I Got a New Job!

Since we moved to Coeur d'Alene last August I've been doing clinical case management. Basically, I write a lot of assessments and go to court to say what type of services a kid might need (the court does whatever they want anyways so I don't know why they bother to ask us). I also deal with a lot of parents who think their child is the spawn of Satan and demand that the state pays for residential care for their child. It gets old.

Last month our Parenting with Love and Limits therapist transferred to another region in Idaho and I along with all of my coworkers applied for the job. I am the lucky one who ended up getting the job! Parenting with Love and Limits is an evidenced based practice where families participate in 6 sessions of group therapy for 2 hours each week and also participate in 6-12 individual family coaching sessions. Basically we create a behavioral contract and try to restore the parents as the head of the house. The goal is to keep kids out of residential placement by helping their family system to be a little healthier.

I'm really excited because working with families is what I am good at and why I went to graduate school. I'll have to work several nights a week, but that is a small sacrifice to do something I love. Plus, 40 hours is still just 40 hours and it's not like I can't be with my wife and baby in the mornings :)  I might even do 4, 10 hour days. We will see.

This past week I attended a week long training in Massachusetts. It was interesting to learn all the ins and outs of PLL and I'm excited to get started. I feel so blessed to just have a job with decent pay and benefits but this job description is pretty close to my dream job. I love facilitating groups and I love family therapy. Not to mention that I have seen the PLL program work with the families I have referred to it! If you want to change a kid you work with his family, you don't send him to some residential placement for 6 months and hope he or she behaves differently when they come home.

So here are some pictures of my trip. I spent a little bit of time walking around Boston when I first got there on Sunday afternoon. There were obnoxious drunk people in green all over from the St. Patty's day parade earlier in the day, so it wasn't the ideal time to be seeing the historical sites in Boston. Plus it was pretty chilly and the visitors centers were all closed.

Boston Common and the state house 

Old state house and street where Boston massacre occurred

Paul Revere and the Old North Church. 

I love US history so it was fun to see some of the sites. I'd love to go back in the summer someday and visit when the visitor centers and museums are open. When my training ended on Friday afternoon, I drove over to Plymouth and saw some of the things there.

Recreation of the Mayflower

It's so tiny. I have no idea how 100 people could fit on this thing!

Me and Plymoth rock. Thank you pilgrims!

I was a little nervous being so far away with a baby coming soon, but it turned out fine. Now we are ready for a baby to come!