It Didn't FEEL Good...

One of my worst jobs as a mental health provider was at an insurance company. They paid very well and encouraged their employees to give back to their community, which I loved. However, I didn't understand why the person who hired me indicated that it took a "special kind of person" to work at their company in that role for a long period of time. I realized the meaning after a year of working there. What made this person special was being able to follow or ignore their guidelines even if he/she disagreed. Plus be able to believe families were wrong for being upset when they were denied coverage when they honestly met medical necessity. One of my many responsibilities was to listen to the stories of members who were screaming and crying, because their children, spouses, parents, or themselves did not receive authorizations for mental health/substance abuse treatment. There were times I would call the department who provided the authorizations in order to understand their why for denying coverage. We will go back and forth, but I could never convince them to authorize it. It was like I was speaking to robots as they repeated guidelines to justify refusing coverage.

My manager listened to my calls and did not like I was having those conversations. She felt I was wasting time and needed to use that time to  speak with other clients. She even tried to use the power card, by informing me I needed to remain in my own lane. Although all my performance scores were high or above average, compared to my peers and what was expected, they wouldn't listen. I wanted to keep peace and maintain positive relationships with the leadership team so I stopped trying to gain authorization for the clients.  I would voice my concerns on my end of the year surveys. I joined many projects in different departments hoping to help bring forth changes or try to do it politically correct.  I thought I was hired to be an advocate for the members, which was one of the reasons I took the job offer.  Based off the information provided from the clients and my many years of mental health experience I knew a lot of those clients met medical necessity for authorizations. I got to the place I couldn't morally tell the members "according to our guidelines you don't meet medical necessity." I would leave daily wishing I could call each person back to apologize. I was very disappointed with myself for even working there. I felt like I was selling out my soul. I finally resigned by the end of my second year. I missed those checks coming in, but felt at peace immediately.

So when I read the beginning of this year that a federal judge ruled this particular insurance provider breached its fiduciary duty to patients by using unreasonable and overly restrictive guidelines to make coverage decisions for tens of thousands of people who suffered with mental health and substance abuse, I was thankful. I prayed for those families. I don't want anything bad to happen to my ex-employer, because over all it's a good company, but my hope is this insurance company figure out a way to provide coverage for their members who honestly need it. Especially children and young adults who suffer due to mental health diagnoses and substance abuse addictions. The numbers are very high, if you only could imagine.

Nevertheless, there are so many youth and young adults who don't know how to handle their emotions or haven't learned how to cope when they are in distress or facing problems. There are adults who need Life Coaches to help them thrive in life. I still have this heart to help and be an advocate for those who suffer. I honestly don't have all the answers, but the same way I couldn't just watch when those families who were denied coverage when they needed it, I also can't just watch and talk about others problems and not do something to help. Especially when I've been trained and have the experience and expertise to create and assist.  I created free 6 months self-development programs for youth and young adults of members apart of 501c3-  Teens Help Other People, Inc. Trainings for youth and parents to understand the importance of inclusion and diversity in different communities in the state of GA. Free Life Coaching Program for adults who lives in different states and countries by using Facebook - Join for 2020 by November HERE. NEW Virtual Emotional Support Training Groups (you can live anywhere) for youth ages 10 -17 to teach them fun ways/tools in how to cope under stress, confidence development, learn healthy relationship boundaries, and help identify their life purpose at an early age - Learn more about that HERE.

When situations don't feel good, because it's wrong, do something positive about it. Anyone can talk about what's happening around them, but decide to be the person who help bring forth changes. Even if you have to do it for FREE. Decide to BE the Change instead of ONLY looking for Situations around you to Change.