Our July Therapist who Rocks is Justin Laffoon!

1) What is your name and your current job title?

Justin Laffoon, Director of Clinical Services at The BridgeWay Hospital

2) How did you come to hold your current position?

Well I guess when you work in this profession long enough they just put you in charge…🤣…kidding!

In all honesty, even in times when I wasn’t in a leadership position, I find that being a social worker makes you automatically thrust into being a leader. Even in times when I was just a “staff clinician” I would be called upon to mediate co-workers who were in conflict or asked to lead task forces that would analyze and make recommendations for performance improvement, I’ve served on numerous committee’s to hire my own boss that as I was asked to take on more and more responsibility, I eventually began looking for positions that fit the skills I had grown from those collective experiences.

3) What called you into becoming a therapist or MH professional?

I thought from a very young age that I would become a physician, the extent that my parents bought me medical dictionaries, human anatomy models, microscope kits, and even a  real stethoscope as a child. Once I got older and I struggled with math skills more than I would like, I wasn’t sure if some of the course work I needed would make Medical School a reality. I started exploring additional career options and my best friend’s mother recommended I take Intro to Social Work. I immediately fell in love with a profession that would allow me to still work in healthcare but would also engage me in policy and politics as well as give me numerous career opportunities. And I still get to help people!

4) What is your favorite part about your job? The most difficult?

What really love about administration is the ability to train and teach. I love working with newer clinicians and getting to help guide them to becoming more competent and teaching them the things I’ve learned over the years.

The most difficult, as with most leadership positions, is when you have to help someone understand that they aren’t a good fit within your organization…but trying to help them see that they will find something that will fit their skill set.

5) What would you share with someone who wanted to become a therapist or to do your specific job?

If you’re just becoming a therapist, remember that the most effective skill you can use to help your clients is your presence. No matter the modality or therapy model you employ…a majority of clients feel like having someone who truly listened to them was helpful. So don’t get hung up on saving the world, just be there and in that moment let someone know you are there.

If you dare to move into leadership, be prepared to always treat your staff with compassion and empathy. Always remember what it was like to be “boots on the ground”.

6) Any final thoughts for the community??

Final thoughts? Right now in this current environment we all have to lift each other up, it’s so easy to let the darkness creep in. We have to be light not only for our clients but for one another. ❤️