Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Robinson.
Hi Joshua, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started out in the Navy in 2013, mostly stationed on the east coast between Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia. I got out in 2023 from Quantico.
I got my MSW at Florida State while in the military, and picked up an MBA at George Washington too, which people always find a little odd for a therapist. But it turned out to be one of the smartest things I did, because running a practice is running a business whether you want to admit it or not.
I’ve been a clinical social worker for a while now, licensed across Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and Vermont. I opened my own practice, Stillwater Counseling, out of Fredericksburg, Virginia. It started fully virtual and has grown into both in-person and telehealth.
The thing I kept running into, both in myself and in colleagues, was burnout. Good clinicians leaving the field faster than we can get them in. That bothered me enough that I went back to school again. I’m a doctoral candidate now at the University of Kentucky, and my research focuses on burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and why so many social workers don’t stay in the field. I also teach, working as a graduate teaching assistant at Florida State and I am a psychopathology instructor at the University of Kentucky.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Most of my struggles have been dealing with insurance companies, low reimbursement rates, and navigating complex, bureaucratic systems just to provide care to people in my community. Nothing worth having in life comes easy. At least, that’s what they say anyway. Every day feels like a learning curve but I don’t know any business owner that hasn’t been through that. If you want to succeed at anything you must be willing to take risks. Part of that risk is the risk of failing, picking up the pieces of what’s left, and continue moving forward.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Stillwater Counseling?
Stillwater Counseling is my private practice in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I see individuals and couples, both in person and over telehealth.
What I’m known for is working with helpers, clinicians, first responders, and caregivers who spend their lives taking care of everyone else and burn out doing it. Burnout is what I primarily see because it’s what my research focuses on. However, I see a handful of different topics like anxiety, depression, and grief.
The name Stillwater comes from the still water you’ll find on a calm lake in the morning. That calmness is what I seek and yearn for every day.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
People can reach me directly through email josh@stillwatercounselingva.com or my website www.stillwatercounselingva.com. I am always open to collaborating, whether that’s with other clinicians, organizations trying to tackle burnout within their teams, or people who want to bring this research into their own work.
Contact Info:
