Joshua Ohlund

All it takes is small, at times seemingly insignificant, changes to how we think and behave to spark the fire that fuels us in the direction we want to go in our lives. "Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it's a cinch." I deeply enjoy connecting with adolescents and children. I have 7 younger siblings whose ages currently range from early adolescence to adulthood. From the time my parents divorced several years ago, I've taken on the role of mentor with several of my siblings and have been able to stay very closely connected to them. This has given me a lot of hands-on experience and I've developed solid relationship building skills with this clientele. My ability to ask thought-provoking and introspective questions in a curious and non-judgmental way is my superpower when it comes to working with adolescents. When I work with adolescents in my office, we focus our time on talking, doing activities, and engaging in role plays that bolster practical skills that will help them with the problems they face. Parent involvement makes the process smoother but isn't a must at this age range. I participate in service opportunities weekly at my local church where I work with young children. Building relationships with them and teaching them has led to some of the most satisfying and rewarding work I've engaged in. I have a naturally cheerful and easy-going temperament which I have found helps children to warm up to me quickly. How we spend our time is something I adapt based on the situation and needs of the child. We spend some of the time talking but generally a larger amount of the time is spent doing activities and engaging in role plays. Having parents involved is crucial to the success of their children and I always like to spend time working on building skills that the parent can use at home to help their children.