How Jessie Gonzalez, MS, LMFT, found a place where learning and growth never stop
After sixteen years in community mental health, Jessie Gonzalez. MS, LMFT, was burned out. She’d stepped away from the field and was considering going back to school to focus on treating anxiety disorders, something she’d seen constantly in her work. Then NOCD reached out to see if she was interested in specializing in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and she decided she’d check it out.
A kind of training she didn’t expect to love
Gonzalez was feeling burnt out by her previous work experiences, but the idea of getting more education and training genuinely excited her, enough to bring her back into practicing, and ultimately to join NOCD. “I was very clear. I was like, I’m feeling very burnt out, but the idea of getting a lot more education, that really excites me. I really like to learn,” she says.
Gonzalez had been in the mental health field for over twenty years, so she assumed that NOCD’s training would feel like any other continuing education course she’d taken. It didn’t. During NOCD’s therapist training program, Gonzalez deeply immersed herself in a host of topics related to OCD and its treatment, practiced what she was learning, and received real-time feedback along the way. “I remember telling my partner, ‘I feel like I’m in college and I love this’,” she says.
Treating the whole person
At NOCD, training doesn’t stop after onboarding. Therapists continue to receive ongoing mentorship and guidance from NOCD’s world-renowned clinical leaders to help them provide the best possible care for their Members.
Since joining the NOCD Network, Gonzalez has gone on to train in conditions related to OCD, and those that often co-occur with OCD. Her training has included prolonged exposure (PE), an evidence-based treatment for PTSD, and in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), specialties she says she likely never would have had access to otherwise. “I don’t think I would have gotten that opportunity anywhere else, unless I paid for it or went back to school,” she says.
That range has given Gonzalez the skills to treat the whole person in front of her rather than just one piece of what they’re going through. It’s a contrast to her past roles, where she often had to refer clients elsewhere if they were struggling with something outside of her scope, an experience she describes as fragmented care. At NOCD, she can stay with a Member through more of what they’re carrying. “It provides continuity of care for Members, so they’re not bouncing around and getting lost in translation or falling through the cracks,” she says.
That phrase “lost in translation” carries extra meaning for Gonzalez, who’s also able to provide this care in Spanish. Looking back on her years in community mental health, she says there were plenty of clients who could have benefited from receiving this kind of treatment in their first language. Being able to offer it now is something she doesn’t take for granted. “I really appreciate that,” she says.
Transparency from the top down
Gonzalez credits her Clinical Operations Manager (COM) for a lot of what’s made her day-to-day work at NOCD feel steady. She points to their transparency, in particular, and how they communicate updates and set expectations even when things are still being figured out. “They do it in a way that feels manageable,” she says. “Even if I don’t agree, I can hear the information, take a step back, and then try to implement it. And they’re always willing to help.”
That openness runs both ways. Gonzalez says her COM actively invites feedback from the other NOCD Therapists on their team, and pushes therapists to voice their feedback themselves rather than passing it along secondhand. “My manager wants us to be heard,” she says.
Looking back, Gonzalez’s time at NOCD has had one constant: She arrived during a period of growth and through it all, she’s had the chance to keep learning.
Looking to grow your clinical skills like Jessie Gonzalez? Explore therapist opportunities at NOCD.
