Published by The Pennsylvania Certification Board
Spring/Summer 2008
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President's Perspective
by Tom Baier, CAC/CCS
As I begin my third and final (as defined by our by-laws) two-year term as President of the PCB and review the mandate from the Board that PCB continue to exercise and expand upon its core mission of assuring protection for the persons that we serve, I’m also reminded that it’s worthwhile to pause and be reminded of some of the key elements that support this mission. This is especially true as PCB becomes an even greater influence on the national and international credentialing front through our management contracts and consulting services to the IC&RC and other boards. The genesis for what follows in this article is my “negating” of the vast array of presidential hopefuls. In this election year, as the candidate’s parade before us, I’ve begun my own process of candidate elimination. For me, it’s become a process of elimination, saying “no”, “no”, “no” until one candidate is left standing. Initially, it seems like a pretty negative approach even though it eventually leads to one “yes”. Bear with me for a moment as I continue along this negative stream of consciousness in elucidating what I believe are important elements in our day-to-day excursions in promoting recovery.
“No.”
A word that is simple to enunciate but sometimes hard to say.
“No” closes doors.
But when used to break convention, it opens many more.
My Negative Treatise
- No, we as certified professionals will not compromise our core values that demand that our clients benefit in their relationships with us through our commitment to excellence and integrity.
- No, we will not do it the way everyone else does it.
- No, we will not be bound to believing in the “timelessness” of our methods.
- No, we will not be trapped into seeing the glass as “half empty”.
- No, we will not promote any philosophy that insists that “recovery” can only be accomplished by a single methodology.
- No, we will not isolate ourselves from external forces.
- No, we will never say no to anything that benefits the persons we serve.
So there they are; my seven negative statements that comprise a Negative Treatise, each one of which gives rise to the paradoxical and exact opposite for one cannot say “no” to something without either passively or actively saying “yes” to something else. This is true for the statements above. Here they are again, this time with their opposite counterparts:
1. No, we as certified
professionals will not compromise our core values that demand that our
clients benefit in their relationships with us through our commitment to
excellence and
integrity.
Simple enough. The transposition of this statement insists that we embrace these core values and everything that they represent; that we integrate them into everything that we do in the workplace. When this is the case, everyone benefits – our clients, us, the institution at large as well as our professional and geographical communities. Yes to those values that assure that the consumers of our services are never harmed because of our actions.
2. No, we will not do it the way everyone else does it.
The assumption here is that “group think” is not always advantageous in systems that are always changing. The path of least resistance often traps us into the status quo, stagnating creativity. It requires guts to break away from the pack and try new and inventive ways that might be monumentally successful or might crash and burn. Calculated risk-taking is at the forefront of almost all notable success. Yes to challenging ourselves to become explorers in our own field.
3. No, we will not be bound to believing in the “timelessness” of our methods.
All too often we get comfortable in the way we do things despite the reality that the world around us is ever-changing. It’s misguided and somewhat arrogant to assume that yesterday’s tools are appropriate or meaningful in an environment that is always evolving. Statement like “that’s the way we’ve always done it” need to be consistently challenged. More often than not, it’s our own insecurities that prevent us from exploring new ground. The corresponding “yes” to this negative statement also demands that we continue to professionally evolve by seeking training that stretches us personally as well as in our roles of behavioral health specialists.
4. No, we will not be trapped into seeing the glass as “half empty”.
It’s not always easy to be optimistic, but who said this was going to be easy? If we’ve learned anything about treating people with a chronic disease, we’ve hopefully discovered that all of our contacts with our clients have potential. It’s an extremely unusual event to witness a client have the “illuminating light bulb” experience wherein the individual “gets it” and immediately moves onto a path of recovery, never turning back to his drug of choice. More typical is the experience of our work together as one in which we lay the foundation stones of recovery, slowly building stone by stone, with all sorts of interruptions along the way. “Yes” to the reality that each small step potentiates the arrival at the goal.
5. No, we will not promote any philosophy that insists that “recovery” can only be accomplished by a single methodology.
Square pegs in round holes, and all that. Those among us who get trapped in this belief “know” how recovery works. They’ve seen the successes, they’ve seen the failures. It’s what they don’t know that gets them tripped up. They get angry when professionally challenged and often end up stagnated in their isolation. They’ll espouse the benefits of fellowship for their clients while personally and professionally violating all of its principles that demand openness, self-exploration, and constant evolution. Yes to the diversity of the human change process that constantly surprises and enhances our understanding of what we do.
6. No, we will not isolate ourselves from external forces.
The world around us helps inform and give meaning to who we are personally and professionally. The healthiest and most helpful counselors and human service professionals are those who welcome discourse, read professional journals and publications and regularly seek and attend training and other opportunities to interact with other professionals. The opposite is also true. Yes to the world around us, including the world that has nothing to do with our professional lives but enhances and supports us as human beings.
7. We will never say no to anything that benefits the persons we serve.
Building upon all of the above, we’ll seek out, and say “yes” to anything that supports and enhances a holistic recovery experience for our clients including paying careful attention to our own development.
So there it is, no becomes yes, night becomes day, young becomes old and so on. Now, where was I with those presidential candidates?
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