Angela’s Story – Post 1
My name is Angela Miller. I am a licensed professional counselor who has worked in several levels of care for mental health. I have worked in inpatient hospitals, residential facilities, intensive outpatient care, and most recently in an outpatient private practice.
Working in private practice has been both wonderful and challenging for me. I have learned so much in the past two years that you don’t get in a hospital or community agency. Some of them to be expected, such as learning how taxes change as you become self-employed. However, there are other experiences, in some ways are new, and in others, lessons I needed to re-learn. One thing that comes to mind for me to re-learn is how to set healthy boundaries. This is humbling to say out loud (or type) because when I worked in other settings I was proud and grateful for my ability to work passionately AND leave work AT WORK.
I realized after working in private practice that I had it good in a hospital setting. Healthy boundaries were almost laid out for me. I had a set schedule, came in, helped the lovely people of my community, left, and my work was left at work. In private practice, I have the freedom to set my schedule and take as many patients or as little as I feel is healthy. This process sounds appealing but it contributed in blurring boundaries. It has and will continue to be a balancing act that at first, I struggled with. In future blogs, I will touch more on these lessons and how they have helped both me and my patients. Today, I want to focus on what I thought was the worst part of my growth in private practice. It affected MY SLEEP!
My episodes of insomnia were making my journey in finding balance feel even harder. After making peace with the fact that my old sleep hygiene habits were no longer effective (which was a longer process then I liked) I dove into researching the fascinating world of blissful (and not so blissful) slumber!
In future posts, I wish to share with you my experiences in changing my sleep habits and the knowledge I have gained so to help others tackle insomnia or just want some tips for better sleep.
Angela Miller, LPC
North Shore Center LLC
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