Learning Through The Eyes Of Neitcha Thomsen

The Learning Through Your Eyes Series was created because we recognized that the opportunity for helping professionals to share a part of their story can be a powerful tool, one that provides an opening to empower and support both the storyteller and reader.  It teaches us in a manner that allows us to inspire and reach, educate and teach, and tap into that space and place that has intention and purpose.  Our hope for all of those that can here us is that these stories will provide you with an opportunity of your own, as there is always a choice!
 
The sharing we present to you today is told through the eyes of Neitcha Thomsen, a part-time MSW student at the University of Georgia (Gwinnette campus) clinical program who just completed her second semester of studies.  By sharing her story (as scary as it may be to tell it), Neitcha hopes that it will somehow help others.  We truly thank Neitcha for taking the time to share (and embrace) this opportunity, her courage and resilience are heard loud and clear as she gives and receives!
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Writing this brings feelings of anxiety.  Maybe it is fear of judgment or a sense of shame that still lingers.  My daughter had her first psychotic break at the end of her freshman year of college.  After many different diagnosis; different medications;several hospitalizations; dealing with a 1013; an attempted suicide and various treatment tracks, I am happy to say she is stable as she finds purpose, joy, independence and love in her life.  It took a long time and much courage on her part to reach this moment. 

At the time of her suicide attempt I felt many emotions. Some of these were due to me being her mother and others were from my own suicide attempt around her same age.  I was saddened knowing that she had felt such pain and desperation and saw suicide as the solution.  I felt like a failure for not having seen the signs or to have sought help for her sooner.  I understood what one has to feel in order to reach that moment that death seems like a good option.  I struggled with sharing my experience with her, and I think that came from my lingering feelings of shame surrounding suicide.  Eventually, I shared it with her and she said my opening up made her feel not so alone or like such a failure. Even my closest friends do not know this part of my history.

While struggling with my daughter’s illness I began to reach a place of hopelessness and anxiety.  This led to the return of my depression and suicidal ideations.  After a friend in a support group shared with me her decision to reach out for counseling and how it had helped her, I realized that I needed this same type of professional help.  My therapist helped me to identify my feelings while recognizing my lack of boundaries and unhealthy coping skills that had arisen while dealing with the impact of mental illness on my family.  I learned to pay attention to my needs and put in place self care.  I set goals for myself such as entering graduate school while working on my feelings of low self esteem and lack of confidence.  I was able to have enough hope in order to reach for my dreams.

I volunteer with NAMI.  When I share my experience or volunteer to bring information and support to others, I feel as if I have taken one more step on my path of healing.  Sharing this story in a more public way is one more step.  I look back on these experiences and know that even though they came with pain and crisis, they also brought to me opportunities.  I have shared the part of my story about my daughter with some of my fellow MSW students in hopes that it will allow them to maybe see the family from a different perspective.  I found that sharing it with them was scary due to my fears of being judged by my fellow mental health professional students.  This fear has prevented me from sharing the whole story...  Finding ways to share our stories in appropriate settings will aid us in recognizing our own possible triggers and bias, while helping to support our practice as we work with clients in the future.

-Neitcha Thomsen

About Neitcha

Outside of her MSW studies, Neitcha volunteers with NAMI Northside Atlanta where she has taught the Family to Family curriculum, been captain of the NAMI walk team and served as a chair for their mental health fair for two years now.  Neitcha has found further opportunity to advocate (sharing her story and its learned experience) at family orientations for Skyland Trail (a treatment facility in Atlanta, Ga) supporting families who have a loved one entering treatment for major mental health illnesses.  Prior to her path in the field of social work, she worked as a Spanish Interpreter for the Dekalb School System for 12 years.

Learning Through The Eyes Of Vikki Brewster, MSW

The Learning Through Your Eyes Series was created because we recognized that the opportunity for helping professionals to share their story can be a powerful tool, one that provides an opening to empower and support both the storyteller and reader.  It teaches us in a manner that allows us to inspire and reach, educate and teach, and tap into that space and place that has intention, purpose, and action.  Our hope for all of those that can here us is that these stories will provide you with an opportunity to help you help yourself, whatever that may be, you always have a choice.  May this find you well as you strive to provide to those in need!

Today's story is told through the eyes of Vikki Brewster, a social worker who shares how she came into the field, the changes and influences that have shaped her practice, the challenges she faces serving and supporting the population she is passionate about, and the causes she now finds herself advocating for.  We thank Vikki for sharing while providing another opportunity to give and receive!

I still have the essay I wrote as part of my application for graduate school 17 years ago.  As I read it now, my ideals have not changed, just the demographic (I love working with seniors).  My original inspiration for going into the 'helping profession' was due to my time spent volunteering at a domestic violence shelter while I attended college part-time.  I worked primarily with the children at the shelter who were exposed to domestic violence.  I entertained them, listened to them, and was involved in group sessions with them.  Some of my happiest moments were making those children laugh.

Several years later I applied to graduate school to obtain my Master's in Social Work.  This was the best decision I made academically.  A social work degree was flexible.  I would have more choices for employment after graduation and I truly believed there would be few obstacles in my path.  The graduate program was amazing, the coursework exciting/enriching and the internships extremely beneficial.  Post graduation, I took the licensure exam and became a Certified Social Worker in the state of New York.  I was employed as a therapist with emotionally disturbed children for almost two years until I realized youth was not my niche.  I took a pay cut and decided to focus on case management with adults diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. This was a great experience, but again I realized not my niche. 

I married, moved to another country, and started over professionally.  As a spouse awaiting my permanent residency status in Canada, I was not allowed to work initially and volunteered with adults with developmental disabilities assisting with obtaining employment, as well as with seniors who where Holocaust Survivors.  The volunteer position turned into a part-time job.  Twelve and a half years later I still work primarily with Holocaust Survivors and enjoy my work!  I am able to do group facilitation, case management, assessments, home visits, provide short-term counseling, and I also edit a newsletter.  As my clients are aging, I see the challenges they face and what is lacking in the current healthcare system.  This has led me to End-of-Life issues, Palliative Care and an interest in healthcare.  I have come to see that there needs to be a shift and focus on allowing seniors to 'age in place' and the services must expand in order to do so.   Expansion obviously requires money from the government, both on a federal and provincial level.  Healthcare needs to shift to a Patient-Centered approach with professionals available to the patient in either a facility or clinic.  There is also a need for case managers to oversee the patients with chronic and complex health issues, while coordinating with the professionals that need to be involved in the patients overall care.

I have realized much with the work that I have been immersed into for many years now.  For one, end-of-life needs to become less taboo and society needs to realize that in the cycle of life-there must be death; to be born, one must die.  I feel that we need to let individuals die with dignity and at home if that is what they choose, while having the necessary professionals and services in place.  As a society we need to lighten up, reduce stress levels and find what makes us happy in life.  Again, a shift is needed and I believe this will happen; with less focus on materials things and more focus on human relationships, quality not quantity.   

I feel it is important that every professional re-evaluate their interests and find their passion, their niche population, their niche demographic.  As professionals we should also advocate within our profession for any needed updates or changes.  For example, many social workers have expressed their frustration with licensure and certification requirements and the fact that it is not national, the license or certificate is not transferable from state to state or province to province.

So, are their obstacles to face? Yes!  Politics involved?  Yes!  Is it all worth it?  Yes!

Vikki Brewster, MSW

  

 About Can You Hear Me?
 







 
Daniel Jacob, MSW  Email

Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process.  More about the man behind the mission ⇢