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Growing in Community with Deborah Kuzmin, LCSW

Posted on June 11, 2020

Trees in a grassy park


What is health? Is it just the absence of being sick or is there something more? What is freedom? Is it the absence of being locked up or is there something more?  What is peace? Is it simply the absence of conflict or is there something more? Welcome to the Something More hosted by Origins Behavioral Healthcare. 

In this episode, we are so excited and lucky to talk with Deborah Kuzmin, LCSW. Deb is the Vice President of Clinical Services at Origins Behavioral Healthcare.  She is a licensed clinical social worker and a licensed psychotherapist. Deb is married and their blended family includes 8 children ranging in ages from five to eighteen. Her mother lives with her family and they also have 3 dogs. She grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Deb is such an inspiration to us all. She has a true heart of gold. She is always looking for the very best in people and loving and serving them from her fullness.

In this episode, Deb shares the journey of how she became a social worker, her love for helping others, and how her mom knew from a very young age she was meant to be a social worker. We talk about giving from fullness, inspired change, and the importance of a healthy community. Deb also discusses growing through community and the idea that we really are meant to be together.  

Show Notes:

  • [00:41] We are excited to welcome Deborah Kuzmin, LCSW, Vice President of Clinical Services
  • [01:51] Deb is a licensed clinical social worker and a licensed psychotherapist. 
  • [02:12] Deb is married and their blended family includes 8 children that live with them most of the time. 
  • [03:30] Deb shares her journey of how she got where she is today. 
  • [03:51] Her mother believed she was born to be a social worker because every night at bedtime she wanted to read Shel Silverstein’s book The Giving Tree.  
  • [06:44] The reality is that you can have two people doing the same thing.  One is coming from a healthy place and the other is coming from a very unhealthy place.  When we are giving out of fullness that is good and right.
  • [07:43] There is something so special about giving when you’re not expecting.  
  • [09:07]  Service is a way we helped people stay in a recovered state.   
  • [09:32] Deb has a desire and passion to really see the good and love for every patient.  
  • [11:21] Two people, one experiencing the healthy and one experiencing the other can look exactly alike from the outside.
  • [13:39] It doesn’t matter how many years, what our background is, how many letters we have behind our name, or that it is our first day.  We all need the support and guidance of continually learning and supervision.  
  • [15:07] If we decide one day that we know what we know then we might not be doing the best treatment for the person sitting in front of us.   
  • [15:53] Deb grew up with this belief that you meet people where they are and you really use different techniques and styles of engagement to join them in that space and move them along the continuum of change.   
  • [17:23] Inspired change is working with people who believe in you so deeply and believe you can accomplish so much and then you want to live up to that.  
  • [17:42] Deb deeply believes in peoples’ ability to be well, productive, joyous, and happy no matter what is happening right now. If I have that belief, how much can I share that, express that and how many ways can I develop that so that person begins to share that same hope. If you catch fire to that hope you will see people make the most amazing kind of change.  
  • [18:53] The root of it all is that you have something special and unique to you, a purpose and meaning here, let me join you in that journey of figuring out what it is so we can work together to get there.  
  • [19:15] You create an environment where people are drawn to grow.   
  • [21:01] No matter who you are or what you do, we still need other people to help us grow. None of us can truly be our best selves on our own.  
  • [22:36] If you are feeling stuck in your life, being part of a healthy community is huge.  You are who you hang out with.  
  • [23:28] We really are meant to be connected.

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