Meet Wendi Anderson, Director of Outpatient Services at HopeSpoke (hopespoke.org).
Tell us a little about your business. – HopeSpoke’s mission is to inspire healthy futures for children and families through comprehensive behavioral and mental health services. We are celebrating our 75th anniversary this year! The agency was founded in 1949 as the Child Guidance Center, part of a national movement recognizing that young people’s mental health needs are different from those of adults. Community Chest (now the United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County) and the Junior League of Lincoln were visionary in developing what at the time was a highly innovative concept.
In 2018 we rebranded as HopeSpoke. Over the past 75 years, we’ve expanded our programs to meet local needs. Today, HopeSpoke provides Outpatient mental health services; Extended Day Treatment, an after-school program for children ages 5-11 who require a higher level of care; a Therapeutic Group Home for teenage boys; and crisis response services. HopeSpoke therapists are also based within 15 Lincoln Public Schools locations.
While we still primarily serve young people in Lincoln and the surrounding areas, we have expanded to include individuals across the lifespan. We specialize in working with those who have experienced trauma, and we are constantly working to build our skills set and provide the best possible clinical care for everyone we serve.
How did you get started in the business? – I knew in college that I wanted to have a career helping others and ideally with a focus on children. I was a nanny in college and I loved the interactions with the kids in that family and found it easy to connect with them. After I graduated with my undergraduate degree I did some research and identified the career of a therapist and instantly knew that was the trajectory of my career. That lead me to going on to graduate school and obtaining my master’s degree. My field experiences, volunteer work and internships all were working with children, which solidified my desire to find a job where that would be my focus. Child Guidance Center is where I landed my career entry job as a therapist and I have grown my professional career working in our community within this agency.
What has been your most important achievement professionally? – I believe my most important achievement professionally has been growing and developing within the field. There have been so many changes since I started my career related to requirements around documentation, best practices, outcomes, evidence based practices, licensure advancements and how the world views mental health, among many others. Balance is so critical in this field and having a professional network and team to process with and not end up being burnt out is really important. The work can be very challenging and emotionally draining because everything doesn’t always work out as we would like for our clients and families. That can be really hard to walk away from at the end of some days. I have had opportunities within my work at HopeSpoke to grow and develop both clinically and professionally and advance in positions. This has helped me continue to find balance and stay dedicated in the field.
Tell us a little about your family. – This summer my husband, Mark and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Mark is a teacher in the Lincoln Public School System. Together we have a nine year old son, Grayson, and two ornery dogs. We keep busy doing lots of activities that Grayson is involved in, (mainly sports and music related), different projects around the home-we are always up to something and learning new skills together.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so? – (402) 475-7666 | hopespoke.org