Published: May 10, 2008 04:01 am         

Shop Talk

Shop Talk is a weekly column featuring locally owned and operated businesses. This week, we talk to licensed clinical social worker Debra Clark, whose practice is based in Oneonta.

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How long have you lived in the area?

My mom and dad moved upstate in 1972 and put me in school in South New Berlin, and I've been here ever since.

Tell me about your business:

I'm a social worker _ I work with the gamut of any mental-health issues. I'm working with children from age 7 through adults in their 60s. I work with people who have adjustment disorders, who are going through major changes, like children whose parents are separating, and I work a lot with dissociative disorders. This can include people who have been traumatized by abuse or sexual assault, or people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. I have also worked with kids who have (attention deficit hyperactive disorder). I can't prescribe anything, but I work with a psychiatrist and a nurse-practitioner for patients who are on medication.

Describe a typical day in your business:

Let's see _ I might see a kid who was traumatized at a young age who is now a teenager, or a younger kid whose parents are splitting up, or an older client who's dealing with alcohol problems or issues with their marriage. I probably see between four to seven people in a day, but it varies. I'm on a lot of insurance programs, so my caseload is growing.

How did you get started in this line of work?

I went to college and graduated from Hartwick with a major in English and a minor in computer science. I worked in computer programming for several years, and I liked it, but one day I looked up and realized, "I don't want to do this for the rest of my life." So I thought, "What should I do?" I was good with people, and I had taken some social psychology-type classes at Hartwick, and I spoke with some (Master of Social Work) students, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into.

I went into the MSW program because agencies tend to want the MSW degree. I worked in a clinic in Chenango County, but I always wanted to be on my own just because of the limitations of working in a clinic. I really wanted to focus on people who have dissociative disorders.

Where do you see this business in five years?

I would like to be able to keep a small enough caseload that it's manageable. I don't want to have to go into just a supervisory position, but I would love to work with other social workers in a joint setting.

Describe a memorable moment in your workplace:

When we finally get the medications correct and you see the change in someone, it's great. Those moments when you feel like someone's finally ready to stop coming in for sessions _ you know, for some people, they might continue to need therapy later in life, and for other people, they won't. But you do see people make real progress.

What have you learned from your work?

I can survive being terrified. It affected my marriage, too, because it changed our income. We're doing fine, but it was an adjustment.

Also, I'm not just a therapist any more. I have to do the billing, the accounting, everything _ you know, I have to make sure the printer is still working and buy the ink for it. At first it was a learning curve, but now I'm more settled in and I'm enjoying it.

What is the hardest thing you have to do?

I can't take on other people's pain, or I wouldn't be able to function. The tendency is to want to get really involved, but if someone's struggling with having to move out of their apartment, you can't go over there and help them pack. You have to keep those boundaries, and just say, "I really empathize with what you're dealing with," and leave it at that.

The most enjoyable?

I think it's continuing. I see people doing better because they're working with me. I can celebrate that progress with them. And they're the ones doing it _ I'm not doing it, I'm just here with them, so they deserve the credit.

What are some advantages/drawbacks of doing business in this area?

The National Health Service Corps is one (advantage) _ if you spend two years in an area that's identified as one of their priority service areas, it can pay back your student loans. I think Chenango, Delaware and Otsego counties are all priority service areas.

A lot of (what I do) is just educating people, who say "What is that?" if you say, "You're bipolar." But there are a lot of programs in the area that educate people. (The National Alliance for Mental Illness) is very active in the area, and it seems like awareness is definitely growing, but we learn more about the mind all the time. The majority of mental-health issues are brain disorders, but people don't always get that. Instead, it's just this idea that the person is "crazy." But bipolar disorder, schizophrenia _ those things are caused by brain disorders. It's no different than any other medical condition. We're even learning more that depression can be related to brain disorder.

What sets you apart from your competitors?

If someone has post-traumatic stress disorder or dissociative disorders, I'm comfortable with that. I'm not going to get freaked out by anything they're going to say to me. I've worked with people who have dissociative identity disorder, which used to be called multiple personality disorder, which people might think is very rare, but it is something you see in the area.

What advice would you give to someone trying to enter your field of work?

I'd have to explain that social workers are not paid as well as psychiatrists, but it's a two-year instead of a four-year program. It's very rewarding when you have the opportunity to change someone's life, but it can also be very frustrating. With counseling, you might never know what happens to someone down the road.

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To suggest a business for Shop Talk, contact Emily F. Popek at 432-1000, ext. 255, or epopek@thedailystar.com.