Latest / Behavioral Health Brief / Ep 5 | The Power Of Lived Experience: Inspiring Hope, Healing And Change
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Welcome to the Behavioral Health Brief, presented by TURNED Behavioral
- 0:05Speaker 1: Health Services. Behavioral health is about people. People who deserve compassion, dignity,
- 0:12Speaker 1: and the opportunity to heal. At TURN, that belief drives
- 0:17Speaker 1: our mission of improving lives. This podcast brings together behavioral
- 0:23Speaker 1: health expertise and real stories of transformation to elevate the
- 0:28Speaker 1: field and inspire meaningful change. I'm Jim Callahan, CEO of TURN.
- 0:35Speaker 1: Today's episode is about leadership, lived experience, and the courage
- 0:39Speaker 1: it takes to build a life rooted in compassion. It's
- 0:42Speaker 1: about what happens when someone turns their own recovery into
- 0:46Speaker 1: a lifelong commitment to helping others do the same. This
- 0:50Speaker 1: is the journey we're exploring today with doctor Wendy Broughton,
- 0:53Speaker 1: TURNS Chief Operating Officer. Thank you for joining us today
- 0:57Speaker 1: on the Behavioral Health Brief. Wendy, it's great to have
- 1:00Speaker 1: you here.
- 1:01Speaker 2: Thanks very much. Jim, I'm looking forward to it. I've
- 1:03Speaker 2: heard a lot about it and I couldn't wait to
- 1:05Speaker 2: get here, So it's.
- 1:06Speaker 1: Going to be terrific. Between we've worked together for ten years.
- 1:09Speaker 2: Ten long years, Jim.
- 1:10Speaker 1: Ten long years. It had been ten good years, but
- 1:14Speaker 1: ten long years. It's so had some ups and downs
- 1:16Speaker 1: as we've gone through our cycle. But I think when
- 1:18Speaker 1: we look at what we've accomplished at turned together, from
- 1:22Speaker 1: where we started at twenty six and now here we
- 1:26Speaker 1: are in twenty twenty six, it's simply amazing how we
- 1:30Speaker 1: grew the company together with both of us working so
- 1:33Speaker 1: closely together. So before we get into your work and
- 1:36Speaker 1: your story, you recently reached a major milestone in your
- 1:40Speaker 1: personal life, please share that today.
- 1:42Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it was amazing, it was surreal. My
- 1:45Speaker 2: daughter just graduated UCSB and as regulation, thank you, thank you,
- 1:51Speaker 2: I feel like I graduated too. For sure. She calls
- 1:54Speaker 2: it adulting, So as she crossed the stage adult Yeah,
- 1:59Speaker 2: she was adulting busy, and I though, I mean, like,
- 2:02Speaker 2: I'm watching her and I'm so excited for her, and
- 2:04Speaker 2: I'm super proud and at the same time, that's my baby,
- 2:07Speaker 2: that's my baby girl. So I'm loving that she's launching,
- 2:12Speaker 2: and at the same time, I want to hold on
- 2:14Speaker 2: tight and I'm just I'm so proud of the person
- 2:17Speaker 2: she's become. I'm so grateful. I've shared with you before
- 2:21Speaker 2: that you know, my child that has grown up at turn.
- 2:24Speaker 2: You know, when she was just a young thing, a toddler,
- 2:28Speaker 2: we would gather up her toys and her stuffed animals
- 2:31Speaker 2: and the clothes that she was no longer wearing. And
- 2:33Speaker 2: trust me, the girl has a wardrobe. She can spare
- 2:35Speaker 2: a few things. And we would load up the truck
- 2:37Speaker 2: and go over to our women's residential program where, yeah,
- 2:41Speaker 2: the women and children were, and she got to donate
- 2:44Speaker 2: those things, I mean personally donate them. And she got
- 2:47Speaker 2: to see that she has blessings and she has a
- 2:50Speaker 2: grace in her life that these kids have never known.
- 2:54Speaker 2: And she got to be a part of that. And
- 2:55Speaker 2: I think it helped to develop not just her character,
- 2:59Speaker 2: but just this notion of giving back and especially when
- 3:02Speaker 2: you have more. And so every year we would do
- 3:04Speaker 2: that and so my hope is she carries that tradition
- 3:07Speaker 2: on with her children. And but anyways, yeah, it was
- 3:11Speaker 2: it was a fun weekend and I was super proud to,
- 3:14Speaker 2: you know, bear witness to my baby's next mile.
- 3:17Speaker 1: So, oh yeah, that's great. So let's back up just
- 3:19Speaker 1: a little bit, and is there one certain moment that
- 3:23Speaker 1: sticks out for you besides the graduation day? I mean,
- 3:25Speaker 1: because you know, Gabby graduated a couple of years ago,
- 3:28Speaker 1: and that was tremendous and then but it was there
- 3:31Speaker 1: one thing that really sticks out for you through those
- 3:35Speaker 1: four years, just maybe a little funny thing or something
- 3:38Speaker 1: that you can think back on when you were up
- 3:40Speaker 1: in Santa Barbara or she was down here.
- 3:43Speaker 2: I mean, she's my kid, you know. I will have
- 3:46Speaker 2: to say this. The one thing about my daughter that
- 3:49Speaker 2: everyone talks about. She would get awards in school too,
- 3:53Speaker 2: like all through elementary and high school, and that is
- 3:56Speaker 2: that she was always like the citizenship award and they
- 4:00Speaker 2: would explain it like this. Annie always make sure that
- 4:03Speaker 2: everyone has a friend. She's not one of those people
- 4:06Speaker 2: that will allow her to click up with her friends
- 4:08Speaker 2: and watch somebody else sit by themselves. She's very inclusive.
- 4:12Speaker 2: She has more sets of groups of friends than I
- 4:15Speaker 2: can keep count of. They've all been to my house,
- 4:17Speaker 2: by the way. But I love the people she surrounds
- 4:22Speaker 2: herself with and that's due to her. She knows how
- 4:24Speaker 2: to nurture it. And I just love that she makes
- 4:26Speaker 2: sure that everybody's included. It's a really cool thing.
- 4:29Speaker 1: You know. I think one of the things that stuck
- 4:31Speaker 1: with me was when you said the other day you
- 4:34Speaker 1: were up there for graduation and talk to some of
- 4:36Speaker 1: the other students that were graduating and had no path, right,
- 4:41Speaker 1: they didn't know what they were going to do. They
- 4:43Speaker 1: were going back home. And now Annie is on her
- 4:47Speaker 1: path and she's already got a job and she's working
- 4:49Speaker 1: and stuff like that. I could hear how proud you
- 4:52Speaker 1: were in that time. So congratulations on that.
- 4:55Speaker 2: I don't know where she gets that type a personality from.
- 4:58Speaker 1: I don't know where she gets it all.
- 5:00Speaker 2: She's finished all her classes by March, and she had
- 5:02Speaker 2: a full time job offer at a wealth management company
- 5:05Speaker 2: in Santa Barbara starting April first, so she's already working
- 5:08Speaker 2: full time. And you know, for the most part, the
- 5:11Speaker 2: Bank of Mommy has closed. We're hoping for a full
- 5:14Speaker 2: launch this summer. But you know, anyways, so that means you.
- 5:17Speaker 1: Could spend more money on bikes now, right and the
- 5:20Speaker 1: toys that you need right right. Anyhow, So that's really great,
- 5:26Speaker 1: happy for you, Happy for Annie, and congratulations on that milestone.
- 5:30Speaker 1: And I know it's been a very busy time for
- 5:32Speaker 1: you and for I recently, but we did just have
- 5:35Speaker 1: our strategic retreat with the board. Maybe you could share
- 5:38Speaker 1: some thoughts on the strategic retreat and how that was
- 5:41Speaker 1: for you.
- 5:41Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought it was I mean personally, I thought
- 5:43Speaker 2: it was great. I think our board is comprised of
- 5:46Speaker 2: some a rare breed of people. I mean a lot
- 5:49Speaker 2: of the board members got to their seats because they
- 5:52Speaker 2: have personal experience, whether it's them or their family members,
- 5:56Speaker 2: and so they really feel driven to be a part
- 5:58Speaker 2: of the solution. And then there's other board members who
- 6:01Speaker 2: just want to give back, you know, they have the
- 6:03Speaker 2: time and the expertise to really help guide, you know,
- 6:06Speaker 2: guide us in our direction. The one thing I will
- 6:08Speaker 2: say about the retreat, which I thought was amazing. They
- 6:11Speaker 2: were so engaged, but like the energy was palpable, It
- 6:15Speaker 2: was alive in there, and they were really focused in
- 6:17Speaker 2: trying and and it was funny because they would catch
- 6:21Speaker 2: themselves and each other, you know, going back to default,
- 6:24Speaker 2: and we kept talking about keeping it above the line
- 6:26Speaker 2: and keeping it to the right of the equals sign
- 6:28Speaker 2: in the equation, and they weren't afraid to do that.
- 6:31Speaker 2: And I think you have to have the level of
- 6:34Speaker 2: humility that you know to admit you don't know what
- 6:38Speaker 2: you don't know, and also to be able to be
- 6:41Speaker 2: brave and give feedback. And at the end of the day,
- 6:44Speaker 2: what we wanted was the board to plant the flag
- 6:46Speaker 2: on the top of the hill and give us vision
- 6:48Speaker 2: and direction. And they nailed it.
- 6:50Speaker 1: I mean that was really good. We now have our
- 6:53Speaker 1: north star. Yeah, there you go, and our north star
- 6:55Speaker 1: is going to be in our four quadrant squares for
- 6:58Speaker 1: our driven purposes that we have for turn. Anyhow, before
- 7:03Speaker 1: we kind of move forward, I just wanted to say
- 7:05Speaker 1: I thought the strategic retreat was really great. It was
- 7:09Speaker 1: good to hear some of the board members say, you know,
- 7:12Speaker 1: I haven't been as engaged as I need to be,
- 7:14Speaker 1: and the strategic retreat brought them back to the table
- 7:18Speaker 1: and really motivated them. And I think it's really good
- 7:20Speaker 1: as we go forward into this summer.
- 7:22Speaker 2: You know, you make a good point because you know,
- 7:24Speaker 2: our board chair Jeanette Sanchez, who's amazing all you know,
- 7:29Speaker 2: driven passion. I love it. The other thing is, you know,
- 7:32Speaker 2: there's a lot of heart. So we did a lot
- 7:34Speaker 2: of hard work, but there was heard at the table too.
- 7:37Speaker 2: And the one thing I liked about it is it
- 7:39Speaker 2: was just this assessment of we're at this two point
- 7:41Speaker 2: h version, right, And she kept saying that so it
- 7:44Speaker 2: was like the board of Director's two point oho and
- 7:47Speaker 2: so they're leveling up, so they're engaging at a higher level.
- 7:50Speaker 2: And again, I couldn't have been more proud. I thought
- 7:52Speaker 2: it was amazing.
- 7:52Speaker 1: To be honest, Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't
- 7:55Speaker 1: thank Mike Staver for facilitating that for us. That was
- 7:59Speaker 1: really a great He's a great facility. But let's move
- 8:01Speaker 1: into some more kind of the conversation today around compassion
- 8:06Speaker 1: and what when you hear the word compassion, what comes
- 8:10Speaker 1: up for you? When we think about our workforce and
- 8:13Speaker 1: the fabric of our workforce, what comes up for you?
- 8:16Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, compassion is at the heart of everything
- 8:19Speaker 2: we do. People come to us in the most difficult
- 8:23Speaker 2: times of their lives, right They need a soft place
- 8:26Speaker 2: to land, and we've got to provide that to them
- 8:28Speaker 2: without judgment. And that's really what prevents people from walking
- 8:32Speaker 2: in the door to begin with is stigma, and they're
- 8:34Speaker 2: just afraid that, you know, someone's going to look at
- 8:37Speaker 2: them sideways. And we just don't do that. It's the
- 8:39Speaker 2: way that we design our programs and our services where
- 8:44Speaker 2: we meet with our clients with complete compassion and understanding.
- 8:47Speaker 2: It's the way that we involve their family members and
- 8:50Speaker 2: really understand like people come in with their own traditions,
- 8:53Speaker 2: their own cultures, their own understandings and preferences, and it's
- 8:56Speaker 2: our job to meet them where they're at and just
- 9:00Speaker 2: be there for them. One of the things that I
- 9:02Speaker 2: love is that little tibit, little trivia tibit here is
- 9:06Speaker 2: that the number one predictor of successful treatment episode is
- 9:11Speaker 2: the therapeutic relationship. So if the counselor is there with
- 9:16Speaker 2: empathy and compassion, and that the client is left feeling understood, heard,
- 9:23Speaker 2: that they matter, that they're important, and the person's really
- 9:26Speaker 2: there and it's tangible, their success is eminent. It's perfect.
- 9:30Speaker 2: So we've got to get that one right.
- 9:32Speaker 1: Yeah. You know, it's really interesting you say that because
- 9:35Speaker 1: our guest that I had on Tuesday, who is out
- 9:39Speaker 1: of our drug court program. She was saying that when
- 9:42Speaker 1: she was in jail, people would tell her, don't go
- 9:45Speaker 1: to that program. It's a failure program. You're never going
- 9:47Speaker 1: to make it through. But then when she stepped through
- 9:50Speaker 1: the door and got there and felt the compassion and
- 9:53Speaker 1: the love from the people at our drug court, you know,
- 9:55Speaker 1: that's what really when we talk about compassion is really
- 9:58Speaker 1: great for our for our clients. So let's back up again,
- 10:02Speaker 1: back up a little bit. Why don't you've been with
- 10:04Speaker 1: TURN for twenty eight years, and so can you describe
- 10:08Speaker 1: some of the first jobs that you had at TURN
- 10:11Speaker 1: and your path to really kind of becoming COO because
- 10:16Speaker 1: that's a long journey, and be interesting to hear.
- 10:19Speaker 2: That it is a long journy. I can't remember at.
- 10:23Speaker 1: All, probably didn't come out right anyhow.
- 10:25Speaker 2: I know I have white hair for a reason.
- 10:27Speaker 1: I started the last ten years. I was a little
- 10:30Speaker 1: bit different color when I started.
- 10:32Speaker 2: I started blonde, and you know, anyways, yeah, you know,
- 10:36Speaker 2: I remember when I first got my first job as
- 10:40Speaker 2: a program manager at one of the programs, and it
- 10:43Speaker 2: was a small, outpatient program, and you know, I loved it.
- 10:47Speaker 2: I remember we would have what I considered at the
- 10:50Speaker 2: time these big corporate management meetings and there was about
- 10:54Speaker 2: fourteen of us that would sit around a conference room table.
- 10:57Speaker 2: Now we have to rent a hotel to get our
- 10:59Speaker 2: own higher management team together for an all hands meeting.
- 11:03Speaker 2: I mean, that's the growth that we've come from. It's
- 11:06Speaker 2: it's it's amazing. I look back and I'm really grateful
- 11:11Speaker 2: for you know some of the early on experiences. I
- 11:14Speaker 2: will share a story since you know it's story time.
- 11:17Speaker 2: So I was working at this program, the first program
- 11:19Speaker 2: I was hired at, and it was called PIR and
- 11:21Speaker 2: it was Probationers in Recovery. And it was an intensive
- 11:24Speaker 2: outpatient program where you had the counselors on site, but
- 11:27Speaker 2: also the probation officers.
- 11:29Speaker 1: Oh, right next to each other.
- 11:30Speaker 2: Right there in the same offices. So it's therapy and
- 11:33Speaker 2: probation and it was great. Now I was younger, and
- 11:38Speaker 2: I wasn't completely in experience, but I was acting like
- 11:41Speaker 2: I knew what I was doing. I was hired, for
- 11:43Speaker 2: God's sakes, I better be, you know, trying to run it.
- 11:45Speaker 2: So at one point we get probation and law enforcement
- 11:50Speaker 2: comes barreling in the front door and they're yelling fifth
- 11:54Speaker 2: waiver rights, fifth waiver rights, and everybody goes up against
- 11:58Speaker 2: the wall standing there. So naturally I go up against
- 12:02Speaker 2: the wall, standing there. The head of probation comes over
- 12:07Speaker 2: to me. She's like, not the staff, honey, nuts. I
- 12:12Speaker 2: lined up with all the clients I was, you know,
- 12:14Speaker 2: you got the search and you know on all of that,
- 12:17Speaker 2: and I didn't know I would just say that the
- 12:20Speaker 2: clients and staff had a good laugh about expense. That
- 12:23Speaker 2: was my first job here and it's been a it's
- 12:26Speaker 2: been an.
- 12:26Speaker 1: Evolution since, really interesting. So let's talk about I think
- 12:30Speaker 1: one of the things that makes you so new unique
- 12:32Speaker 1: at the company. A lot of people look up to
- 12:34Speaker 1: you at the company is when we there's two moments here.
- 12:38Speaker 1: I want to highlight one for the for the people
- 12:41Speaker 1: out there that want to come to work for Turn.
- 12:43Speaker 1: There's the story that John Richardson's tells. John Richardson started
- 12:48Speaker 1: as a ur analysis guy right, very low on the
- 12:52Speaker 1: totem poland made it all the way to VP right
- 12:55Speaker 1: and then retired from the company. And I mean that's
- 12:58Speaker 1: where people start. And then and we've had people approach
- 13:01Speaker 1: us when we've been at the programs and they talk
- 13:03Speaker 1: to us about One young lady at the time said Wendy,
- 13:07Speaker 1: I want your job, how do I get there? And
- 13:09Speaker 1: then we spent time with that individual after the event
- 13:14Speaker 1: we were at and you kind of coach them along
- 13:17Speaker 1: in their career. So maybe describe that feeling and how
- 13:21Speaker 1: you've come to the coaching now that you do rather
- 13:24Speaker 1: than working in her program and you're at the CEO level,
- 13:28Speaker 1: and we're both in the mentorship roles. But describe your
- 13:30Speaker 1: mentorship and yeah, for us, well, I mean, I.
- 13:33Speaker 2: Think you just said it right. It's one of our
- 13:34Speaker 2: core values, you know, as mentoring people. And it's a privilege,
- 13:38Speaker 2: it's an honor that you know, I get to sit
- 13:40Speaker 2: there and try to impart some wisdom, if you will,
- 13:44Speaker 2: if nothing else, it's lessons learned.
- 13:46Speaker 1: Right.
- 13:46Speaker 2: It never came super easy for me. I had to
- 13:49Speaker 2: work hard for you know where I've been able to
- 13:52Speaker 2: come in my life. And so if I can help
- 13:54Speaker 2: someone along the way and lift them up, I love that.
- 13:57Speaker 2: When we're in new employee engagement, we talked to those
- 13:59Speaker 2: new employees and my fervent wish is that they fall
- 14:03Speaker 2: in love with this agency the way that I have.
- 14:05Speaker 2: I hope that they can share with us what their
- 14:09Speaker 2: personal mission is and we can align that with the
- 14:12Speaker 2: company mission. So it's a win win. So I will
- 14:14Speaker 2: give you an example. The other day, it was so
- 14:18Speaker 2: long ago, it was yesterday. I try to think back,
- 14:20Speaker 2: when was that it was yesterday? I was, I know.
- 14:23Speaker 2: So I was in my office and I had a
- 14:25Speaker 2: program manager come in and talk to me, and she
- 14:29Speaker 2: was so happy because we've been encouraging her to go
- 14:32Speaker 2: for her licensing exam and she had tried and it
- 14:35Speaker 2: was hard, and it's not common for everyone to pass
- 14:37Speaker 2: the first shot, and so she was really anxious about
- 14:41Speaker 2: taking it so much so she wanted to defer it.
- 14:43Speaker 2: She wanted to put it off. And I remember, and
- 14:45Speaker 2: it was just you never know how powerful your words
- 14:48Speaker 2: are going to be. But I just remember saying to
- 14:49Speaker 2: her in passing, just go do it, just go grab it.
- 14:52Speaker 2: You can do it. You've got this. So she went
- 14:55Speaker 2: and she studied for a couple of weeks she passed it.
- 14:58Speaker 2: So yesterday she came to my office and she said,
- 15:00Speaker 2: you know, thank you so much. You know, I'm so
- 15:03Speaker 2: relieved that that is behind me. I said, more than that,
- 15:06Speaker 2: look at your confidence. I said, now we get to
- 15:09Speaker 2: sit down and talk about where you're going next. Right,
- 15:12Speaker 2: what does this mean for you? What doors does this open?
- 15:15Speaker 2: And she was so excited, she was lit up. And
- 15:18Speaker 2: then we walked down the hall to your office and
- 15:21Speaker 2: politely interrupted a meeting you were in.
- 15:23Speaker 1: So that week, that's okay. That meeting needed interruption, So
- 15:26Speaker 1: that was ok that's okay.
- 15:27Speaker 2: But we got to give her a shout out, you know,
- 15:29Speaker 2: in that same moment, the CEOs, whomever, you know, it's
- 15:32Speaker 2: just people who were cheering her on. That's the gift
- 15:35Speaker 2: of our roles.
- 15:36Speaker 1: She had told me she was going to take two
- 15:38Speaker 1: weeks off and go study, but I didn't know what
- 15:41Speaker 1: licensure she was going for. But I could see her
- 15:44Speaker 1: lit up yesterday when she walked in. And so maybe
- 15:48Speaker 1: you could share. What advice would you give others that
- 15:51Speaker 1: are in that similar position, are looking to grow within
- 15:54Speaker 1: the company or join our company. What would your advice be?
- 15:58Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's okay not to have all the answers.
- 16:03Speaker 2: You know, I did not start in my role thinking
- 16:06Speaker 2: I would be sitting where I'm at today. You know,
- 16:09Speaker 2: it's inside us, but the work reveals it. And so
- 16:13Speaker 2: I would say this, there's some things that a lot
- 16:16Speaker 2: of people come into this field because it's in their heart.
- 16:19Speaker 2: They have someone in their family that you know, has
- 16:22Speaker 2: suffered and they've been a witness to that and they
- 16:25Speaker 2: want to make a difference. And so I understand that,
- 16:28Speaker 2: and it's really what drove me as well. But if
- 16:33Speaker 2: those folks don't take care of their own issues, their
- 16:38Speaker 2: own traumas, if they come into the field, and they're
- 16:42Speaker 2: spending their time and energy trying to suppress those issues
- 16:45Speaker 2: and those feelings and trying to be present for clients.
- 16:49Speaker 2: It's going to manifest as burnout. Now they're not going
- 16:51Speaker 2: to identify it as burnout. They're going to say the
- 16:54Speaker 2: job is stressful, productivity is unreasonable, and the clients are
- 16:57Speaker 2: too tough. That all might be true, but it's compounded
- 17:01Speaker 2: by trying to suppress all that work that still still
- 17:04Speaker 2: needs to be done on a personal level. Yeah, so
- 17:06Speaker 2: I would encourage people take care of yourself, do that work.
- 17:10Speaker 2: The other thing is this, I can look across at
- 17:14Speaker 2: a client and look them in the eye and whatever
- 17:16Speaker 2: I'm suggesting that they do, I can look them in
- 17:19Speaker 2: the eye and say, I'm not asking you to do
- 17:21Speaker 2: anything that I haven't already been willing to do or
- 17:24Speaker 2: have done myself. And that's authentic and that client can
- 17:27Speaker 2: feel it and know it, and that can be a
- 17:29Speaker 2: difference maker.
- 17:30Speaker 1: Yeah, you know the interesting thing, And just to share
- 17:32Speaker 1: a story, you know, I jumped into the company as
- 17:37Speaker 1: the CEO. I didn't work my way up into that position.
- 17:40Speaker 1: I jumped into it as CEO, and I just want
- 17:43Speaker 1: to share with our audience and others that are listening.
- 17:46Speaker 1: I knew nothing about the clinical field, and so I
- 17:49Speaker 1: jumped in and from the business end. But Wendy was
- 17:54Speaker 1: my guiding light, nor star, if we want to call it, that,
- 17:57Speaker 1: who taught me everything about the business and the clinical
- 18:01Speaker 1: aspects of the business. And I think one of the
- 18:03Speaker 1: things that stays with me is I can remember before
- 18:07Speaker 1: I joined TURN, I would look at somebody on standing
- 18:10Speaker 1: on the side of the road who had to sign
- 18:12Speaker 1: out for money, going man, that person needs a job.
- 18:15Speaker 1: I had a different picture of that person. But then
- 18:18Speaker 1: after coming to work for TURN at the time it
- 18:21Speaker 1: was MHS and you explaining to me about that individual
- 18:26Speaker 1: and what that individual is experiencing and the lived experience
- 18:30Speaker 1: that comes along with those people and what they're carrying.
- 18:33Speaker 1: I completely looked at people differently. Maybe you could share
- 18:38Speaker 1: some of your recovery and thirty eight years of recovery
- 18:43Speaker 1: and just share with us that for you and the
- 18:47Speaker 1: kind of your north star that keeps you on that
- 18:50Speaker 1: path in recovery.
- 18:51Speaker 2: Yeah, you bet. I'm happy to talk about myself, but
- 18:54Speaker 2: I don't want to overshadow the fact that you know,
- 18:56Speaker 2: you did start ten years ago and it took a
- 18:58Speaker 2: lot of courage to take the helm at a company
- 19:01Speaker 2: that's all about behavior health services when for the most part,
- 19:05Speaker 2: I'm gonna probably butcher it a little bit. But your
- 19:07Speaker 2: acumen was you know, construction and banking, and you're entrepreneurial
- 19:11Speaker 2: for sure, business working in you know Qualcombe, big, big industry, technology,
- 19:17Speaker 2: all of that. But at the heart of it, what
- 19:20Speaker 2: you got was it's about people. Yeah, you know, and
- 19:22Speaker 2: I always appreciated your courage.
- 19:24Speaker 1: Thank you for that.
- 19:25Speaker 2: Yeah, let's talk about me now.
- 19:26Speaker 1: Okay, let's do that because I really want you to
- 19:30Speaker 1: share your lived experience because I think that is so
- 19:33Speaker 1: unique in your position. That's helped you in the company
- 19:37Speaker 1: because you can relate to people. When we've done our
- 19:40Speaker 1: employee engagements, you look at the people on the screen
- 19:43Speaker 1: or if they're in the room and they're they're new
- 19:46Speaker 1: and their license and they're a case manager, and you
- 19:48Speaker 1: can go, I've sat in your shoes on day one,
- 19:50Speaker 1: so you know you're not going to buffalo me with
- 19:53Speaker 1: your answer. And so I think that's really unique for
- 19:55Speaker 1: you to be able to share your lived experience and
- 19:59Speaker 1: some of your child along the way.
- 20:01Speaker 2: Well, I mean absolutely, I was one of the lucky
- 20:04Speaker 2: ones for sure, even though I didn't feel like it
- 20:06Speaker 2: at the time. I'll tell you that I got sober
- 20:09Speaker 2: when I was twenty two years old, and just this
- 20:13Speaker 2: last February, a couple months ago, I turned sixty, so
- 20:16Speaker 2: you can do the math on that. I have lived
- 20:20Speaker 2: longer sober than I ever did drinking. You know, my
- 20:23Speaker 2: daughter has only ever known a sober, loving, kind, completely
- 20:28Speaker 2: present mom, and that means lucky.
- 20:31Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really great.
- 20:32Speaker 2: I mean I would I would love to sit here
- 20:34Speaker 2: and tell you that I was young and impressionable and
- 20:38Speaker 2: I fell in with the wrong crowd. But the truth
- 20:41Speaker 2: of it, in all seriousness, is I was the wrong crowd.
- 20:44Speaker 2: I was the person you would hope your daughter never
- 20:47Speaker 2: hung out with. I got everybody in trouble. That's a
- 20:55Speaker 2: whole other episode. But I will tell you that me
- 21:00Speaker 2: getting sober young not only gave me a second chance
- 21:04Speaker 2: at life, but probably everybody else who was around me.
- 21:06Speaker 2: So I'm really grateful, you know, I'm really grateful that
- 21:09Speaker 2: I have this life today that you know I can't imagine.
- 21:14Speaker 2: And you know I joke around, but I also, like
- 21:16Speaker 2: I don't take it lightly. I love the work that
- 21:18Speaker 2: we do. I believe in it. I'm hoping that I'm
- 21:21Speaker 2: a voice for people who either have come a long
- 21:25Speaker 2: way or they're just at their beginning stage of their recovery.
- 21:29Speaker 2: I want to be that beacon of hope. I'm on
- 21:31Speaker 2: the other side of that recovery. But it didn't happen.
- 21:34Speaker 2: It didn't I wasn't just transported there. I had to
- 21:37Speaker 2: work at it.
- 21:38Speaker 1: And you still have interesting when you share. Even though
- 21:41Speaker 1: it's been thirty eight years, you still have to work
- 21:43Speaker 1: at it today. It's not something that just is now
- 21:46Speaker 1: in the background, but it's still there. So before we
- 21:50Speaker 1: reach to our break, our first break, could you talk
- 21:54Speaker 1: about our guiding principles of people, culture and growth.
- 21:57Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean it's the way that we make our decisions, right,
- 21:59Speaker 2: it's ours and so as long as we're putting people first,
- 22:03Speaker 2: and in my mind, we're centered, you know, we are good.
- 22:07Speaker 2: We've got to know who are we serving? What do
- 22:09Speaker 2: the clients need? Who are these people? I can tell
- 22:13Speaker 2: you this, They're not those people. They're my people. I'm them,
- 22:16Speaker 2: they are me. I don't see a difference. Again, the
- 22:18Speaker 2: difference might be that I'm just on this side of
- 22:21Speaker 2: the recovery journey. So we've got to understand that. And
- 22:24Speaker 2: then also with our staff, you know, there are people
- 22:28Speaker 2: we're responsible for them, and I know you feel the
- 22:30Speaker 2: same way. We've talked about it. You care deeply. You
- 22:33Speaker 2: are one of the most thoughtful people when it comes
- 22:36Speaker 2: to remembering important things and thanking people. And you have
- 22:40Speaker 2: a very generous excuse me, a generous spirit. And I
- 22:43Speaker 2: just think as long as we keep that forward and center,
- 22:46Speaker 2: that's perfect. Culture is a big deal for us. We
- 22:49Speaker 2: talk a lot about that. We have the Service Awards
- 22:52Speaker 2: as an example, right where we celebrate five years, ten, fifteen, twenty,
- 22:56Speaker 2: twenty five, thirty years of.
- 22:59Speaker 1: Service beyond thirty. We have people that are at thirty
- 23:02Speaker 1: three and thirty four. Now, yeah, we do.
- 23:05Speaker 2: And and so one of the things that we asked
- 23:08Speaker 2: them were actually I say, you asked them at the
- 23:11Speaker 2: Service Awards. You have said what keeps you coming back?
- 23:14Speaker 2: And to a person, they always say culture.
- 23:17Speaker 1: That's right.
- 23:18Speaker 2: They love the program, they love the clients, they love
- 23:20Speaker 2: the staff, they love the organization.
- 23:23Speaker 1: Like Sharon said a couple of weeks ago, it's the
- 23:25Speaker 1: best staff that I've had in my entire career. That's
- 23:28Speaker 1: right at turn Behavioral Health Services. So thank you for that. Today,
- 23:32Speaker 1: we're going to break it up a little bit and
- 23:34Speaker 1: we're going to start with the question that I'm going
- 23:37Speaker 1: to ask you, and it's going to become our brief
- 23:39Speaker 1: for the day. And you've always said something about the
- 23:42Speaker 1: more colorful people are, is that's why we want them
- 23:46Speaker 1: to work for us? Could you expand upon that for
- 23:48Speaker 1: us today? Yeah?
- 23:49Speaker 2: I love that the more colorful the background, the more
- 23:51Speaker 2: qualified they background. That's right, Yeah, that's it. It's it's
- 23:55Speaker 2: it's this that we recognize that lived experience, erience has
- 24:00Speaker 2: tremendous value. You know, we love that we bring it
- 24:05Speaker 2: into the fold. It's who we are, It's where we
- 24:08Speaker 2: have a rich tapestry of second chances at our organization. Now,
- 24:13Speaker 2: one of the things I want to point out is
- 24:15Speaker 2: it doesn't replace education or training or professional experience, but
- 24:20Speaker 2: it adds to the robustness of the services that we
- 24:24Speaker 2: can provide. Where else can you sit in an interview
- 24:30Speaker 2: and listen to a candidate list off that he was
- 24:35Speaker 2: formerly incarcerated, homeless, substance abuse, mental illness. He has skill
- 24:41Speaker 2: sets that are not so legal and they don't really
- 24:43Speaker 2: apply to what he's interviewing for the mainstream employer is
- 24:46Speaker 2: going to run for the hills, But we get excited.
- 24:50Speaker 2: Why we do because we know that when he sits
- 24:53Speaker 2: in front of that client, that client is going to
- 24:56Speaker 2: be able to see themselves. They're going to know that
- 24:58Speaker 2: they are the se and accept it and it's authentic and
- 25:02Speaker 2: it's real, and that's what we want. We want that experience.
- 25:06Speaker 1: Well, and that experience brings passion to the organization. And
- 25:10Speaker 1: there's such a need for all of the services that
- 25:12Speaker 1: we supply and the modalities right now in our communities.
- 25:16Speaker 1: I mean, we see it in the seven counties that
- 25:18Speaker 1: we operate in and the fifteen thousand clients that we
- 25:21Speaker 1: can touch on a daily basis. I want to reach
- 25:24Speaker 1: out to our audience today and let you know you
- 25:27Speaker 1: have plenty of opportunity to work at TURN Internships, volunteer.
- 25:31Speaker 1: You can reach out to us through our website at
- 25:34Speaker 1: TURNBHS dot org. But I think it's that fabric of
- 25:38Speaker 1: our workforce. If you're interested in the fabric of our
- 25:41Speaker 1: workforce the way Wendy has just described it, please reach
- 25:44Speaker 1: out to us. You can reach out and call us,
- 25:47Speaker 1: or you can go back to our website and TURNBHS
- 25:51Speaker 1: dot org and really look at the opportunities that are
- 25:54Speaker 1: out there. So expand again on why we're so adamant
- 25:57Speaker 1: about our workforce.
- 25:58Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, right now, there's a nationwide crisis. There's
- 26:01Speaker 2: a work for shortage. There's not enough people entering the
- 26:05Speaker 2: behavioral health industry and graduating to fill the projected need.
- 26:09Speaker 2: It's just not there. This is why the places that
- 26:13Speaker 2: have telehealth are really booming, because there's got to be
- 26:17Speaker 2: supply for the demand. So what I will say though, is,
- 26:21Speaker 2: you know, we have so many different modalities. We're so big.
- 26:25Speaker 2: It's one of the benefits of being one of the
- 26:27Speaker 2: oldest nearly fifty years old. We're coming up on a
- 26:30Speaker 2: big anniversary here, but being so large, right, So, we've
- 26:33Speaker 2: got children's services, adult mental health, inpatient outpatient clinics, We've
- 26:40Speaker 2: got veteran and military services, We've got environmental housing, substituse disorders,
- 26:47Speaker 2: We've got transitional age youth programs. I mean, they're just
- 26:51Speaker 2: there's just so much for the person. Someone could come
- 26:54Speaker 2: in and literally work in every modality and not get
- 26:57Speaker 2: that breath of experience anywhere else.
- 26:59Speaker 1: That's really interesting that you mentioned that, because what I
- 27:01Speaker 1: like to highlight for new employees is the way that
- 27:05Speaker 1: you can grow in our company. We're not just children,
- 27:07Speaker 1: We're not just adult an older adult. We have many
- 27:11Speaker 1: modalities and we encourage you to transfer between regions. You
- 27:15Speaker 1: could be in San Jose and you want to come
- 27:17Speaker 1: to Orange County. You could be in Orange County want
- 27:19Speaker 1: to go to Fresno County and we encourage that within
- 27:22Speaker 1: our program.
- 27:23Speaker 2: That's right. And you know, there's a lot of excitement
- 27:25Speaker 2: around some of the innovative justice involved work that we're doing,
- 27:29Speaker 2: the court connected care, if you will, from the drug
- 27:32Speaker 2: courts and they and the care courts, which is just
- 27:36Speaker 2: a hot topic right now, right and also our community
- 27:39Speaker 2: based re entry programs the MCRP, which you know stands
- 27:44Speaker 2: for the Men's Community re Entry Program. We also have
- 27:47Speaker 2: a female REENTRYCRP and Baker's Face that's right, and it's
- 27:52Speaker 2: where our clients are serving the last two years of
- 27:55Speaker 2: their sentence, but they're so low risk that they get
- 27:58Speaker 2: to be integrated back into the community and get the
- 28:02Speaker 2: necessary skills to be so successful. There's a lot of
- 28:05Speaker 2: folks that are really intrigued by forensic psychology and that,
- 28:09Speaker 2: you know, the criminal justice work that we're involved in.
- 28:11Speaker 2: I mean there's so much that people could do. Like, really,
- 28:15Speaker 2: if you're interested in a path, if you really want
- 28:19Speaker 2: to explore, you don't have to choose try each one, right,
- 28:22Speaker 2: you know.
- 28:22Speaker 1: And then to say, I can remember when we were
- 28:24Speaker 1: at the women's facility up in Bakersfield and we went
- 28:29Speaker 1: in and the women were in their classroom and I said,
- 28:31Speaker 1: what are you guys studying today? Oh, I'm studying to
- 28:33Speaker 1: be a forklift driver. Right, because there's so much distribution
- 28:36Speaker 1: up in Bakersfield, they had the need for forklift drivers.
- 28:40Speaker 1: And so that we also work with employment services and
- 28:43Speaker 1: get the people employed that are coming out of our programs. Yeah,
- 28:46Speaker 1: and so.
- 28:47Speaker 2: There's so much there. So I would just say if
- 28:49Speaker 2: anyone's considering, whether it's volunteering or entering the career or
- 28:53Speaker 2: you know what, we have a lot of folks that
- 28:55Speaker 2: are retiring from a career path that they've been on
- 28:58Speaker 2: for a lot of years and now they a transition
- 29:00Speaker 2: into something that feels more meaningful. We have a lot
- 29:03Speaker 2: of older folks that go back to school and want
- 29:05Speaker 2: to do something different. There's a place for everyone at TURNBHS.
- 29:09Speaker 1: And there truly is. And now a brief word from
- 29:12Speaker 1: Turned Behavioral Health Services will be right.
- 29:15Speaker 3: Back, improving lives every day and in every way for Californians.
- 29:21Speaker 3: This is the mission of TURN Behavioral Health Services. By
- 29:25Speaker 3: focusing on wellness, recovery, and resilience, TURN is helping create
- 29:29Speaker 3: lasting change, especially for our military community. If your active
- 29:34Speaker 3: duty of veteran reservists, regardless of military status or part
- 29:39Speaker 3: of a military family in San Diego, support is here.
- 29:44Speaker 3: Courage to Call is a free confidential helpline staffed by
- 29:48Speaker 3: veterans who understand military life. From eight am to eight pm,
- 29:53Speaker 3: you can connect with peer to peer specialists who are
- 29:55Speaker 3: ready to listen, guide, and help. On the very first
- 29:58Speaker 3: call buggling with mental health, food, insecurity, finances, housing, You
- 30:05Speaker 3: don't have to face it alone. Call eight seven seven
- 30:08Speaker 3: six ninety eight seven eight three eight. That's eight seventy
- 30:11Speaker 3: seven six nine eight seven eight three eight. Courage to
- 30:15Speaker 3: Call will answer your call. Courage to Call is a
- 30:18Speaker 3: program of TURN Behavioral Health Services, improving lives every day
- 30:22Speaker 3: in every way.
- 30:23Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Behavioral Health Brief. I'm Jim Callahan
- 30:27Speaker 1: and we're continuing our conversation today with doctor Wendy Boten, Turns,
- 30:32Speaker 1: Chief Operating Officer, Wendy, the next question. You often talk
- 30:36Speaker 1: about treating the whole person, not just the diagnosis. What
- 30:40Speaker 1: does that actually look like in practice?
- 30:43Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so important that we think of the whole person.
- 30:47Speaker 2: I mean, no one just presents with one convenient diagnosis.
- 30:52Speaker 2: Oftentimes they come and they don't even know what the
- 30:54Speaker 2: issue is. They just know they don't feel right, they
- 30:56Speaker 2: don't feel good. Let's just say somebody presented with symptoms
- 31:00Speaker 2: for substance use disorder. It's not enough to just dive
- 31:03Speaker 2: in and try to treat that without understanding the whole dynamic.
- 31:07Speaker 2: You know, why did they start using what precipitated that?
- 31:10Speaker 2: The voices in their head? What do you mean the
- 31:12Speaker 2: voices in your head? What does that look like? I see?
- 31:15Speaker 2: So they were trying to self medicate and manage the
- 31:19Speaker 2: symptoms from a mental illness that was undiagnosed or untreated.
- 31:23Speaker 2: So there's a way. I'm just giving you a quick example,
- 31:25Speaker 2: but there's a way that you can expand and look
- 31:27Speaker 2: at the whole thing. It's it's not unlike primary care.
- 31:31Speaker 2: For example, I'm on a wait list or replacement surgery, right,
- 31:38Speaker 2: So the worst thing that happens is you know your
- 31:40Speaker 2: doctor walks in the room looking at a chart, his
- 31:43Speaker 2: nose in the file, and starts talking to you without
- 31:47Speaker 2: taking in the whole person. You know, they sit on
- 31:50Speaker 2: their little wheelie stool and you know you've got that right, right,
- 31:54Speaker 2: So you want to be seen, you want to be heard.
- 31:56Speaker 2: You know you're only getting about eight minutes with this
- 31:58Speaker 2: physician anyways, But the surgeon is important for me that
- 32:02Speaker 2: the surgeon understands why do I want the knee replacement? Why?
- 32:06Speaker 2: Because I want my quality of life back, because I
- 32:09Speaker 2: want to be out of pain. And let me ask you, Jim,
- 32:12Speaker 2: how is that any different than what client walks.
- 32:15Speaker 1: In our programs, No difference.
- 32:18Speaker 2: They want their quality of life to improve and they
- 32:20Speaker 2: want to be out of pain. It's the same thing.
- 32:22Speaker 1: That's really interesting because we've been touring those programs, right,
- 32:27Speaker 1: and we can see the clients and talk to the clients,
- 32:29Speaker 1: and sometimes they don't understand. I remember being at one
- 32:32Speaker 1: of the residential units and the poor individual thought a
- 32:35Speaker 1: ceiling fan was a spaceship. Yeah, And the next day
- 32:39Speaker 1: we came back and he had torn the ceiling fan
- 32:42Speaker 1: off the ceiling. So I think it'd be good if
- 32:45Speaker 1: you could expand and let people know out there that
- 32:48Speaker 1: we deal with some of the most severely mentally here
- 32:50Speaker 1: in our communities, and that's what we're so good ACT.
- 32:53Speaker 1: A couple of weeks ago we talked with doctor Laura
- 32:55Speaker 1: ode Miles about the ACT program. But I think if
- 32:58Speaker 1: you could just expand upon that a little bit and
- 33:01Speaker 1: then as a follow up question, the family role in
- 33:04Speaker 1: all of this that's so critical.
- 33:06Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean absolutely, they you know, the individual, We
- 33:09Speaker 2: never know who's going to walk in the door. We
- 33:11Speaker 2: just have to be prepared. There's no wrong door. Any
- 33:14Speaker 2: client should be able to walk in and we should
- 33:16Speaker 2: be able to identify their needs, be able to help
- 33:19Speaker 2: them navigate that and get them in the proper care.
- 33:22Speaker 2: One of the things that makes me, you know, a
- 33:24Speaker 2: little upset is when there's siloed systems, you know, so
- 33:29Speaker 2: rather than on treating the whole person, what happens is
- 33:32Speaker 2: we have to treat certain parts of what's going on
- 33:35Speaker 2: for them because of the way the system of care
- 33:38Speaker 2: is organized. Well, I'm sorry, but the client doesn't feel
- 33:41Speaker 2: it that way. They're not going to start with the
- 33:43Speaker 2: feelings over here. Because this funding source says we're going
- 33:45Speaker 2: to start here, then we're.
- 33:46Speaker 1: Going to move over the transfer to another location to
- 33:49Speaker 1: fix those.
- 33:50Speaker 2: Feelings exactly, Jim. So we have to be you know,
- 33:53Speaker 2: we have to be a little sophisticated in our level
- 33:55Speaker 2: of care and be able to make sure that whereas
- 34:00Speaker 2: thoughtful and caring and collaborative as possible. Now when you
- 34:06Speaker 2: mentioned the family.
- 34:07Speaker 1: Yeah, what role do the families really play in recovery
- 34:11Speaker 1: of a client?
- 34:12Speaker 2: Yeah, the family can make or break it. The chances
- 34:17Speaker 2: of a client really recovering on their own is slim
- 34:22Speaker 2: to none. It's just slim to none. So if we
- 34:25Speaker 2: can appropriately involve the family, they can learn the symptomology,
- 34:30Speaker 2: what's going on with their person that they love. They
- 34:33Speaker 2: can understand better the trajectory of healing and recovery. What
- 34:38Speaker 2: does that look like? So, whether it's SUD sorry I'm
- 34:41Speaker 2: using acronyms substance use disorder, or if it's a mental illness,
- 34:45Speaker 2: they need to understand. If this person is being prescribed
- 34:48Speaker 2: to new medication, what does that look like. What's the
- 34:51Speaker 2: timeline to turn around? Does that look like? And you
- 34:54Speaker 2: know that we have to ty trate accordingly, like make
- 34:57Speaker 2: sure that the client has the support that they need.
- 35:00Speaker 2: And it's not always linear. So The other thing I
- 35:04Speaker 2: want to say about that is when the families are
- 35:06Speaker 2: brought in, they also have been through trauma. The family
- 35:11Speaker 2: has been along for the ride with their loved one.
- 35:13Speaker 2: That whole family dynamic is fractured. So we have to
- 35:16Speaker 2: be able to treat the family as well. And the
- 35:19Speaker 2: way I love to describe that is in this room,
- 35:23Speaker 2: there's you, there's me, and then there's us. You know,
- 35:28Speaker 2: you can't separate.
- 35:29Speaker 1: It's an interesting one.
- 35:30Speaker 2: Yeah, So there's the client, there's the family, but together
- 35:34Speaker 2: they're a family unit. You have to think broader than
- 35:37Speaker 2: just the symptom or the need walking in the door.
- 35:40Speaker 2: So we you know, we often will offer not just
- 35:43Speaker 2: the family, but the individuals and the family you often
- 35:46Speaker 2: often find out, sadly enough, that there's generational experiences that right.
- 35:52Speaker 1: That word I've heard you use that word, yeah many
- 35:55Speaker 1: times about the generational experiences that families have. It's almost
- 36:00Speaker 1: like the first child that graduates from college in a family.
- 36:05Speaker 1: But there's generational issues that go along with family.
- 36:08Speaker 2: That's right. It's so environmental. A lot of people will say, oh,
- 36:11Speaker 2: that's just you know that runs in my family. It's
- 36:14Speaker 2: not a biological thing that runs in families. Statistics show
- 36:18Speaker 2: that it really is the environmental influences that will predict
- 36:22Speaker 2: the behavior or the illness, and so people learn and
- 36:26Speaker 2: they act accordingly. You might grow up in a family
- 36:29Speaker 2: system that drinks, as an example, at every holiday. Well,
- 36:34Speaker 2: you don't necessarily have alcoholism running in your family. You
- 36:37Speaker 2: have exposure to alcohol with such a level of frequency
- 36:40Speaker 2: and intensity that has led to disease.
- 36:43Speaker 1: Interesting. Well, Wendy, thank you. Your leadership reminds us behavioral
- 36:47Speaker 1: health is more than services. It's about people. It's about connection,
- 36:53Speaker 1: It's about the courage to keep growing. Your unwavering commitment
- 36:56Speaker 1: and compassion pushes us all to think bigger, care deeper. Now,
- 37:01Speaker 1: I'd like to transition to our community questions. This is
- 37:04Speaker 1: one of my favorite parts of the program today. So
- 37:08Speaker 1: here's just go ahead and pick one of your questions. Okay,
- 37:12Speaker 1: going in blind, Going in blind?
- 37:14Speaker 2: Let's be a good one.
- 37:15Speaker 1: Okay, who is it from? Go ahead, read it?
- 37:18Speaker 2: I don't have glasses on it.
- 37:19Speaker 1: Oh, okay, well make it up. Okay. This is Gabriella
- 37:25Speaker 1: from Nashville asks what are your thoughts on the rise
- 37:29Speaker 1: in people using chat, GPT and other AI models for therapy? Wow?
- 37:36Speaker 2: Thank you for that loaded question. Gabriella from Tennessee. Well,
- 37:40Speaker 2: I mean AI is a tool, and like any tool,
- 37:45Speaker 2: it depends on how you use it. So the way
- 37:48Speaker 2: I look at it is it should be a supplement,
- 37:52Speaker 2: but not a replacement. AI is great when you're needing
- 37:56Speaker 2: to research information, maybe even a little education, you go
- 38:00Speaker 2: down the research rabbit. Well, you still have to fact check,
- 38:03Speaker 2: but it's great that way, or if somebody is looking
- 38:07Speaker 2: for help and they don't know where to start. But
- 38:11Speaker 2: in terms of the treatment and therapy and that, there's
- 38:15Speaker 2: nothing that replaces the human kinnet.
- 38:18Speaker 1: I can't imagine I'd be sitting at my computer because
- 38:22Speaker 1: I do with Copilot. I'll use it and then start
- 38:25Speaker 1: asking Copilot do I have mental health issues? And drilling
- 38:30Speaker 1: in and trying to have Copilot tell me whether I
- 38:33Speaker 1: have mental health issues or I have anxiety or something
- 38:36Speaker 1: like that. I believe it needs that personal question.
- 38:39Speaker 2: Yeah.
- 38:39Speaker 1: Connection, like you've talked about it, it's really the emotion.
- 38:43Speaker 2: So I just made reference to there's me, you and
- 38:46Speaker 2: us in the room. But as it relates to this question,
- 38:50Speaker 2: there's the energy between us. We feed off of each other.
- 38:54Speaker 2: There's a nuance that happens I get excited by an answer.
- 38:59Speaker 2: I get excited by some Then you're saying we exchange
- 39:02Speaker 2: an energy that happens, and when it feels good and
- 39:05Speaker 2: this feels right, you know what's going to happen. We're
- 39:07Speaker 2: going to tell this story later and we're going to
- 39:09Speaker 2: enjoy it again. You can't do that with a screen.
- 39:12Speaker 2: We're not going to revisit it. You know. The best
- 39:14Speaker 2: my AI agent can do is give me an LOL.
- 39:18Speaker 2: But that's not the belly laugh that we share. That's
- 39:21Speaker 2: not that healing that goes on between people.
- 39:23Speaker 1: So but at a company, we are moving into using
- 39:28Speaker 1: AI for notes on our clinical notes. What does that
- 39:32Speaker 1: actually mean? Then? What's the AI piece? How's that going
- 39:36Speaker 1: to make it better for the client or better for
- 39:39Speaker 1: our employees at.
- 39:40Speaker 2: Work where there's technology efficiencies that don't replace the human
- 39:45Speaker 2: connection but help to be able to maybe capture notes
- 39:51Speaker 2: in a way. I mean, the documentation requirements are hideous,
- 39:56Speaker 2: anything there are, they're very difficult. So I mean I
- 39:58Speaker 2: think in ways that it can be you for efficiencies, certainly,
- 40:02Speaker 2: you know we should. Again, it doesn't mean that I'm
- 40:06Speaker 2: going to rely on AI to write my note for me.
- 40:09Speaker 2: I know what we've experienced. I mean I could say
- 40:12Speaker 2: I could diagnose you today, Jim, but that again is
- 40:15Speaker 2: another episode, that episode. But what I'm saying is it
- 40:18Speaker 2: can help, but you still have to use your professional
- 40:21Speaker 2: training and acumen. You still need to show up and
- 40:24Speaker 2: really give the details that create meaning. Because the next
- 40:28Speaker 2: time we sit in front of each other, assuming you're
- 40:31Speaker 2: a client and I'm a therapist, I want to be
- 40:33Speaker 2: able to revisit where we've just been.
- 40:35Speaker 1: Right, So it has to be rich good. Okay, final
- 40:38Speaker 1: question of the day and I'll read it to you.
- 40:42Speaker 1: This is Matt from San Diego wants to know what's
- 40:46Speaker 1: the most rewarding part of your job.
- 40:49Speaker 2: Okay, I mean, it's always going to be the people
- 40:54Speaker 2: for me, but you know I've I was inspired twenty
- 40:59Speaker 2: eight years ago and I'm still inspired. I make a
- 41:03Speaker 2: choice to come to work at turn. You know, we've
- 41:05Speaker 2: talked about the grass could be green or somewhere else,
- 41:07Speaker 2: but it's just other grass. It's just different grass.
- 41:10Speaker 1: You know.
- 41:10Speaker 2: I love what we do. I feel like I know
- 41:12Speaker 2: it's cliche, but it feels like family. After all this time,
- 41:16Speaker 2: I've watched so much transformation. I'll describe to you.
- 41:21Speaker 1: I imagine that there are just so many mess not messages,
- 41:25Speaker 1: but visualizations that you have from all these people that
- 41:29Speaker 1: you've seen graduate, I mean grow up in our company.
- 41:32Speaker 2: Absolutely, I've watched the evolution of a client in treatment
- 41:37Speaker 2: sit across from their counselor become so inspired that they
- 41:40Speaker 2: themselves want to become a counselor. They graduate the treatment program,
- 41:45Speaker 2: they go back to school, they take four years to
- 41:48Speaker 2: complete their bachelor's degree, they become certified, then they become
- 41:52Speaker 2: registered to become a therapist. Then they go back into
- 41:55Speaker 2: our program to be an intern so they can collect
- 41:58Speaker 2: all their intern out to become a licensed professional. Years later,
- 42:02Speaker 2: they become a licensed professional. They go work in the
- 42:05Speaker 2: program only to be promoted to the program manager of
- 42:09Speaker 2: the very program where they started as a lost client
- 42:14Speaker 2: in pain. Do you know how powerful that is for
- 42:17Speaker 2: all those clients sitting in that program looking at this
- 42:21Speaker 2: beacon of hope.
- 42:22Speaker 1: And also the other star star that's.
- 42:24Speaker 2: Right, another north star. And we've watched these same people
- 42:27Speaker 2: go on to become vice presidents of this organization.
- 42:30Speaker 1: So, John Richardson, what do I.
- 42:32Speaker 2: Love the most? The success stories with their clients, with
- 42:36Speaker 2: their staff. I mean, it is endless possibilities, so I
- 42:40Speaker 2: love being a part of that.
- 42:41Speaker 1: Well. As we come to the end of our conversation today, Wendy,
- 42:44Speaker 1: thank you for being here today. It's been tremendous. Your story,
- 42:48Speaker 1: your leadership, your commitment to turn is just amazing. Before
- 42:52Speaker 1: we close, is there any message that you'd like to
- 42:56Speaker 1: leave with our listeners today.
- 42:59Speaker 2: Well, I mean, since we're doing shameless plugs for coming
- 43:02Speaker 2: to work for URN behavioral health, my message would be,
- 43:06Speaker 2: come on, join our workforce. I mean, you know, if
- 43:10Speaker 2: I were, you know, back in the day, you know,
- 43:13Speaker 2: thirty almost thirty eight years ago, now listening to someone
- 43:18Speaker 2: with this much time and recovery, I don't know that
- 43:21Speaker 2: I would have believed what they had to say. I
- 43:22Speaker 2: want to believed if they had thirty eight days, never mind,
- 43:25Speaker 2: you know, thirty eight minutes. But the reality is this,
- 43:30Speaker 2: I am living proof, like you can actually turn your
- 43:33Speaker 2: life around, and if I can do it, anyone can.
- 43:36Speaker 2: I am nothing special. I'm just your average person willing
- 43:39Speaker 2: to put in the work, and after that hard work,
- 43:42Speaker 2: I'm on the other side.
- 43:43Speaker 1: I think that's key. That's really a good message. Putting
- 43:46Speaker 1: in the work and doing the work and staying the
- 43:49Speaker 1: course yep. So thank you today for being on the
- 43:52Speaker 1: behavior of health breach. This has been tremendous and I
- 43:55Speaker 1: think it's really going to enhance our listeners and our
- 43:57Speaker 1: audience and even our employees to get a better look
- 44:00Speaker 1: at Jim and Wendy. So thank you, Thank you, Jim.
- 44:03Speaker 2: It's an honor.
- 44:04Speaker 1: As I close today's episode, I want to pause and
- 44:07Speaker 1: practice something essential to well being and perspective, and that's gratitude.
- 44:13Speaker 1: It's something I practice every day. And now we have
- 44:16Speaker 1: our pocketudes available. If you'd like to have our Pocketude,
- 44:21Speaker 1: just reach out to us at our website turnbhs dot
- 44:24Speaker 1: org or call our main number at eight five eight
- 44:27Speaker 1: five seven three twenty six hundred. I'd like to begin
- 44:31Speaker 1: by recognizing the entire workforce at TURN. Your compassion and
- 44:36Speaker 1: dedication make a difference every single day. I want to
- 44:40Speaker 1: express our deep gratitude to our turnboard of directors. They
- 44:45Speaker 1: are our stewards of our mission, the guardians of our values,
- 44:49Speaker 1: and the strategic partners who ensure we stay focused on
- 44:53Speaker 1: improving lives. To our board, thank you for your unwavering commitment.
- 44:58Speaker 1: Your leadership helps TURN continue serving communities across California with integrity,
- 45:04Speaker 1: and heart. You can learn more about our board and
- 45:08Speaker 1: each of their individual visions for Turn at turnbhs dot org.
- 45:14Speaker 1: And to Wendy, thank you for sharing your story, your leadership,
- 45:18Speaker 1: and your heart with us today. To our listeners, thank
- 45:21Speaker 1: you for being with us. Please like, share, subscribe. These
- 45:26Speaker 1: conversations remind us that meaningful change happens when people are
- 45:31Speaker 1: met with compassion, support and understanding. And when that happens,
- 45:37Speaker 1: the impact extends beyond individuals to families and entire communities. Together,
- 45:44Speaker 1: we are improving lives. I'm Jim Callahan, See you next time.
- 45:50Speaker 1: This has been the behavior of health brief where insight
- 45:53Speaker 1: meets impact