WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:02.620 Hi everybody, Clayton Vandiver, your Lightkeeper 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:05.400 here, and for this summer we have a real treat 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:09.500 for you. Lightkeepers Podcast Shorts. No, that's 00:00:09.500 --> 00:00:11.880 not a new clothing line. What it is, is short 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:14.259 versions of some of our most popular episodes 00:00:14.259 --> 00:00:17.800 that we keep getting requests to show you again. 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:21.000 So we've cut them down, made them all less than 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:24.120 10 minutes long, and here you go with part one 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:29.530 of the Lightkeepers Podcast Shorts. Welcome to 00:00:29.530 --> 00:00:32.289 the Light Keepers Podcast. I'm Clayton Vandiver, 00:00:32.429 --> 00:00:34.969 your Light Keeper, with a show dedicated to everyone 00:00:34.969 --> 00:00:37.770 who wants to get the most quality out of life 00:00:37.770 --> 00:00:40.469 that they can. We don't talk about the end of 00:00:40.469 --> 00:00:44.049 life. We focus on the quality of each and every 00:00:44.049 --> 00:00:47.950 remaining day. My co -host, as always, is Charlene, 00:00:48.009 --> 00:00:51.090 our very own tame, licensed clinical social worker 00:00:51.090 --> 00:00:53.890 certified in the state of Florida. We invite 00:00:53.890 --> 00:00:57.369 you to join the conversation this week about... 00:00:57.820 --> 00:01:02.679 Clayton and Charlene. And so much more on this 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:35.640 edition of the Light Keepers Podcast. And before 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:37.939 we start, I'd like to invite you to please leave 00:01:37.939 --> 00:01:40.420 your questions or comments below. We always love 00:01:40.420 --> 00:01:43.180 to hear from our listeners and viewers. Questions 00:01:43.180 --> 00:01:45.900 this week will be answered during our next show 00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:48.879 that appears online every Wednesday evening at 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:52.480 7 p .m. Eastern. The Light Keepers podcast is 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.299 an exclusive production of A Guiding Light Incorporated, 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:56.879 and we'll tell you more about A Guiding Light 00:01:56.879 --> 00:01:59.579 at the end of the podcast. But we don't have 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:02.180 much time, so let's get right into this week's 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:05.549 conversation. Now, last week, Charlene, we were 00:02:05.549 --> 00:02:08.949 talking about professional versus amateur support, 00:02:09.129 --> 00:02:12.069 just who that person is and what qualifies them 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:16.310 to be a professional versus a witch doctor. And 00:02:16.310 --> 00:02:18.729 that led us to questions we've been receiving 00:02:18.729 --> 00:02:21.449 about our own backgrounds and who we both are. 00:02:21.770 --> 00:02:25.330 So let's start off with the most common question. 00:02:25.669 --> 00:02:28.449 Everyone seems to be curious about whether we 00:02:28.449 --> 00:02:33.150 are a couple. Well, what are we a couple of? 00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:40.729 Crazy. Yes. That too. That too. Well, regardless 00:02:40.729 --> 00:02:43.009 of how young we appear, despite the gray hair 00:02:43.009 --> 00:02:48.370 on my face, we've been a couple for 30 years 00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:52.009 this year. Very happily married. Lots of kids. 00:02:52.750 --> 00:02:56.830 Grandchild. All the standard stuff. Cats. And 00:02:56.830 --> 00:03:01.740 cats. Yes. Yes. And the cat. One particular cat 00:03:01.740 --> 00:03:04.400 is featured on many of our broadcasts because 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:06.979 it seems to be feeding time just about the time 00:03:06.979 --> 00:03:13.259 we finish up every episode. So we are a couple. 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:16.280 We've been married 30 years this year. Would 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:18.020 you like to tell everyone a little bit about 00:03:18.020 --> 00:03:21.639 what qualifies a licensed clinical social worker 00:03:21.639 --> 00:03:25.759 to counsel people and tell them about things 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:30.629 that would help them? Absolutely. Why I'm a medical 00:03:30.629 --> 00:03:33.349 professional instead of the witch doctor. There 00:03:33.349 --> 00:03:38.310 you go. So I have a bachelor's in psychology. 00:03:38.650 --> 00:03:42.389 So I have that psychology foundation. I then 00:03:42.389 --> 00:03:46.409 went on to obtain a master's degree in clinical 00:03:46.409 --> 00:03:49.550 social work with a focus in clinical counseling. 00:03:49.870 --> 00:03:52.770 And what that means is I spent a lot of time 00:03:52.770 --> 00:03:58.379 in school being taught. how people think, why 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:01.680 they think the way they do, things that can interfere 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:04.240 with that thinking process, and how to fix it, 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:06.479 how to make it so that someone is functional. 00:04:08.340 --> 00:04:12.180 On top of that, as if that degree wasn't enough, 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:15.120 after I obtained my master's in social work, 00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:17.959 I did go on to be licensed in the state of Florida. 00:04:18.569 --> 00:04:20.990 which means I had to sit for a very rigorous 00:04:20.990 --> 00:04:24.089 three -hour exam, kind of like the bar exam for 00:04:24.089 --> 00:04:27.670 attorneys. It's the licensure exam for social 00:04:27.670 --> 00:04:32.170 workers. So I am licensed in the state of Florida 00:04:32.170 --> 00:04:35.829 through the Department of Health. On top of that... 00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:41.279 Never be mistaken for an overachiever. No, no. 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:43.399 Well, never stop learning. Never stop learning. 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:46.259 And I highly endorse that. And I wasn't ready 00:04:46.259 --> 00:04:48.860 to stop learning, so I went back to school and 00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:51.720 got a second master's, this one in palliative 00:04:51.720 --> 00:04:55.000 care. And what that does is it trains me to be 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:59.279 able to provide that clinical therapeutic support 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:03.899 to... Patients who have a life -limiting diagnosis, 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:06.759 a terminal diagnosis, and support their families 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:11.600 as they go through that difficult time. So master's 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.019 in social work, master's in palliative care. 00:05:14.300 --> 00:05:18.279 I also, on top of all that, have extensive training 00:05:18.279 --> 00:05:23.939 and certificates in specifically hospice care. 00:05:25.629 --> 00:05:28.550 That's a very special calling. Not everyone in 00:05:28.550 --> 00:05:31.050 your field. In fact, I remember when you were 00:05:31.050 --> 00:05:33.470 going through to get your master's in social 00:05:33.470 --> 00:05:37.170 work, most of your cohort, most of your colleagues 00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:39.769 were sort of shaking their heads going, you're 00:05:39.769 --> 00:05:42.709 focusing on hospice? Nobody does that. And you 00:05:42.709 --> 00:05:44.889 were thinking all the while, great, not much 00:05:44.889 --> 00:05:47.899 competition. I was the only one in my entire 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:51.680 class that was going specifically for a hospice 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:56.339 track. Some people were doing medical. Medical 00:05:56.339 --> 00:05:59.639 social workers are kind of a breed apart, but 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:01.980 even the medical social workers don't really 00:06:01.980 --> 00:06:04.740 want to work with hospice, so I'm an odd bird 00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:07.660 there. But that goes back to why I got into all 00:06:07.660 --> 00:06:10.279 that in the first place, which is the extensive 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:12.959 personal experience. Last show we talked about 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.680 how... Amateurs get into it because they have 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:17.699 that personal experience, and I caution, you 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:19.259 know, if this is something you want to do full 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:21.920 -time, go back to school. Well, that's what I 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:29.060 did. I have had extensive medical illnesses throughout 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:31.759 my family. I started losing close family members 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:35.180 when I was only in my early 20s, and it's just 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:39.279 progressed from there. And so I found out, actually, 00:06:39.300 --> 00:06:42.850 I want to give credit to... my mother's hospice 00:06:42.850 --> 00:06:45.829 nurse, uh, Clady, if you're out there, this is 00:06:45.829 --> 00:06:50.029 all thanks to you. And when I was helping to 00:06:50.029 --> 00:06:52.230 take care of my mom, one of her hospice nurses, 00:06:52.290 --> 00:06:54.870 after my mom had passed, pulled me off to the 00:06:54.870 --> 00:06:58.550 side and she said, sweetie, I don't know what 00:06:58.550 --> 00:07:00.509 you're doing with your life, but if it isn't 00:07:00.509 --> 00:07:02.649 nursing or social work, you're wasting your time. 00:07:03.089 --> 00:07:07.160 Wow. That's a great endorsement. And like you've 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:09.740 been told before, it is a calling. It's something 00:07:09.740 --> 00:07:12.459 that only a few people are really good at, really 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:15.220 specialized, that can take the pressure, the 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:19.420 stress. You're dealing with people at extremely 00:07:19.420 --> 00:07:22.939 emotional times in their lives. And to be able 00:07:22.939 --> 00:07:25.879 to not only counsel those people, but... their 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:28.279 family members who were going through their own 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:31.519 extremely emotional moments. And there are dynamics 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:34.180 that come up during that time. Or lacks of emotional 00:07:34.180 --> 00:07:38.259 moments. There's a huge variety of dynamics that 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:40.779 you've talked about. Exactly. And when you're 00:07:40.779 --> 00:07:43.500 dealing with the loss of a family member, not 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:46.519 everyone in the family is going to grieve the 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:48.519 same way. They're not going to react the same 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:50.279 way. And that's where your dynamics come in. 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:53.019 And that's really where a trained professional. 00:07:54.060 --> 00:07:56.720 comes in where an amateur might not be able to 00:07:56.720 --> 00:07:59.759 cope. But dealing with all of that on a personal 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:02.980 level and her statement really got me thinking 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:04.699 and I thought, you know, this is something I 00:08:04.699 --> 00:08:07.279 do want to do. And so I went back to school and 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:12.240 that's why I'm here. There you go. Well, and 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:15.519 that qualifies you to... not only counsel people, 00:08:15.660 --> 00:08:18.000 not only know the resources to bring to this 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:20.540 program and to our viewers and listeners and 00:08:20.540 --> 00:08:24.459 help them find resources and know when the professionals 00:08:24.459 --> 00:08:27.759 are either professionals or witch doctors. Well, 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:31.000 and that put me in the professional world where 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:34.779 for over a decade now, I've been helping people, 00:08:34.820 --> 00:08:37.879 everything from hospice to palliative care to 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:40.899 the ICU to the trauma department. That's my experience. 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:42.700 That's where I've been for over a decade now. 00:08:43.070 --> 00:08:44.970 That's a lot of people going through a lot of 00:08:44.970 --> 00:08:47.750 things and being guided along the way through 00:08:47.750 --> 00:08:51.950 your good guidance and good support. And there 00:08:51.950 --> 00:08:54.370 are a lot of little anecdotes that I'm sure we'll 00:08:54.370 --> 00:08:58.429 bring to this program as time evolves. A guiding 00:08:58.429 --> 00:09:02.629 light is the organization. And each and every 00:09:02.629 --> 00:09:06.970 week, I'm the light keeper. We'll see you here.