Janet (Jan) Greene, Ed.S., Licensed Mental Health Counselor

Education:

Graduated from the University of Florida with a Master’s and Specialist degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

At a Glance:

Through over 20 years of counseling a wide variety of people, I have learned that sooner or later we all have times of crisis, loss, unexpected change. I have also learned that how we respond to those times is of vital importance. With 8 years as staff at the Alachua County Crisis Center and over 10 years doing Hospice work, I have worked with individuals, couples and families as they struggled with issues relating to loss, bereavement, sudden change, relationship, crisis, trauma, uncertain futures. They experienced feelings of despair, hopelessness, anxiety, fear, isolation, sadness, grief, disconnection. Whatever the age or the circumstance, these people wanted help to survive the pain, reduce anxiety, reconnect with hope, feel the support of others. What I have also learned is that in a supportive, caring environment, clients come to realize that their identity lies in how they tend the trauma, loss, uncertain future. Their identity and power come from how they choose to tend to themselves. They are not what happened to them. I have come to understand the importance of listening and the power of being heard. Such an environment is therapeutic because clients are able to hear themselves in the presence of someone who honors their story and offers acceptance in the face of their suffering. With that experience, they learn to honor and accept their story as well. Then, they can do the on-going work of healing. It remains an honor to provide a space for people to do this work. 

Why did you become a therapist? 

I decided to become a therapist over 20 years ago. Basically, I knew that life was hard and I wanted to gain understanding to offer help. That desire remains but I will talk about why I choose to remain a therapist… The shape/substance of the understanding that I have gained through my own experience and listening to people is far different from the understanding I thought I would gain when I first began. I have learned that it is not about having all the pieces/answers and having them all fit together smoothly and successfully . It is more about experiencing the falling apart of all the pieces/answers - sometimes over a period of time and sometimes suddenly and unexpectedly. When that happens, we end up feeling lost, vulnerable and afraid. The understanding that I have gained is that it is what we do next that is of vital importance. How do we respond to life when the pieces just don’t seem to fit? Life becomes less about holding all the pieces together and more about how we respond when they just don’t fit. Learning to face life during these times is one of the most difficult struggles I know. And I have listened to many people face these struggles with courage, honesty, kindness, grace. I remain a therapist because sooner or later we all have pieces that don’t fit or seem broken. With support we learn that our identity lies in how we tend broken pieces - not in the facade of having them seem to fit perfectly. It remains an honor to offer this support.

What can a client expect to experience in session with you? 

Clients can expect to be met with respect, curiosity about what life has dealt them, kind humor and a gentle, relentless nudge to grow. I am person-centered in my approach, believing that we all are the experts of our own life. I also believe that great healing can occur when we are seen, heard and understood. I understand that it takes great courage to step into such a space; it takes confront to step into a space to not only share oneself but also so see oneself more fully. I do not take that lightly. You will be treated with great respect. 

If you could be the therapist to one celebrity, who would it be? 

Ah, this question was surprisingly difficult for me. For one, I do not know many of the current celebrities - sad, but true… I thought about celebrities who are not so current and counseling them, but my mind kept returning to former clients I have seen. They are not celebrities but in my mind so many of them should be. I have witnessed so much courage, endurance, forgiveness, strength, vitality, laughter, tears, resilience, creativity in my clients that I am afraid any celebrity may pale in comparison. I am privileged to hold so many stories of such amazing folks… I think my clients have ruined me for wanting to see any celebrities….

How do you spend your free time? 

Having recently stopped working full time, this question is very interesting to answer. In terms of time, my life used to feel like a bunch of discreet units that I had to make sure I filled with the right things. I had obligations and responsibilities that needed to happen at certain times every day. Many evenings and weekends I needed to be available for support. Now my life feels more like a mosaic that I get to fill in. I enjoy not feeling overly scheduled and find that I can now take advantage of being able to do things with more spontaneity - I love that. Dinner tomorrow? Sure. Camping for a couple of days week after next? Yep. Free for coffee? I am! I also enjoy having more time to read and think about things I am interested in; listening to mysteries while I cook in the kitchen; playing with my dog; watching old - and new - movies; and the best, laughing with friends.

What's your favorite quirk about yourself? 

I have a deep appreciation for the absurd. So many absurd things happen in life. My appreciation is being constantly rewarded. I know you can come up with examples of your own, too… Along with the absurd, I have a deep appreciation of kindness. I am not sure if this qualifies as quirks or not (maybe I should write about the quirk of not really answering questions…). Anyway, I have found these two things have enriched my life. Because I appreciate the absurd, I laugh a lot. However, I also have developed a habit of looking for kindness. When I watch people as I do errands or whatever, I sometimes make it a point of looking for folks doing kind things. I almost always see them. The thing is, kindness isn’t loud. In fact, almost always it is silent: a grandmother waiting for a very young grandchild to catch up, not hurrying them. smiling at them instead; someone holding an elevator door; explaining directions to an office in a healthcare building without making the person feel stupid; smiling at someone when it is not necessary; helping someone find their car in a parking lot….quick, silent actions that can mean the world… Kindness and absurdity - they both are here - and enrich my life.

What does social justice mean to you? 

Wow. There is no them. There is only us. We have such a long, long way to go, don’t we? That is certainly not how the social-politcal-economic world works, is it? Social justice to me would mean that we all see how the structured system controls, divides, oppresses the marginalized while it enables, connects, frees and takes care of those of us with greater privilege. To work for social justice means to work for the health, freedom, inclusiveness, safety of all people - all of us - in any way that we can, in any way that we are called to, big or small, inner or outer work. Work that brings everyone ( or all the parts if doing inner work ) to the table. There are many folk who are marginalized in our culture. To me the following story could represent any of those marginalized…. I heard an indigenous woman speak about the discovery of the bodies of indigenous children at white boarding schools. She said that the discovery of the killings was not new to her people. It was not a “discovery.” She said that her people knew that children were captured and taken there and never came home. It is a tragedy that runs deep in their lives. She said that the difference that the discovery of the graves meant for her people was that now they knew that we -the privileged of that system - knew. There is no more pretending. To me it feels like this is where our culture is rapidly going - there is no more pretending. Those of us who are more privileged have very difficult work to do. How do we come to terms with all of this? What do we do now? How do we use the power that this system enables us to have? I think the answers to these questions are pretty important. These are some of the questions that I think of for myself.