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Cohort
2005
Casey Corullo, Kendra Priest, Christina Vestevich, Holly Warner
Christina Vestevitch
Hey Dr. Malott!
How's it hanging?! It should go without saying that I miss you, BATS, WMU, Kalamazoo, classes, colloquia and anything that I thought was a pain in the ass at that time.
I haven't really given you an update in some time because things have been so uncertain since graduation. Now the dust finally begins to settle and I feel proud of where the struggle has landed me. So here goes...
I spent a few months simultaneously looking for jobs in the Metro-Detroit area (my hometown) and Chicago. My sister who lives in Chicago went to Europe for 2 weeks and I took the opportunity to stay at her house and hit the job search hard. Within 1 week I landed a job at a private clinic in the suburbs. If any of your students are thinking of getting jobs there - send them my way because it was a HUGE mistake. The price was right, the people seemed legit, the facilities are nice - but when you get down to it they have absolutely no idea what they're doing in terms of behavior analysis. They know enough to talk-the-talk during an interview but that's where the knowledge ends. For OT and Speech its a great place to go, however, there is a fundamental lack of understanding of what behavior analysis is and what it takes to practice behavior analytic therapy. I left after about 6 months of torture, struggle and grappling with several ethical issues.
When I left several families left with me. I had signed a non-compete and employee contract stating that I would not provide services to clients for 18 months after leaving. They came after me. Luckily, my father is a hell of a lawyer and after a strongly worded letter they left me alone and allowed me to provide services since I had not solicited business from them - the families left them and found me. I have always wanted to open up my own operation, with or without a PhD, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get things rolling. Working for yourself is BLISS! You have your own schedule, time to workout, grocery shop, have a social life without worrying too much. However, you are completely responsible to yourself, quality of services, and there were times where families took a few weeks off for vacation or illness and it majorly impacted my income and financial stability.
I worked for myself for 8 months and picked up a waitressing job at a hot spot on the weekends to get me out and meeting new people in the city. My closest friends here are now people I met through there.
I was basically starved for continuing education and training, I attended a few workshops one of which was Dr. Carbone's (amazing) but was fully aware of the fact that opening my own business at this point in my career would not be wise - There are certainly practitioner skills that I dont have yet and while I feel confident in what I do know - I just wasn't satisfied. So I gave up on the idea of staying in Chicago and started looking for jobs in NYC where I could learn. Literally the same day I started to send out resume's, a former colleague of mine from North Shore called and said that she had found a place. A small place. A good place. Run by a BEHAVIOR ANALYST! They were looking to hire another consultant and she went to bat for me. I went in for an interview the next day and was hired part time with a goal of full time within a few months. I have been there for just under a month. My hours and client load are building quickly and Im expecting to be full time by the end of April.
The name of the company is KGH Consultation and Treatment. KGH stands for the owner's name Kim Garvey-Hoehne. On staff are 4 BCBA's (including myself) and 4 therapists who we supervise and work together with on our kids as a team. We are looking to hire an OT and/or speech therapist, but Kim is patient and picky as she wants one with somewhat of a behavioral background so we dont have too many conflicting approaches in one place. Kim is incredible. Every week we have team meetings where she lectures on current research, practitioner skills, parent coaching approaches, etc...The atmosphere is fun, light and honest. Feedback is a non-issue because its just how things run. The hunger for improvement is in the fabric for everyone who works there and it makes for a humble and pleasant environment. Every day I am blown away. I am grateful to have a stable job in a difficult economy and in an area with lacking behavioral services. It is quite far from the city, but my iPod makes the drive not so bad.
Actually, Jeffery Bye was recently hired and starts sometime in June. I think hes going to love it too and will fit in well with his fun, outgoing personality. For the first time since graduation I am really happy. My first job experience made me seriously doubt my career choice. I thought it was possible that I loved learning about behavior analysis but not-so-much practicing. My passion has been relit and I couldn't be more proud of my education and struggle. Im sure there will be plenty more struggles ahead, but for now things are good.
Still single. Still loving it. Summer is around the corner and I'll be in a volleyball league and a Euchre league this summer. Cant wait!!
Im on the fence about ABA Phoenix, but I have a feeling I'll pull the trigger and go. I would love to see all my old psych friends!
How are you?! I've seen pictures of that beard and its like WOAH! Wow! Someone needs to braid that thing. hahaha! I love it. You also crack me up on facebook! I hope all of your BATS students are doing well. I frequently think about Woan Tian, Brianne, and Kristin. I'm so proud they've worked so hard to get their PhD's. I would be lying if I said I wasnt envious. If I could go back and change my mentality to the end goal being a PhD from the get-go, I absolutely would. What an accomplishment!
Anyhow - I hope your TV and techy things are continually improving just like your systems!
Much love and thanks,
Christina Vestevich
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