Strategic Thinking: A Key to Strategic Success

Strategic Thinking | Arc Integrated

By Terry L. Poling

What is Strategic Thinking and Why Is It Important?

Strategic Thinking is both a choice and a capacity. When we decide to apply our mental faculties to issues that will move our organizations into important, but unknown territories with desired long-term benefits and potential risks, we are choosing to think strategically. However, our overall capacity to think strategically depends on our ability to use the appropriate level of awareness required to address the true nature and scope of the challenges we face at the time. For example, smaller, simpler problems require perspectives that are less comprehensive and coherent than larger, more complex challenges. Unfortunately, rather than expand our awareness, we often “shrink” our issues. We develop misguided plans designed to “divide and conquer” our smaller, bite-size chunks of understanding. Later, disappointed and confused, we wonder why our “strategies” don’t work.

We have discovered that Strategic Thinking requires four levels of consciousness or awareness. We have also found that the four levels are sequential and hierarchical. You can’t skip levels. Individuals and groups must master each level in order to advance and sustain their awareness at the next. For example, tolerating ambiguity is a prerequisite to creativity at higher levels. Consequently, Strategic Thinking is evolutionary and best understood as a developmental journey from “Linear” to “Breakthrough” to “Relational” to “Holistic” levels of awareness.

Strategic Thinking requires all four levels of awareness. And, it is important that groups choose to use the level most relevant and appropriate for their given situation.

Strategic Thinking | Arc Integrated

What is Linear Awareness?

Linear Awareness is the most basic, focused, and immediate level of consciousness. It is also the most prevalent. As best illustrated by our own palm pilots and day planners, we view our lives and the circumstances of our lives as a series of events and issues. Success is defined in terms of maintaining or regaining stability and predictability in the midst of busyness. When leaders operate only at this level, they treat strategic planning as an exercise in problem-solving. Problems are isolated, causes are analyzed and solutions are implemented accordingly. Conversations among leaders operating at this level of awareness tend to be transactional in nature, with emphasis on data and information exchange. Answers tend to be more important than questions since the intent is to solve the problem at hand. There is a premium placed on subject matter expertise.

The good news is that Linear Awareness is often sufficient for addressing the many everyday issues of most organizations. Without this basic level of consciousness, organizations would be, for the most part, incompetent and unable to serve their many stakeholders day-to-day.

Unfortunately, comfort and success at this level often seduce leaders to see all organizational issues, including major strategic ones, as problems to be fixed. They come to believe that they can analyze their way out of most anything. And, given enough resources or force, their solutions will work … eventually. Failure to develop beyond Linear Awareness prevents leaders from seeing the larger context and underlying dynamics affecting their organization’s direction and performance. Even more problematic, they neglect to see the impact of their own thinking and actions on the larger organization and its future performance. While necessary, Linear Awareness is not sufficient for handling the magnitude and complexity of the strategic challenges that most organizations confront today. To advance, leaders must confront the difficulties and opportunities they’ll discover at Breakthrough, the second level of awareness.

“For every problem there is one solution which is simple, neat and wrong.” – H. L. Mencken

What is Breakthrough Awareness?

Breakthrough Awareness is not only a level of consciousness but is also a threshold to broader and deeper levels of awareness. It is a transitional phase that is initially both confusing and frustrating for most of us – another big reason why we often don’t move beyond the safety of Linear Awareness.

As individuals and teams gain experience, they learn that their capacity to solve problems and control events in a methodical manner is limited. Their linear approach is no longer adequate for explaining causes or finding solutions. Without a map or formula that works, multiple and diverse perspectives begin to emerge regarding the organization’s real challenges. They discover both complexity and conflict. Their circumstances appear chaotic and confusing. Conversations become difficult and more confrontational. Fear and cynicism often set in at a time when truth-telling, diversity of perspectives, and tolerating ambiguity are required. It is for these reasons that teams frequently break down, rather than Breakthrough.

Breakthrough Awareness is finally achieved when individuals and teams choose to surrender their own sense of certainty, acknowledge their own unknowing, confront their own fears, and seek possibilities that lie beyond their current understanding. Questions, as a means to learning and discovery, become more important than solutions. Consequently, a new perspective develops where newer options and alternatives are visible and valued for the first time. In achieving Breakthrough Awareness, individuals appreciate the need for multiple viewpoints and the value of engaging others to address the real magnitude and complexity of the challenges they face.

As the universe demonstrates in so many ways, chaos generally precedes creativity. And so it is with our own consciousness – the messiness of Breakthrough Awareness is necessary to understand and leverage the relationships that emerge at the next level of consciousness which is Relational Awareness.

“A person’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

What is Relational Awareness?

Relational Awareness enables us to see forms rather than fragments among the many ideas and points of view that emerged during Breakthrough. We no longer see discrete pieces scattered beyond recognition or comprehension as we did before. We see, instead, parts that are connected in some way. Chaos gives way to trends and patterns.

Leaders interacting at this level of awareness begin to see the linkages and relationships among the many options and alternatives generated previously. They start to “connect the dots.” With a commitment to bring new meaning to the strategic challenges of the organization, their ideas, opinions, and points of view give way to new possibilities critical to strategic success.

By transcending mental boundaries, Relational Awareness also enables leaders to see the benefits of collaborating in new ways. The prior differentiators of role, position, and rank are recognized as artificial barriers to learning and progress. Conversations among leaders at this level of awareness are more interpersonal and engaging. Differences and fear give way to shared intentions and common aspirations.

The interdependencies of ideas, concepts, and people created at this level of awareness are like the prepared ingredients of a fine recipe. While assembled and arranged for cooking, they are less than their final form. It is with Holistic Awareness, the fourth and highest level of consciousness, that leaders create and experience the one true “taste” of Strategic Thinking – where relationships and interdependencies reveal unity and wholeness.

“One hand always washes the other.” – Ancient Roman

What is Holistic Awareness?

Holistic Awareness is the most comprehensive, integrated, and coherent level of Strategic Thinking to be achieved. It is also the least common and fleeting of all levels. From here, we are able to include, yet transcend the other three levels of awareness. We see and understand the wholeness of our lives – including future scenarios –that are not accessible to us at lower levels of awareness. We not only gain awareness of the context in which we find ourselves but understand the ways in which we might redefine or shift our circumstances entirely. At this level of consciousness, we become both the author, as well as the character, of our own life stories.

Holistic Awareness, although rare, enables leaders to reconcile opposites and transcend paradox. Risk is no longer the opposite of opportunity, but one and the same. “Either/or” thinking gives way to “both/and” thinking where synergy and innovation are possible for the first time. For example, quality and production are no longer contradictory but are one with success. Leaders see the “big picture” that exists beyond the sum of its component parts and discover those scenarios and strategies most relevant to long-term success in the marketplace.

Conversations among leaders operating at a Holistic level of awareness are transformational. Participants look beyond the parts to gain a broader and more inclusive view of what is on their horizon. And, in doing so together, new opportunities and strategies surface in their collective awareness. For example, not long ago the leaders of former British Petroleum discovered a new future for their organization – “Beyond Petroleum” – and have since transformed BP’s mission and presence within the global marketplace. Would anything less than Holistic Awareness have allowed them to see and actualize this future for themselves and their stakeholders?

With Holistic Awareness, individuals and teams are self-empowered to renew and recreate themselves, their organizations and the larger context to which they belong.

“Whoever can’t see the whole in every part plays at blind man’s bluff. A wise man tastes the entire Tigris in every sip.” – Ghalib

Terry Poling is committed to helping leaders achieve greater wisdom, effectiveness, integrity and fulfillment for themselves, their organizations, and the world-at-large. He has 30+ years’ experience as an organization consultant, executive coach, expert facilitator and business owner. Terry has led large-scale, enterprise-wide, transformational change initiatives across diverse industries, such as automotive, healthcare, financial services, pharma and telecommunications. He has delivered services in the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Ethiopia and South Africa.
Terry is the founder of The Poling Group, an Advisory Board Member for University of NC Asheville and a 2018 inductee to the North Carolina Society of Human Resource Management Society Hall of Fame. He holds advanced degrees in Organizational Communication from Miami University, Counseling Psychology and Organizational Studies from Boston College and a certification in Coaching & Counseling from University of Michigan.

If you found this article helpful and want to learn more about the topic, you can reach out to Terry and connect with him here.

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5 Ways Leaders Can Support Employee Goals

5 Ways Leaders Can Support Employee Goals | Arc Integrated

Here at Arc Integrated, we help leaders, teams, and cultures all over the globe with assessment, executive coaching as well as training and consultation. January marks the start of a new year and with it, companies and teams are setting their goals for the upcoming year. 

Surprisingly, 92% of people never meet the goals that they set for themselves for the year. Naturally, one of the topics that has been coming up lately is how we, as leaders, can effectively support employee goals. 

In today’s article, I will be going over just that, with my top five tips on how you as a leader can support your employees’ goals.

Tip #1: Make It Personal

A common negative connotation when it comes to the workplace is “we don’t want to get into the lives of the employees too much.” The reality of the situation is some of the most highly performing teams, cultures, and organizations have very solid personal relationships. One of the ways in which you can develop a personal relationship with an employee is by understanding their:

  • Strengths
  • Visions
  • Goals

It’s important to note that these three themes are all beyond the workplace; they could surround their health, financial future, or even their education. This also helps the employee show up to work feeling like they can truly be themselves. 

Leaders who are true to themself, admit and learn from mistakes, and focus on development stimulate employees to initiate their own growth.  When your employees feel appreciated and heard, the better they will perform. In fact, 79% of employees will quit due to a lack of appreciation. Overall, the more we can engage with and understand the human element of our employees the more we can support them in their needs and goals. 

Tip #2: Provide Accountability

Providing accountability to your employees is a really clever technique in being able to support them in their goals. You can do this by helping them implement SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, and Time-bound.

Check-Ins Provide Accountability for Employees

A really good example of this is by setting up a monthly check-in on the goal that they are currently working towards and how that goal is progressing. You may also ask about the steps they have in place in completing or achieving their goals and how you as a leader can help. This way, you are not only creating accountability through the meetings on their own, but you are requiring them to take actions through the steps towards their goals.

Reward Systems Are Great for Providing Employee Accountability

A reward system is another way in which you can provide accountability. If you have a team and set up reward checkpoints, the entire team can all share rewards upon completion of each goal being met. 

Consider Accountability Partnerships for Your Employees

Finally, I encourage you to create some type of accountability partnership. It could be as simple as just two members of a team working together and supporting each other. Through this partnership and support, your employees can share their goals as well as their consistent progress with each other.

Tip #3: Allocate Time

Allocating time is a really important tip that leaders can take to better support their employees. You as a leader should support the fact that employees can spend time (sometimes maybe even at work) working towards their workplace goals.

An example of this could be at the start of 2022 if you were to share with your team that you will allocate 90 minutes a week in order for everyone to work and progress on their individual, personal goals. Depending on your team’s schedule, you can set up specific time frames in order to work on their goals.

A question you may be asking yourself while reading this tip is:

“Can I really afford to allocate 90 minutes per week, towards work that is unrelated to the company?”

My answer to that thought is that the more that we can support the accomplishments and goals of our employees, the greater engagement that can create as well as improvement of the company culture. This ultimately leads to the benefits largely outweighing the risks. So much so in fact that employees who are disengaged miss an average of 3.5 more days per year, are less productive, and cost the US economy $292 to $355 billion per year. 

Tip #4: Include a Social Component

The reality is that in today’s day and age, we are radically motivated by social pressures. This might be more evident now than at any other time in our history due to the emergence of online social channels. Although this sounds entirely like a bad thing, this is not the case. It can also be used for good!

If you incorporate a social component into a goal accomplishment, it can be used as an effective tool. This could mean that the team meets weekly or monthly, to focus on helping and supporting each other with their personal goals. This is a way to use social pressures in a positive way.

Another way is to have some kind of social check-in process. It does not matter if you use something simple like an excel spreadsheet or your team uses online software, as long as you are creating transparency around each person’s goals. With this technique, everyone is able to see each other’s personal goals along with how they are currently progressing towards them.  

Tip #5: Help Your Employees Find The Obstacles

At first glance, the idea of finding obstacles might seem a bit paradoxical. There is a term in psychology called mental contrasting. It refers to the idea that we: 

→ Set our intentions towards a goal

→ Reflect on why we want to do it and why it’s important to us

→ Identify what are the obstacles that might stop us from reaching our goal

The final reflecting process on the obstacles that potentially can stop our goal progression is at the core of mental contrasting. When done effectively, this increases the likelihood that we will reach the goals we’ve previously set.

As leaders, if we can be helpful through dialog, meetings, and encouragement in helping our employees find these obstacles, it will in turn increase the likelihood that they accomplish their goals.

If you are curious about how you or your organization is doing with leadership, I highly recommend taking our free leadership quiz as it relates to retention engagement and performance. It takes around three minutes to complete and is really helpful!

Also, If you found this article interesting and want to learn more, feel free to watch the video version of 5 Ways Leaders Can Support Employee Goals.

Be well,

Michael

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How to Support a Diverse Group of Leaders in Their Own Leadership Development

How to Support a Diverse Group of Leaders | Arc Integrated

Learning how to support a diverse group of leaders in this day and age is a very important skill to have in your repertoire. In today’s article, I will be outlining five tips for a topic that has emerged as one of the more popular topics that we tackle here at Arc Integrated. The topic is how to support a diverse group of leaders in their own leadership development. So, how exactly do you get a diverse group of leaders and make sure that they get what they need, and that the training is impactful for them so that it creates long term success?

Tip #1: Connect Leaders to One Another

The first tip is to connect the leaders to one another.

You might be asking yourself, why is this valuable? There’s a number of reasons why, but simply put from a learning standpoint, we know that when it comes to learning, the best case outcomes occur when we do experiential learning. Experiential learning is a process where you experience, reflect, think and then ultimately act. When we use this engaging learning process, the longevity and sustainability of the things we learn is exponential as opposed to one way learning. One way learning can take the form of webinars where one person or a group of people are giving out information to an audience that is listening.

The benefit of experiential learning when it comes to diversity is that each person gets to learn: 

  • Cultural practices
  • Empathy
  • Cultural perspectives

Tip #2: Challenge Their Biases

In my experience, when you have a group of people in a room that come from different backgrounds and cultures, there are going to be many inherent differences. As a leader, it’s important to challenge our own biases, but it’s equally important to challenge the biases of others as well. This however, is a very tricky line to distinguish when referring to group diversity. 

Use Dialogue to Figure Out If It Is a Cultural Bias, or a Cultural Nuance

Is it a cultural bias, or just a cultural nuance? How exactly do you go about figuring out the difference? Dialogue!

It’s critical to remain curious and interested. Keep an open dialogue among the diverse group of leaders so they can learn as much as they can in order to figure out if what they are concerned about is a cultural bias, or a bias that you can comfortably challenge.

Tip #3: Remain Curious & Humble

I believe that constantly remaining curious and humble is a lifelong opportunity that spans far beyond leadership. This is not to say however, that these two specific skills do not have deep rooted benefits for leadership as well – they absolutely do. 

In terms of curiosity, it hopefully allows for more learning and works against frustration or anger that comes up during dialog. This is especially important when dealing with a diverse group of people because at some point, you will come across a topic that becomes frustrating. When you are dealing with diversity, people’s perspectives are going to be more nuanced and there will oftentimes be more difference in the room than commonality. By being humble, you hopefully gain perspective that no matter who it is and what their background entails, you can learn something from them.

Tip #4: Know Your Audience

If you are conducting leadership development with a diverse group of people or you have employees where there is a large amount of diversity, it’s important to understand that there are specific perspectives and cultural differences. Therefore, the more you get to know, understand and respect the specific perspectives and cultural differences, the more respect you receive in turn. You can also bring up these conversations with a diverse group of people so everybody can be aware and learn as well. 

Call Out Cultural Nuances and Learn From Them

Here at Arc Integrated, we have a lot of experience when it comes to dealing with diverse leaders. When a type of cultural nuance comes up when we are performing leadership or training, we call it out and ask to learn more about it. This gives not only us, but everybody else around us the opportunity to learn because ultimately the more we can understand that we are global citizens the better off we all will be.

Tip #5: Explore Global Issues to Create Connection & Deepen Learning

When thinking about diversity in regards to leadership development, there are certain issues that go past culture or diversity. The technology of VR (virtual reality) is an emerging technical advancement that is being used more and more in the training and development space. The issue with this is the fact that some countries and cultures aren’t going to use VR as readily yet, and depending on where you live, the prevalence of this technology will be more common or less common.

Another example of a global issue that may supersede culture is the idea of VUCA:

  • Volatility – how fast things can change in the economy, workplace or world
  • Uncertainty – being unsure or unable to predict what is to come
  • Complexity – the amount of factors that we need to take note of
  • Ambiguity – how clear a situation or problem is

VUCA represents a global problem of different challenges that we all face and the type of responses that follow it. It is important to talk about the nuances of VUCA within both our own culture and our own company.

If you found this article interesting and want to learn more, feel free to watch the video version of 5 Tips to Support a Diverse Group of Leaders. As always, if you want to opt in for my Free Changes Playbook go ahead and give it a go! The Free Changes Playbook will explain how to unlock the 7 pillars to create and manage change as well as help reduce stress as a leader.

Be well,

Michael

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How to Use Structure to Improve Company Culture

How to Use Structure to Improve Company Culture | Arc Integrated

Having a reputable and rewarding work culture is often seen as a cornerstone in many successful companies and organizations. That’s why it’s important that as a leader you find different ways to improve the culture of your business or team in order to match the culture you want to see spread throughout the company. One of the many ways to do so is by implementing a meaningful structure that reflects the type of culture that you are trying to grow within your company.  In today’s article, I will be listing five impactful ways on how you can implement structure to improve the culture of your company. 

Performance Evaluations

The first method in which you can implement structure to improve the culture of your workplace is by creating performance evaluations for all of your employees. This is a very common and effective strategy that most leaders have incorporated into their organization. If you don’t have this method as a part of your company’s structure, you should start! Alternatively, if you already have performance evaluations here are a few things you should consider. 

  • The first is being consistent – This is a really important principle. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing these every quarter, every 6 months, or even once a year every year. Whatever it is, make sure to keep consistency in the evaluations.
  • The second is creating accountability – Make sure that there are deliverables at play for both the leader doing a performance evaluation as well as for the employees first.
  • The third is outlining the opportunities – It is very helpful as a leader to make sure that there is a really clear path to what the opportunities at hand are within any given time frame.
  • Lastly giving people choice and autonomy – This is a really important factor when it comes to evaluation because it shows trust with your employees.

Create a Clear and Consistent Process for Meetings 

Meetings are often a time that employees dread, but they don’t always have to be a horrible experience! I believe there is a lot of opportunities to implement a good structure for meetings that will ultimately lead to a greater culture.

Here are some simple tips on how you can create a good meeting:

  • Start the meetings with appreciation. The appreciation can be for something recently learned, an employee in your organization, or even an event that happened recently.
  • Set up a time during the meeting to go over and review any new material, recent learnings, or even the previous meeting so everybody can be on the same page.
  • Make sure that you agree on the actions and deliverables being outlined in the meeting.
  • Lastly, creating clarity for everybody that is involved in the meeting and what exactly are they expected to do or what deliverables are expected from them.

All of these examples are really simple and easy to add to your team meetings so that you can start to generate a culture that you’ve always wanted. For more tips and examples of the processes that you can implement in your meetings, read this article on How to Design an Agenda for an Effective Meeting.

Make Sure Your Hiring Process Supports Your Company’s Culture

It all starts here, with the hiring process. The hiring process is not a one-way street in regards to how you feel that the potential candidate could fit in your organization, but the candidate is also looking to see if the culture and fit match what they are looking for as well. 75% of candidates will research a company’s reputation before applying for a job opening.

Principle 1

Have a really clear metric or decision-making boundary around what is a “go” or “no-go” for the culture in your company. This obviously requires having a clear stance on what the culture of your organization is beforehand

Principle 2

Make sure that you have a really clear job description when entering the hiring process. You can also think of it as “if the job could talk, what would it say about itself”? This can include factors such as:

  • What are the values of the job?
  • What are the skills necessary?
  • What is the best personality fit for the job?

Principle 3

Have real clear transparency about the culture in your company. Make sure that you implement that culture into the hiring process so that they are aware of what to expect.

Ensure All Corporate Processes Match Your Company’s Values

Work-life balance is a great example in showing that your processes do indeed match the values that your company stands for. If your company has a strong reputation and culture for work-life balance but there are processes or even unspoken agreements that suggest that a person should work on a weekend or past working hours, it creates an incongruence within the structure and culture of the company.

In this scenario, the opportunity to change the current structure can have a positive impact on work culture. If a particular software is required to be used after hours, for example, you may need to change the process in order to properly adjust to an acceptable work-life balance that matches the company’s values.

Mind the Norms About Communication

Communication is a topic here at Arc Integrated that we are trained on and well versed in. This is because on a daily basis we see the importance and value that companies put on implementing communication as a skill.

An example of communication can be seen through wanting more human connections. The hope as a leader is that the values you have and try to grow, end up living and breathing throughout the entirety of the company. Ultimately, if all of your company’s communication takes place via email, for example, you lose that human interaction which inherently prohibits human connection. This is of course not to say that we need to completely remove email if you value human connection, but rather find alternative ways of communication that match the values that the company has. That being said, if your company values human connection, my question would be:

In what ways are you communicating beyond email that drives human connection?

If you enjoyed this article I encourage you to take this quiz on our website. It reveals some ways in which you can improve the culture, performance, and productivity of your team. You can also watch the video version on today’s topic – how to use structure to improve company culture

As always you can learn more about emotional intelligence, leadership, and communication by picking up my book CHANGES: The Busy Professional’s Guide to Reducing Stress, Accomplishing Goals and Mastering Adaptability

Be well,

Michael

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Behavioral Health Jobs

 

Behavioral Health Jobs

There are many disciplines within behavioral health. To see more information about the different disciplines or about how to choose a therapist, see THIS BLOG POST.  For this post though, I want to talk about all the different areas that are possible to work when searching for behavioral health jobs.

Over the last few years I have spoke a number of times to different graduate classes or schools regarding the varying types of jobs one can get with a graduate degree in a helping profession.  When I was in graduate school I definitely would have been interested in hearing what kinds of options are out there, and it seems graduates students I come across have this same curiosity.   Although there are many pros and cons working in the behavioral health arena (for a good summary click HERE), understanding the options that exist may be helpful in making a decision.  Here is a short list and explanation of career options for those with a graduate degree in the behavioral health field (this list is not conclusive).

Behavioral Health Jobs

Community Mental Health

This area is typical for recent graduate school graduates who are looking for mental health jobs or social work jobs.  In my experience the kind of mental health job you will have working in a community mental health center is always advantageous for improving clinical skills and building awareness of multiple populations.   For more information about working in community mental health, click HERE.

Corrections

Working in corrections is often times an available opportunity in many communities because of the demand.   For an example of duties that may occur for a mental health job in corrections, click HERE.  The level of intensity in the environment of working within corrections may be high, due to the stress level.   However there are many important, valuable clinical skills that could be gained through working in an environment like a correctional facility.

Crisis Interventionist

Typically this kind of work is done within a couple different contexts, like an EAP or a community mental health agency.  Doing crisis work is specific and unique.  This is also a great experience builder that will expose a new mental health graduate to potentially many situations and populations.  The work is challenging and usually fast paced.  The role may vary depending on the context but usually involves helping individuals or organizations debrief from a crisis and find resources and supports necessary.   To learn more about being a crisis intervention worker click HERE.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

This career in mental health is also unique because it can involve a combination of clinical skills as well as business skills.  EAPs are benefits offered to employees that are either a component of a medical plan or an additional employee benefit outside of the medical plan.  The EAP allows for employees with this benefit to seek counseling services free of charge, within certain criteria.  The EAP professional can have many responsibilities including clinical consultation/assessment/triage, organizational training, crisis intervention or account management.   For more information about Employee Assistance Program work, click HERE.

Hospital

Working in a hospital within the field of mental health could mean a number of roles.  There are social workers, case managers, therapists and even mental health nurses.   To learn more about mental health nursing click HERE.  Working in a hospital setting may become more of a popular setting for mental health workers as healthcare in general continues to shift to an integrated care model.   To learn more about how integrated care may impact mental health jobs in the coming years, click HERE.

Private Practice/Group Practice

There are many advantages and rewards when working in private practice.  To see my experience of starting a private practice, see THIS ARTICLE.   The world of private practice can offer lots of independence and flexibility.  However, some people find private practice to be too isolating, which is why group practices can be beneficial. Group practices offer the same flexibility and independence as a singular private practice but with some additional support.  Having a group practice may offer more contact for staffing, triage and supervision.  Settings in a group or private practice may also lead themselves to being in a more casual environment.

Substance Abuse Professional

Working within the substance abuse area of behavioral health is somewhat unique. Unlike other kinds of counseling work, working in substance abuse does not require a master’s degree.  However, since it is an area that therapists often focus in, I wanted to include it.  Substance abuse work can exist in a wide variety of settings including, but not limited to, treatment centers, community mental health clinics, detox centers and in private or group practices.  HERE is an interesting chart looking at varying credentials one can pursue within the addictions field, with and without an advanced degree.

VA Counselor

This has become a more popular setting recently as there have been more opportunities opened up for not only social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists, but counselors as well.  For more information about opportunities for counselors working the VA, click HERE.  Behavioral health specialists working in the VA may be working with issues like PTSD, trauma and family dynamic issues.  There may be additional benefits in working for the VA due to there being federal employee benefits packages.

I hope this short list gives some sense of all the varied opportunity that exists within the mental health job arena.  Ultimately, like finding the right kind of therapist, the right kind of job within the mental field has to do with the best fit.   My experience through working in a few different kinds of mental health jobs has helped me learn where my strengths and weaknesses are.  I have also learned what kinds of clients I work best with, as well as which client’s may be suited for another therapist or service.  Through this awareness I hope to ultimately have a better impact on those I work with, which I am thankful for.

Best,

Michael

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