Jason Anderson, LCSW
I'd love to say that I always wanted to be a therapist or a social worker, but that is simply not true. The truth is that I barely graduated high school because I rarely showed up my senior year. I spent most of my time having fun and avoided anything challenging that didn't involve friends. I simply didn't apply myself. Despite the strong support and encouragement from my parents in my youth, I was simply defiant and took my own path, learning a lot of hard lessons along the way.
After trying many different unsuccessful ventures after high school, I did finally make some positive changes in my life as I wanted more out of life as I got older. In my early twenties, I slowly returned to school taking community college classes while I worked full time. I fell in love with reading, writing and learning during those first college courses. Many of those courses were remedial level because of my high school grades. I was living with various roommates in Northern California. The rent and cost of living was astronomical, but I continued to take a class or two every semester while working well over full time. My grades were excellent, but I had to complete a number of classes before I could transfer to a university.
By my mid-twenties, I recall sitting with an academic advisor from the college I was attending. I expressed my frustration with how long the transfer process to a university was taking and asked which program I could transfer into the fastest. He told me, "social work." I didn’t even know there was a degree for that or what it actually was but impulsively said, “That’s what I’m doing.”
This was an impulsive and reckless decision. Luckily, it turned out to be the perfect profession for me. I completed the program attending school full time and worked full time on top of it. It was a busy and stressful two years. I graduated cum laude from California State University Sacramento with a bachelors degree in social work. The next fall, I continued with an advanced standing program in social work and by the next summer I had a masters degree in social work.
My social work career has been challenging, frustrating, frightening but also rewarding. I've worked with many populations in many different settings, especially when I started clinical social work in 2012. I work with adults and children. There’s a number of obvious differences between adults in children, but one common thread is the idea of change and how difficult it is to acknowledge, admit and actually make changes in our lives to better ourselves. If I had to sum up what my work has been, it would be that I've focused on helping people make changes in their life that THEY want.
I’ve been continuing to learn and practice my entire career. I believe strongly that compassion, empathy and rapport, while critical, are not enough to effectively help clients. Clinicians must be able to conceptualize our clients using evidence based theoretical models. For myself, the models I've focused on are Cognitive therapy, Relational Fame Theory, Applied Behavior Analysis as well as the third wave models: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectic Behavior Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy. This practice of "framing" clients through a theoretical lens is often discussed but rarely practiced from what I have seen.
Bonnie Anderson, CPSS
Peddler of Hope
I've wanted to be a therapist since I saw Deanna Troy on Star Trek: The Next Generation in middle school. So, needless to say I'm old and also a geek (long before it was cool). It took me 30 years to get there, but in May of 2024, I will finally be graduating with my Masters in Social Work and fulfilling this dream.
I'm no stranger to mental health, though. I have a history of complex trauma and received my first mental health diagnosis at age 23. I've seen multiple therapists and psychiatrists. I've tried an exhaustive list of medications. I've read more books than I could possible count. I have a Wellness Recovery Action Plan, and yet my depression continues to reoccur. Thankfully, I have avoided hospitalization (narrowly at times) but my mental health challenges continue impact my life when not well managed.
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I could choose to curse the hand I was dealt (trauma history, generational patterns of unhealthy coping strategies, and brain chemistry, or I can use it to help others. I choose to help others. As a Certified Peer Support Specialist, I use my lived experience to normalize individuals' experience, validate the challenges faced by those with mental health struggles, and inspire hope in change and recovery. In my work with clients, I am drawn to the models that position the professional as a fellow traveler on the road of life rather than the all knowing guru on the mountaintop.
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Before obtaining my peer support certification, I worked primarily in administrative assistant roles in the construction field after graduating from UNC Charlotte in 2003 with my BA in Psychology. After college, I pursued my love for supporting people through volunteer work in sexual assault and domestic violence crisis work. In 2011, my first child was born, and I fell in love with babywearing. In 2012, I took over as the leader of the local babywearing group and lived out my passion by helping new parents learn to wear their babies. After about 6 years, I realized I could help parents even better by obtaining my MSW. In the summer of 2020, I was laid off from my administrative job while I was in the process of applying for graduate school. With the support and encouragement of my amazing husband, I decided to make the leap to mental health prior to graduation. I've worked as an Registered Behavior Therapist with children on the Autism spectrum, as a Family Support Partner on a Hi-Fidelity Wraparound Team with families at risk of out-of-home placement, as a peer support specialist on a Community Support Team working with the houseless population, and as a Community Navigator on a Community Doula Program with under-resourced mothers of color.
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There is no singular model that I use, as each person is unique. I work with clients to identify the life they want to live and identify the barriers that are getting in the way. We then work collaboratively to identify often overlooked or underutilized strengths, add in any missing skills they need and want to learn, and evaluate the results. We continue doing this until their goals are met, and they have the tools to create and obtain their own goals. My only goal is to work my way out of a job.
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On a personal level, I'm the mom of a blended family of 5 children, on three different custody schedules, in three different schools, in three different cities. Therefore, self-care is not a luxury it's a necessity. My most powerful self-care activity usually involves some sort of sound bath, full moon ritual, or women's fire circle. The combination of mindfulness, supportive community, and shared vulnerability recharges my batteries. In my non-existent free time, I love to ride rollercoasters, watch documentaries, and go on dates with my husband (but not all at the same time).
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I'm LGBTQIA+ affirming, kink and poly aware, and strive to live my life in a culturally humble manner. I once heard a speaker say that social workers, case managers, and other helping professionals should really be called simply, peddlers of home, and above all, that is what I am. A peddler of hope.