Trainee

We have been training a lot of new workers lately. Some are interns and get a crash course here about real mental illness in action. Some are trained professionals looking for extra work to pay the bills. Still others are there for whatever reason - and we learn a ton of them. Today was a real blessing, having somebody seemingly level headed who withstood all the jabs and puns of the staff while handling a busy work day where clients needed to be sent away because we were so busy.

I could imagine walking into our office and seeing a flamboyant Doctor who dresses up every day as if he were attending a costume party. Yours truly with hair flying everywhere wearing my signature Mickey Mouse shirt. And other staff of all orgins from China to Iran to Korea to the deep South, to the Phillipines, etc., etc. It's like we have our own united nations!

I think this is awesome! I love learning about different cultures, customs, and languages. I can botch pretty much any language on the planet - with pride.

So today was the starting day of a new MFT intern who was trying to gain hours and experience towards her license. When the jokes started flying she held her own and tossed in a few jabs herself. This is the joy of working here. We as a staff have to let of steam and we do so while grazing the fine line between sexual harrasment and comedy. Oh, we know the limit line and never ever cross it. Trust me starting a statment and using silence is a real hoot - and we do this professionally! We also can morph a person's last name into something almost suggestive, but we stop just short of the limit line.

I wonder what the people in the waiting room must think when we all break into spontaneous laughter. I wonder how those who are psychotic must feel. "Are they laughing at me?" "Are they ploting against me?"

We have a few ongoing jokes that are repeated every week. Even if we don't repeat them, someone will eventually ask if we did. Of course with the new person we had to tell the darn Jose joke.

A woman friend of mine told me a joke about a man who had two members. His girlfriend was astonishe when she saw this. The man told her, yes he had two and he call the first one Jose, and he named the second "Hose B". Trust me, this joke has had so much mileage that we laugh at the mere mentioning of Jose. The Doctor is trying to make up a new joke for Jorge - but we've all tried to squander it.

So now you all know the inner workings of a staff that puts itself on the front line day in and out. If it wasn't for our wackiness, we too would be interviewing for a new job.

May you all have good mental health.