The month of May is quickly coming to a close and that means it is time for me to introduce you to another vibrant therapist. This month’s Vibrant Therapist Spotlight features Julie Stender, LICSW. Julie has a thriving private practice in Chanhassen, Minnesota where she loves working with teenagers. Julie has been incorporating Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) into her work and is now training other therapists to do the same.
I appreciate the intentionality that Julie uses in attempts to balance her practice with life outside of work and hope our interview will inspire you.
Please introduce yourself to the readers and tell us a little about the work that you do.
Hi! My name is Julie Stender and I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Chanhassen, MN. I work primarily with teenagers, though I also see adults and a sprinkling of younger kids. I also enjoy doing parent coaching and consulting with other therapists.
What drew you to learning more about Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)?
I had heard a lot about the fantastic results therapists were getting using ART – or maybe more correctly, the results clients were getting since they’re the ones doing the work!
One of my frustrations over the years as a therapist was not being able to regularly see clear, obvious results. My husband works in IT. I would get jealous that he could clearly see the beginning and end of a task or project. Not so in therapy. Not until I started using ART, that is.
For the first time, I was able to see a change in a client from the beginning to the ending of a session. As a result, my compassion fatigue was reduced. A win-win!
How are you approaching finding time and energy to teach courses about ART into y our full practice schedule?
To be honest, I’m still feeling that out. The energy isn’t a problem. Since I love teaching and ART is something I’m excited about, the energy is there. The time is a work in progress. Fortunately I have autonomy over when I schedule the trainings, so for a Thursday-Friday-Saturday training, I’m really only missing one day of clients since I already wasn’t seeing clients on Fridays. The ongoing discipline will be ‘paying myself back’ that Saturday with another day off during the week on training weeks.
Did you encounter any challenges as you started incorporating ART into your practice and how did you work through those challenges?
Oh yes! Since ART is a relatively new and somewhat novel therapy approach, many clients needed some convincing (and/or education) to give it a try. And as you can imagine, teenagers who already can be a bit on the therapy resistant side needed a bit more convincing! I definitely saw that adage “they don’t care what you know until they know that you care” come into play. People weren’t always sold on ART initially, but they knew that I would want the best for them, so if I was suggesting it, it must be ok and they’d give it a try. The other challenge has been that because of my excitement for ART and my belief in it’s effectiveness, I want EVERYONE to try it. I do have to check myself and be realistic that it is not a fit for everyone. Gratefully, I have a solid network of other ART and non-ART therapists with whom I consult regularly to work through these issues.
How have you designed your practice in a way that allows you to shine as a vibrant therapist?
I think it’s more that I’ve designed a rich out-of-office life so that I’m able to work to live, not live to work. My out of office time is valuable to me, so I work hard to not let the office spill over into home. I see clients 4 days a week, do my progress note after each session so they don’t stack up, do my billing right away in the morning when I’m fresh, and so after I’ve seen my last client for the day and have done my last progress note, I get to go home and leave work behind. The key is to stay on top of things. One of my favorite therapy quotes which also applies to falling into a backlog: “it’s easier to stay out than get out!”
How do you personally manage overwhelm when working on multiple projects?
One thing at a time. I like lists. I take care of what has to be done first, delegate what I can, then if there’s still time, do the things on the list that would be ‘nice to get done’ but aren’t mandatory. I also don’t let things get stale. If I get a re-credentialing request or some other less-than-savory project that I have 15 days to do, I make a point to have it done in 24 hours – 48 max. My theory is “right now I have time to do this – I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so I’m going to handle this now so I’m ready for whatever comes tomorrow.”
How do you approach your work and self care in order to avoid becoming burnt out or depleted?
My husband has a favorite quote from The Most Interesting Man in the World: “Find that thing in life you don’t do well and then don’t do that thing.” I don’t love number crunching and I don’t love technology, so I delegate those things so that I can focus on what I’m good at and brings in income: teaching and seeing clients. If I tried to make myself do the things I don’t enjoy or am not good at, I’d be too depleted to do the things I love.
Regarding self care, I go to the gym every morning at 5:45 so I know it’s done. Self care is often the first thing to go when things get crazy, so if it’s the first thing I do in the day, nothing else gets in the way. I’m also extremely fortunate to have like-minded colleagues and we keep each other accountable to self care/burnout avoidance. I try to be guided by this Rabbi Harold Kushner quote: “No one on his deathbed ever said, ‘I wish I had spent more time at the office.”
If you could go back in time, what tip or advice would you share with yourself at the beginning of your career?
I’ve got a million of them, but I’ll narrow it down to a couple: It is not your job to solve a client’s problems. It is your job to help guide them to find their own solutions. Also, be aware of the susceptibility to hero complex. You are a support resource for our clients, not their super hero. If we let ourselves believe that our clients can’t live without us, we start getting mushy boundaries (adding on appoint times for them, time on phone, etc.) which over time will lead to burn out.
Thanks to Julie for participating in this month’s interview!
I’m curious to know what additional training you’ve been considering and how this training may allow you to become an even more vibrant therapist. Please leave a comment below and let me know!
Take Care,
Sarah
Want to learn more about Julie and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)?
Visit Julie’s website here.
Julie is hosting upcoming trainings for those who are interested in learning more about Accelerated Resolution Therapy. Access her schedule here.