A little over two years ago, I was about to sign a contract with a group practice near my home when a respected friend recommended that I interview at Works. I’ll be honest, I did the thing mostly to stay in his good graces; I’d spent a lot of time looking for jobs at that point and felt pretty good about the one I planned to take. It’s funny now thinking about how I almost didn’t interview here, remembering how impressed I was with Angelique’s questions and thoughtfulness during the meeting, remembering how all my measured-and-calculated character traits slept through my impulsive acceptance of the job on the spot, recalling how I was so excited leaving that I missed my exit driving back to work.
The main reason I chose Works then is the same reason I love Works now: I feel fully able and comfortable to be exactly who I am, without armor or pretense, knowing that Angelique considers the full, transparent scope of my humanity to be an asset rather than a liability. Have y’all ever worked someplace where you were fully unafraid? So many businesses pay lip service to valuing risk-taking, authenticity and creativity, but few walk the talk like the leadership at Works Counseling Center. Not only do I feel safe to inhabit the breadth of myself, but I feel trusted enough to take that fullness into session. And here’s the thing about doing clinical work for a group or agency: when you know that your leadership trusts you, you trust yourself, you trust your clients, and you trust your work. And that makes for the best kind of therapy.
There’s some real magic happening over here, y’all. The clinical team is made up of such a wide range of specialty, style, modality, and culture that almost every mental health need can be capably supported by someone on staff. We encourage each other, we respect each other, and we also really like each other. There’s not a therapist here with whom I wouldn’t feel equally comfortable sharing an NSFW meme and getting snot-slinging vulnerable. The therapists at Works are hired with intention, attention, and care, and it shows. We’re always learning, asking hard questions, challenging one another, and rooting for each other. And this is another reason why we do good work: reflective community in which one feels like they belong is protective against burnout. We show up better for our clients because there’s always a kind face, an affirming voice, a soft place to land around the corner.
The time has come for me to mosey on and hang my own shingle in private practice. I’m excited about the transition and also sad to leave this motley crew of top-notch human beings. I wanted my last blog post for Works to be a tribute, because the gratitude I feel for the ways this practice has nurtured and fed my clinical work (and my soul) cannot be overstated. I know well that it’s an increasingly rare reality for one to awaken in the morning excited to go to work day after day after day. I’ve awakened excited for more than two years and I don’t take that fact for granted. Of course, the driving force of that excitement is the courage and metamorphosis I have the privilege of witnessing in the folks with whom I sit. But that excitement has been fueled and sustained by the embodied mission of the Works Counseling Center leadership and staff. Come check it out if you haven’t already. It’s a special place indeed. So much healing happens here.
With love and gratitude,
Lindsey