CSI

My boss is about 10 years older than me. She and I used to have the same job (in different locations) at the last company for which she and I worked. In general, she seems like a pretty amazing lady. She balances a lot in her life and I am often in awe of her. From a clinical perspective, she and I do not see things the same way. I suspect that I am probably a bit more jaded than she is due solely to the difference in populations she and I used to serve. With that said, I am confident in my skills in assessment and, at the risk of sounding arrogant, know that I am good at my job. Although she is my boss and I respect her, I am not convinced I would always do things her way when dealing with certain clinical situations. The good news is that in my current position working for her, I do not have to exercise clinical judgment so any differences in opinion we may have really do not matter. We come from different backgrounds and different perspectives – that is just the way it is.

The boss received an e-mail several weeks ago from a guy she used to work with once upon a time. Back then, they were both social workers. He eventually burned out and left the field. He moved to California and stumbled into a job working on the show CSI. As it turns out, the creators of CSI are thinking about developing a new show. The show will portray a clinical team much like the one I used to run. Each episode would show the team dealing with their interactions with the mentally ill. The production team would like to show how people develop these illnesses and how it is possible for them to recover. Each episode will highlight a new patient (or a few) with the common element being the team. Basically, it would be like the same investigative team on CSI solving a new mystery each week. The purpose of the man’s e-mail to my boss was to do some background research.

Tomorrow morning, two producers will arrive from California to tour the local facilities and to talk with people. They are looking to hear a few inspiring stories and are at the beginning stages of character development. They will be looking to see what makes a person successful in the field, what character flaws we all seem to have in common, and they might even be trying to figure out what makes us all tick. The men will be here for 2 days. I am pretty busy during that time so I expect to have little contact with them – or, at least that is what I thought.

My boss e-mailed me and requested that I set aside an hour and half to meet with the men tomorrow. They will ask questions and I can share as I please. Although I do not really understand why these men would want to speak with me specifically, I am willing to meet with them. I am all for them creating a show that honestly depicts the mental health system in our society. I hope they are responsible and portray not only its weaknesses, but also its strengths. I hope they clarify to the general ignorant population of our society that to be mentally ill does not necessarily make a person dangerous or scary. I hope they clarify that most people with a mental health diagnosis are quite successful and contribute quite a bit to this world.

The whole experience should be entertaining enough. I will not go out of my way to impress the folks, as that just is not me. I will admit though, there is a part of me that thinks the opportunity is cool. Perhaps one day there will be a character based, in part, on me.

After all, how many times have a producer or two followed you around? :)