New Chapters

Leaving my employed job as a doctor to strike out on my own was a huge decision, one that I didn't take lightly.  For six years I worked hard at working within a system that really isn't set up well for Behavioral Health and Psychiatry.  I did everything within my power to redesign and empower care models to work better for patients and providers alike.  I can proudly say that my colleagues and I did accomplish some amazing transformations to create new programs and improve healthcare delivery for our communities.  

But everything runs it's course.  The programs I championed and implemented are now successfully running on their own, driven by wonderful and committed people, and no longer need my hand on the steering wheel.  Yes, there is always more work, but I did what I set out to do.  I'm ready for a new chapter.  Running a large healthcare delivery operation and being accountable to a multi-million dollar budget developed within me an owner's mentality.  I outgrew being an employee.  

I want to do the work I love doing, like seeing patients.  But I don't want the work I love to become a yoke around my neck. I hope private practice will give me more freedom to provide the kind of care patients need without some of the unnecessary administrative burdens.  I'm hoping to jump into more clinical collaborations, special projects, and research.  

We all need new chapters.  It's natural for us to open, live, then close phases of our life.  Fighting or resisting change goes against nature, creates stagnation, tension, anxiety, resentment or anger.  Patients often come to me in this state, compressed by the pressure and strain of change that needs to happen around them, but they don't know how.  We take that journey and it's so rewarding to see people's lives transform, closing old chapters, and opening new ones.