Butter Packets
by Emily Redick, MSW, LCSW
After having spent the majority of my career working in fast-paced healthcare and case management settings, I decided a change of pace and clientele might be healthy. Newly credentialed as an LCSW, I thought it was the perfect time to attempt a slow transition into private practice.
The morning of my first session, I awoke excited, optimistic, and energized. Upon my arrival at the upscale assisted living community, I expected to be greeted by a cheerful, grandmotherly figure. Instead, I was interrogated by a harsh-toned voice demanding to know who was bothering her so early in the morning (11 a.m.). Still, I remained confident I could establish rapport with Ms. B and convince her to work with me. As the morning progressed, I was called incompetent, among other unmentionable names. Part of me wanted to leave, allowing the mounting tears of frustration to fall. I wanted to feel sorry for myself. How could she be my first private practice client? Weren’t geriatric clients supposed to be friendlier than the clientele to which I had grown accustomed? Feeling bitterly disappointed, the voice of reason and optimism resurfaced, and I acknowledged how focused I had been on myself - my disappointment, my career choices, my family sacrifices.
My thoughts moved from how I had been affected by our encounter to the reasons I was referred by her home health nurse. She had recently suffered great loss, was self-isolating, and was showing signs of major depression. I decided not to give up on her until she officially declined my services, as I recognized her fear of further loss. After two weeks of unreturned calls and messages, Ms. B finally agreed to see me again.
This time, she had a look in her eye I hadn’t seen previously - hope. I took a deep breath and answered challenging questions about my career, background, and intentions. After what felt like an hour, she sighed, thanked me for coming back, and started talking. It was as if I had passed a secret test. She talked about her childhood, her nursing career in trauma, her family, feelings of loss and hopelessness, and the reasons she preferred to stay in her room rather than socialize. Over the next few weeks, Ms. B greeted me with the same unhappy remark about how she was never given enough butter packets at breakfast, but quickly transitioned into discussions on combatting social isolation, establishing more contact with relatives, and fulfilling her desire to paint again.
A few months later, I reviewed progress notes from earlier sessions and compared them with those more recent. Ms. B was now attending community activities, talking with relatives regularly, and transforming her bare walls into an art gallery as she rekindled her love of watercolor painting. While she was certainly a challenge, and not at all what I envisioned, Ms. B taught me that I should strive to enter any new client situation with perseverance, patience, compassion, empathy, and maybe a few emergency butter packets.
Emily Redick 2017
Emily Redick
Emily Redick, MSW, LCSW, graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2012 with a focus on social work in the healthcare field. She has worked in an acute hospital setting on a variety of units since graduation, and recently began working in private practice with the geriatric population.