Tales of a Therapist

5:00 this morning

As a first time therapist, approximately ten months out of graduate school, there’s a lot that needs to be learned on the spot. Working at a residential facility leads to a general divide where supervision is given when it’s asked, unless you have a great management team (which I do). I’m pretty sure I have several quarterly reports that haven’t been written because no one has ever given me the appropriate timeline. I have learned deadlines from probation officers and caseworkers, as well as resource coordinators and my managers but not necessarily from the clinical standpoint.

This morning I learned the feeling of being cross examined by seven attorneys. Seven! For a person who took public speaking twice in undergrad because my anxiety becomes so terrible that I shake, standing in front of a court room is not my ideal situation on a Thursday morning. Court mornings are exhausting to begin with as they normally begin at 4 a.m. and end in the early evening. Certain courts are notorious for long waits and are places where stories are made. These contain tall tales of waiting until the middle of the afternoon for a morning hearing. (Knock on wood) I have been lucky to not be one of those stories. We were in the court room within a half hour this morning which is nothing short of unheard of.

My anxiety began when I received the subpoena for my appearance and never lessened until a coworker reaffirmed my responses. I have never questioned my therapeutic methods until the Judge did and wanted to crawl into a hole right there. In all honesty, being questioned by the Judge was worse than the seven attorneys whom sat in front of me with legal pads and laptops, waiting for me to give them the answer which would best suit their needs.

Depending on the hearing, there is a lengthy process and each attorney serves a different need. I walked out of that courtroom with the desire to be specifically trained in certain therapies and to back to grad school (a.k.a the safety of education before entering the real world). I will be testifying again in less than thirty days as part of the client’s case was continued. Most clients have court once every three to six months as a method of reviewing progress. This particular client, as of April, will have been to court three times in the past four months. That’s multiple court reports, early wake up calls, and long drives…for a thirty minute court hearing.

All in the name of therapy.

Weekend get-a-way

29 miles on the clock for this weekend. My legs are feeling the 14 mile long run and are in desperate need of a foam roller. I wouldn’t have traded the view of ice fishermen on the bay for anything else, even with intense wind and freezing temperatures. How many weeks until spring?

(Instagram: C4Chronicles)

I read about running as much as I run

 

I think I’ll be prepared for the Buffalo Marathon #runnerd

Building a Base

As I gear up to begin training for the Buffalo Marathon in less than two months, I’ve been working on building a solid base of running. As I’ve never done used this strategy, I’m completing shooting from the hip. My running, in general, is irregular as my gym schedule is heavily based on the time I leave work and the time in which I should be there the next day. Yes, I said gym schedule. I can give those thanks to living near the great lakes. It’s snowing tonight and isn’t supposed to stop much, if at all, so my already cold Thanksgiving “turkey trot” (long run) will also be very snowy.

I have worked on initiating tempo runs into the mix approximately two days a week. This allows some speed work to be done while also lowering the level of dullness that a treadmill brings. This winter appears as if it’ll be a rough one, so the majority of my workouts will potentially be done on the treadmill, except for long runs. My long runs have ranged from four miles to nine miles, depending on time available on the weekend. My Thanksgiving Day goal is for a twelve mile run and it may or may not happen depending on the importance of sleeping in or arriving at dinner on time.

My biggest issue, as always, is my nutrition. While I attempt to make smart choices when I eat, I’m also prone to the worst eating habits of any runner out there. I can’t even make excuses for myself anymore. So if anyone has any tips and tricks, I’d be happy to try them out.

One thing that I would like to point out is that I’m terrified about training for this race, especially with the winter northwestern Pennsylvania will potentially have this year. I continually doubt myself because it be the longest race thus far and a part of me is worried about my IT band and becoming injured. I’ve looked over my training schedule several times and have questioned myself and mostly because I’m beyond terrible at following a training plan. I will almost have to ask someone to help keep me accountable for the miles I need to run. I know how I am after a long day at work when hopping on a treadmill is the last thing on my mind. I can do this though, right? I can do it. I have to keep believing that which is the hardest part.

Random fact of the day: My final chicken has finally bit the dust at the hands of my friend’s dog. It’s time to begin the persuasion of chickens in the spring =)