WHAT IS LCSW?

WHAT IS LCSW? LCSW is Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I’ve included this license as part of my candidate name for several reasons. One is that it is the highest license in Texas that a social worker can gain. It is recognized by Medicare and all insurance companies, including Champus and Tri-care. It is not an easy license to obtain and holds a very high ethical standard which I must answer to at all times. And I must re-certify to those ethics every two years. It is the license that is required to practice as a private psychotherapist. I feel that many of these same ethics should hold for board directors. I’ve had this license since it came into existence, as well as the preceding certifications and licenses. As a psychotherapist, and in particular as a social work therapist, I am trained and experienced in working with groups, family units, and individuals. It is the group and family units that have given me the experience to work toward problem resolution that best benefits the whole. It has required that I step completely outside my own personal feelings and work with that unit in the context of their issues and dysfunction. It has required that I look at all the questions and issues, the goal set by the unit, then guide and assist them in reaching that goal. I think this process could be compared to putting together a puzzle. You dump out all the pieces, turn them over, begin to sort by colors and patterns according to what the picture is, find the corners and edges, and then begin to fill in sections, always working toward the complete picture. This is how I will work on the board, considering all the aspects of an issue: impact on members, best business practices, financial feasibility, both short-term and long-term ramifications, and the general common sense of the whole thing, as well as impact on any others who may be effected. As a professional who has worked in hospitals, I have a great deal of experience in a “team” approach. In my profession, this has been the treatment team meetings, made up of all the professionals, financial and insurance people who have a part in the treatment plan and its management for each patient. This has required that many parts be considered and that the team work for the best interest of the patient. I see our Board of Directors and management and employees as the same thing as a treatment team. We must all come together with our various areas of expertise and work toward the best interest of the cooperative. I look forward to serving our Pedernales Electric Cooperative as a director who has skill, intelligence, ethics, and experience in management, planning, policy and procedure and implementation of goals.