A good business does not always produce a tangible product.  Often times, helping others deal stress and traumatic experiences can be a good product in itself.  Our next guests shares her story of being a Social Worker. 

Please introduce yourself to our readers…

My name is Jana Davis. I am a LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) therapist, Life Coach, Clinical Supervisor, and Speaker.

Can you tell us what company you work for?

I own my own company, Davis Dynamics. I have worked with two other agencies in the past: Community Mental Health, and was a contractor for the Navy.

What is your title there?

Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

What are the exact responsibilities of your job?

I am wearing multiple ‘hats’ as I choose, but the primary one is as a therapist. The responsibilities of a therapist is likely more vast than people realize. The first thing we do is an assessment with our client. This lets us know what they want to improve in their lives as well as their background. This is usually done in dimensions: how they are biologically, socially, mentally and spiritually. We also want to know what symptoms they are experiencing that they would like to rid themselves of.

A therapist diagnoses conditions based on symptoms, cause of the symptoms if known, and how long the client has experienced them. Then a treatment plan is created with them. It is very important that the client is in complete agreement with it. The treatment plan is the plan of therapy, that is, what can be done to help ease the symptoms they have, and help aid them in going in the direction they want to. There are multiple forms of therapy. There are supportive therapies, cognitive behavioral therapies, trauma therapies, and so forth. At this point, actual therapy begins.

Life coaching is different from therapy. The assessment does not ask about their past nearly as much, there is not a diagnosis, and the focus is heavily weighed on the future and not the past Both life coaching and therapy involves paperwork. The entire mental health field is littered with paperwork. Where does it go? If it is therapy and it is under insurance, the insurance company may want to see it at times. Insurance companies have to have a diagnosis to cover the cost. Most therapists try to make their notes short and brief as to not disclose their client’s information any more than they absolutely have to, but they have no choice in sharing the diagnosis. This is one of the major reasons I am not participating in any network insurance at this time.

What is it about your job that makes you love it?

I have a deep level of compassion, and I truly feel honored when someone shares their sacred information with me. Generally, folks come in with some type of psychological pain. I get to see this pain begin to ebb away in their life. After some time and some healing, I get to see the real person emerge. Most people are truly beautiful, but none more so than someone who has learned how to dump a load of pain and burden, or beginning to live the life they didn’t think they could have. When I get the privilege of seeing that, it makes me so happy!

I wonder if athletic coaches get the same kind of high that I do, because it is similar in that regard. Right now I am working on creating a two-day seminar on happiness, as research shows happier workers are more productive workers – a win/win for companies and employees both. Guess who gets to guinea pig that research and spread all that positivity? Yes, I love my job!

What particular skills or talents are most essential to completing your tasks?

There are a lot of essentials in this line of work. You must like people in general, you must be driven by compassion, have a keen moral compass, and you must want to see people excel. You also need to have a thick skin. People in psychological pain are not always pleasant. You have to understand that it is not about you. That sounds simple enough, but in the beginning it is not. You also must learn how to truly listen to what they are and are not saying, be able to pick up non-verbal cues well, and practice non-judgement. There is an art to therapy and life coaching, absolutely. It is cultivated through experience, competency, and time.

What level of education would you say is required to perform your role?

In order to become a LCSW, you must have a Master’s Degree in Social Work, 3,000 hours of clinical practice, 100 hours of supervision with a clinical supervisor, and then pass the LCSW examination. It takes anywhere between 7-8 years total. In order to keep licensure, you must complete 30 hours of continued education credits every two years. The continued education in this field is vast, so it’s usually anything but dull.

Do you find that you bring your work home with you? (And is that a good or bad thing?)

Sometimes I have, yes. There is a downside to having empathy and seeing a lot of people in pain. I am specialized in trauma, and have seen multiple war and rape survivors. It can be emotionally and mentally exhausting. There are a lot of agencies that pack as many clients in as a therapist can possibly see. It can lead to burnout quick if the therapist doesn’t either take good care of her/himself or advocate for fewer clients.

There have been many times that I come home so fatigued that I must have downtime. Other times, when the client load is manageable and a lot of people getting better, I come home happy and energized. Also, if you are a therapist, the greatest tool in your toolbox is yourself. So there is all this knowledge floating around in your head as you spend time with your spouse, kids, friends and family. It’s good to know how to turn this part of you off.

How does this job compare to other jobs you’ve held in the past?

Oh ,there’s nothing like this field! I can’t compare it to any other job I had in my past. Prior to college I had factory jobs, waited tables, worked front desk in a hotel. There is nothing that comes close to this career. This profession is saturated with depth and meaning. I didn’t have that in other jobs. This isn’t just a job to me. As cliché as it sounds, it is more like a spiritual calling.

What is your favorite food?

My body likes broccoli. I like pizza. Inner conflicts are ever-present.

Thanks for sharing, Jana!