Psych units are fun

Been hanging out on the unit for a week now. I'd forgotten how unforgettable the stories here are. After having worked with kids for so many years then suddenly switch to acute and chronically ill adults, it is oddly like working with kids... Maturity levels, need for praise and attention, still processing childhood trauma... Except now this time it's often with substance abuse and years of prison later. While the group made art about "recovery" I was sitting next to my elderly, recently detoxed, psychotic buddy. It took all he had to try a drawing activity without fear of criticism. He only had a pencil and ruler. The house he drew was a little disorganized...walls that didn't always connect or have a purpose...not to mention the 2 bodyguards he put in the corners of the house. A paranoid man needs lots of protection. God knows why he put a snake in there and called it "the snake house" although this dude may have acted out sexually before. Anyway, I drew a peaceful boat on water mandala... I had to doodle something while everyone worked. My buddy became a little self critical and decided he didn't want his house and asked me if I wanted it. So I traded. I told him I drew him his life boat. For the next 2.5 hours until I left the unit, he was either seen carrying around the boat, asking me if I hung up his art, asking if I still had it, and then taping the boat to the wall in his room. That made putting up with seeing a naked old fat man's balls, listening to screaming by the lady holding the socks filled with snacks and using it as a phone, being yelled at by the grandma with dementia, and being stared at blankly when trying to do an assessment on the new patient... made it worth it. Actually enjoying myself!

Big dog looking for lil apartment

Chicago apartment search log...


#1. Saw a nice big place whose front door looked out on the lake. Boring neighborhood. Nothing fun (shops, cafes, restaurants, friends) to walk to. Nope. Not my place.


#2. Saw a place with a DISGUSTING carpet. They could've at least picked up the cheerios and cleaned the stains before they let anyone see it! Nope. Not my place.


#3. Right across the street from a friend. Don't want to be a stalker but the place was tiny! Apparently in the 30's (I think that's when it was), Chicago charged builders a tax based on the width of buildings as you looked at them from the street. So of course, people then built crazy narrow buildings called corridor buildings. Too small. Not my place.


#4. Saw a place that was supposed to be a one bedroom.  The kitchen was in the entryway and the "living room" was in the hall/space on the way to the bathroom. Nice building. Nice area. Creepy people walking out of the buildings on that street. Nope. Not my place. Oh yeah. They forgot to tell me that my dog's too big too.


#5. Great building! Nice building manager. Security cameras. Great storage. Decent living space. Huge bathroom. TINY kitchen. The stove was half the size and literally right in front of the sink. SO CLOSE! If only the kitchen were better!


#6. Which brings me to this one. Upstairs from #5 in the great building. Bigger kitchen! Odd though because there was a couple still living there as I looked at it. She made a smelly curry and was now drowning out the smell with awful-smelling incense. He was sitting in just his shorts with his bowl of curry watching TV. Kinda hard to look at a place in that kind of awkwardness. Unfortunately, I'd have to wait a month longer since the curried incense-smokers are still there, but i'll do it for a kitchen! And the doggy and I will be able to quickly walk to the dog park. Perfect. 

Art therapy and licensing woes

So it's been a while. Here's the update on the job hunt as an art therapist in a TIGHT and competitive, low-paying field. I am going to be filling in for someone's 3 month maternity leave full time at an in-patient psych unit... it pays well so at least I'll be employed until June and I don't yet need an Illinois license, which has proven to be more hassle than it may be worth. Why? Because while I was out of state for the last 8 years, Illinois upped the graduation requirements for credits needed in certain courses. I need about 5 credits-- $4500 i didn't feel like spending particularly... especially since if I'd stayed and gotten licensed here in the first place, it never woulda happened. So woulda coulda shoulda. But I'll do it... this profession is right for me unfortunately. And believe me, I considered doing sales or marketing... but i am no salesperson when i don't particularly believe in the product. I'm not fake enough... and I'd be bored outta my gourd... so in-patient adult psych, here I come. I'll be running art groups there. And I guess I'll have to go back to class. Funny that since I was the one teaching classes and supervised post-grad in my professional life. 


Is staying in this profession worth the personal hardships? I got lucky for now to stay in the field and feel well-payed for the next 3 months at least. Why do we torture ourselves though? "Helping people" doesn't pay. Let's face it. Mental health is hugely important. Society wants us all to be mentally healthy... less violence, less bullying, less crime and substance abuse... but does not pay for providers who work towards this in the communities. A bit frustrating when people have to dumb themselves down and not report their educational and professional successes to an organization's HR who would rather pay less money  for less education and experience... what happened to actually wanting someone who can best do the job? So as an art therapist recently looking for employment... who has a "MA in Art Therapy," I'll admit I wished I'd gotten a dual degree in counseling or social work. FAR more flexibility. But I will get off my soapbox now.


This is why I have to jump through the educational hoops... because without this counseling license, I cannot work. This does not mean that I won't be involved in advocacy to get art therapists more professional credibility. It just means that right now, I need my counseling license back!

Pinterest link

Just figured out how to link to Pinterest! If you Pinterest, go to the About section and click on the Pin It Button. I then chose the button I wanted (Follow Me on Pinterest) and cut and paste the code that Pinterest automatically displayed it onto my layout where html/java gadgets can be placed. No need to add a title. Just paste it into the content. It's really self-explanatory. EASY PEASY!

Beginnings

Hi guys... I'm new to this whole blog thing so I bet things may change often as I figure out how to wean myself off the get-started templates.  I'll blog about how to blog in case you're like me and visits all the blogs never having ventured into the blogging world yourself. 

That's Lily in her Kentucky glory. I've had her since she was about 8 weeks old.  She was abandoned and found under a co-worker's porch. I named my blog for her... a bundle of nerves and energy, just figuring out how to adjust to the urban life like me. 


She's about 2 1/2 now and about 60lbs. She's a toughie to accommodate in the apartment search. Who knew that it can be considered a health hazard to have a big dog in a small studio apartment. I guess if you owned the place, it's your problem. But this is apparently why not a lot of buildings allow it... even though I swear she's a couch potato, doesn't chew walls (anymore), and is not a big barker at all. So I'm still searching and, even though I've lived in a studio apartment before, I've still found myself to be a bit shellshocked at the smallness of it all. I'll be blogging about how I figure that ordeal out. I can't wait though. I'm determined to have some high style on my serious mental health professional's budget.


So come check back in to see what happens!