Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The great thing about in-field training during college is that it can help you decide if you’re right for the career you are pursuing. For some, it solidifies that, yes, this is exactly what you want to do. For others, it can prove that, no, in fact, you want to do something completely different.
For Amanda Lewis, of Morgantown, her in-field placement led her to realize she was in the right field, just the wrong discipline.
Lewis, nee Ervine, was studying occupational therapy when she had a lightbulb moment while working with a patient.
“I remember being in my field placement and I had a young patient that had experienced a TBI – traumatic brain injury – and we were working with him on regaining motor control,” she said. “I kept finding myself wanting to check on his mental health and emotional well-being. I was also concerned about his family and how they were coping emotionally.
“That’s when I shifted and decided I wanted to be in a healthcare profession where I provided emotional support, over physical.”
Lewis went on to earn degrees in psychology and counseling. She is a nationally certified counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor. In 2017, she opened her own practice – Lewis Counseling Practice – after working in several different agencies.
“I’ve worked in an in-patient psychiatric facility, medical hospitals where I was embedded in their trauma department, prescription drug abuse quit lines, out-patient agencies,” she said. “I even worked as a school counselor for a little while, too.”
After serving clients in a variety of settings, Lewis decided to open her own practice so she could better serve her clients and have a staff with the same goals as hers.
“I really wanted to be able to do trauma work and do healing on a deeper level,” she said. “It just wasn’t as conducive in medical settings. I wanted to be able to control my environment for myself and my clients.
“Opening my own practice allowed me to create that therapeutic space where I could dive deeper into trauma work and deeper healing,” she added.
The practice has a staff of nine who work with children, teens and adults, offering therapeutic services as well as medicine management.
Just recently, the practice was selected as one of 33 West Virginia businesses to participate in the Goldman Sachs cohort. This is the second cohort in the Mountain State and there were more than 400 applicants to the program.
Lewis said she applied to the program to help her not only grow the business in the Morgantown area, but to also serve rural areas in the state that have low to no access to mental health services.
“The program’s designed to help support small businesses that want to grow,” she said. “My dream goal has been to provide mental health services in rural areas, so I’d love to be able to partner and support programs already in place throughout West Virginia – whether it’s in public schools or agency settings – just where I can provide more services in more rural areas.”
Growing up in Arbovale, Lewis knows how difficult it can be to get access to specialty medical fields.
“I would say that is a primary motivator and some of the therapists on staff also grew up in more rural areas in West Virginia, so it’s a vision I have, but then I know it’s a vision that is supported by some of my team members, too,” she said.
Lewis began the 12-week Goldman Sachs program last week and said she is looking forward to learning more through the program. She had to travel to Charleston for the first week and will return for a “graduation” ceremony at the end.
“It is a comprehensive business education program with support services and networking opportunities with the goal to help your business grow and create more jobs in your community,” she said. “I feel like it’s a great opportunity.”
Lewis said she hopes the training will help her make connections to make her dream of serving rural areas a reality – whether it be with tele-health services or eventually, a satellite office.
Lewis is the daughter of Clarence and Patty Ervine, of Arbovale. She is a 1998 graduate of Pocahontas County High School and now resides in Morgantown with her husband, Troy, and their three children.
Suzanne Stewart may be contacted at sastewart@pocahontastimes.com
