Build Your Private Practice – AACC Mega National Conference

Join us at the AACC 2020 Mega National Conference in Dallas Texas to learn more about how Genesis Assist can help you build your private practice.

With services like EHR & billing, Insurance Credentialing, and Consulting, Genesis Assist provides expert advice, tools, and community to help your private counseling practice succeed.

Learn more about AACC 2020 Mega National Conference. 

Genesis at the 2017 Annual APA Conference

A few of our Genesis team members had the privilege of attending and exhibiting at the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention this year in Washington DC (August 2–6, 2017).

I was honored to meet Dr. Philip Zimbardo at the APA Convention. Dr. Zimbardo is a psychologist and a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He has served as the President of the APA. He is known for his 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment and has since authored many notable works, including The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil and his TED talk on The Psychology of Evil. More recently, he has written on heroism.

I remember learning of the landmark Stanford Prison Experiment in my earliest Introduction to Psychology course at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida in 1986. It is sobering to realize that any of us can fall prey to abuse of power. In my academic career, I continued to revisit the Stanford Prison Experiment as an MA, Ed.S, and Psy.D. student, as well as teach about it in multiple psychology courses. In all my receptions to this experiment, I was deeply stirred and sometimes in tears. An overview of the Stanford prison experiment can be found at http://www.prisonexp.org/ .

Dr. Zimbardo notes on his website that he was born during the Great Depression (1933) and grew up in the Bronx in poverty, where he witnessed the interplay of good and evil. This influenced his interest in the human condition, the primary subject matter of his career as a social psychologist.

One of my areas of specialty as a psychologist is trauma recovery, and specifically helping clients who were traumatized during childhood. I have had the privilege in my counseling career to journey with courageous souls in the healing process. I have also personally experienced healing in my own life.

God heals all human diseases (Psalm 103:3). That includes physical, mental, relational, psychological, spiritual, and those of the soul. God alone understands the mystery of good verses evil in our world, lives, and our very human nature. Only God is responsible for redemption of all pain. The primary passage that informs my trauma recovery work is Genesis 50:20,

“What was intended for evil, GOD has used for good and the saving of many people.”

By Trina Young Greer, Psy.D.

Genesis Counseling Center, Executive Director

Key to Growth … Developing a Learner-Mindset

• Excellence – Best-in-class delivery of services
• Teamwork – Togetherness, unity, how we operate
• Godly character – Uncompromising beliefs, actions and moral standards
• Transcendent – “Big Picture” thinking and acting – “Legacy” work
• Ownership – Taking responsibility and doing what is best for the organization
• Growth – Learner mindset

Leaders are Life Long Learners

In effective teams, leaders and members support each other and share the responsibility of success.  Conversely, low functioning teams accredit themselves with success while attributing failure to leadership (Wheelan, 2013).  Both of these scenarios involve a mindset that is either geared toward growth or remaining stagnant.

The effective team will embrace a growth mindset while the low functioning team will consign to a fixed mindset.  When leaders of organizations are committed to the growth mindset, they cultivate a powerful culture of learning and ownership.  In these healthy environments exists shared pain and shared gain.  Let’s take a look at the game-changing features of the learner mindset!

Being a Learner

• Learners challenge the fixed mindset by embracing change.  Change is a certainty of life and required for growth.  Thriving organizations consistently identify areas where growth is needed and take action!  Interestingly, organizational health often results in numerical growth.  Personal growth happens when those with the learner mindset are not limited by their perceived lack of abilities, potential, challenges, frustrations, criticism from others, or the status quo.  Try this: begin making your next life change with a more positive outlook by realizing that change is necessary for growth.  You can believe that change makes us better!
• Learners ask open-ended questions to discover solutions rather than merely stating their opinions as facts. Try this: use what, when, and how questions, steering clear from questions which result in a simple “Yes” or “No” response.
• Learners seek input and feedback from others. Those with the growth mindset welcome and value the contributions from their team whereas those with the fixed mindset are easily offended by feedback or constructive criticism. Try this: invite others around you to offer feedback or challenges to your next decision and commit yourself not to becoming offended if you perceive the input as unhelpful.

Obstacles are Opportunities

Learners view failure and obstacles as opportunities for growth.  We have the promise of hardship in this life and success is certain to come with many painful failures.  As people of faith, we trust that God uses our suffering to bring growth, character development, and hope.

Failures are Partners in Success

When I was growing up, Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player on earth! I had this famous poster hanging on my wall:

Try this: View your next perceived failure as a partner in your success.  Write down at least three positive takeaways from this painful experience and refer back to them when you need future encouragement.  Fail forward!

Wisdom in Judgment

Learners refrain from being overly critical. We make judgment calls every day – from a simple decision to turn right on red to the more complex decisions like whether or not to place our aging parents in assisted living. Each day presents a series of choices to make quick, passing judgments or to intentionally decide to glean wisdom and insights from our experiences.  Try this: take a quick self-assessment by asking yourself if you give new people that you meet an opportunity or do you quickly write them off?  Do you focus on the strengths and potential of others or do you judge them as lazy, limited, and not very useful?

Guard Your Vocabulary

Learners guard their vocabulary.  While some people are clearly more optimistic than others, optimism can be learned.  I repeat, optimism can be learned!  Negative thoughts can be taken captive and re-framed to a more positive thought or statement.  Try this: avoid saying words like: “can’t, should, and I wish” and use no negative self-talk for one week.  Begin challenging yourself to think and speak differently.

Lead as a Life-Long Learner

Bringing it all home: having a growth or learner mindset will expand your positive influence on others.  If you are a leader, it is your responsibility to develop a healthy culture in your varying contexts.  Leading as a life-long learner will set a powerful example for others to follow and will help develop a winning team!  Always be willing to learn!

Reference:

Wheelan, S. A. (2013). Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Article by: Cameron S. Ashworth, MA

Blog Post by: Sarah Warner, MS

Core Values: Excellence

The excellence we strive for here at Genesis is best-in-class delivery of service. But what exactly does excellence mean? How do you define excellence?

Ronnie Oldham, an Oklahoma Sales Representative, says, “Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible.”  Vince Lombardi quotes that “A person’s quality of life is in direct proportion of a person’s commitment to excellence, regardless of what field they may be in.”

Vince Lombardi — Green Bay Head Coach, 1959-1967

But how does excellence differ from perfection? Perfection is often superficial, selfish or unrepeatable. Excellence is internal, contagious and a way of life. One of the key differences between excellence and perfectionism is that perfectionism focuses on the outcome, whereas excellence focuses on the process. According to Vince Lombardi, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

Aristotle says that “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”  Some qualities of excellence to strive for are:

• Passion
  • šWhat deeply moves you
  • šCompels you into action
  • šPassion touches, moves and inspires
  • Is at the core of excellence
  • š“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” – Colossians 3:23
• Commitment
  • šA willingness to “stick to it.”
  • šUncompromising and unending support
  • šDrives and anchors us in challenging times
  • šEnables us to maintain a high degree of perseverance
  • š“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”   – Romans 12:2

• Contribution
  • šGiving your best to the world while evoking others to do the same
  • Understanding your purpose and mission
  • šSpiritual Gifts – I Corinthians 12
• Integrity
  • šWhen you have integrity, your word means something
  • Words = Actions
  • š“Say only ‘yes’ if you mean ‘yes,’ and say only ‘no’ if you mean ‘no.’ If you must say more than ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ it is from the Evil One.”    – Matthew 5:37
  • š“It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.” – Ecclesiastes 5:5
  • Integrity is keeping your promise simply because, “šBecause I said I would…”

All good work serves God:

• šWork well done and for God’s glory is Christian work
• šWe model Christ in the workplace when we perform our work so well and with a good attitude that we inspire others to seek God
• šOur work is evangelism
• šGod is honored when our service is excellent

So, how can you demonstrate excellence?

• šTo your co-workers?
• šTo your clients?
• šTo your family?

References:

Gordon, Jan. “Top 10 Qualities of Excellence.” 2002. http://qualitycoaching.com/Articles/excellence.html 

Green, Holly. “Redefining Excellence for Today’s World.”  2012. Forbes. http://onforb.es/xm6UsB

Lombardi, Vince. http://www.vincelombardi.com/quotes.html.

Oldham, Ronnie. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201211/25-quotes-excellence.

Article Written by: Stephanie Bomar, MHR

Blog Post by: Sarah Warner, M.S.

Core Values: Teamwork

Successful teams have many common qualities. Trust, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results are some of these qualities, which we at Genesis believe are a strong foundation that makes us an excellent team.

Successful teams are trusting: Members of great teams trust each other on a fundamental and emotional level. There is comfort within the group to be vulnerable with each other and not afraid to express weaknesses.

Successful teams have healthy conflict: Members of great teams are not afraid to have challenging and passionate dialogue about issues or the performance of the team. Agreeing on all points or work processes is unrealistic and unnecessary. The goal of healthy conflict is to discover the truth, the best decision, and the best solution for the team; it is not about making a point or winning an argument! Healthy teams take the initiative to hold one another accountable.

Successful teams are committed: Members of great teams are committed to the company and to the success of the team. There is a sense of ownership and buy-in among strong teams.

Successful teams are accountable: Members of great teams are not afraid to humbly and gently hold one another accountable to excellent standards.

Successful teams are attentive to results: Members of great teams lay down their personal agendas to serve the best interests of the team.

Patrick Lencioni’s Ideal Team Player

Humble: more interested in others than self.
Hungry: willing to do what is necessary to get things done.
Smart: people-smart and able to adapt their behavior as needed.

So what do these virtues look like in action within a church? Here’s what I’ve seen:

Humble team players are willing to put the needs of the entire ministry over the needs of their individual ministries. They also give credit to God without ignoring or devaluing their gifts.
Hungry team players execute on plans without being pushed or reminded. They aren’t slowed by problems but challenged and motivated by them.
Smart team players understand how to engage others, empower them, and coach their effectiveness. They attract high-capacity volunteers because those people know they are valued and will be given the opportunities to use their gifts.

References

• Lencioni, P. (2005). Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Lencioni, Patrick. The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues: A Leadership Fable. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print
  https://joemcfadden.org/2016/07/25/the-ideal-team-player-by-patrick-lencioni-notessummary/

Article Written By: Cameron S. Ashworth, M.A.

Blog Post By: Sarah Warner, M.S.

Core Values: Ownership

“Ownership” can be defined as doing what is best for the organization.

Ownership is the “buy-in” or the commitment to doing what is best for the organization and not just oneself.

“You are bigger than your defined role, and you are much more than your job title.” Play your part– transcend your job title, BE A HERO.
–Luke Bucklin from Sierra Bravo Corporation.

A person that is committed to what’s best for the organization looks out for the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-5 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than  yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

Questions To Consider:

• How would our clients be better served if we all increased our level of Ownership? How would it benefit you?
• What advice would you give a new employee on how to embrace Ownership as one of our core values?
• What is one step you are willing to take to increase your Ownership?

Article Written By: Cameron S. Ashworth, M.A.

Genesis Counseling Center Core Values

At the heart of every person and organization are their values, principles and beliefs. Values are usually seen as “Core Values” and define what the firm considers truly important (Rothaermel, 2012). Do you know what is fundamentally important to your life as well as the company you work for? If your company has core values, are they communicated well across the organization?

As Andy Stanley often says, “Vision Leaks.” Visualize a leaky bucket trying to hold water. This is also true for core values … we can post them on the wall but until they come to life on a consistent basis, they can often become cliché and forgotten about. Since values are at the center of a strong organizational culture, it is vital for leaders to persistently share them so that they become part of the fabric of how decisions are made and can be seen in the day-to-day operations (Rothaermel, 2012). A daily question to ask is, “Do we see our core values applied in a practical way?”

At Genesis Counseling Center, we have developed the following set of core values:

• Excellence – Best-in-class delivery of services
• Teamwork – Togetherness, unity, how we operate and maintain a competitive advantage
• Godly Character  – Uncompromising beliefs, actions and moral standards
• Transcendent – “Big Picture” thinking and acting – “Legacy” work
• Ownership – Doing what is best for the organization, solution-focused
• Growth – Learner mindset

Look for  blog posts on these core values in the near future and join us in a journey to take them to a new level both personally and as part of the Genesis team.

Questions to ponder:

• What are my core values and how do they align with the list above?
• In what ways do we practically display these Core Values?
• How do we display our Core Values at Genesis?

Article Written By: Cameron S. Ashworth, M.A.

References:

Rothaermel, F.T. (2013). Strategic management concepts and cases. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Blog Post By: Sarah Warner, M.S.