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Erica
Student
Hollister, California
1
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How can I best align my education, personal strengths, and lived experience to build a meaningful career in behavioral health where I can genuinely impact the lives of clients and communities”?
Single mother part time student reaching for my career to begin
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Michelle M.
Actress
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Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Erica !
You are on the right track by starting to take courses towards your goal. Behavioral Health covers a lot of ground as far as careers go, so think about which specific role you want to achieve. People all go into this field wanting to make an impact and improve situations, but one piece of advice I can lend is try not to approach it thinking about outcomes of the work. Every client you will have is different and it's best not to approach this field with expectations.
The one category of behavioral health which doesn't require doing therapy or an advanced degree is Case Management. That is where you will feel like you are "helping" some people and seeing some change for their lives. Success stories can be quite rare in this realm as in others, but just being there for your clients will make a difference.
A way that you may see results of making an impact - directly or indirectly- would be to go into Program Management at a social service agency that provides services to clients. In that position, you can develop programs that directly impact the lives of individuals with various needs.
There's a lot to learn so focus on the goal of achieving the knowledge, experience and the degree that would qualify you for a specific career. Social Workers are mostly doing clinical therapy and you can also look into being a Mental Health Counselor - both require a Masters Degree. So start exploring which niche you'd want to be in so that your college degree aligns with and qualifies you for the position.
I was a case manager for many years and I will say that the experience I had was that you meet the client where they're at. Most maintained where they're at or got worse. Very few progressed and succeeded in their goals. So you just have to realize, you make a difference even if it's not clearly evident to you and it is up to the clients to decide if they need to change or not.
Be patient with this path, also. Your career will not begin until you focus on a specific role in the mental health field and get lots of experience and obtain the degree that aligns with the career. Some roles in this field also require professional Certification and or Licensing.
In order to make the work in this field "meaningful" you will have to be very patient, unbiased and have very sharp engagement skills and screening skills. The more your client is comfortable with you, the more information they will provide and the better you can assist them. Sharp analytical skills are also needed because clients don't always need what they tell you they need. It's great that you have life experience because insight plays an important piece in this work.
I would say just to stay focused on your courses and aim for good grades. Start thinking about the exact career so that you can qualify for it with your degree(s). Do not pre-conceive how the career will be. It's a step by step process and until you start working with clients, it's not helpful to create scenarios about it. Let it unfold in the right time.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best for this awesome field of work !
You are on the right track by starting to take courses towards your goal. Behavioral Health covers a lot of ground as far as careers go, so think about which specific role you want to achieve. People all go into this field wanting to make an impact and improve situations, but one piece of advice I can lend is try not to approach it thinking about outcomes of the work. Every client you will have is different and it's best not to approach this field with expectations.
The one category of behavioral health which doesn't require doing therapy or an advanced degree is Case Management. That is where you will feel like you are "helping" some people and seeing some change for their lives. Success stories can be quite rare in this realm as in others, but just being there for your clients will make a difference.
A way that you may see results of making an impact - directly or indirectly- would be to go into Program Management at a social service agency that provides services to clients. In that position, you can develop programs that directly impact the lives of individuals with various needs.
There's a lot to learn so focus on the goal of achieving the knowledge, experience and the degree that would qualify you for a specific career. Social Workers are mostly doing clinical therapy and you can also look into being a Mental Health Counselor - both require a Masters Degree. So start exploring which niche you'd want to be in so that your college degree aligns with and qualifies you for the position.
I was a case manager for many years and I will say that the experience I had was that you meet the client where they're at. Most maintained where they're at or got worse. Very few progressed and succeeded in their goals. So you just have to realize, you make a difference even if it's not clearly evident to you and it is up to the clients to decide if they need to change or not.
Be patient with this path, also. Your career will not begin until you focus on a specific role in the mental health field and get lots of experience and obtain the degree that aligns with the career. Some roles in this field also require professional Certification and or Licensing.
In order to make the work in this field "meaningful" you will have to be very patient, unbiased and have very sharp engagement skills and screening skills. The more your client is comfortable with you, the more information they will provide and the better you can assist them. Sharp analytical skills are also needed because clients don't always need what they tell you they need. It's great that you have life experience because insight plays an important piece in this work.
I would say just to stay focused on your courses and aim for good grades. Start thinking about the exact career so that you can qualify for it with your degree(s). Do not pre-conceive how the career will be. It's a step by step process and until you start working with clients, it's not helpful to create scenarios about it. Let it unfold in the right time.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best for this awesome field of work !