How can we take care of care providers? It's an important question for addiction, recovery and mental health care professionals, who do extremely demanding work in difficult environments.
Maeve O'Neill, All Sober's executive vice president of addiction and recovery, has spent 35 years in behavioral health care, working with a variety of organizations and patient communities, so she's learned a few things about what works and what doesn't.
Maeve joined Lauren Sepulvedor in the studio of Dallas–Fort Worth's Connections Wellness Group for the latest episode of the Connections Chat podcast, to share some personal and professional wisdom about the field she has devoted her career to. But her advice can apply to many people in any workplace, and individuals in recovery, too.
A specialist in ethics and compliance inspired by social work pioneer Brené Brown, Maeve was drawn to work in mental health early on: "I grew up in a family that was mired in mental illness and addiction issues. So from a very early age, I thought I was going to help other kids never have to experience this." Over the past three decades, she's explored different focuses in the field, and she's also learned from the times she felt "this is not the field for me; it's too difficult, it's too hard."
What Maeve now emphasizes is also All Sober's philosophy: that patients, providers, family and communities are interconnected. "We're all on this journey together, so how do we help and support each other?" asks Maeve.
Listen to the podcast episode for more thought-provoking discussions about mental health in the workplace, how to use language that reduces the stigma of addiction, and what's special about the recovery field, where "people in recovery who started out just living that experience" can rise to become doctors and leaders.
Find the episode on the Connections Wellness Center podcast, or get it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.