Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Pursuit Of The Goal

“Many are stubborn in the pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in the pursuit of the goal” – Nietzche

When we find ourselves chasing only the path we are traveling and not understanding the purpose of why we are traveling a particular path, we may find ourselves having feelings of despair or frustrations. The key is for us to know our purpose or our goals for the things we do in our lives in order to help maintain meaning and harmony. This also goes for our clients and our staff at The Bridges Center (TBC). It is hard for a clinician to provide mental health services to a client who believes he/she does not have mental health disturbances, because our goal is to provide the best mental health services to our clients. A client could possibly state, “I do not need counseling.” This is true from the client’s perspective, because at that moment the client may not consider their thoughts of suicide or cutting on themselves to be a “real” problem, until they find themselves in the hospital getting their stomach pumped because of taking excessive medication. However, when the client is at a place he/she understands the need for mental health services or agrees with the purpose of having weekly therapy sessions to address their need to change most likely the client’s feelings of frustration towards the services tend to decrease drastically.

Not only is it beneficial for a client to see purpose for treatment, it is also imperative for the staff at TBC to understand the purpose for providing mental health services to our clients. In order for TBC staff to be productive mental health agents and fulfill our wonderful CEO/COO mission we will need to know the goals, have a wiliness to live them out, and understand how to do them. Chasing the mission or Nietzche would say “pursuit of the goal” gives the work we do at TBC LIFE!

(TBC Staff Training)

It was good to hear Vanessa Herbert, our Intake and Referrals Specialist state the reason why she enjoyed working for TBC, “What I like about The Bridges Center is the purpose of the agency, helping children and adults work toward emotional and mental well being” or Kimberly Taylor, LPAC our Interim Clinical Manager for Core Services convey, “I enjoy working with a team of dedicated people who have a heart for the children, their families, and the communities they live in. Their passion for what they do drives me to contribute my best every day.” These are not just words from TBC staff, but their contributions in helping fulfill the goal of TBC and not focusing on the challenges of doing their job are seen on a daily basis. (Photo: Kimberly Taylor, LPAC and Nancia Leath, LPC)

We are moving in the Right Direction, taking steps towards our goals at TBC, but most of all WE ARE FAMILY!


Nancia Leath, MA, LPC
Clinical Director