We were lucky to catch up with Abby Huth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Abby thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

When I entered the Master of Social Work program, I was completely convinced that I wanted to work with children. I thought I may become an adoption social worker or work in a school setting. I’ve always loved children and thought this population is who interested me the most and that I would be the best suited for. It’s safe to say I was pretty far off the mark.

In the Bachelor of Social Work program, I completed an internship working with children ages 6-10 in a school setting. I loved these children so much, but I found it extremely difficult to separate myself from the work when I was at home. I was always thinking about them, and their situations broke my heart. I wasn’t confident I could do this full time. The thought of working with adults scared me, maybe because I thought I wouldn’t be taken seriously because of my young age. Who was I to be giving advice and encouragement to people who were older than me and people who had so many life experiences I couldn’t relate to? These thoughts filled my mind and I felt discouraged.

When it became time to decide what my internship placement would be during the master’s program, I decided to work at an outpatient substance use treatment program. I felt comfortable with the idea of this because I grew up in a friend group that was heavily influenced by drugs and alcohol. I figured maybe I could relate to these people. I was right!

I remember having this image in my head of what a professional social worker had to look like. When I went to the orientation, I was introduced to many different social workers at this facility who challenged this image I thought I needed to have. They were self-expressive, had many tattoos, and wore cute outfits. They were also so intelligent, so qualified, and SO inspiring. I myself had several tattoos, piercings, and liked to express myself. I had been told my whole life through media and my elders that these would be things that could hinder me in finding a good job. I remember so clearly seeing these women and thinking “wow, I want to be just like them.”

I connected well with this population. I found it easy and comforting to speak with these individuals about their substance use history and about their struggles. I had recently lost one of my best friends to substance abuse and felt a strong connection to this work. Although, this brought many challenges. I encountered many people who shared similar stories or reminded me of my friend that I had lost. This triggered me and my own grief. I found myself crying in my car during lunch breaks and struggling when speaking to certain clients who had no motivation for change. I remember several clients telling me about the times they accidentally overdosed and survived, but still couldn’t view their substance use as an issue they wanted to fix. I remember thinking “how come you got to live, and my friend didn’t?” These thoughts bothered me.

Through these struggles, I still found myself wanting to work in this field and sought supervision about what I was experiencing. I figured, at least I was helping some of these people and maybe I could contribute to preventing some future deaths related to substance use. At least I had a strong connection that made me so passionate. At the end of the year, I graduated with my master’s degree in social work and was hired by this agency as a substance abuse counselor. I was thrilled with this idea and happy to be where I was.

My biggest goal at this time was to move to Charleston, SC. I grew up in Columbia, SC and stayed for college. By the end of college, I was so sick of living there and knew in my soul that I needed new people, places, and things. I made this known to my job at the time and to my family. It seemed at the time that no one really believed I was going to make this jump, and I knew I had to make it happen.

I searched and searched for a full-time job as a substance use counselor in Charleston and couldn’t find one. I began searching for social work positions in general, and in the end, I was only offered one position. It was a part-time position as an intake counselor in a psychiatric hospital. I was nervous and felt like I was going to be completely out of my comfort zone. I always found severe mental illnesses extremely interesting and was ultimately excited for this opportunity. I got many comments from others such as “don’t you want to wait a little bit longer until you can find a full-time job?” The answer was NO. I have to get out of here. I will wait tables if I have to!

And that’s exactly what I did. I moved in with a childhood friend of mine in Charleston, SC. I worked part time at the hospital and part time slinging sandwiches at a restaurant downtown. Within 2 months I was offered a full-time position at the psychiatric hospital and felt like I had FINALLY found my calling. I loved working with patients in psychiatric crisis. I felt like all my skills flourished in this position, I was able to work quickly and calmly. I connected well with the patients and was consistently so intrigued by the cases I was working with. I loved the adrenaline rush of working with escalated patients. It was all so interesting, and every day was something different.

This is how I landed my first job in the field I love, acute psych. It’s hard for me to imagine myself doing anything different.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Growing up, I was not a great student. I flew through school by the seat of my pants. I was extremely social and found it difficult to concentrate and retain information in core classes. I grew up very close to my aunt, who was a guidance counselor. She would take me out to monthly dinners and would ask me what I wanted to do after college. At the time I had no idea and sometimes wondered if I even wanted to go to college. All I could express was that I liked talking to people and helping them, but I questioned if counseling was right for me.

She suggested social work and so I applied. I remember getting into my core social work classes and for the first time felt like I was smart. I was able to get good grades and praise from my professors. I actually enjoyed the content! This was a first for me.

I have now been working as a psychiatric social worker for about 5 years. In this position I am a part of a treatment team including myself, psychiatrists, nurses, and pharmacists. I work in an acute psychiatric hospital where typical length of stay is 1-2 weeks. I work with patients from all over the state of SC who come in either voluntarily or involuntarily. They present as either acutely psychotic, manic, having just had a suicide attempt, are planning a suicide, or detoxing from substances such as alcohol, opiates, or benzodiazepines. My role is to meet with the patients each day and coordinate discharge. I help patients find a safe place to go if home is not that for them. I work with many patients who are homeless / unfunded and need a shelter, need to go to rehab or sober living, need to go to a group home or residential care facility / assisted living. I also make sure that each patient has a psychiatrist and therapist to follow up with after they get discharged.

6 months ago, I received my independent social work license. This was a 2-year process and allows me to provide individual counseling services or supervise other social workers. About 4 months ago I joined a private practice in Mt. Pleasant called Everest Therapy Solutions, SC where I see children, teens, and adults. I do this individual counseling in addition to my full-time job in the hospital. The main therapy models I use are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, and Mindfulness practices. I primarily work with individuals struggling with depression, anxiety, substance use, trauma, bipolar disorder, and behavioral issues. This has given me such a great outlet to explore working with individuals for a longer period of time and being able to grow in the role of a therapist.

In the coming month I will also be running an evening substance use group at a local outpatient program as a part of an intensive outpatient program where individuals receive treatment 3-5 days a week.

At this point in my career, I am proud that I am able to help individuals in multiple settings and from many different populations. I now feel that I have so much freedom in deciding what I want my career to look like and am able to take it in many different directions.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

In the field of social work, possibilities are endless. Common knowledge about social work is limited. I’ve met many people who thought social work is just about ‘taking kids out of their homes’. This is extremely inaccurate. Social workers are in more areas than many people realize. Social workers work with policy and advocacy, schools, hospitals, research/education, domestic violence, disability, disaster/crisis intervention, substance use, severe mental illness, children and family services, gerontology, counseling, corrections, and many, many more!

My best advice to anyone needing help is to seek out a social worker! My best advice to anyone going into the social work field is to not limit yourself to one population or one idea of what you may want to do. There is so much to explore and so much experience to gain. In other fields moving from job to job can be seen as a negative, in social work it speaks to having a wide range of experience!

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

There are many difficult aspects of working in this field. Let’s be honest, it’s easy to become burnt out and experience compassion fatigue. Every day, people are sharing their stories with you and asking you for help. These stories aren’t pretty. They are depressing, scary, and stressful. I have found that when I least expect it, someone I have been working with will come to me and express their gratitude and express just how much me being there has helped them. Even though I’m not able to create positive change with every individual that I cross paths with, I have seen the most incredible success in many of those individuals. I am able to tangibly see how my help has changed the life of another, and that is priceless.

Lastly, the social work community stresses self-care. We are taught the importance of self-care in school and are reminded of it at work. It is reassuring to know that as a social worker, I have a community of other social workers around me who can understand and say “Hey, I know you’re struggling too, it’s okay, we understand. Take some time to take care of yourself”. Working in a profession that values self-care is incredibly valuable.

So, if I had to go back and choose the same profession, I would. At the end of every day, I know in my soul I have found my place and purpose in the world. What more could I ask for?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.everesttherapysolutions.com/
• Other: Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/abby-huth-mount-pleasant-sc/1200157