Just as our genetic selves share common coding, so, too, do our emotional selves. As well-experienced providers, we have learned to cope just like our patients (you). Life is learning.

Same Path...Different Walks

A therapist needs to stay fresh and evolve within his or her community in order to be relevant. This book is an example of that necessary evolution. We began as a support group in our community mental health center. The diversity of our group was evidence of the strength of a healthy team: It included social workers, psychologists, nurses, a chaplain and a psychiatrist. We came from many perspectives, but shared common needs as care givers committed to quality healthcare. We understood that our group was more than the people who composed it. Sharing our frustrations and accomplishments in our everyday work helped us to grow individually and as a team. The second year, we decided to create a more permanent account of ourselves in written form for reflection. We began to share and journal our unique paths to providerhood. The commonalities of our paths surprised us. The shared paths with most of our patients confirmed us. The third year... voila! A book was born. Read on and enjoy. And don’t be surprised if you see yourself in us, for We Are You!

Jill Hendra, D.O., MBA, has been a psychiatrist for over 30 years and organized a “Circle of Trust” at Carolinas HealthCare System’s CMC-Randolph facility in Charlotte, N.C., as a way for herself and fellow clinicians to share and reflect on life and work. Joining her to write this book as a result of their journey together are Alicia Ceballos, Connie Eads, Donna Kania, John Magee, Dorinda Snyder and Monica Wallace.