April Staff Spotlight: Brook Weaver

Brook Weaver

MSMFT

Team Lead, District 2; Recovery Services Division

Explanation of your role at Georgia HOPE:

I am in school based mental health therapist at elementary schools in Murray County. I love my job getting to know and helping the kiddos. I feel honored to be able to help kids through their trauma and learn how to express and process their emotions. I also take a lot of joy in the fact that I tend to like most of the hobbies and movies they. We tend to relate therapy to Harry Potter and Kpop music.  I’m also a team lead for School Based Mental Health in Murray County. I help my staff reach the best of their abilities by proving a place to ask questions and have a place of honesty. 

Tell us what led you to Georgia HOPE:

I started working for Georgia HOPE about 3 years ago. I was right out of grad school and I had a friend that worked from Georgia HOPE that referred me to the school based program. Originally, I had wanted to work in high schools, but after working at my elementary schools, I can’t imagine doing my job here without my kiddos. 

What would you say to someone that is struggling with complying with taking medication as a part of treatment?:

Medication adherence seems to be something that a lot of clients struggle with. The most common complaint that I hear is that the medicine makes them feel “not like themselves”. There are two things I tend to say to that. The first is going back and forth from being on medication to not taking medication effects your mood, hormones, enzymes, etc. When you stop taking medication without a professional’s help, your mental health can plummet because your body is trying to level out to a new normal. 

The second thing I tend to say is that when a person has a mental health struggle for so long (depression, anxiety, etc.) they tend to believe their depression (insert any other mental health diagnosis) is who they are. That is untrue. They feel like the medication is taking away part of themselves when they do feel how they are used to be feeling. My favorite therapy modality is narrative therapy. With narrative therapy, it’s very important to externalize the problem. Depression is not who we are. Depression is what we have. Depression is not our identity. Depression is its own identify.  

What do you enjoy most about your role at Georgia HOPE?:

My favorite thing about my job is that I get to make sure kids feel seen and heard. I think that’s the most important part of my job. Regardless of all the other aspects of my job that are important, I think making sure each client is seen and heard is the most important. The other day, a client told me “Ms. Brook, whenever I talk to you, I just feel free.” That’s all I’m striving for. I hope each one of my client’s has the opportunity to feel free and seen in therapy.  

If you’re struggling with depression or would like to refer someone you know, we’d love to speak to you further. HOPE is here. Contact us today.