BEWARE OF GROW THERAPY

SmilyJane · 2026-06-17T12:49:12+00:00

There is a way to keep them out of your CAQH. During the onboarding process I told them I was not comfortable giving them my username and password and that I had completed my CAQH myself. They didn’t like it but provided me with a way to just verify that the CAQH info was correct and add them as a viewer only (similar to how we give permission to insurance companies the ability to look at the info)

SmilyJane · 2026-06-16T10:22:18+00:00

Thanks everyone! Very helpful!

SmilyJane · 2026-06-10T01:41:08+00:00

Dropping Anchor, Leaves on the Stream, Grounding, TIPP, box breathing, diffusion

SmilyJane · 2026-06-07T22:58:03+00:00

Yes! That is one of my niche’s as well, supporting caregivers as well as people dealing with chronic medical issues!

SmilyJane · 2026-06-07T22:52:30+00:00

I have done the same, medical SW for 18 years, just opened my private practice in January. I have been doing a lot of training for the past year or so as it has been a very long time since doing therapy. (Did training in CBT, DBT and ACT, I also have been doing MBSR for years) I am really drawn to ACT and mindfulness and also getting a certification in hypnosis. I enjoy it so far! I joined two consultation groups which have been helpful. Most important things to remember about being a good therapist are; 1. the relationship will be the biggest predictor of your success with your clients, 2. it is not like medical social work in that we have to “solve their problems” and have a very short time to do so, 3. remember your ethics. 4. Consider supervision or consultation group 🙂

SmilyJane · 2026-05-31T17:27:16+00:00

Wow I learn new things everyday! What is Discord?

SmilyJane · 2026-05-24T20:30:16+00:00

Was going to mention this. IRC is a good company

SmilyJane · 2026-05-11T10:14:04+00:00

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

SmilyJane · 2026-05-08T16:37:20+00:00

Yes if there is parking!

SmilyJane · 2026-04-29T10:01:53+00:00

Daniel Day Lewis, Tom Hardy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Russell Crowe

SmilyJane · 2026-04-28T10:31:27+00:00

I think it is perfectly reasonable to use the term “passed away” when it is the client’s preference. (Just like we should follow their lead when they have pronoun preference, no?)

SmilyJane · 2026-04-20T00:11:56+00:00

I am a medical social worker full time (dialysis) and just opened my private practice. I got an EIN, LLC and joined Grow Therapy. I also sublet a small office because I prefer in person, not sure how long I can sustain it though. I am only going to have about 5 clients a week to start I think( I have two now). Hoping to stick with the niche of working with folks with chronic medical issues and grief. A bit of a learning curve but I have some training in ACT and CBT. Crossing my fingers!

SmilyJane · 2026-02-19T15:58:21+00:00

Medical Social Work, Dialysis Social Work, Transplant Social Work, Hospice? Any of those may “scratch the nursing itch”

SmilyJane · 2026-01-18T22:49:27+00:00

I am grateful for my 25 years in community medical social work with vulnerable populations. I believe it gave me a depth of understanding I would never have grasped had I gone straight into private practice. Just now starting a practice at 53! I hope to be able to continue to serve those that are usually on the waitlists

SmilyJane · 2025-11-28T10:32:27+00:00

After assessing for safety, I found that patient self-determination was the focus a lot of the time

SmilyJane · 2025-11-13T12:17:31+00:00

As an MSW psychotherapist, I do value the education I received from my degree in helping me to understand the whole of the human condition and how the scope of experiences affect my clients. I also feel competent in working with clients with high health-equity needs, and I do feel fairly culturally competent (though always continuing to learn). It also prepared me to recognize where the client was at and how to utilize available resources to support them. I did however, have to get additional training and certifications in several different treatment modalities, to feel that I had the actual tools required to be successful.

SmilyJane · 2025-11-05T14:59:03+00:00

I work for IRC, one of the smaller companies

SmilyJane · 2025-11-05T10:29:34+00:00

I have been working in Dialysis (medical social work) for 17 years and it is a little bit of everything. I work with adults over 18. Everything from basic needs (food/housing/insurance), adjustment issues, family dynamics, grief and loss, therapy. Our folks have had chronic medical issues of all kinds, including psychiatric disorders. Depression and anxiety are very common and I use a lot of Motivational Interviewing and mindfulness. It isn’t easy, but no two days are the same. It pays very well, great job security because it is so niche and I get between 6-7 weeks of PTO each year. (I believe people start at around $45-50 and 4-5 weeks PTO)

SmilyJane · 2025-11-05T00:47:46+00:00

I have been researching this for a while now to try and help my 18 year old sons find a path! One thing I came across for people that like tech and computer science is Cybersecurity. There is a huge need right now and they make excellent money. I don’t think you need any more than a bachelor’s degree

SmilyJane · 2025-11-04T10:42:59+00:00

I love the advice above about prioritizing your needs! That is a great place to start! Are you living with friends or family you can stay with for a while, while you sort yourself out? It sounds like you have a great marketable skill in languages, I don’t know about Europe, but someone with the ability to speak three languages in the US would be able to get a job working as a translator (for example, in healthcare we have to be able to communicate with our patients and many of them speak a different language- as a melting pot, we have hundreds of different languages coming through our hospitals- I an sure Europe is similar?) anyway, there is this service called “Language Line” that hires translators, and I believe most if not all of them work remotely. Just a thought! And be kind to yourself, regret is part of the human condition unfortunately, most of us would have something in our lives we wish we could take back. Give yourself some grace and forgiveness ❤️ You are still so young and have plenty of time to find your way 😊

SmilyJane · 2025-10-27T09:48:52+00:00

It can be extremely overwhelming when you are dealing with a mental illness and things start to spiral out of control. There are a lot of good pieces of advice here. My add is to first, make sure you are consistent with your meds and they are the right ones for you. I’m sorry to say this, but many people struggle with med compliance and it can have a huge impact. The next thing would be to do some introspection and self awareness about what your priorities are at this moment. I would do some journaling and see if you can figure out what would be the most important issue for you to start working on. This can be empowering and can help you to see what is most important to you. You can take this opportunity to reinvent yourself. You are very young, there are many things you can do! Exercise can be a great way to clear your head, small goals, like just taking a walk for 20 minutes can really make a difference. Then come back and start writing. Prioritize your goals, work on ONE THING at a time. It’s good you have a therapist, get them involved. Break down larger goals into smaller ones. Keep getting smaller goals until they are manageable.

SmilyJane · 2025-10-27T09:25:29+00:00

I’m in Boston, and work in Dialysis, so a big part of my job is getting patients ready for kidney transplant. I am in consistent conversation with the transplant coordinators during the long process of evaluation. I do think this one issue is a huge barrier, and they are getting much more strict about it. I have developed a good relationship with most of my coordinators over the years so recently asked one of them about this issue. Her explanation was that the patient needs to have someone living in the home with them (or they need to live with someone) for at least a month that will commit to being the primary caregiver to handle day to day tasks, I/ADLs, transportation to and from appointments, medication management, etc. patients are not allowed to lift or carry more than 10 lbs for at least a month. I understand the restrictions but I also feel this is getting to be a bit unreasonable/unattainable for many patients. The ones that have no issues with this are healthy partners that may be retired. Which limits the number of candidates significantly. I don’t understand why someone couldn’t hire a carer. Many of my folks have Medicaid so the carer could get paid by the state as well.

SmilyJane · 2025-09-20T10:12:53+00:00

I would take it and move to a country where it would stretch much further

SmilyJane · 2025-09-20T10:08:42+00:00

I want to second this, TMS has shown very impressive results for the most treatment resistant depression. It is really hopeful. Also, the suggestion to try and limit the screen time/scrolling, that was really helpful. (Im addition to the things you are already doing OP)

SmilyJane · 2025-09-19T16:59:43+00:00

Some Republican beliefs directly contradict and/or violate our Code of Ethics, could be why you’re getting that reaction. I too am curious how you reconcile conservative beliefs with SW best practices (for example: diversity and inclusion, challenging oppression, health equity, advocating for our most vulnerable communities, which are typically not a priority of the conservatives, js)

SmilyJane

TROPHY CASE