Employee Profile - Tyron Thompson

Tyron Thompson was working as a therapist with the child and adolescent unit at Millwood Hospital when he came across a particularly difficult client. The young man wouldn't communicate and didn't appear to be engaged in the therapeutic process. Eventually, the patient's potential to cause harm had decreased enough for him to step down from the hospital environment , but Thompson felt they had never really connected.

A few days later, a woman brought her son to the hospital, and asked specifically for Thompson. When he asked how she had been referred to him, he got a surprising answer.

"The patient I had difficulty engaging had recommended me," Thompson recalls. Now that he has been named Clinical Director after four years at the 120-bed hospital, Thompson offers the story as a lesson to his staff, who consistently deal with difficult cases in short time periods.

"Sometimes you can't measure progress in what you see in front of you," Thompson says. "What I thought was my worst patient experience turned out to be one of my best. We impacted that young man, and he got treatment that helped him. So now I look at our role as a kind of Johnny Appleseed. As professionals, our job is to plant the seed even though we won't be around to watch it grow."

That positive attitude about the benefits of therapy infuses almost every aspect of Thompson's approach to his job. Having started at Millwood as an Access Counselor, he quickly ascended the ranks and was promoted to Director of Youth Services in 2005. Now, Clinical Director, Thompson calls his staff the 110 percent crew, acknowledging the extra efforts they make in patient care. He gets involved in the community, building up a positive rapport with the hospital's neighbors in order change any negative perceptions they may have of a mental health facility.

When speaking with patients, he often emphasizes the self-esteem building mantra, "I can. I am. I will." He's seen how the simple act of repeating those words can transform them into reality. "It shifts the focus from negative to positive," he says. "I'll give a smile, then I'll get a smile and that leads to another smile in support. That generates good feelings in both the patient and therapist, and it also motivates the therapist to go on through the day excited and giving 110 percent to each patient. It's a positive chain reaction.

"I call it finding joy and purpose in the work we do," he concludes.