Changing the Mental Health Admissions Process: Meet Rebecca Wolfslau, LPC
Rebecca Wolfslau (front left) with friends.
When Rebecca Wolfslau (Wolfi), LPC, came to Sanford Behavioral Health a year ago, she brought the concept of “EZ Admissions” with her. Her idea (and catchy title) was designed to simplify and speed up the admissions process for mental health treatment. She also wanted the Sanford admissions team to serve as a sympathetic ear, helping find the right care, even if not with Sanford. Her idea was so well-received that CEO Tracy Rogers took the night shift, answering phones overnight for three months. Rebecca’s vision was realized, and EZ Admissions & Clearances is an integral part of Sanford’s ongoing operations. We sat down with Rebecca to learn about her role and explore her plans for continuing to improve the admissions process at Sanford Behavioral Health.
Changing the Admissions Process – Limelight Interview
Meet Rebecca Wolfslau, LPC
Senior Director of Strategic Growth & Development
Ever sunny, Rebecca, with her favorite flowers and with her daughter.
SBH: Hi Rebecca, let’s start with what comprises your role at Sanford.
Rebecca: My primary focus, as the Director for both Admissions and Community Outreach, is to break down the barriers to treatment. However, I think that phrase gets overused. What we often miss is the “how.” This particular area is one of my greatest passions. The bulk of my career has been in clinical operations, where I worked closely with admissions to get people through the door, albeit at arm’s length.
I began to hear stories about the clients’ narratives from the admissions department, and the hopelessness and futility were hard to take. As much as I had to stretch my team on the ground to secure those admissions, I couldn’t sleep at night if I didn’t try, because I heard the distress in their voices when individuals, loved ones, and referral sources made those vulnerable calls. In fact, it led me to move from clinical operations to admissions and community outreach at Sanford Behavioral Health.
“The phone calls are courageous, but the exchange is also emotionally draining on the teams who answer them. They too feel helpless if they have to turn people away. This dynamic is what led me to fall in love with the idea of breaking down barriers to treatment. I have devoted my career to changing the admissions process.”
SBH: Could you talk about the admissions process at Sanford Behavioral Health?
Rebecca: Yes! EZ Admissions and Clearances is one of the programs I am most proud of at Sanford. It is something I forwarded when I arrived, and it was embraced with open arms. EZ Admissions sets us apart in the mental health industry. We answer phones 24/7, have providers standing by for clearances all night long, and there is no wait for admission when emergent-care criteria are met!
SBH: What is Sanford Behavioral Health’s clinical model?
Rebecca: One of the reasons our campus approach works so well at Sanford is that we are treating what is fueling the substance use, mental health, or eating disorder. In other words, many things lead to the symptoms of a mental health condition. It could be a manifestation of emotional dysregulation, trauma, or being stuck in the fight, flight, or freeze response. There could be familial dynamics.
At Sanford, we identify the factors that fuel behaviors and implement evidence-based interventions to address them. And so, you want the CBT, DBT, and ACT therapies to be the intervention for the mental health condition, not just the behavior caused by it. Interestingly, outside of organic disorders like schizophrenia, for example, a lot of the reasons why people exhibit maladaptive behaviors are the same. They are looking for relief. One might choose to binge/purge or self-medicate with alcohol, but the reason might actually be similar. Our flexible campus approach is beneficial in treating clients where they are, allowing us to adapt our approach as needed.
SBH: Why did you become a clinician?
Rebecca: I entered the clinical world because of my personal experience. I grew up the child of an addict, so I wanted to support people who had been through similar experiences to mine. I fell in love with the clinical operation side after being mentored by someone wonderful. They were also instrumental in introducing me to the admissions side, so I owe my career to that mentor. I love helping clients behind the scenes and ensuring that Sanford Behavioral Health “fires on all cylinders.” If we don’t support the treatment center operationally, we cannot heal people effectively.
SBH: How do you define recovery or healing?
Rebecca: Recovery means something different for everyone. Just as we can’t categorize clients based on their diagnosis, we also can’t categorize them based on their recovery. Recovery can mean abstinence from all drugs when heroin is the drug of use, for example. With eating disorders, their medicine is also their behavior – there is no such thing as abstinence. Some mental health conditions are managed over a lifetime. I would say that recovery or well-being is finding a healthy way to cope with normal stressors and positively manage your daily life.
SBH: What are some of the attributes that make for “success” in mental health treatment? Some of the pitfalls?
Rebecca: I’d like to come at that question from a different lens. I do believe there are client characteristics that indicate clients are not ready to do the work. It could be the levels of change and whether they’re at the pre-contemplative stage or lack the motivation to do it right now. Maybe they’re being pushed by family or other factors, such as health. However, what is important is that it is okay if they are not ready to change, as long as they are willing to be here and put in some effort.
In other words, we don’t need a fully committed client to make changes during their treatment stay. So, we keep them safe. They absorb some of the therapeutic process even if they are not fully engaged. We plant a seed for the next time, and maybe next time, the motivation is different. When someone is motivated to change, it is usually internal or external influences that trigger the change. It’s tough because making this kind of change is the antithesis of “fun.”
SBH: Are there pitfalls to a home life that is not conducive to healing?
Rebecca: Sometimes the toxic environment or the home life is what fuels the substance use, the mental health, or the eating disorder. The perfect storm that comes together to lead to these negative or maladaptive coping skills has an incredible impact. We offer supportive living and residential treatment, allowing us to create a space for intervention at the family dynamic or environment level. Supportive and residential housing enables us to develop coping skills that help individuals while they’re in that environment.
SBH: Could you talk about getting to the root cause of the mental health condition?
Rebecca: When it comes to change, we must accept that life will not be the same as it was before. We need to prioritize well-being over the things that harm our brains. As a therapist, I would argue that you need to have all of the coping skills and all of the ways to intervene when you’re feeling uncomfortable. If you don’t understand the driving force, you can’t heal the driver. I think it is imperative to understand what led you to develop those maladaptive coping skills. Through therapy, those skills are integrated into your nervous system; you have healed at the foundation.
SBH: What is the fun part of your job?
Rebecca: Oh, I love my job. What is fun? I love that we are fast-paced and growing (I thrive on chaos, so this is nothing). The fun part is figuring out how to reach as many humans as possible. You know, at the end of the day, you are doing good work. As a leader, I enjoy seeing people grow and rise to the occasion, breaking down barriers, and watching them develop leadership skills. Lastly, I enjoy introducing new ideas to Sanford, such as EZ Admissions. Watching an admission come in under 45 minutes is fun! We train the Sanford admissions team to efficiently verify benefits and gather all information during the initial phone call, allowing us to bring clients in quickly.
SBH: Most challenging?
Rebecca: The most disheartening part is when we can’t take a client, and we have to find them a place to go – something that’s really important to us. The worst thing is hearing that a client or their family feels like they have nowhere else to turn.
SBH: Do you have a motto? Words to live by?
Rebecca: My father used to say, “Life is a game of chess.” Believe me, that works when you are trying to find a way to get help for someone in the mental health system! I also say, “We’re human and we are going to make mistakes. We’ll mess up occasionally, but we will figure it out.” We have to have room to get it wrong. We need to be human.
SBH: Lastly, why did you come to work for Sanford Behavioral Health? What makes Sanford unique?
People. The people who work here genuinely care about and support one another. That’s a big one. But the main reason I came to Sanford was for the campus model. In the past, working with just eating disorders, just substance use, and just mental health, I saw how challenging the referral process was when diagnoses changed and how it impacted clients. It literally halted their progress because they were sitting in a treatment center that couldn’t address all their needs, and had to start over, maybe even fly to a different state.
Sanford West Behavioral Health Campus eliminates the need for outside referrals once an individual is in our care. I come to work every day to connect with more people and provide them with the help they need, and live self-directed lives. I come to work each day to connect with people who haven’t been reached yet.
Thanks, Wolfi!
If you or a loved one is struggling with a mental health condition, substance use, or eating disorders, don’t wait to change your life – click the link and get in touch today. Our admissions specialists are available 24/7 to provide a free screening, answer questions, or schedule your admission to treatment.Â
