Dave Spriggs

As this year is drawing to a close, I realize that 2024 is an anniversary year for me. I started working in the mental health field in 1994. My first position was working in a group home serving adults impacted by traumatic brain injury. I think like most professionals, I learned a lot about healthcare from my first job. I learned how important nurses are to the system of healthcare. I learned about multidisciplinary teams. I learned what it was like to provide direct care to individuals with significant impairments. Most of all, I learned how fulfilling it is to help people.

My next job was at a long-term-care facility. At this job, I developed a love for working with older adults and also working in organized healthcare settings. I met my wife at this job, so I have a lot of good memories of working at Branch Villa in Seattle, WA. My wife, Julie, worked in the recreation therapy department and I worked in the social work department.

I went to graduate school from 1996-2001, but continued working in the mental health field throughout this time. When I started, all documentation was paper-based. During my 2000 internship at the Department of Veterans Affairs, some files were still paper-based, but new records were electronic, and the facility was transitioning to digital files. I had wonderful mentors during my internship. All my supervisors have retired over the years, and the last one left in November 2024.

I worked at a church-based counseling center from 2001-2007. Two primary areas of my work were couples counseling and Christian Counseling. I returned to the Salisbury VA in 2007, and I am finishing up my 18th year in the Salisbury system. My experiences earlier in my career with couples counseling and Christian Counseling have remained relevant at the VA. I am grateful for work that is fulfilling and also for the relationships with coworkers.

There have been many changes in the field of psychology since I completed my doctorate in 2001. One change that has both positives and negatives is the emphasis on standardized and short-term treatment. Research has identified techniques that are effective in treating emotional problems. Standardized treatments enable far more patients to receive quality care. Brief therapy can be a cost saving for many patients and provides more capacity for treatment. There is a tremendous shortage of therapists and more capacity is critically important.

Unfortunately, some patients want psychotherapy that is not brief. They need time to build trust with their therapist and time to recover. Many patients benefit from 8–12 therapy sessions, but some may prefer to receive support for 6 months or more in the unique and confidential environment of professional psychotherapy. Personal and professional relationships, like those with friends, family, physicians, and clergy, can provide valuable support. For people without mental illness, these relationships can be more beneficial to their well-being than therapy. However, some individuals (even those without a mental illness) may need psychotherapy in addition to other types of support.

Quality psychotherapy can be very difficult for some people to access. I have not seen signs of improvement. There is often a long wait to find a therapist. Many people struggle to determine if a therapist is a good fit, often relying on several sessions to gauge their comfort level. If there is a 6-month wait for the first meeting, trial and error is not a good option.

By the time they have obtained licensure, most therapists are well-trained in effective psychotherapy methods. They have also had several years of supervised work in which a supervisor could evaluate their clinical judgement and character. This is good news.

There is a tremendous need for more therapists. I hope more people will choose to become therapists. Training is at least a master's degree, and following that, one or two years of supervised experience. That is a long time to delay earning a salary and graduate training is very expensive. Many therapists can earn a decent income, but it's not proportional to the 5 to 10 years they spend in education and the high costs they incur compared to their peers. Educational debt is considerable, and not earning a professional salary for five or more years can lead to a much smaller retirement fund, even if future earnings are higher.

I don't know the answer to this problem, but I know what won't help. Lowering standards for therapists won't lead to better outcomes. Therapists need quality education and maturity that only comes with years of supervised work. Cutting jobs or reducing therapists' pay will worsen the existing shortage of available therapists.

We celebrated Julie's 60th birthday yesterday. She had a busy workday delivering the mail and didn't come home until about 6pm. We enjoyed a good meal and some birthday treats and Julie opened her presents.

She will have Thanksgiving Day off, so will have more time to celebrate her birthday later this week.

I traveled to Michigan to attend Paul Royce Pence's funeral on 9/19/2024. My mom and dad made the trip together. It was a sad occasion, but we were grateful to spend some time with family.

Paul was my last living uncle. It has been sad to say goodbye to all of them. Growing up, Paul attended all my birthday parties and important events, including my high school and college graduation. He read the scripture when Julie and I were married and when he finished reading I Corinthians 13, he asked the Lord to bless our marriage. I enjoyed talking with Paul about his memories of growing up in West Virginia.

Here is his obituary, which I copied from the Palmer-Bush Funeral Home webiste.

It is with great sadness that the family of Paul R Pence of Holt, MI announce his passing on Friday, September 13, 2024, at the age of 93.

Born in Charleston, West Virginia, Paul was the eldest child of Clifford and Ruth Pence. They lived in Campbells Creek, where his father began working in the coal mines at age 15. Despite the hardships, Paul and his siblings had a wonderful and happy life roaming the hills and hollers of West Virginia and he was very proud of his roots. 

Paul was the first in his family to finish high school and was the first to attend college. At Olivet Nazarene College he met the love of his life, Elisabeth, and forged many lifelong friendships. Paul also served two years in the US Army during the Korean War, stationed at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. 

Paul and Elisabeth were married in college and were together for 66 years. After graduation, they moved to Michigan, to begin teaching careers for the Lansing School District. Paul earned his Master’s degree in Special Education from Michigan State University and was faculty at Lansing Sexton HS for 30 years. 

Retiring in his early fifties, Paul immersed himself in his enjoyment of the outdoors, and happily invited many friends to the hunting cabin for fall deer season on the Pence Family acreage. Deer hunting was ritual for the Pence men and not to be missed. He was a four season fisherman, summers on the Au Sable River and the beautiful lakes of Michigan and ice fishing in winters. He treasured spending time with family and friends, raising huge vegetable gardens, freely sharing excess bounties with his neighborhood. Every summer he invited church friends Up North to his summer cottage for canoeing, cook outs, campfires and fellowship. 

His faith was his center, and he worshiped through singing hymns and by being a valuable member of his church choir. He was blessed with a beautiful resonate voice, and often was a soloist or part of duets and trios. Paul was an amazing friend, and if he was teasing you, you knew he liked you. He had a memory for detail and was a keen storyteller. He treasured his friendships and was a devoted father and husband. 

Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Ruth Pence; wife, Elisabeth and brothers, Don (Carolyn) Pence and Troy Pence.

He is survived by his sister, Rita (Jerry) Spriggs; sister-in-law, Anna Pence; children, James Pence and Tamara (Carl) Phillips; grandson, Griffin Phillips. He is also survived by numerous extended family in Michigan and North Carolina. 

Funeral Services will be held, Thursday, September 19, 2024, 11:00 AM at the Lansing South Church Of The Nazarene with Michael Garza officiating. Interment will take place, Thursday, September 19, 2024, 2:30 PM at Maple Ridge Cemetery in Holt, MI. The family will receive relatives and friends one hour prior to the service at the church. Donations can be made to Hospice of Lansing in his memory. The family is being served by the Palmer, Bush & Jensen Family Funeral Home, Holt Chapel. Condolences can be sent to the family at www.palmerbush.com.

I ordered a Pedego Interceptor about 3 weeks ago, and it arrived on Wednesday. I haven't ridden bicycles in over 10 years. This is my 2nd day riding it. I am having a lot of fun. It is also good for my health to exercise.

Today, I cycled more than 14 miles. I am using an app called Strava to record the rides. So far, I have just gone near my neighborhood. There are some nice trails not far from me, and I'll try one of them soon.

Our family was able to enjoy dinner together on Father's Day, 6/16/2024. We went to Bleu's Restaurant in Winston-Salem, which is one of my dad's favorite places to eat. I'm grateful for another moment to share with my girls and my dad.

Julie and I went to Michigan to attend Troy David Pence's open house on 6/15/2024. We are happy for him that he has graduated from high school. He plans to attend a distance learning program at Olivet Nazarene University.

We were only able to stay on Friday on Saturday. Julie and I both had to work on Monday morning. Even though it was a brief trip, we enjoyed seeing our family. One of the things I enjoyed while growing up was spending time with my cousins. Including my brother, Matt, and me, there are 8 of us. Only 4 of us were together at the same time during this trip.

The last time I recall all 8 of us being together was probably at a Christmas party in 1982.

I hope we can have a family reunion--not just for our generation, but for our extended family. It would be challenging to find a time and place that would accommodate us all, but a lot of fun if we could make it happen.

Emily, Julie and I went on vacation to Charleston, South Carolina from 5/4/2024 through 5/8/2024. We had a wonderful time together. Julie finished radiation therapy the last week of April. Her prognosis is very good with a less than 8% lifetime chance that cancer could recur.

We rented a house in a quiet neighborhood about 30 minutes from downtown Charleston. We planned our visit through a program called "tourpass". You can choose a number of days and then see activities that can be visited multiple times and others that can be visited once per day. We enjoyed all of attractions and would like to return for another visit.

We saw the H.L. Hunley, a Civil War submarine, that sank in Charleston Harbor. It was the first known combat sub to have successfully attacked a ship during war.

We took 2 historical tours of Charleston and both were interesting. The carriage tour was my favorite. The guide shared some of the notable personalities and events of Charleston. During the Antebellum period, Charleston was the wealthiest city in the U.S., due to high profits from farming rice.

Magnolia Gardens used to be a rice plantation. It is the oldest public garden in the U.S.. We saw the flowers, buildings, and wildlife. We went to a presentation called "From Slavery to Freedom" that discussed the history of enslaved people working in rice fields. The plantation was ruined during the Civil War and couldn't be used for rice farming anymore because the rice fields were damaged. Rice farming never returned to South Carolina. The beautiful gardens were planted in the 1840s and have been visited by the public since 1870.

It was a memorable and fulfilling vacation. I'm glad Julie, Emily and I were able to enjoy the time together.

Today is my mom’s 80th birthday. Julie and I enjoyed having dinner with her and my dad to celebrate. Emily and her friend Haley were able to join us.

My mom has had health challenges in recent years, but continues to be very loving and kind. She has impacted many friends and family members through her caring.

I am so grateful for her.

Our first date was at the Olive Garen in late Spring of 2015. We enjoyed an early Valentine's Day dinner tonight. Julie will be having surgery on Tuesday of next week and will need a few weeks to recover.