5 Ways LifeSpring Counseling Services Supports Therapists in Maryland
As a clinician with several years of experience in private group practice, I’ve gotten to know a lot about the signs of a workplace environment that supports therapists. When thinking about what to look for in a healthy workplace, some things that come to mind might include PTO, directors & supervisors who are accessible, or regularly receiving positive feedback. I’ve found these things to be true at LifeSpring, AND I’ve noticed in my time several other ways that I’ve felt personally supported and encouraged as an employee of this group. So I’ve decided to explore those a bit here!
1. LifeSpring includes employees in the process of casting vision for the practice.
In my time at LifeSpring, I’ve been a part in deciding on office rituals (anchor-type events and celebrations our team cultivates annually, like our summer birthday party/pool party, or our holiday exchange), and I’ve also been given space to collaborate on casting the vision for what we want our office culture to feel like.
2. LifeSpring encourages innovative training and supports in establishing your niche.
Therapists are given regular and frequent opportunities for Brainspotting training and in-house consultation toward becoming Brainspotting certified. I’ve taken advantage of this, and it’s given me invaluable skills that I’ve gotten to use in my clinical work for years.
LifeSpring also allows therapists to feel free to establish a specialty and focus on building a caseload that reflects their niche. I’ve spoken before about how, when I started out as a clinician, everything felt interesting to me, and I had only a dim sense of where my particular clinical interests were. I started noticing over time certain areas/populations I really loved working with, and I also noticed other areas I really did not love working with. Through LifeSpring’s emphasis on niching, I feel the space to take on a caseload I love working with, who align best with my niche.
3. Weekly Check-Ins, Office Hours, and Peer Consultation
These are regularly scheduled touch points that allow employees to connect with supervisors on anything and everything (Weekly check-ins and Office Hours can be work related or not, and Peer Consultation serves as an intentional time to discuss clinical questions with peers). In a setting where many of our therapists work from home, it’s wonderful to have regular opportunities to see the faces of our team and connect with my colleagues!
4. Encouraging Supervision and Consultation
Not only is paid supervision offered for provisionally licensed therapists, it is encouraged to be used as a resource for fully licensed therapists as well in the form of coaching and peer consultation. LifeSpring encourages even its most experienced therapists to remain open to receive clinical support, and, perhaps unlike some other practices, does not encourage therapists to reach for a level of self-reliance to the point where they never seek consultation. There’s this beautiful balance between developing therapists who, on one hand, have a strong internal sense of clinical judgment and confidence, and on the other hand, know when they could benefit from other brains working together with them on a case, understanding that we’re always learning and continually growing in our skills.
5. Therapists make their own schedules.
This is probably the benefit that has had the greatest impact on me! I don’t even know where to start with how the freedom to make my own schedule has blessed me! I’m a new mom! My time is precious! And the freedom to select which hours work best for me and my family allows me to offer my clients accessible scheduling while also making sure I don’t miss out on my daughter’s development because I get to decide the schedule that works with the needs of my family. This flexibility also allows therapists to optimize vacation time, which helps support a healthy work/life balance.
You know, as therapists, we talk to our clients all the time about self-care and preventing burnout. At LifeSpring, I really feel like I get to walk the walk, and model that for my clients, because of all the ways LifeSpring supports therapists.
But I’m curious to hear your thoughts! If you’re in the mental health field, which of these things seem the most valuable to you? How do you think it might impact your career to be a part of a practice that supports therapists in these ways?
Are you a Maryland-based mental health provider who loves doing therapy?
Want to learn more about work life here at LifeSpring Counseling Services?
Check out our Full-Time Therapy positions for Licensed Counselors and Social Workers
Also check out our 3-year residency program for new graduates and newly licensed LGPCs and LMSWs
LifeSpring Counseling Services supports therapists in the Greater Baltimore Area too!
Local counselors, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and social workers are invited to have some fun with us through the Clinician Community Membership.
Local counselors and social workers can learn with us too by joining our peer consultation group for fully-licensed clinicians.
Are you a Maryland resident looking to start online or in-person therapy?
If you’re a Marylander who knows that counseling is the direction you need to take, the therapists at LifeSpring Counseling Services are here to help. We offer online counseling services for mindfulness, depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief and loss. We also offer Brainspotting as a specialized service, and Brainspotting can be done online, too!
Here’s how you can get started! Online counseling for anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, and grief and loss aren’t the only services offered at our Maryland office.
The counselors and social workers at our Maryland office also offer counseling services for trauma, grief and loss, boundary setting, communication skills, and difficult life transitions. We also offer specialized counseling services including Brainspotting and spiritually-integrated counseling. Because we are located next to several local universities, we also work with college students and international students.
Written by: Mickayla Waldhauser, LGPC
