Julie North

My husband is a total “techie” and he has been trying to get me to blog for a year or so now but I never would. So I am surprised at myself that I am interested in doing it now. But I have come to see the value in blogging about counseling and the value of my husband’s advice.

We live in a rural community. He is a junior high teacher and I am a traveling counselor. Like Bob Dylan says “no direction or home”. My car is my office. I receive referrals from the local Department of Human Services (DHS). They handle all the abuse and neglect referrals from the county on children and adults. My job is tough. I go into the homes of the referred families and work with them on the identified issues. Those issues are usually identified by the Children’s Protective Service Worker (CPS) of course we all know there is never just one issue and rarely is it the identified issue the CPS worker states.

I enjoy that everyday is new but everyday is also dangerous. I have to be ready for whatever I might encounter. Personal safety is high on my list. I need to have my phone on me at all times, I need to assess in a few seconds the room I walk into and where I need to be in case things go wrong so I can get out safely. A majority of the people in our county have no transportation and meth making has begun to run rampant with the high unemployment. Our county survived on contract work from the auto industry. However having said all that it’s usually not the people who are dangerous but the extremely poor choices they make that make them dangerous.

Most days I like my job and the people I help and most days they like me which at times is important to me and the progress I make with them. So as I submit this I am preparing for my day. I am taking my show on the road. I am Counseling On The Go.

Julie North is an in home family counselor in a rural county in South-Central Michigan. She has a private practice and is currently being trained in TF-CBT and complex trauma therapies.

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