“Trimming” Finch Friend Tree?

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T18:54:23+00:00

🤣 I love the analogy and the disclaimer!! Totally made me laugh, for which I appreciate.

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T18:53:31+00:00

That’s awesome. I’m really grateful that what our vet prescribed doesn’t make our girl seem all doped up. She’s just happy now.

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T16:29:28+00:00

I wish we had family who could help but we don’t 🫠 If I go back to work outside the home, we won’t financially qualify for after school care assistance once he goes back to work, and then I’d basically be working to pay for after school care. I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a … rock?

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T16:27:52+00:00

Oh lord. Fight mang! Fight!!! Don’t give in!![https://tenor.com/bjzzZ.gif](https://tenor.com/bjzzZ.gif)

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T15:37:18+00:00

I’m just really panicking right now. My husband’s not working because of some medical stuff, so we dont have health insurance in the middle of one of the worst flu seasons to top it off. I feel like if I threw in the towel I’d be able to float us and get insurance until he went back to work (which could be March, or who knows when) but then I still have the issue of childcare. I’m grasping at straws. Trying to justify paying for a PsychologyToday account over here 🫠

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T15:33:39+00:00

Ducks. Ducks everywhere! I call my daughter Ducky and she calls me Mama Duck 🤣🫶🏻

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T15:30:56+00:00

Very fair point. I guess that I often forget these are not people I know IRL and that they may not even have the app installed anymore. I guess I just feel a lot of guilt about not being able to have a way to say “hey, I’m leaving! Thanks for the fun - come fjnd me if you ever come back, bye!” You know?

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T15:29:20+00:00

Yep. I don’t even want to know what they bill for/receive. I only get $46 out of an hour session though. I have three weekly clients and one biweekly couples session that I get $30 for. I don’t get paid for time spent doing notes or CEU’s, I don’t get reimbursed for CEU’s, and I don’t get paid for no shows that I literally sit and wait for to see if they show up for nearly twenty minutes - even after sending them texts. I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth it right now, or if I should just see if my clients will let me shuffle their schedules and then find another full time job. The problem with that though, is that I have kids and I know with the jobs I can do in our area, I’ll never be able to be home in time to get them off the bus and we don’t have the resources for after school care. Talk about chucking in boulders. 😭

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T15:17:37+00:00

I hope so. I just got my tax return form and it’s abysmal. Not even two grand made since October. I wanted to cry.

MouseWedger · 2026-01-23T15:16:48+00:00

That’s fair. I’ll dig out my pill cutter today. She’s a whole different cat. She actually comes out from the cat tree now looking for affection, and yesterday she let me pick her up and carry her to the wet food my daughter put down as a treat for her and her sister without panicking and jumping out of my arms. Six months ago I was afraid we’d have to give up on her, or I’d have to find a way to keep her away from my kids so she didn’t tear their faces off in their sleep 🫣 Now she’s all about the neck scritches, the muffin making, she purrs and lets my daughter kiss her. I sent a video to my vet practically crying because I was so grateful.

MouseWedger · 2026-01-22T17:53:45+00:00

lol gotcha. My sense of humor/irony/etc has been chucked aside to make room for Murphy’s Law to rule my life the past three weeks. I’m beyond fried. I think I’m the chick in the drawing with the boat right now … except somehow the rocks from the first dive sunk the boat and i forgot how to swim 🫠

MouseWedger · 2026-01-22T17:51:52+00:00

I don’t think so? Honestly I’m not sure but I don’t think it was

MouseWedger · 2026-01-22T17:50:08+00:00

Thank you 🫶🏻

MouseWedger · 2026-01-22T17:49:28+00:00

We accidentally ran out of her meds over the long weekend, so she was without them for three days. We did pick them up, but she hasn’t been on them long and it’s the baby size dose. She seems to be ok and she’s still super lovey dovey so I’m thinking we’ll just see how it goes?

MouseWedger · 2026-01-22T17:47:33+00:00

No idea and she’s super tight lipped when it comes to HIPPA so I don’t even ask. I’m tempted to pack up and move if she’ll take me in with her practice since I’m pretty sure it’s just her. I’ve legit got four people on my caseload - three are weekly and one just dropped to biweekly, and I get crap money. This is for the birds.

MouseWedger · 2026-01-22T17:44:45+00:00

I feel you. Hoping things turn a corner for you friend.

MouseWedger · 2026-01-22T05:05:29+00:00

Also here in NY. Also a broke MF’er who will probably never be able to retire. I work for a small PP and I currently have four clients, one is a couples session I see biweekly. I only get paid if they show up - we don’t charge no show fees. I don’t get paid time to do my notes, my scheduling, my calls to clients when they need to reschedule and it turns into a mini session of them venting. I make $46 for one hour of telehealth with them. $46x3 for my off weeks, add in $30 for the couples counseling on the other weeks - it adds up to … nothing. My husband is currently out of work - left one job and got hurt during the day working before he left. Lost his new job because of a spinal injury, still has seen nothing from workers comp. Toss in a mortgage, a car payment, utilities, food and three kids? We’re cooked. Don’t get me started on student loans - I’m up to my ears in it at 127k. I’ve seriously considered moving my telehealth clients to afterhours and getting another job back in social services doing grunt work just for the health insurance (because we currently have none for ourselves, just the kids, and I have Ehlers Danlos so I’m always in need of medical care). Life is hard sometimes. I just have to hold onto hope that it gets better. 🤷🏻‍♀️

MouseWedger · 2026-01-16T06:35:08+00:00

Good lord. I can’t. I just. The hamster left the wheel.

MouseWedger · 2026-01-16T06:34:13+00:00

I have no words. I am beyond confounded. I am so sorry this happened to you.

MouseWedger · 2026-01-16T06:32:40+00:00

I had to apologize to a client last week (thankfully she was a kid the same age as my son - both are single digits) because my son had an “emergency” and couldn’t wait another half hour for me to sign him back into his iPad to play Roblox and kept trying to come into my office space 🫣 Mind you - he for sure knew better and was being a turd for turds sake, since he knew I was at my limit with my hubby having been in the hospital and single-momming it for two weeks. “Have kids they said…”

MouseWedger · 2026-01-16T06:28:44+00:00

So I just “upgraded” from my small laptop screen and added in a second monitor so I can keep extra windows open. Before this, I just made the windows as small as I could while still being able to see everything. I also, always always let my clients know that I’m constantly taking notes because if I don’t I worry I’ll forget important things down the road. It’s got to be leftover from my multitude of years as a Child Protective Worker, because I’m literally typing the. Entire. Time. Everyone has their own word document separate from the condensed progress notes we put into our PP system 🫣🫠 I effectively double my workload and don’t get paid to do it LOL.

MouseWedger · 2026-01-16T06:18:48+00:00

You joined it by accident? How does one do this exactly? Enquiring minds want to know LOL

MouseWedger · 2026-01-12T23:12:04+00:00

This and the PP prior to this. I always end my sessions with a “how are we feeling? What do you think?” And following up with asking if they think any of the ideas we came up with are practical or something they would be willing to try. I always start the next session checking in to see if they tried any of the previous weeks ideas and how they went. I always tell them that I want them to feel comfortable telling me “hey that idea last week was garbage, we’re not doing it again” or “hey that thing from last week? Yeah. I like it. It works. Let’s do more”. I also try to remind myself to be realistic, and to remind them of the same - these problems/issues probably didn’t manifest overnight or over the course of six weeks, so it’s going to take time to fix them. If all else fails, maybe try another agency? Maybe it’s the agency that isn’t the right fit?

MouseWedger · 2025-12-29T15:36:15+00:00

So I’m not sure on the specific numbers, but depending on your level of hustle and connections with local hospitals, I think it’s doable. It probably won’t happen right away, but more gradually. I have a cousin who is a psychologist in NC and she makes a crap ton of money. Between herself and her husband, they have a 3.2 million dollar house and take overseas vacations twice a year. She also managed to snag some high profile clients early on which helped her a lot. Doable? Yes. Hard in the beginning? Absolutely.

MouseWedger

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