As a first time therapist, approximately ten months out of graduate school, there's a lot that needs to be learned on the spot. Working at a residential facility leads to a general divide where supervision is given when it's asked, unless you have a great management team (which I do). I'm pretty sure I have several quarterly reports that haven't been written because no one has ever given me the appropriate timeline. I have learned deadlines from probation officers and caseworkers, as well as resource coordinators and my managers but not necessarily from the clinical standpoint.
This morning I learned the feeling of being cross examined by seven attorneys. Seven! For a person who took public speaking twice in undergrad because my anxiety becomes so terrible that I shake, standing in front of a court room is not my ideal situation on a Thursday morning. Court mornings are exhausting to begin with as they normally begin at 4 a.m. and end in the early evening. Certain courts are notorious for long waits and are places where stories are made. These contain tall tales of waiting until the middle of the afternoon for a morning hearing. (Knock on wood) I have been lucky to not be one of those stories. We were in the court room within a half hour this morning which is nothing short of unheard of.
My anxiety began when I received the subpoena for my appearance and never lessened until a coworker reaffirmed my responses. I have never questioned my therapeutic methods until the Judge did and wanted to crawl into a hole right there. In all honesty, being questioned by the Judge was worse than the seven attorneys whom sat in front of me with legal pads and laptops, waiting for me to give them the answer which would best suit their needs.
Depending on the hearing, there is a lengthy process and each attorney serves a different need. I walked out of that courtroom with the desire to be specifically trained in certain therapies and to back to grad school (a.k.a the safety of education before entering the real world). I will be testifying again in less than thirty days as part of the client's case was continued. Most clients have court once every three to six months as a method of reviewing progress. This particular client, as of April, will have been to court three times in the past four months. That's multiple court reports, early wake up calls, and long drives…for a thirty minute court hearing.
All in the name of therapy.
29 miles on the clock for this weekend. My legs are feeling the 14 mile long run and are in desperate need of a foam roller. I wouldn't have traded the view of ice fishermen on the bay for anything else, even with intense wind and freezing temperatures. How many weeks until spring?
There's no other way to say it, this winter has been nothing short of depressing. With bitter temperatures and seemingly never ending snow, it seems as if spring will never be here. Saturday helped brighten the winter blues a bit as I ran the Cupid Undie Run with a few coworkers in Pittsburgh.
My boss had brought the idea up months ago. It took a small bit of time (and some convincing) but we gathered a team of ladies and began fundraising. There are only a few clever ways to convince others that you know to run through the streets of Pittsburgh in their skivvies. However, we succeeded.
The Cupid Undie Run supports the Children's Tumor Foundation in an effort to help those children battling neurofibromatosis. There are events held throughout the day inside the venue, which helps everyone stay warm, and the race is held in the middle of the festivities. Pittsburgh's event was hosted a Buckhead's Saloon in Station Square. A majority of runners there had some sort of connection to the cause while others were excited to raise money for a good cause.
We bundled up Saturday morning after a week of pumping ourselves up that Pittsburgh will be a heat wave compared to our consistent below 10 degree weather. We road tripped. We enjoyed ourselves (safely). We ran.
Then we warmed up because running in superhero attire in the middle of February is still freezing.
It was a great event for a great cause. I always participated in Relay for Life while in Slippery Rock and love participating in events which benefit children, especially if it allows me to dress as Batman. Credit to my boss for documenting the day in pictures since no one believed we were really running. I don't believe the race was a mile but that might also be the marathon training talking:) It was a quick course over a bridge and back to Station Square.
I have a least one race every month from now until September and couldn't be more excited. Next on the calendar is the St. Patrick's Day Distance Festival 10k in my good ol' hometown … which is a snowy tundra.
Cupid Undie Run race day recap. A day spent with those fighting daily in mind.