . . . .”
There’s not enough clients . . . .”
(All) Therapists who work with insurance companies are . . . .”
(All) therapists who refuse to work with insurance companies are . . . .”
The (only) way to effectively work with trauma is . . . ” and . . . and . . . and . . . .
I ran across this YouTube video of Chimamanda Adichie (below) talking about “The Danger of the Single Story and it reminded me again of how easy it is to believe what we believe and how important it is to be open to believing something different.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg#t=1127[/youtube]
In private practice, as in many other endeavors, believing the wrong thing – even if it’s told to you with the best intentions by many of your trusted peers – can set you up to live under artificial and unnecessary limitations.
As you grow your practice, do yourself a favor . . . .
Find voices that tell different stories.
Seek out colleagues who see more than one way.
It’s important to the survival of your practice.
And, it’s important to the welfare of your clients.
Nice reminder to not paint my practice in a corner. I used to say many of these statements to myself and it was so defeating! My supervisor Janelle Womack (look her up!) was instrumental in helping me reframe these thoughts. While my practice is small (by choice) I don’t feel defeated and feel confident that I can build my practice how and when I want to. Many thanks to therapists that blog and a great network of therapists I have been blessed to be part of! Keep reaching out if these statements are currently in your repertoire.
Hi, Ryan! Thanks so much for dropping in today and for ‘fessing up. I can write about this because I’ve been there, too! It’s so easy to just go with the common story without scrutinizing how it limits us . . . how it can eat our dreams and crush our souls! I just read your last blog post on Lee Villers for Suicide Prevention Week. It made me wonder . . . what single story is it that he listened to . . . “There’s no way out?” . . . “There’s only one way?” . . . “No one cares?” . . . “I can’t do it any more?” It’s the same thing, isn’t it? As you said, we just paint ourselves into corners . . . and without any help from anyone else . . . ALL BY OURSELVES.
It doesn’t really matter how HONORABLE we are . . . how COMMITTED we are . . . how COURAGEOUS we are . . . if we buy in to the wrong story it’s like trusting the wrong guy . . . in a war zone. The consequences can be deadly.
I hope you will be back to chat often!
Thank you Tamera for your support of that blog post. It was a story that was waiting to get out and the timing of Suicide Prevention Week seemed fitting. I love helping others find a healthier story and it saddens me when people believe in such deadly story lines.
I will be back as I just finished my last supervision session to file my application to obtain my License! Woohoo!
Hi,Ryan! It’s so nice to find you here! I’m actually in Honolulu right now gearing up to present tomorrow at the American Counseling Association’s annual conference.
I love your language here . . . “deadly story lines.” That’s so true, isn’t it?!
Congrats on finishing up clinical supervision! Looking forward to hearing where you go from here. Please do stay in touch and, if you happen to be at ACA’s conference this week, please do say “hello.”
Love this! So encouraging. My husband and I have a small, part-time private practice. We love what we do and your words today are so timely for us. Thanks for sharing.
Happy belated birthday, Stacy, and thank you for dropping in just to say that you’ve found my post relevant to your life work! Care to share what single story you might have accidentally been listening to lately?
Blessings to you on your journey!
Great stuff!!!! Eye-opening, and horizon-expanding!!!! Need to see more than what’s right in front of us – we’ve gotta look to the right and to the left – and explore those paths, and listen to the many stories that flourish from every person we meet – It helps us grow, as our perspectives grow, as well as our practices!!!
Thanks!!!!!
Edy
Edy! It’s great to have your voice here! Thanks for taking time to drop in.
One of the things that Music Therapists can teach other mental health professionals is that seeing right-in-front-AND-to-the-right-AND-to-the-left-out-of-the-box thinking that your profession has had to do to get noticed and to get respected. It’s a perspective that really does strengthen us clinically and business-wise. And, you guys / gals seem to have that in spades!
I hope you’ll drop back in to chat as often as you can! Hey, Edy, remind me where you are – I can’t remember!